Author name: Shotgun Sports USA

Derrick grew up on a small farm in southeast Kansas and developed a love of the outdoors at an early age tagging along with his dad while quail and deer hunting. Got started in sporting clays at age 8 joining his dad in a small league at a local club. With the help of his dad, he began to develop his skills as a competitive shooter. Has been competing as a member of the NSCA since 1995, winning 13 state championships and leading the USA Sporting Clays Team to multiple team world titles.

The shooting sports earned him a scholarship to Lindenwood University. While there, he was on dual scholarship for baseball and the shotgun team. After a couple years. he transferred to Kansas State University to pursue a degree in Animal Science, graduating in 2008. While at KSU, he won the ACUI Collegiate Clay Target Championship, a format that includes international trap, international skeet, American skeet, American trap, and sporting clays.

After graduating from college, he moved to Ohio where he designed and managed Cardinal Center Sporting Clays. Having successfully getting the facility up and going, he took the chance to move closer to home to manage Powder Creek Shooting Park. In 2013, he married Diana, in what he admits is the "best decision he has ever made." "She has become my rock, biggest supporter and motivator in pursuit of becoming a full-time coach and competitor in the shooting sports," he said. In May of 2016, the Mein family welcomed their daughter Rylie to the world.

During his years in the shooting sports, Mein has competed in many different disciplines, including sporting clays, skeet, trap, international trap, and helice, winning national titles and earning Team USA honors in helice, international trap, and sporting clays. He's a perennial NSCA All-American, a F.I.T.A.S.C. World Sporting Clays Champion, ICTSF World English Sporting Champion, World All Around Shotgun Champion, a NSCA National Champion, captain of the NSCA All-American Open Team, was an inaugural member of the Professional Sporting Clays Association and a 2020 Olympian in Men's Trap.

Article from USA Shooting

The 2021 Georgia State Sporting Clays Championship will be held at the oldest and largest continuously operated gun club in the country.  There are a lot of things planned that will interest everyone all from the beautiful city of Savannah Georgia.

Jon didn't start shooting clay targets competitively until he was 22 years old. 203,000 registered targets later he was able to win the US Open 8 times, was on the All American team 23 times and won 7 team gold medals shooting for Team USA. Jon was also the first inductee to the NSCA Hall of Fame in 1998 and shot on the PSCA for 2 years. After Jon's accident in 1989, he went on to win 40 straight tournaments that lasted about 13 months. He is definitely a legend in American sporting clays and is still coaching today. We were so glad to be able to talk with him and look forward to the next one.

The most successful world and European clay target shooter that has ever shot a shotgun is on the podcast this week.  George Digweed holds 26 World titles, 19 European championships, 11 British & English championships and 16 World Cups.  His accomplishments are truly amazing just to see the numbers, but even more impressive to know that one man has accomplished this and much more. 

We discussed:

• The 2021 World Championships at EJ Churchill
• How the lockdowns have affected shooting
• The differences that you see when shooting a world championship in the UK vs shooting one in the US
• If you should find a coach that has proven themselves as a winner
• One thing that a shooter should focus on the most to make them better
• Things that could make someone a winner
• The pressure of shooting as a World Champion
• What changes in shooting as you get older
• Why George does not practice at all
• Why George chooses 32" barrels over 34s
• and much more.

I spoke with Frieda Lancaster briefly about Claythorne Lodge in Southeast Kansas and the upcoming 2021 US Open.  I try to get all of the information that you would need in order to make your trip successful.  Make sure you visit them on their website and Facebook for more information.

Claythorne Lodge Claythorne's Facebook Register on Winscore

From Savannah Georgia, Zach Kienbaum and Desirae Edmunds are well know around the world for being some of the best shooters and coaches you will find in the Southeast.  I went down to Forest City Gun Club to discuss some of the issues that I am having in my shooting and wanted them to tell me what they thought.  In this episode we cover, gun mount, hold points, where to place your eyes before the shot, tower targets, squadding pressure, different target presentations and how to shoot them and the all new Winchester Ladies Cup.

Gebben Miles and Karen Shedd are a team of serious clay target shooters from Arizona.  They are both on top of their game and have an online instruction website where you can get webinars and instructional videos every week.  When not competing, they offer one on one lessons for those who want to learn more about sporting clays and how to improve their game.

Shotgun Sports is a passion for many; the same is true for Travis Mears.  At a young age of 9 years old Travis started his competitive career and has continued to follow his passion.  Travis has competed on many different levels within the sport.  He started with the youth shooting programs such as 4-H and SCTP and then moved on to Lindenwood University in St. Charles, MO as a scholarship shooter.  While at Lindenwood Travis took part in 5 National Team Championships, 12 Individual Collegiate National Championships and completed his undergrad and MBA.

After moving back to Texas, Travis continued his career shooting Sporting Clays and traveling putting on Exhibition Shows on the weekends, while devoting his weeks to his wife Raelynn and business career.  Now at 34 years old Travis and Raelynn have a daughter and son and he is the President of Fort Worth, Texas’ premier shotgun range, Defender Outdoors Clay Sports Ranch.  Travis is continuing to share his passion of the shooting sports through his range, sporting clays and exhibition shooting.  When he’s not shooting, Travis enjoys hunting and spending time with his wife and kids. Travis is a resident of Aledo, TX. 

Todd Hitch is an 18 year old shooter that has taken sporting clays by storm.  In just 4 short years he has become one of the most dominant forces in the NSCA.  The cool, calm, relaxed 6'3 shooter may take this sport as serious, if not more serious, than anyone else.  Sporting Clays is his passion, it's what he wants to do, it's what he solely focuses on when not in school and it's what he plans on being one of the best at.

We discuss his mindset, his exercise routine, his practice regimen, his diet, his goals and also discuss the past few tournaments he has taken HOA at.

It all started with Foster picking up a flyer at their school about tryouts for the local shooting team.

Both Matt, Foster, and Buddy (dad) had a passion for the outdoors, so they went to check it out. 

Matt and Foster were both recognized quickly with their shooting skills, and both made the Rapid City SCTP team. With help of their coach, John Bracken, they and three other shooters won the SD SCTP state title, and continued on all the way to the top when they won the 2006 SCTP National Title.

Matt and Foster continued shooting in the ATA (Amateur Trapshooting Association) independently. Both of their talents were getting more recognized by other shooters, but in 2008, the Bartholow name was quickly recognized as Foster went into the longest shoot-off in history with undoubtedly one of the "greats" in trapshooting history, Leo Harrison III, for the Singles Clay Target Championship.

Both shot 200×200 in the event, and an extra 900×900 in shoot-off before the president of the ATA came out on the last afternoon of the Grand American to ask the gentlemen if they would have the honor of sharing the CTC as Co-Champions after a remarkable 1,100 x 1,100 each..they both graciously accepted, and another record in the history books as the first ever to share a co-championship at the Grand. 

At that same shoot at the Grand American in 2008, Matt won the Doubles Championship in the Jr Category. 

​Fast forward to 2011, Matt won the Grand American Doubles Championship in a battle of talent with many of the best doubles shooters in the world. That same year,  Foster won the Preliminary Handicap Championship with the lone 100×100 from the 27 yard line.​

The Bartholow Brothers were quickly recognized as top-tier shooters, and with the help of sponsors, they accelerated their game by shooting more and structuring FREE shooting clinics throughout the US to start giving back to the shooting community. 

Over the last several years, the Bartholow Brothers reputation and achievement list continued to grow. Matt has continued to grow his name on the top of the list, and holds the second long run in registered doubles with 910 broken doubles targets in 2017/18. He also holds the record for the second longest run in singles with an 1,840 consecutive registered targets broken. Matt won the 2600 HOA in 2019 with a 2553/2600 at the Grand American, that same title in 2017 with 2556/2600, and won runner up in 2018 and 2012 with 2551/2600 and 2525/2600. Foster has a long list of notable accomplishments as well, winning the Winchester Super 500 Singles at the Grand in 2008 and 2009, and many other titles at the Grand American Trap shoot.  

​The biggest accomplishment to them has been noted as one of the most recognized family for giving back to the community. Buddy and Char (parents), have done so much for not only their sons, but also for the trapshooting community by helping others, giving their time graciously, and making sure that this sport is better now than when their sons got into trapshooting, all without ever asking anything back for themselves, but rather growing the sport. 

About the Bartholow Brothers came from trapshootingbros.com