Georgia 4-H Skeet, Trap 2006 State Championship

The Tift County 4-H shotgun team shoots trap at the Tom Lowe Shooting Grounds in Atlanta May 20.

Michael Henry (left) and John Buxton both shoot with the Emanuel County Seniors team and both shot a 95 in trap. Michael edged John in the shootout, then asked if their photo could be taken together. John took the trophy for Seniors High Overall, breaking 185 of 200 targets; half skeet, half trap.

State Champions: The Putnam County Juniors team, made up of Eli Franks, Troy Crisp, Rob Horton, Stephen Howard and Charles Langston, placed first in skeet, second in trap, and won the High-Team Overall.

The Thomas County shotgun team overcame gusty winds on Saturday, May 20 at the Tom Lowe Shooting Grounds in Atlanta to win the 4-H State Championship in the Seniors Division of Trap & Skeet.

The 4-H shotgun teams from 13 counties participated in the state championship skeet and trap competition. The teams consisted of 56 Junior Division shooters (7th and 8th graders), and 79 Seniors Division shooters (9th through 12th grade). Seniors shooters fired 100 rounds each at trap and skeet targets; Juniors shot rounds of 75 shots, vying for team and individual championships.

The Thomas County Seniors took the overall championship by breaking 714 of a possible 800 trap and skeet targets. Tyler Stephens of the Thomas County team took High Overall Individual honors in skeet, breaking 98 of 100 targets.
The Coffee County Senior’s team shot their way to the trap state championship, breaking 369 of a possible 400 targets.

Michael Henry of the Emanuel County team won the Seniors Individual Trap Championship in a shootout with John Broxton, also of Emanuel County. John, however, won the High-Overall Championship with a combined trap and skeet score of 185 out of 200. A week earlier, John won the Seniors Modified Trap State Championship.

Putnam County’s Juniors team placed first in skeet and second in trap to take the High Overall Team Championship with a combined score of 518 out of 600. Putnam County’s Rob Horton was the Juniors Skeet Champion breaking 72 of 75 skeet targets.

Turner County Juniors won the Team Trap Championship with a score of 266 out of 300. Team member Cory Pylant was the Juniors High Overall Champion, and Michael Donohoo, also of the Turner County team, was the High Overall Champion in trap.

The trap and skeet championships marked the last of three 4-H state championship shooting weekends. On May 6 the .22 rimfire, air rifle, air pistol and BB gun state shoots where held at Rock Eagle in Putnam County, and 596 teenagers participated.

On May 13 the modified trap and archery competition took place at Rock Eagle and drew 831 for the shotgun competition and 280 for the archery shoot.

The 4-H shooting program continues to grow, said UGA Extension agent Mark Zeigler who coordinated the shooting events. “Shooting sports are a way of reaching youth,” he said. “The focus of the program is youth development.”

For information on the 4-H shooting competition and complete listings of the results of this year’s championships, visit the 4-H website at <www.georgia4h.org/public/ edops/safe/default.htm>.

State Champions: The Thomas County Seniors Team won both the Team Skeet and the High Team Overall. Team members shown here with their coaches are Caleb Allen, Jason Cone, Chelsea Vinson, Tyler Stephens and Ethan Vinson.

In Senior’s Team Trap, the Douglas County team won the championship. Team members are Caylon Brigmond, Cody Hersey, Hadden Hewitt, Cody Wise and James Rogers. The team broke 369 of a possible 400 targets to take first place.

The Turner County Juniors shotgun team ruled the tournament at trap, taking first place. Michael Donohoo, Cory Pylant, Mitchell Donohoo, Ryan Ireland and Matt Sunday make up the team. Three of the gunners are shown here with their coaches.

Cory Pylant, 13, with the Turner County team, said he wasn’t feeling well, but it didn’t show in his shooting. Cory won the Juniors High Overall Individual by breaking 136 out of a possible 150 targets in skeet and trap.

Michael Donohoo, 14, of the Turner County team won High Individual honors in Juniors trap, breaking 69 of 75 targets.

Rob Horton shoots with the Putnam County team and took first place in the skeet competition. He missed only three of 75 targets.

RESULTS:

Seniors, Team Skeet
1st Place Thomas 360
2nd Place Laurens 334
3rd Place Turner 323
out of a possible 400 targets.

Seniors, Team Overall
1st Place Thomas 714
2nd Place Turner 683
3rd Place Harris 675
out of a possible 800 targets.

Juniors, Skeet – Individual
1st Place Rob Horton Putnam Team 72
2nd Place Cory Pylant Turner Team 70
3rd Place Troy Crisp Putnam Team 69
out of a possible 75 targets.

Seniors, Team Trap
1st Place Coffee 369
2nd Place Harris 365
3rd Place Emanuel 361
out of a possible 400 targets.

Juniors, Trap – Individual
1st Place Michael Donohoo Turner Team 69
2nd Place Cole Macklin Laurens Team 69
3rd Place Drew Jones Tift Team 67
out of a possible 75 targets.

Juniors, Overall – Individual
1st Place Cory Pylant Turner Team 136
2nd Place Troy Crisp Putnam Team 132
3rd Place Rob Horton Putnam Team 132
out of a possible 150 targets.

Seniors, Skeet – Individual
1st Place Tyler Stephens Thomas Team 98
2nd Place Ethan Vinson Thomas Team 95
3rd Place Chris Smith Douglas Team 90
out of a possible 100 targets.

Seniors, Trap – Individual
1st Place Michael Henry Emanuel Team 95
2nd Place John Buxton Emanuel Team 95
3rd Place Caleb Allen Thomas Team 94
out of a possible 100 targets.

Seniors, Overall – Individual
1st Place John Buxton Emanuel Team 185
2nd Place Ethan Vinson Thomas Team 184
3rd Place Chris Smith Douglas Team 182
out of a possible 200 targets.

Juniors, Team Skeet
1st Place Putnam Team 270
2nd Place Turner Team 240
3rd Place Tift Team 218
out of a possible 300 targets.

Juniors, Team Trap
1st Place Turner Team 266
2nd Place Putnam Team 248
3rd Place Harris Team 248
out of a possible 300 targets.

Juniors, Team Overall
1st Place Putnam Team 518
2nd Place Turner Team 506
3rd Place Harris Team 455
out of a possible 600 target.