2004 Ducks Unlimited Continental: Best Ever!Bill McGuire tops 322 shooters to win the Music City extravaganza!It wasn’t “duck hunting” weather April 15th -19th in Nashville, Tennessee as 75-degree temperatures and brilliant sunshine prevailed for the 2004 Ducks Unlimited Continental. The fun-filled, four-day extravaganza gave sportsmen and sportswomen the opportunity to compete in one of the “can’t miss” clay target events of the year, as well as the satisfaction of supporting the outstanding conservation efforts of Ducks Unlimited. The event quickly “sold out” as competitors arrived from across the country to demonstrate their support for the mission of Ducks Unlimited and to applaud its unparalleled success in waterfowl conservation. With that said, the weekend was a BLAST! A legion of motor homes, fifth wheels, trucks and cars arriving early at the Tennessee Clay Target Complex marked the start of the event on Thursday. For those who have not been to the Tennessee Clay Target Complex, be prepared for a pleasant surprise. The facilities are excellent, beginning with the new clubhouse and deck with a spectacular view of the Cumberland River. Located on 192 acres in the heart of downtown Nashville and only minutes from Bass Pro Shops, Opry Mills mall and the Grand Old Opry, the Tennessee Clay Target Complex guarantees much for visitors to do and see. Several competitors attended the Grand Old Opry and later, enjoyed a dinner at the historic Stockyard restaurant while others chose dinner and entertainment aboard the General Jackson river boat...all only a few minutes from the shooting complex! Many volunteers donated their time to make the event successful. Wildlife officers from the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency served as scorekeepers for the event. The compensation paid for the wildlife officer’s services during the shoot will go into a special fund to develop youth Scholastic Clay Target Programs throughout the state!
Special thanks are in order for all the volunteers. Mattarelli traps, provided by Briley Manufacturing, were used to set the course. The Mattarelli traps are most impressive machines, which performed exceptionally well throughout the 4-day competition. The event was also lucky to have Andy Perkins of Promatic USA in attendance. Andy brought a tractor-trailer load of his proven traps, which he generously allowed to be used to fill-out the course and for fun games. Also, thanks to Tennessee’s Ray Morris for bringing his fine commercial-grade GP traps to the shoot. Rayco’s GP traps were used on the tournament five-stand and worked flawlessly. Thank you, Ray and Andy. Briley Manufacturing allowed Jason Menke to set the 18-station sporting clays course. One of the best at setting tournament courses, Jason dumbfounded many of the finest shooters in the nation. Jason set the course with just the right combination of fun and challenge. The targets were never long, but the target lines were often complex and deceiving. Many good shooters were scratching their heads after missing, what seemed to be, easy targets. The purpose of a Ducks Unlimited shoot is for everyone to have fun, not to challenge the average shooter with hardly-hittable targets. While every shooter was striving to win the NSCA event and a share of the $80,000.00 in prizes, the competition was certainly kept light-hearted. During the shoot, Jon Kruger was seen assisting a 12 year-old sub-junior with his technique. Wendell Cherry was encouraging his squad and offering helpful advice while Bill McGuire was always friendly and conversational between stations. The event began with the five-stand and sub-gauge events on Thursday. B-class shooter, Joey Pulley of Erin Tennessee, won the 50-target five-stand competition with excellent scores of 23 and 25. The 410-title went to George Stephan, while the 28-gauge was won by Bill McGuire. The 20-gauge victory went to Mike Walters.
The 100 target preliminary event, shot on Friday, was won by Tony Kell with an almost perfect score of 99! Sixteen year old Greg Jackson of Dickson, Tennessee won the junior concurrent with an excellent score of 96 to edge past Brandon Powell’s score of 94. Young Travis Carroll won the sub-junior concurrent with a great score of 87 while Sam Jackson won runner-up. Tina Williams claimed the ladies concurrent while Jack Concannon took veteran honors. The completion of the main event on Sunday resulted in a three-way tie with scores of 194 between Bill McGuire, Mike Redmond and Brandon Powell. The tie set up an exciting five-stand shoot-off to determine the event champion. With a large audience gathered under a picturesque sunset, Bill McGuire proceeded with surgical precision to shoot a perfect score of 25 to win the championship. Tennessee’s Mike Redmond claimed M1, while junior-phenom and Team USA member, Brandon Powell, took M2 honors. The shoot-off was a very exciting conclusion to this very enjoyable event. The concurrent titles for the main event went to Greg Jackson, Hub Johnson IV, Timmy Roberts, Junior; Travis Carroll, Sam Jackson, sub-junior; Tina Williams, Cindy Barton, Susan Wall, ladies; Jack Concannon, Larry Shell and Robert Carwile, veterans. Congratulations to all of the winners. It takes a lot of work and organization to conduct a large shoot. Detailed planning and long hours of preparation are required. Gary Goodpasture and his staff at Ducks Unlimited as well as Chad Williams and his staff at the Tennessee Clay Target Complex did an exemplary job. All are to be commended. Without a doubt, the 2004 Ducks Unlimited Continental was a bunch of fun!
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