Sea Island Life Magazine Fall/Winter 2014 | Page 47

A SHOTGUN
HISTORY

The origin of shotgun sports dates back to the
late 1700s when English sportsmen shot live
pigeons released from box traps. Today’s popular request to release a clay target—the “pull”
call—is derived from the pull cables used to
release the live birds.
In the early 1900s, several British shooting
schools switched from using pigeons to clay
targets for practice.
England held the first British Open Sporting
Clay Shooting Championship in 1925, but interest in sporting clays only developed in the U.S.
after Bob Brister wrote about the sport in Field
& Stream magazine in 1980. Within 10 years,
the United States Sporting Clays Association
and the National Sporting Clays Association
were formed, and in 2013, the Professional
Sporting Clays Association was formed by Dan
Carlisle and Mike Osowski.

Jessica Mitchell Kent (shown shooting) grew up shooting sporting clays with her father.

A Family Tradition
The Seminole Cup is one of the well-known
American tournaments that’s gained notoriety for the sport and offers a hefty purse for
the champion.
“We are proud and honored to host the
Seminole Cup here at Sea Island,” explains
Sea Island’s Director of Outdoor Pursuits
Jon Kent. “Neil Chadwick, one of sporting
clays’ top target setters, is designing the
presentations for this year’s cup. We are
expecting about 500 shooters and will offer
days—a great way to see how you match up
against the pros.”
has gathered a great lineup of sponsors and

Sea Island, Kent has a personal connection
to the competition. His father-in-law, Randy
Mitchell, who owned Seminole Gunworks,
started the Seminole Cup 22 years ago at a
small shooting club in Florida. It’s been a

spend quality time together.”
Despite her absence from the sport,

“Sporting clays is a sport where ladies
can compete with men,” she explains. “It’s
ladies are winning. It won’t be long before
our national champion is a woman.”
Sporting clays also draws shooters of all
ages. “It’s a great sport that the entire family can enjoy together,” she adds. “For kids,
I think that 12 is a good age to start—if they
can handle a gun from a mechanical standthe maturity of the child.”
To get acquainted with sporting clays,
Jessica Kent and other shooters suggest joining a local club to gain regular access to facilities and meet other shooters who can help
tion in sporting clays, skeet and trap that can
be customized for shooters of all ages and
also set up practice sessions at the facilities.

Mitchell’s daughter, Jessica Mitchell Kent,
was a shooting phenom 14 years ago, and
continued honing her skills after marrying
Jon Kent. She made Team USA twice and has

the couple’s three sons.
“I started shooting when I was 15,” she
describes. “I was a daddy’s girl, and sporting
clays was a way for my father and [me] to

form earlier rather than later. All of the pros
agree, practice is key to the sport—shoot,
shoot, shoot.
Although Jessica Kent put sporting clays
on a back burner, she says the hiatus is end“It’s a great sport and I’m looking forward to
jumping back in.”

The trap releases clay discs called pigeons.

FALL/WINTER 2014/15 | SEA ISL AND LIFE 47

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