FORT HARRISON, Mont. - Recently, two Montana National Guard members participated in the 2011 Armed Services Skeet Championship held at the Conservation Park of Richmond in Charles City, Va., from May 16 to May 20.
All 140 competitors participated in five events. The first four events are based on the gauge of the shotgun: 12-guage, 20-gauge, 28-gauge, and a .410 gauge. The last event was shooting doubles, or shooting two targets thrown at once rather than one at a time. A shooter has one hundred shots for each event.
The shoot is open to all military and retired military from any service. Categories are based on a shooters skill level with D category being the lowest and AAA being the highest.
On the final day, Sgt. 1st Class Joe Buffa, a local of Butte, Mont., and a non-commissioned officer with the Montana National Guard Recruiting and Retention Battalion, was named the first guardsman to win the High Overall Champion title breaking 498 out of 500 targets. Lt. Col. Mark Boettcher of Helena, Mont., and commander of the MTNG Recruiting and Retention Battalion, won the highest overall for C category.
Buffa, who shot in competition with the Army Marksmanship Unit for 13 years, said it felt really good to win the champion title.
“There are a lot of skeet legends that have won the Armed Forces Skeet Championship, and now my name is in the same circle as these premiere shooters that include Stuart Brown and Mike Schmidt Jr.,” Buffa said. His outstanding score also enabled the Army Skeet Team to capture first place in the team category.
Boettcher also said he was proud to be the winner for his category. However, it did not match the feeling of watching one of his soldiers win the overall championship title.
“Just being a Montana guardsman and having a Montana guardsman go and do as well as he did, it is just a phenomenal feeling,” Boettcher said.
Having competed in many skeet championships, Buffa feels one of the best parts of shooting is meeting other service members who also enjoy the sport.
It's great to get together with other shooters and create an esprit de corps among all the military branches competing, said Buffa.
Both Buffa and Boettcher went on to say that the camaraderie and the chance to shoot with other members of the military was invaluable.
“The coolest part was having the chance to represent the Montana National Guard at such a prestigious level and walk away the overall winner,” said Buffa.
| Date Taken: | 07.01.2011 |
| Date Posted: | 07.03.2011 01:15 |
| Story ID: | 73163 |
| Location: | FORT HARRISON, MT, US |
| Web Views: | 301 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, Montana guardsman wins skeet tournament, by SFC Britney Hiatt, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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