If the thought of clay target shooting conjures a movie scene with men in tweed jackets shouting “pull” and then firing away at a target – rethink the sport. Today, trap, skeet and sporting clays shooting is an increasingly popular sport with male and female high school and college students.

In Tennessee, participation in clay target shooting reflects the area’s love of hunting. Seth Paugh, an avid hunter since he was a youngster, pursued clay target shooting as an athletic outlet while a home-schooled high school student. The Pleasant View sophomore found he could practice his marksmanship, extend his “hunting” season and enjoy competition with his friends. Paugh brought his interest to UT Martin and quickly spread his enthusiasm for the sport.

mary reason we have a shotgun shooting program,” said Dr. Jim Byford (‘66), UT Martin College of Agriculture and Applied Sciences dean. Byford had known Seth’s father, Herb, for a long time. When Byford heard of Seth’s interest, he invited father and son on a squirrel hunt for UT Martin wildlife students. Talk during the hunt and later with Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency personnel about the growing popularity of the sport among college-bound students led Byford to organize a meeting of interested parties.

Paugh recruited a number of UT Martin students as potential shooting club participants, and the club was formed in fall 2006. Dr. Phil Young, chairholder, UT Martin Hendrix Chair in Free Enterprise and an avid sporting clays shooter, signed on as the Clay Target Club adviser.

Young became involved in the clay target sports in the mid-1990s during his tenure at Southwest Missouri State University. He often was accompanied to the local shooting complex by his 12-year-old daughter, who soon was shooting targets, too. “It soon became very evident that clay target sports are a great activity for high school students and one that they could continue to pursue and enjoy well into their adult years,” said Young. “My daughter is now 25 and married, but we still enjoy meeting at the shooting complex to break a few targets.”
When Young arrived at UT Martin in 2005, he and Dr. Byford talked about how good it would be for UT Martin to have a clay target club.”

“I agreed to serve as adviser because I believe it is important to offer students a form of recreation that they can continue to enjoy long after their college years,” said Young.

“We started out with 20 members and have grown to 50 male and female participants,” said Paugh, club president. A few had clay target experience, but most just have a hunting background. In a couple of cases, club members had no hunting or shooting experience and had to learn everything.

During the club formation, Byford contacted Steve Vaughn, retired Union City businessman, who agreed to be a volunteer coach. Vaughn has competed in Amateur Trapshooting Association events for more than a decade. Later, when the UT Martin Department of Health and Human Performance wanted another physical activity class, Vaughn was asked to teach a two-hour credit course, Clay Target Shooting. Since that time, he has studied teaching and coaching techniques extensively and earned certification as a shotgun coach and range safety officer.

“Being retired, I was looking for an opportunity to work with young people and have a positive influence on their lives,” said Vaughn. “I enjoy competitive shooting sports and believe that competition, when taught right, will teach positive values.” He added, “There is a strong and growing interest in clay target shooting in the SCTP (Scholastic Clay Target Program) program.” Echoing Young’s assessment of the club’s recruiting potential, he said, “We believe that as these students start looking for a college, one of the criteria they will use is whether or not there is a competitive clay target team at the school. In fact, I’ve had several inquiries from students and parents.”

As for the initial club members, Vaughn said, “I have been very impressed with the vast majority of the students. Most came not knowing what to expect and just wanting to shoot. They didn’t realize how hard it really is to shoot targets. Then they get “bitten” by the competitive bug and want to learn competitive techniques.”

“We have a great group of students involved,” agreed Young. “Anyone who is interested in shooting is encouraged to become involved. Women are especially encouraged and can be very successful.” Young or Vaughn can arrange for the loan of a gun to start out so a team member can learn about equipment needs before purchasing a gun.

During the 2006-07 academic year, a few members participated in ATA-registered shoots. Last summer, Tennessee hosted its first state Junior Olympic Trapshooting Championship for those 20 years old and younger. At that event, two UT Martin shooters qualified for a trip to the Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs to compete in the National Junior Olympics and a chance at the Olympic Development Team. “We did not win any awards, but the experience was something that cannot be measured,” said Vaughn.

“The Clay Target Club is doing very well,” said Young. The UT Martin, Murray State and Middle Tennessee State University clay target clubs competed in March, an event Young hopes becomes an annual outing. The UT Martin club brought home nine of 10 places awarded in the three-event match.

In April, Vaughn took seven students to San Antonio to the Association of College Unions International 40th Annual Intercollegiate Clay Target Championships with 295 competitors and 38 schools attending. This summer, more team members will try to qualify at the state Junior Olympics for an invitation to attend the Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs.

“The program has grown way beyond what had I expected,” Vaughn said. “I enjoy working with the students very much, especially the ones who are interested in competing and are willing to put forth the extra work to reach their potential.”

Speaking of potential, he added, “The potential for developing a highly competitive shotgun team is very real; however, we have some major obstacles to overcome. This is a very expensive sport if you practice enough to be competitive. To truly develop a team that can compete with the best will take a steady source of money to offset the cost of practice and competition expenses.” He noted the Office of Campus Recreation has supported the team and helped send members to the San Antonio match.

Vaughn also sees as a critical need a shooting sports facility to adequately practice. Currently, the team practices at Vaughn’s home range. “We need a UT Martin home club shotgun range that includes American and International trap and skeet, short- and long-range rifle, pistol, archery and sporting clays.” Such a facility, he said, “would support a shotgun competition as well as provide recreational shooting and training for the campus community, law enforcement and military personnel, and the general public.”

Paugh enjoys the competition with teammates and other schools, with prizes and money to be won, but mainly considers it a good pastime. “It’s a lot of fun. It helps you practice when you’re not hunting. Shooting is more of a mental than a physical thing.”

In the past seven years, Paugh said the number of young clay target shooters in Tennessee has grown substantially. His first state competitions as a high schooler had approximately 300 shooters involved. Today, he said, those same events are attracting more than 2,000 shooters. “It’s growing in popularity.”