Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: MONDAY, August 23, 1993 TAG: 9310150336
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B6 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: BILL COCHRAN OUTDOOR EDITOR
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
Sarver was on a live-bird hunt in Nevada with several friends when the host asked if they'd like to shoot sporting clays.
``What in the world is that?'' they asked.
``We just fell in love with it,'' said Sarver, who lives in Daleville. ``I got to go out there three times, and every time all we'd shoot was sporting clays, even through we had the choice of shooting live birds.''
Now Sarver doesn't have to travel far to enjoy this fast-paced sport that has been sweeping across the nation. At least once a week he will travel to the range at The Homestead in Hot Springs or to the Buffalo Creek range in Bedford County or to one of the other two dozen commercial ranges that have popped up in Virginia from Richlands to the Eastern Shore.
Last September he shot at The Homestead range with Norman Schwarzkopf, and even got to fire the fine Beretta that the general received as a gift after the Gulf War.
In spite of the rapid growth and the high profile of sporting clays, Sarver is concerned that a large number of shooters and hunters still haven't sighted in on this sport. He has become something of a local ambassador.
``So many people think you are talking about skeet and trap, and this just bugs me,'' said Sarver, who is president of Architectural Concrete Products.
Sporting clays uses much the same disk-shaped targets as skeet and trap, but their flight is less predictable, like that of upland game, waterfowl, even rabbits scooting through the cover. Shooters move along a course while targets are released from traps often hidden in cover. The targets fly at varying angles and elevations.
Once a sportsman tries it, his reaction is likely to be the same as Sarver's - love at first sight, said Bob Ott, who operates the Buffalo Creek facility at Lynch Station.
``We haven't even scratched the surface yet,'' said Ott. ``Every weekend we have new shooters. We had a group from the Roanoke Ducks Unlimited Chapter Saturday, and probably 20 of the guys never had shot sporting clays.''
For sportsmen like Sarver, sporting clays is a year-round affair. Others see it as a seasonal chance to hone their shooting eye prior to the dove and other game seasons. They show up this time of the year, Ott said.
``They will come out here with their camouflage pumps, [one brought a 32- inch, full-choke duck gun the other day] and a lot of them will become year- round sporting clay shooters.''
That's the beauty of sporting clays, said Sarver.
``Once the hunting season is over, you don't have to put your gun in the case. You can shoot all year.''
When Ott opened Buffalo Creek a year ago, he had counted on an April-to- September season. But shooters wouldn't let him close. Now he is building a second, even more challenging, course that's designed for accomplished shooters and tournaments.
As the sport grows, so does interest in tournaments. The Virginia Dove Classic, sanctioned by the National Sporting Clays Association, is expected to draw 100 shooters to Buffalo Creek Saturday and Sunday.
The Homestead added a sporting clays course to its shooting facilities two years ago, then built a second course a year later to handle tournaments. Other established shooting facilities that have added sporting clays include the Roanoke Rifle and Revolver Club and the Franklin County Gun Club.
New this year is Quail Ridge Sporting Clays, opened near Lexington by Chris Salb.
``I had a small sports store on Long Island,'' Salb said. ``I shot skeet and trap and that got boring. Somebody introduced me to sporting clays and [here it comes again] I fell in love with it.''
The love affair put Salb on the road in search of a spot to build a range. His brother, Jeff, who went to Washington and Lee, said, ``Why not look around the Lexington area?''
He found 100 acres there that became home of Quail Ridge, and business has exceeded his expectations.
by CNB