The 2023 WV Hall of Fame Shoot at Marshall County Hunting & Fishing Club was held on June 10 & 11. The grounds had been prepared for the event, impeccable as always, new asphalt blacktopped access road and parking area. Two new PatTraps had been installed along with BRB voice calls.The cashiering crew setup the computers the day before, the weather forecast was perfect what could go wrong?
An unexpected glitch rendered the networked cashiering system useless. Rusty McHenry quickly setup a standalone system to get shooting started. Despite the delayed start shooting ran smoothly the rest of the day. Forty six entries in Event #1 Gene Huffman Singles Championship only one perfect century was recorded that by Daniel VanBeek taking the Champion crown; Ray Gajoch with a 98 for Class A honors; Michael S Tenley broke 97 to claim Class B; William McGivern’s 96 took Class C; Thomas Arrington carded a 94 for Class D laurels. Category winners were: Chazz Bates, 96, Junior; Cooper McCaslin, 95, Sub Junior; Dennis Cooperrider, 98, Veteran and Darrel Murray, 95, Senior Veteran.
Event #2 Gerald Narigon Preliminary Handicap saw 43 shooters take the line and 19 yard Chazz Bates broke the top score of 95 for champion. Winners in the yardage groups were: (19-21) Eric Riddle, 93; (22-24) Cooperrider and Kelly Ramsey tied at 91 Ramsey took the trophy after Cooperrider foreited; (25-27) Michael Benlock, 90. The computer issues were solved by some late night rebuilding of the program and Sunday saw no issues. Thirty one shooters shot Event #3 Pat & Jack Gandee Doubles. Michael Kemp broke the top score of 95 to earn Champion. Class winners were: Class A, Ray Gajoch, 94; Class B, Ethan Ferris, 93; Class C, Kelly Ramsey, 81.Sunday’s Handicap Event #4 James Marcum Handicap Championship was won by Sub Junior Cooper McCaslin from the 19.5 yard line with a score of 94. Yardage group winners were: (19-21) William McGivern, 93; (22-24) Megan Snyder, 90; (25-27) Michael Kemp and Ray Gajoch knotted at 93 choose to flip with Gajoch picking the right side of the coin. Category winners were: Ethan Tenley, 89, Junior; Ethan Ferris, 88, Sub Junior; Robert Harden, 84, Veteran; Darrell Dowler, 91, Senior Veteran.High All Around honors were tied by two shooters Michael Kemp and Ray Gajock at 285 choosing again to flip Kemp picked the winning side.
The Emerson Lilley Memorial Buckle is donated by Larry & Kenny Lilley in memory of their father, Emerson Lilley, the buckle is given to the shooter who has the highest score in the Singles Championship, Preliminary Handicap and Handicap Championship. Ray Gajoch shot a 280 to claim the buckle.
Jeremiah Beaver of Whitetails Unlimited presented a $1000.00 check to Bob Harden, WVATA Delegate, as a donation to the James A Schad Memorial Fund which will benefit the WV Aim Youth shooting program. This is the third consecutive year Whitetails Unlimited have generously supported youth shooting in WV.The food service was top notch the entire weekend with breakfast and lunch being available. Shooters enjoyed a free meal Saturday with choice of entrees, sides, dessert and beverages. Thanks for a job well done to Shawn & Charity Carroll, Chris & Denise Scamehorn and Ron & Cindy Stollar. The members of Marshall County have single-handedly taken on the WV Hall of Fame shoot for at least the last 14 years. Twice during those years, catastrophic flooding occurred prior to the shoot and they pulled it off. You would have never known there was a flood. Our thanks to Larry Lilley, Kenny Lilley, Bill King Jr., Jim French, Kathy Snyder, Mary Gump, Buck Mattone and Dan Morris of Marshall County Hunting & Fishing who have tirelessly worked to make the WV Hall of Fame shoot a success. Without their support, we would not be able to have this event.
