Behind The Break - The Ultimate Clay Target Podcast

Jim’s passion for guns came from his father, Jerry, who was a gunsmith when Jim was growing up. After high school, Jim attended Trinidad State Junior College in Colorado. He completed his degree in Gunsmithing in 1984. Afterward, he served a year apprenticeship in Kalispell, MT under three well known gun makers. In ’86, he went on his own to do contract work for Champlin Firearms in Enid, OK. While he was building his clientele, he met an English gunsmith, Jack Rowe, who fostered his desire to learn about shotguns. At which time he began competing in sporting clay competitions. A few years later, he moved to Kansas and started to focus more on shotgun stocks and now specializes in competition and hunting stocks. He has built a clientele of shooters from around the world. Now he travels and sets up shop at a few select locations a year building pattern stocks for his clientele. Currently, he is located outside Wichita, Kansas.

Dan served for many years in the US Army as a shooting instructor for the US Army Marksmanship Unit. Carlisle competed at the 1984 and 1988 Olympics, with a bronze medal in trap in 1984, and shooting both trap and skeet at the 1988 Seoul Games. He was a seven-time gold medalist at the Pan American Games, winning the individual trap title in 1975, 1983, and 1987. Dan won the 1982 World Championships in skeet shooting, but won more titles in trap. He was a six-time US Champion in trap, and in 1985-86, won both US titles in trap and skeet. In civilian life, he continued as a shooting instructor at the Gold Medal Shooting Academy. Dan was inducted into the US Army Marksmanship Unit Hall of Fame in 2008. He was the USA coach for trap shooting at the 2008 Olympics. Fennell Shooting School   Fennell Shooting School Facebook   Dan Carlisle Facebook

A very disciplined guy with an amazing story and a lot of drive.  Cameron Hicks is a Special Forces Green Beret in the US Army.  From a young age he was introduced to clay shooting by his dad, Greg Hicks with friends Dan Carlisle and Will Fennell.  Cameron started shooting clays just a short time ago because he simply needed something positive in his life.  He has progressed really fast, reaching master class in only 4 months, with the help of his coaches and is now shooting at the top of master class in the NSCA. Cameron has built a training facility on his farm and coaches students in his free time.  He is very dedicated to improving his game and enjoys seeing other people's progression. We are glad that we had time to sit down with him and find out more about his pursuit to being one of the best shooters in the business. Cameron Hicks on Facebook Cameron Hicks on Instagram Fennell Shooting School

As a Mental Trainer & Hypnotist, I have found great avenues to reach out & assist others in experiencing greater health & wellness, peak performance, inner peace, tremendous joy & ultimately unlimited love. After earning a Bachelors in Psychology from Westfield State College my journey led me to Amelia Island, Florida. In the first few years of my profession, I recognized a strong desire to help people make more profound changes. So, in 2001, I acquired professional training in hypnosis at Omni Hypnosis Training Center. Enabling me to be a Board Certified Hypnotist, recognized by the National Board of Hypnosis Education and Certification and accredited by the National Guild of Hypnotists as a Certified Hypnotherapist. I have also received advanced training as a Certified Forensic Hypnotist. Since 1994, I have been professionally helping people to overcome life's challenges, enabling them to achieve their goals, obtain personal fulfillment, and live life in joy. I absolutely love the work I do and am passionate about helping others achieve healthier, happier, more productive lives. I have been privileged to work with clients globally, including mainstream and elite athletes. Many are World Champions, Hall of Famers, Team USA & Olympians in Golf, Clay Shooting, Surfing & Endurance Sports; including 25+ PGA TOUR Professional Golfers (averaging 219% increase in earnings after work together), 1000's of Competing Clay Shooters. I am proud to say I have assisted great athletes like Laura Diaz, Will MacKenzie, Cameron Beckman, Ted Purdy; as well as, 2 time Sporting Clays World Champion, John Woolley and Wendell Cherry; as well as Kayle Browning who at a young age has won National titles, broke National & International records, won medals in world cups and earned her position on the US Olympic Team. I have also worked some with Pro Boxers, Pro Tennis Players and Student-Athletes at Hank Haney IJGA. In 2008, I had the opportunity to work with PGA TOUR Pro, Vijay Singh, on his positive mental attitude and putting. This transformation contributed to his two FedEx Cup Playoff wins and his earning of the 2008 FedEx Cup Championship. DawnGrant.com AmeliaShotgunSports.com Dawn Grant's YouTube Channel Amelia Shotgun Sports YouTube Channel

In this episode we discuss how to get started into clay target shooting.  What you need as far as equipment and guns, what to expect when you go to a gun club for your first time, how to find a coach and what to expect, basic practice and so much more.  This is the first time we have all been together to record an episode in the same room in a while, so be prepared for a fair amount of jokes.  We also introduce our new "assistant".

We talked to Derrick to find out what it took for him to make the 2020 Olympic team, the training involved, the sacrifices and the reward.  We talked about his outlook on the current sporting season, how he thinks it will affect the sport and what to expect once it starts back up.  Derrick also goes into detail about what bunker trap is and how to shoot it. We would like to thank Derrick for taking out valuable time to speak with us and we all wish him the best in the upcoming season and the upcoming olympics in Tokyo.

We recorded this episode right before Coronavirus hit the entire world.  We discussed past tournaments and shoots that were upcoming along with Alex's super sporting win and Kevin's FITASC win at the Seminole Cup. We had no idea that the sporting clay world would be turned on its head with the spread of the virus, so here is what it was like not knowing that would happen and the conversation about upcoming events.  We touched on the sub-gauge rule, master class and and Kevin gives his opinion on the Doug Vine targets at the Gator Cup.

Kevin and Alex talked to Zach and Desi about what they have been doing in their off time during the quarantine now that they live in Savannah Georgia.  Zach is thinking of building golf carts and Desi is building furniture along with some fishing and shooting in between.  I think everyone agrees that we are all ready to start shooting again.

Kevin and Alex sat down with the new owner of thew Meadows Gun Club in Forsyth Georgia, Dominic Bethel.  Dominic discusses all of the new ideas he has and what he is implementing at the club.  One of Georgia's premier clubs is going to get even better with another course, a covered pavilion, new trap and skeet fields and so much more.  We are glad to be associated with the Meadows and we are really excited to see what is coming up in the future.

Find out how Pilla Performance Eyewear started, how it has evolved and how it is now the leading eyewear in shooting sports. We also discuss other sports and professional fields that Pilla eyewear is used.

Tom Seay, one of Wendell's students, sits down and asks questions only he knows how to ask to be able to get a little further into the methods that one of the greats teach.  Learn even more about the thought process that goes into simply shooting a clay target.......or is it that simple?

We get into the conversation about porting and how to overall make your gun shoot smoother and more consistent.  We also discussed the spreader shell and find out just how they work.......or do they really work? Heritage Gunsmiths, Inc. was established over 50 years ago by Ken Eyster. Dedicated to serving discriminating shooters and sportsman, Heritage Gunsmiths, Inc. provides custom gunsmithing to insure the performance optimization of existing quality shotgun barrels, stock work, and decorative gun engraving as well as other products and services. Heritage Gunsmiths, Inc. does not use any automatic or production tooling, but rather completes each operation with individual handwork and hand-operated machines to insure each barrel is correctly adapted to achieve the best performance with the shooter.

Continuing on from the first episode, we find out about the post-shot routine and continue to listen to how and why Wendell does certain things at tournaments and during practice.  We also discuss a question that Anthony Matarese Jr. sent in about aging and eyesight.

We were able to sit down with one of the sport's greatest shooters and coaches and get some very valuable information on what it takes to be a great shooter and what it takes to be a great coach.  Find out what the "grid system" is and how to use it.  Listen to how Wendell learned to shoot clays and how he teaches his students.  Find out what a true practice session is and so much more in the first episode of the Wendell Cherry Series.

This is the final episode of the Beretta Champions Series from Shot Show 2020 in Las Vegas. We really appreciate the time that everyone put into this and Beretta USA for arranging everyone in attendance. Visit Beretta USA for unbelievable products and to learn more about their competition shotguns.

This is a Behind The Break Comedy moment.  This is not a clay target based episode at all, but it will amaze you at the people in this world, what they do for a job and just what they know.  Just a little fun with this short bonus episode.  Anthony and Diane had a conversation with a cab driver leaving the Shot Show in Las Vegas and come to find out, he knew a lot more about guns than Anthony expected! Featuring: Diane the squirrel hunter

In this episode, we continue talking with some of the best in the world.  We discuss how big of a part the mental game plays at a high level, how to set obtainable goals, discipline, dedication and a lot more. Visit Beretta USA for more information on some of the best products in the world!

Beretta invited Justin to the SHOT show in Las Vegas to interview 6 of the best shooters in the entire world.  If you want to know how Kim Rhode, Vincent Hancock, Zach Kienbaum, Desirae Edmunds, Diane Sorantino and Anthony Matarese Jr have all been successful in shooting, this is the series for you. In this episode, the Beretta Champions introduce themselves and we get into how dedicated you have to be to obtain your shooting goals. Welcome to the "Road to Victory". Click here to check out Beretta USA!

We were at Shot Show 2020 and caught up with the Winchester Product Manager, Ben Frank.  Ben is very knowledgeable about ammunition as well as the parts and pieces that go into making one of the most legendary shotgun shells in the world, The AA. We also had Winchester team members Zach Kienbaum, Desirae Edmunds and Anthony Matarese Jr sitting in on this episode with us.  Zach and Desi had a lot of input on the development of this very nice looking, awesome performing and very premium shell that has just hit the market.

In this episode, Tom discusses how he has prepared for the upcoming 2020 season, what he has changed in his routine that has made him shoot better.  We also cover what it takes to become one of the best Sub Junior / Junior shooters in the very competitive concurrent along with explaining what it takes to gain sponsorships from major companies in the sport as a young shooter.