Shooters to have a blast this weekend at Briar Rabbit

ZANESVILLE – When it comes to shooting a clay disc out of the air with a shotgun, it’s all about timing.

And clay shooter Bill “Batman” Mayer, who is looking to win his 10th Ohio Sporting Clays Championship this year, has perhaps the best timing in the state.

“But when people come out to an event like this, they need to know one thing,” Mayer said. “If you come out here to work hard, you won’t win. This event is all about having a good time, and you’ll only win if you’re having fun.”

This year, the Ohio Sporting Clays Championship will be hosted at Briar Rabbit Shooting Sports on Granger Hill Road, with events running Thursday through Sunday. Co-owner Elaine Crawmer said the decision by the Ohio Sporting Clays Association to award the event to Briar Rabbit for the next two years was a big deal for the shooting facility, which was purchased by Crawmer and her husband only a year and a half ago.

“Having this event will go a long way toward giving us recognition,” Crawmer said. “It’s been almost a full year of preparation, but we’re hoping it will bring more people over here to see just how much our facilities have improved.”

The sport of shooting clays involves a thrower — which is a battery-powered machine — launching clay discs at a distance of up to 100 yards. The shooters then attempt to pick the discs out of the air using a shotgun.

If the shot is on target, which requires the shooter to aim ahead of the rapidly flying object, the discs explode with a satisfying orb of orange debris flying outward, usually followed by a grunt of enjoyment from the shooter.

For Crawmer, who only began shooting after she and her husband purchased the facility, it’s an activity that became oddly addicting.

“At first I wasn’t a fan, but I have to say it really is fun,” Crawmer said. “We bring our whole family out, including our granddaughters, and they learn gun safety, respect, because there’s no messing around with safety here.”

The clay shooting community in Muskingum County is relatively small compared with other sports, Crawmer said, but the facility has about 500 members who show up regularly, often coming from Columbus and Newark to practice their aim.

About 275 shooters have signed up to compete in the championship event this weekend, a few traveling from as far as Florida, and even one man coming down from Canada.

All those competitors also resulted in a boost in tourism revenue, according to Kelly Ashby, vice president of Zanesville-Muskingum County Chamber of Commerce.

“This event will be a real benefit to the community for the next two years,” Ashby said.

Local hotels are offering discounts and tourism guides to visiting shooters, she said, and the event will help to draw attention to other attractions in the Muskingum area.

But despite the heavy competition at this year’s event, Mayer is still intent on winning his 10th championship. As he made his way down to the range, shotgun in hand, he predicted another victory.

“I’ll admit that when I start on that first shooting station, I do get a little nervous,” he said. “But then I ease into it, I find a good rhythm and I just start having fun.”

epsmith@gannett.com

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