Case: David Miller brings young shooters into fold for next record attempt

David Miller of CZ-USA firearms, who acted as the guide during outdoors columnist Larry Case's pheasant hunt in Greensburg, Kansas, in late 2017, poses with Mercy the bird dog.
David Miller of CZ-USA firearms, who acted as the guide during outdoors columnist Larry Case's pheasant hunt in Greensburg, Kansas, in late 2017, poses with Mercy the bird dog.

David Miller is at it again.

Many of you will recall that in 2015 Mr. Miller set a Guinness World Record for most clay targets broken with a shotgun in one hour, 3,653. If you're learning this fact for the first time, yes, you read that right: He shattered 3,653 targets in one hour, using CZ-USA shotguns to accomplish the feat.

I shoot shotguns and you shoot shotguns, but neither of us shoots shotguns like David Miller. He is a master class sporting clays competitor, he is the shotgun product manager and exhibition shooter for CZ-USA and he is absolutely rabid about shotgun shooting.

Miller is from Grain Valley, Missouri, and he seems to have a zest for life and shotgun shooting few of us possess.

I had the privilege of being present when he set this record, and it was a sight to behold. Not being one to rest on his laurels, Miller has come up with a new project for another Guinness mark - most clay targets broken by a team of five shooters in 12 hours! The current record was set in 2005 by a team at Kent Gun Club in Dartford, England. Those shooters broke 4,602 clays in 12 hours.

The cool thing Miller is doing is recruiting young shooters from all over the country to be his teammates for this historic record attempt. Two boys and two girls will be chosen to accompany him on the line when the starting gun is fired and the shotguns begin to warm up Oct. 12 at the Powder Creek Shooting Park in Lenexa, Kansas. The qualifying shoots for this event were held this summer at the Scholastic Clay Target Program nationals at the Cardinal Center in Marengo, Ohio, and at the AIM Grand Championship at the World Shooting Complex in Sparta, Illinois. AIM (Academics, Integrity, Marksmanship) is a division of the American Trap Association for young shooters.

photo Contributed photo / Larry Case

Here is the kicker for the selection process to be part of this event. The shooting scores are only 50% of the total score needed for the young people to shoot for the record. The other half of the score is based on an essay the prospective shooter must write on what shooting sports mean to them and why they deserve to be on the team. There is no doubt Miller could recruit a team of superb adult shotgun shooters to help him, but he didn't do that. Instead, he chose to include young shooters, and it will be a big win for the promotion of bringing new faces to the shooting sports world.

"CZ-USA is once again very excited to provide opportunities to the youth shooting community," Miller said in a release announcing the effort. "Our goal with this event is to provide a new experience for those young shooters who want to test their skills at the highest level. By supporting the SCTP & AIM shooting programs we are helping with the development of our youth. I am personally looking forward to meeting my new record-setting teammates!"

All shooters for this event will have the new CZ-USA 1012 shotgun, which uses the energy of recoil to eject the spent shell and load the next round. CZ-USA put the 1012 through the wringer by firing more than 5,000 rounds without cleaning or any lubricant. It should be noted the 1012 semi-automatics will not have extended magazines installed for this event; stock guns that hold four rounds of ammo will be used, so frequent loading will be part of the equation for the shooters.

Lord willing and the creek don't rise, I will be there Oct. 12 to watch this attempt at a Guinness World Record and report back to you. Miller and his staff at CZ-USA are to be commended for putting this event together because in these times we need to do all we can to promote shooting sports and bring on young shooters.

See you in Kansas!

"The Trail Less Traveled" is written by Larry Case, who lives in Fayette County, W.Va. You can write to him at larryocase3@gmail.com.

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