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Wesley Wilcox displays his reliable Krieghoff shotgun and the first-place trophy he won in the recent National Sporting Clays Association competition at San Antonio, Texas. (Photo by Robert Wilcox) 
Wesley Wilcox stands on a box to get into shooting position at a sporting clays station. (Photo by Robert Wilcox) Greenbrier teen gains reputation in sporting clay Saturday, Oct 16, 2004 By Joe Mosby Life is a blast these days for 14-year-old Wesley Wilcox - shotgun blasts, thousands of them. Wilcox, a Greenbrier resident, has blossomed into a nationally prominent competitor in sporting clay - a clay target-shooting regimen with far more demands than the long-familiar skeet and trap. In the recent National Sporting Clay Association tournament at San Antonio, Wilcox won the .410, 28-gauge and 20-gauge championships and placed high in the 12-gauge event among subjuniors, the younger shooters. He didn't slip up on anyone. His reputation has already been well established in the sporting clay field. Wilcox puts his shooting ability to good use, being an enthusiastic duck, deer and dove hunter. The sporting clay season has wound down for the year, so Wesley and his dad, Robert Wilcox, are ready for bowhunting for deer and other outdoor pursuits. There is something of a secret behind Wesley's shooting ability that has taken him to national acclaim. It's eyesight, or specifically, the ability to see strings of shotgun shot in the air. Not many people have this ability. Wesley said, "Tommy Lee Browning, my coach, can do it. I can, too. We can tell when one of us is off a little or when someone else is off (from their target)." Browning is a Wooster resident and veteran shotgun competitor. Robert Wilcox said, "Their eyesight is so good that they can read the name on a clay target in the air or see the lines or stripes on the target. They can see the strings of shotgun shot and tell if it is in front, behind, high or low." Compare this gift of amazing eyesight to baseballer Ted Williams. Years ago at his prime, he could virtually read the label on a ball being thrown his way at 90-plus miles an hour. He could count the laces on it before hitting it. Wesley said, "(Shooting) has become second nature for me, but you really have to focus to do it. Concentration is the thing." Wesley works with a Krieghoff K-80 shotgun, an over-under double barrel model. "It has tubes for the different gauges," he said. This means he uses one gun but inserts tubes into the barrels to change it from 12-gauge to 20-gauge, 28-gauge and .410 caliber - the four competitive classes in shotgun events. "I practice about three times a week then there is competition on the weekends," Wesley said. Robert added, "He goes through two or three cases (of shotgun shells) a week." The Wilcoxes do some reloading for practice ammunition, and Wesley has demonstrated enough ability so he gets some help with ammunition from manufacturers like Remington. Other sponsors are Krieghoff, Ballistic Specialties of Batesville and Polaris, the all-terrain vehicle company. Yes, ATVs come in handy in the sporting clays competitions for moving people and equipment around the courses. Sporting clays is a game designed to simulate actual hunting conditions. Targets are thrown at varying angles and directions, even bouncing along the ground in contrast to the fixed avenues for skeet and trap. Wesley said, "I guess my favorites on a sporting clays course are the trap shots (targets flying straight away from the shooter) and the 'by twos' which is one in the air and the rabbit on the ground." Least favorite? "The rabbit on the ground by itself." Wesley is the middle child in the household of Robert and Lisa Wilcox. Older sister Desiree is 21 and younger sister Heather is 8. He began using a shotgun in dove hunting at an early age then tried skeet shooting when he was 8. A year or so later, he competed in a skeet tournament and won a zone competition. "I tried sporting clays and stuck with it," he said. New possibilities are opening up with developments by ESPN and other enterprises for activities suitable for television. ESPN's Great Outdoor Games in growing. Teaching others how to effectively use a shotgun is another future prospect for Wesley. "I do some teaching now but not for money." There is a long-range goal, too. "I want to be the best in the world (in sporting clays)," he said. -------- Joe Mosby is the retired news editor of the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission and Arkansas' best known outdoor writer. His work is distributed by the Arkansas News Bureau in Little Rock. He can be reached by e-mail at jhmosby@cyberback.com. |
