What every sporting clays shooter
wants to hear.

Cameron Hicks is an aspiring young shooter originally from Virginia, but now calls North Carolina home. A special forces veteran with a love of hunting and smashing clay targets, Cameron has been coached and mentored by some of the best shooters to ever shoulder a shotgun! Cameron has burned hundreds of thousands of rounds practicing and trying to perfect his game. His raw determination and relentless pursuit of the game make him a threat at any tournament he attends. Cameron is very outspoken about his opinions and this interview was informative, enlightening, and very entertaining!

If you are a relatively new shooter, you may recognize the names Cyrus and/or Ashleigh Alexander from Shotgun Gear Trap rentals, as they are often at large events across the country helping organize events, as well as providing equipment and setting targets. However, if you have been in sporting clays for a little while, you will recognize Ashleigh as a multi-time, Ladies World, National, and US Open champion! From a very young age, Ashleigh found great success, along with the help of coaches like Wendall Cherry, at the very top of the game! She was also inducted into the NSCA Hall of Fame in 2024. However, do not think for a second that Cyrus himself doesn’t know how to shoot! Cyrus was a young shooter that competed through college and also had some success. Even still, as their business, married life, and now parents of a young child, have kept them busy, they still love competing! This was a fun episode with lots of insights from two fierce competitors, industry icons, and truly great people!

Sometimes great competitors fly under the radar and out of the limelight. Dr. David Dalu is just that person. Yes, you read that right, Doctor! David was an ER surgeon and has now taken the less dramatic road into sporting clays. In 2018, David began his journey and with a little help from Anthony Matarese Jr., David has achieved 2025 USA Sporting Clays team for FITASC and alternate for the sporting team. That is no small order! His journey through the ranks, his approach to the game, his practice and training, nutrition, …we dive into all of it! David is a fascinating individual, and an amazing shooter, and it was an honor to have him on the show!

Travis Mears is an extremely talented shooter. Not only does he compete at the highest level of the game, Travis is also the owner of Defender Outdoors Clay Sports Ranch in Fort Worth TX, does a trick shooting shows around the globe, coaches, hunts, and still manages to spend time raising a family. Travis travels the circuit and regularly squads with Cory Kruse, Greg Wolf, and Anthony Matarese Jr. Finding success at a young age in the clay target world, he has now carried that success into multiple endeavors within the industry. His story is unique, entertaining, educational, and he was a lot of fun to have on the show! This is an episode you will surely enjoy!

The NSSF, National Shooting Sports Foundation, conducts surveys for research to determine how many people actively go shooting, and compete in shooting sports, as well as which disciplines they compete in. We are joined by NSSF President, Joe Bartozzi, to discuss the latest survey results and what they mean. We also cover can be done to help improve these numbers, programs the NSSF offers, what we can do as individuals, and we even theorize what is causing fluctuations in the numbers. This is a very informative episode with lots of great insights as to what is happening in the world of shooting sports!

We have received a lot of emails suggesting that we cover some of the basics when it comes to gear. Even though we have addressed this in bits and pieces through several other episodes, we thought we would put it together all in one. Maybe you have been shooting for a while but have you really thought about some of the topics we discuss here? Maybe it’s time for a change? Or, are you already a veteran competitor and have your gear figured out? Then stick around as we do a Questions for the Coaches segment with none other than mister Kevin DeMichiel !