Aiming for clay: Shaw member joins USAF Skeet Team Published July 13, 2006 By Senior Airman John Gordinier 20th Fighter Wing Public Affairs SHAW AIR FORCE BASE, S.C. -- At least seven times a month, he heads down to the skeet and trap range to do a little shooting practice with his shotguns. With the command of “pull,” he fills the sky with lead and shatters nearly every airborne clay pigeon with superb accuracy. In fact, Master Sgt. John Yanick, 20th Component Maintenance Squadron NCO in charge of fuel systems repair, said his averages are all above 94 percent accuracy, with his best average of 97.4 percent with the 28-gauge shotgun. “In skeet and trap there are four different types of weapons you can use,” Sgt. Yanick said. “They are the 12, 20 and 28-gauge shotguns, and the 410-bore shotgun. The major difference between them is the amount of pellets in the shell. The 12-gauge shell has the most pellets. The amount of pellets gradually goes down from the 12-gauge to the 410-bore shell meaning the shooter must be more accurate with the 410-bore shotgun than with the rest of the weapons because it has less pellets to strike the target.” The averages only count when shooting in competitions, he said. An individual’s military minimum yearly average is figured after 1000 shots with the 12-gauge and 800 shots with the other three gauges in tournaments. Once the average is calculated, the shooter will be given a class. The highest class is AAA and consists of the best shooters. Below that is AA, then A; all the way down to E class. Classes may change throughout the year, but a shooter can only go down one class per gauge in one year. He can go up as many times as his scores will allow. He uses the average of the last five events to determine what class he will shoot in at the next match. Sgt. Yanick is in the AA class for the 28-gauge and 410-bore shotguns, and in the A class for the 12 and 20-gauge. Sgt. Yanick was invited to join the United States Air Force Skeet Team and represented the Air Force in the 2006 Armed Services Skeet Championship at Fort Bragg, N.C, May 11-20. This is one of two competitions the Air Force Skeet Team enters every year. The other competition is the World Skeet Championship, which is held in San Antonio around October every year. Sgt. Yanick did an outstanding job and placed in a few events. According to Maj. Vernon Lucas, USAF Skeet Team captain, Sgt. Yanick placed first in the A class 410-bore competition and place third in the A class 12-gauge competition. Overall, the Air Force Skeet Team did exceptionally well. “They won four out of five events along with several individual honors,” Maj. Lucas said. “At this year’s event, Sgt. Yanick set the event on fire and was a standout performer. He shot 581 out of 600 targets (making him) a true professional and competitor. As one of three new shooters on this year’s (Air Force) team, Sgt. Yanick set a foundation for future events.