Indiana Sporting Clays Veteran Bob Self Passes Away

Here is a nice profile of Bob Self from the Caesar Guerini website. He certainly put together an impressive shooting resume... Bob is a multi-talented individual who has immersed himself in about every facet of the clay shooting world. In 1973, at the age of 21, he began shooting black powder muzzle loaders. By 1993 he won his first national competition in trap and trap doubles for black powder shotgun. Bob then transitioned to sporting clays, which became his lifetime passion. His interest has encompassed most aspects of clay sport shooting, including teaching and instruction, gun fitting, gun repair, competitive shooting and promotion of the sport. In 1998, Bob became a shooting instructor and joined Caesar Guerini in 2012. As a member of Guerini’s ProStaff, Bob is a stellar performer in both his competitive shooting and promotion of sporting clays. He earned the NSCA (National Sporting Clays Association) status of All-American in four gauges (12, 20, 28, and .410 bore) every year since joining Guerini. At the 2012 World FITASC (Federation Internationale de Tir Aux Sportives de Chasse) tournament, the Thailand team invited Bob to visit Thailand for sporting clay and FITASC instruction. Through Bob’s efforts this has become an annual event. He now travels and shoots as much as possible, searching for unique challenges, diverse terrain and varying targets. The constant challenge to break all targets, no matter the difficulty, and the possibility of being the best remains his driving force. Bob has demonstrated this by breaking 200 straight sporting clays in June 2016 at the Boomer Esiason Tournament at Elk Creek Sporting Clays in Owenton, Kentucky. COMPETITIVE SHOOTING: Among some of Bob’s accomplishments in competitive sporting clay tournaments are:

• NSCA (National Sporting Clays Association) Life Member and 16 year Master Class Competition

• NSCA All American for the last 7 years in all four gauges (12, 20, 28, and .410 bore)

• NSCA Master Class since 2002

• 2011 World English Champion Veterans Concurrent, 28 gauge & .410 bore

• 2011 1st place World English Master Class, .410 bore

• 2011 World English Champion Veterans, 28 gauge

• 2011 World English Small Gauge (20, 28, .410 bore) High-Over-All, Veterans Champion

• 2011 World English Open Class Runner Up, 28 gauge

• 2012 NSCA Nationals Veterans Runner Up 28 gauge

• 2012 Thailand Sporting Clay Championship HOA (Open & Veterans Concurrent)

• 2013 World English Small Gauge HOA, Veterans Concurrent

• 2014 Thailand Sporting Clay Championship HOA (Open & Veterans Concurrent)

• 2015, 2016 All American Veterans (20, 28 and 410 bore)

• 2016 World Compak Champion (Thailand)(Veterans)

• 2016 World Compak Bronze Medalist (Open)

• 2018 Asian FITASC Champion (Veterans)

• 2018 Asian FITASC Bronze Medalist (Open)

• 2018 Asian Compak Champion (Veterans) (Bronze-Open)

• 2018 World Cup FITASC Grand Prix, RU (Super Vet)

• 2018 Krieghoff Classic Sporting Clays 410 bore, RU (Super Vet and Open Class)

• 2018 Gator Cup HOA 410 bore (Open and Super Vet

TEACHING AND INSTRUCTION In the late 1990s, Bob began shooting instructions at his home base at the Indiana Gun Club in Indianapolis, Indiana. His reputation as a superb instructor soon spread and he was acknowledged by both his peers and celebrities. Among his many students are Vice President Mike Pence and his family, radio show host (and Mike Tyson prosecutor) Greg Garrison, Indianapolis Colts kicker Adam Vinatieri, Tiger Woods former coach, Rudy Duran, Congresswoman Susan Brooks, and Al Hubbard, former chief economic adviser to George Bush. In 2006 Bob recognized that many young shooters shared his passion for Clay Target Sports, so he established and coached the SCTP (Scholastic Clay Target Program) team, Target Busters. Bob found that working with kids was amazingly rewarding, from teaching beginners how to break targets and developing positive and confidant shooters to watching them mature in life. Many of the kids he began coaching at 9 or 10 years of age are now collegiate shooters. His two sons have also excelled with a shotgun, including his eldest son, Rich Self, former Caesar Guerini Staff Shooter. Bob has enlarged his instruction to cover the Winter downtime at his Indiana home base and is now teaching and gun fitting in November-March at the South Wind Plantation in Attapulgus, Georgia. His instruction here includes bird hunting in the field as well as sporting clay, trap and skeet. As a result of his extensive instruction to various individuals and groups, Bob hosts many shooting events, such as the National Football League’s annual event, which was part of the Indianapolis Super Bowl festivities. This event became so popular that it’s now an annual event. GUN FITTING Bob is uniquely suited as a gun fitter since he spent 40 years with Victor Beeson, an outstanding gun fitter and builder. This lengthy apprenticeship prepared Bob for an extensive understanding of the relationship between a shooter and his or her gun. In addition, Bob uses a Try-Gun (an adjustable-multi part gun) for his fittings, which allows for precise measurements at strategic locations. Combining these measurements with his extensive knowledge allows Bob to render a near perfect fit for all shooters, including “cross dominant” shooters like himself. Bob presently performs gun fittings in both Indiana and Georgia. CAESAR GUERINI MODEL USED: Invictus V, 12 gauge with 32in barrels, adjustable comb, and a kinetic balancer in the stock for balance and recoil reduction. Summit impact 20 gauge with 32in barrels, adjustable comb, and fit with Briley 28 ga tubes and 410 ga tubes. “Both of these guns are balanced perfectly and have very low recoil.” – Bob Self

"Pull the damn trigger" is my favorite Bob Self memory. I always used to (and sometimes still do)ride a bird long after I should have fired. Bob was far more patient teaching and coaching me than most would have been. He will be sorely missed in the clays community. Rest in Peace, Bob.