Local Shooter Joins Texas Sporting Clays Hall of Fame

The Texas Sporting Clays Association inducted Mark Tipton of Fayetteville into its Hall of Fame back in April.

His father Ray Tipton was a 2010 inductee, making them the only father-son duo to join the ranks of the elite shooters in the state.

Tipton sat down with the Record last Friday to discuss his journey to the top level of competitive shooting.

“I grew up with a hunting background,” Tipton said. “My father taught me how to shoot from a young age.”

Tipton moved from the Houston area to Fayette County in 1996.

“There wasn’t much to do,” he said. “I still hunted and fished. But I knew the guys who were trying to open up the Fayette County Gun Club. So I helped with some of the construction work and getting it going. I guess you can call me one of the founding members. I shot out there quite a bit.”

He started competing in sporting clay tournaments around 2002.

Competitions take place at scenic ranges with various shooting stations – some are elevated, others on the ground, and some incorporate water features. Contestants shoot a pair of targets at each station. Matches usually consist of 100 targets.

Unlike trap and skeet – where competitors shoot targets moving away or crossing each other – the targets in sporting clays vary in speed, angle and distance at each station.

“They throw them any way you can imagine – off the towers, bounce them off the ground, throw them across the water, left crossers, right crossers, overhead, incomers – anything you can imagine. That’s what keeps it interesting. It’s not a repetitive game. It mimics birds flying more than any other game.”

Back in the early 2000s, Tipton regularly shot trap and skeet as a hobby at the Fayette County Gun Club. One day, he said, some friends asked him to join them for a sporting clays tournament at another range.

“I fell in love with it,” he said. “It’s challenging. Sporting clays is like golf with a shotgun.”

Later, he invited his dad, Ray, to a meet.

“He was a good shot, even in his 70s,” Tipton said. “I said, ‘Hey dad, you should come shoot with us.’ He said, ‘I don’t really care anything about that.’ I said, ‘Well, come watch.’ He watched us. And the second time he watched, he asked if I had a shotgun he could borrow.”

It didn’t take long before Ray became one of the best shooters in his age group.

“He was consistently winning, and very well respected, a tough shooter,” Mark said. “So they inducted him into the Texas Hall of Fame.”

Ray passed away the following year at age 80.

“He shot until almost his 80th birthday,” said Mark.

Tipton has traveled all over the world to shoot competitively. Last year he was a member of Team USAin the Super Veteran age group. He also competes in a related discipline known as FITASC, which is a French acronym that stands for “Fédération Internationale de Tir aux Armes Sportives de Chasse.” Similar to sporting clays, FITASC is more popular in countries outside of England and the United States.

“We shot at the World Sporting Clays competition in England, and then we shot in the World FITASC contest in Hungary,” he said. “It’s not an Olympic sport, but that’s about as close as you can get to shooting in the Olympics.”

This year, Tipton will serve as Captain of Team USA in international competition.

He competes at tournaments about twice a month. Two weeks ago he was in Wisconsin for a regional meet. He’ll be back in Wisconsin in two weeks for a world FITASC event.

“It’s big,” he said. “There will be a couple thousand shooters.”

Tipton said his journey in the sport all started at the Fayette County Gun Club.

“I encourage any young men or women who are interested in shooting sports to go out there and give it a try,” he said. “It’s well worth it. It’s a clean range. They’re all good people running it. It’s a fun pastime.”

To learn more about the Fayette County Gun Club, visit www.fayettecountygunclub. com