Joey Payeur
Chip Derickson’s interest in James Bond movies is uncertain.
But this past Saturday, he unquestionably was the man with the golden gun.
Derickson bucked the odds—and a recent run of poor health—to capture his first championship at the Fort Frances Sportsmen’s Club’s annual skeet shooting tournament at the Frog Creek range.
The 66-year-old resident of Chokoloskee Island, Fla., who maintains a summer residence near Nestor Falls, was the lone American in the nine-shooter field on a day when the Stars and Stripes prevailed over the Maple Leaf.
“What I’ve been trying to work on is my focus and being more consistent,” said Derickson, who rode a perfect opening round of 25 out of 25 to an eventual final score of 91 out of 100.
That was enough to edge 11-time champion Len Noonan of Fort Frances by four (87).
“I dropped [four] in the second round and that opened the door for the competition,” he noted.
Derickson shot sporting clay pigeons for many years before giving up competition for almost two decades.
He happened upon the Sportsmen’s Club and picked up on skeet shooting, participating in the tournament for the first time last year.
Derickson’s showing this time around is even more remarkable considering he’s been battling a serious case of vertigo all summer.
“I’ve only been out here shooting five times all year,” revealed the wise-cracking marksman, who kept his competitors in stitches while he was dissecting them one round at a time.
“It was a difficult day for the local guys because of the [afternoon] wind,” he added.
“They’re used to shooting targets in the same place.
“But with all the wind and with my sporting clay experience, which is more like hunting, I was able to cover [the distance the wind pushed the skeet targets] faster than they can,” he explained.
Noonan, a soon-to-be 79-year-old, got off to a great start with 24 in the first round to sit one back of Derickson.
The pair had matching scores of 21 in the second round, then copied each other again in the third with 22 apiece to leave the field well behind and set up a two-man showdown in the final round.
Derickson had a run of 11 targets in a row end part way through the round, but steadied himself to finish on a 13-target streak.
Needing a clean round to take the title outright, Noonan had those on hand buzzing with excitement as he hit his first eight in the round to give him a run of 18-straight.
But at Station #3, Noonan shockingly missed both targets to end his quest to make it an even dozen championships.
“I shot well today although I missed a few I don’t normally miss,” Noonan said.
“It happens,” he reasoned. “Chip shot really good today.”
Derickson tipped his hat to the all-time wins leader at the tournament, which dates back to 1958.
“There’s a lot of disadvantages when you get to be older, with Len being 39 and me 38,” he joked.
“I admire him so much because he is as good as he is even though for guys like he and I, our reflexes are slowing down and our eyesight isn’t as good.
“I respect all the guys who come out to compete . . . I like to joke with the guys and keep it light,” Derickson added.
“It’s not like I’m going to be retiring off my earnings here, which is zero,” he laughed.
Defending champ Brad Houghton was in the running through the morning rounds, sitting just three back after a 22 and a 21.
But the third round was, by Houghton’s high standards, a disastrous one as the club’s vice-president managed only 18 targets before closing with a 22 to wind up at 83.
Mike Veniot (81) was fourth while Brian Mueller rounded out the top five (80).
Former two-time champ Jeremy McGuire, nursing a heavily-bruised arm sustained at a recent shooting session from the recoil of his gun, settled for sixth place (77).
Joel Morris grounded out a 73 to take seventh.
Ted Brockie, another former winner, placed eighth (70) while Zac Manty took ninth (66).
Morris was awarded the R.J. Kennedy Award as the most improved club member and as a contributor to the club.
Houghton took home the Dave Forrester Memorial Award for having the highest shooting average this season.
