In the early days of USSCA and NSCA sporting clays, the 32" barrel was unheard of. In about 1986, Beretta made a set of 32" low step rib barrels for my special order 30" low step rib 20 gauge gun, which was the first and only one of those I have seen or heard of. I started using the 32" Beretta because it was the only gun I had with screw chokes. Apparently, I was a pioneer in competitive sporting clays without realizing it. It wasn't long before the odd competitor showed up with a long gun and now it is everyone. In the early days, before USSCA and NSCA, non sanctioned sporting events took place. Most were heads up, no classes, big entry fees. My favorite was Dallas Berry's shoot in the Wardensville, West Virginia area. The rules were "no changing guns", "no changing chokes", "no touching the muzzle of your gun", "no alabis", among other rules. One shooter borrowed my gun for a station when his went down. The puller reported him and his winning score was disqualified. Pullers would be fired if they saw a violation and did not report it. The shooter didn't find out about his disqualification until the results sheet came in the mail without a check. One of the participants in these great shoots was someone most of us know, gun dealer, Roger Bain. We learned about ZZ birds at this shoot. The ZZs were part of a regular 85 bird round at first, then became a separate event later on, with a purse for that event. There was a cash purse on every station as well as for high score for the day. When sporting clays became a sanctioned event in the mid eighties, the "round" became 100 birds so we could hold a state championship under USSCA rules. This shoot is where I first met Shelly Gitman, the great Parker collector.
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