Libby's Bailey a straight shooter at Montana Skeet Championships
Libby's Tom Bailey shows off one of the trophies he took home after winning several events earlier this year at the 2024 Montana State Skeet Shooting Championships. (Courtesy photo)
Libby resident Tom Bailey had several outstanding performances at the 2024 Montana Skeet Championships where he won four championships.
The championships, held Aug. 16-18 at the Billings Rod and Gun Club, saw volunteers and shooters from across the state as well as Idaho, Wyoming, North and South Dakota and Seattle.
Bailey claimed the High All-Around championship with a total of 488. He also won the 12 gauge class, hitting 99 of 100 clay targets, the .410 class while knocking down 98 targets, and doubles, where he also hit 98 targets.
The titles were firsts for Bailey, a registered skeet shooter for 15 years.
The shoot was sanctioned by the National Skeet Shooting Association and presented by the Montana Skeet Shooting Association. It is held annually.
Bailey explained that out of state shooters can win the event but the perpetual trophies can only go to Montana shooters.
“My wife and I moved to Libby in 2005 after retiring from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Customs and Border Protection,” Bailey said. “I helped develop the Lincoln County Shooting Complex that started as a single trap field, no facilities and a 55-gallon drum barrel for wood heat in the winter. The complex now includes four trap fields, two skeet fields and a compact sporting clays field.”
Bailey isn’t just a competitor, he also mentors young shooters in south Lincoln County. He’s an assistant coach on the Libby Rock Crushers, a youth clay target shooting team in Libby.
The Rock Crushers are part of the Scholastic Clay Target Program, a national organization whose mission is to teach gun safety, create a supportive environment for learning the different clay target sports and to respect teammates, coaches and officials.
He’s also a member of the Libby Scatterguns Inc., an organization that operates and maintains the clay target ranges through the diligent and selfless efforts of volunteers, and the Libby Rod and Gun Club, an organization that has been in existence since the early 1900s.
Skeet and trap shooting are Olympic sports and this year's Skeet Gold Medalist was an American, Vince Hancock, who won his fourth individual Olympic gold medal.
Bailey said students who may be interested in joining a growing and dynamic sports organization can get in contact with him at 406-293-7743 or Rock Crushers head coach Mike Cirian at 406-607-9355.