Brays Island owners and their guests have a new and exciting opportunity at the Gun Club this year. Donny Roth, an NSCA Level III instructor, gun-fitter and CSM instructor, will be offering limited opportunities for shooting lessons at the plantation’s premier shooting sports facility.
Roth, who shot his first sporting target in 1990 and fell in love with the game that same day, has spent the last 30 years dedicating his life to his passion – sporting clays.
It all began with a friend’s invitation to shoot a 50-shot round of sporting clays, Roth recalls. His first targets were a pair of fast-bouncing rabbits. Emotions ran the gamut for him during that first outing – exciting, challenging, rewarding, social, fun and just overall enjoyable. More than thirty years later, he still feels the same about the sport he has turned into a career.
Roth has owned a gun club and shooting range in upstate South Carolina and managed another. He became the NSCA State Delegate for South Carolina and Zone 4 Coordinator for the southeast and helped to spearhead the growth of the sport in South Carolina in the early 1990s. After becoming a tournament shooter in 1991, he shot every major tournament in the United States over the next decade to learn more about other gun clubs and facilities, course layouts, and various target presentations. His goal was to incorporate the best ideas from around the country into the South Carolina club with which he was associated.
Earning his NSCA Level I Certification fueled his passion for teaching, and in 1992 he began instructing newcomers to sport as well as recreational and competition shooters. With a decade under his belt, he started his own business, Shotgun Sports Plus, in 2001, offering individual and corporate lessons, shooting academies, schools, and consultation to gun clubs and the shooting preserve industry.
Roth’s passion for instruction continued to develop. In 2008, he became a founding member of the South Carolina Youth Shooting Foundation (SCYSF) and currently serves on the board of directors. In 2009, he earned his NSCA Level III certification and became a full-time instructor. In June 2014, he advanced his shooting knowledge through the Coordinated Shooting Method (CSM) TRACS.
Donny’s passion is to teach shooters the fundamentals of shooting a shotgun, specifically to ladies and youth shooters of all ability levels. Getting our ladies and young shooters involved in the shooting world and sporting life is so important today, according to Roth. Instruction is tailored to the individual shooter, from novice with little or no experience to tournament shooters from E to Master Class. A lesson with Donny will improve your wing shooting skills also, equating to more birds in the bag.
His methods are simple. Seeing the target is critical; learning and understanding the fundamentals is necessary; and developing the skills to execute the fundamentals is vital. He asks that you come with an open mind and a desire to learn and have fun!
Details on how Owners can book appointments with Donny will be sent in the next few weeks. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact Justin Rhoten at 843-846-3178 or jrhoten@braysisland.org.