Anyone who has ever tried their luck at shooting “sporting clays” knows how hard it is. Thrown from machines, the small discs zoom into the air at varying speeds, distances, and trajectories designed to present the ultimate challenge to the shooters.

When it comes to mastering the skill, there is none better than Jonesboro, LA native Tom Murphy, who in October won the National Sporting Clays Association (NSCA) Championship in the 5 Stand Veterans Division, outshooting over 2500 competitors from all over the United States and 17 foreign countries. 

The title claimed in the competition held at the NSCA headquarters in San Antonio, TX, added to his already impressive resume over the last decade, where he has earned berths on numerous All-American teams and has shot for Team USA in competition all over the world. 

“One of the best parts of growing up in an area like Jonesboro is that hunting and shooting guns is something that you are raised with and develop a love of doing,” reflected Murphy, who is now an Executive Director for Greystar Construction Company. “Living in Houston, TX, you don’t get that opportunity as much, so I started shooting sporting clays in 2009.” 

Sporting Clays is a sport that was originally developed to mimic hunting scenarios for hunters to practice in the offseason. It is sometimes confused with Skeet or Trap, but is totally different, as Skeet and Trap are shot on standard fields where the targets are thrown with a very consistent speed, distance, and trajectory. Sporting Clays is shot in more of a hunting atmosphere, where you might be in thick woods, open fields, over water, and even very hilly terrain

Types of Sporting Clay Targets

“I was really just trying to find something that my son and I could do together that would get us out of the house and him away from playing video games,” laughed Murphy. “But as soon as I shot my first sporting clays course at a local club, I was hooked! I think my first year, I shot around 50,000 shotgun shells at clay targets.”

From humble competition beginnings where he was an NSCA D Class shooter, Murphy quickly began to zoom up the charts to become a Master’s Class shooter within 9 months of starting.

What makes the incredible success Murphy, who is the younger brother of Jonesboro State Farm Agent Shawn Murphy, has had in a sport that requires tremendous hand-eye coordination, all the more impressive is that, as a young boy, he lost sight in one of his eyes. 

“As far as I know, I am the only one-eyed competitor in the sport,” deadpanned Murphy.

That may be in question. The fact that he is the best is not.