'Old farm boy' has a knack for shooting

NASHVILLE -- Larry Corbett seems to be one of those lucky people who always loves to get up and go to work in the morning.

The manager of Rose Hill Farms for 32 years, since before the place became the upscale Rose Hill Conference Center, he is a self-described "old farm boy" who grew up with a BB gun in his hand and who always loved to hunt small animals such as rabbits and quail.

"There's nothing special about me," Corbett said. "I've just been lucky."

Don't tell that to the people who finished second and third and 150th in the veterans (55-64) age group in the World English Sporting Clays Championship at the National Shooting Complex in San Antonio, Texas.

Corbett broke 175 of the 200 moving targets over two days to earn a tie-breaking shoot-off against 1984 Olympic gold-medalist Dan Carlisle, and then won in overtime on May 1 to become the best in the world in his age group.

"I was fortunate enough to be able to shoot consistently," Corbett said. "Not the best, but consistently over two days to get in the shoot-off with one of the best in the world."

He also helped Team USA win gold at the event and will lead Team USA in the World FITASC (Federation Internationale de Tir Aux Sportives de Chasse) championships that will be held Monday through Thursday in Orrville, France.

"There are a lot of people who come to the sport and just have a knack for it," said Glynne Moseley, the woman who is assistant director of the San Antonio, Texas-based National Sporting Clays Association. "There are hunters who have shot their whole lives, so it just comes natural to them.

"You have to have good hand-eye coordination. It doesn't matter how old you are. You have to have good reflexes."

Shooting 'seriously'

Corbett, who said he found deer hunting boring, now rarely goes hunting unless he's trying to bag a turkey or some quail with grandsons Braxton Oliver, 14, and Bowie Oliver, 13.

Braxton Oliver was the state sub-junior champion last season, following in the footsteps of his mother, Laurie, Corbett's daughter and a three-time state ladies champion.

Corbett said he has been shooting "seriously" for only a couple of years and in between running the farm and the sporting clays range he has assembled on the property. His creation has been featured on ESPN Outdoors and has hosted the Rose Hill Sporting Clays Challenge. The property is on the National Register of Historic Places.

Corbett, who was ranked No. 5 in his age group in 2010, is captain of Team USA and is an All-American. He also has won the state veterans championship eight times and was on the all-state team for a record 13 straight years from 1996 to 2009.

Much practice

Sporting clays competitions consist of shots taken at orange-colored clay discs - the standard size is 108 mm, although there are some variances - that are hurled into the shooter's line of fire from various directions at different speeds. They can simulate the flight of quail or doves or other birds, or they can be like rabbits streaking across the ground.

The course will have a number of stations, with a different challenge at each one.

"The game has evolved so far, and they're so much more difficult than people would even attempt a few years ago," said Corbett, who played on both sides of the line on the football team and was a catcher and corner infielder on the baseball team at the old Nashville High (class of '65).

"It's not like shooting a rifle at a stationary target. It's like a quarterback throwing a football with a receiver running full-steam down field," Corbett said. "He has to throw the football where the runner is going to be."

Corbett said he tries to shoot 100 targets a week - targets cost $42 per 100 for drop-in guests at the shooting range - and will get up to 200 to 300 the week before a major competition.

"It's not a cheap game," he said. "Any kind of gun can be used. I shoot an old Browning over-and-under that I've been shooting for 10, 15 years. It's not a very expensive gun. But if you buy a decent gun, you can use it for a lifetime."

Targets and touring

Because of his shooting skills, Corbett and his wife of 44 years, Elaine, an agent for Farm Bureau Insurance in Nashville, will get the trip of a lifetime next week.

"I'm the cheerleader," Elaine Corbett said with a smile. "I think it's absolutely wonderful Larry gets to represent the United States in this competition."

And her husband has a little romance in him as well.

"I want to see some things in Paris," he said. "I've seen pictures of the Mona Lisa in books all my life. We're going to the Louvre [Museum] and the cathedral of Notre Dame and the Eiffel Tower.

"And the shooting range is only about 50 miles from the Normandy beaches. I'm not going to get to that place and not go visit it."