World Titles
1995 Junior 20 Gauge Champion
1995 Junior Champion of Champions
1997 Collegiate HOA Champion (399 x 400)
1998 Collegiate Doubles Champion
Wisconsin State Titles
20 gauge (1 times) – 2001
410 bore (2 times) – 1995, 1996
Doubles (3 times) – 1995, 1997, 1999
HOA (2 times) – 1995, 1996
HAA (2 times) – 1995, 1997
Major Accomplishments
400×400 – May 24-25, 1997 Hawk Open, Waukesha Gun Club
400×400 – August 1-2, 1998 Jeff Myers Memorial, Waukesha Gun Club
500×500 – May 24-25, 1997 Hawk Open, Waukesha Gun Club
NSSA All-American Teams
1994 Junior Honorable Mention
1995-Junior First Team
1996 Junior First Team (Co-Captain)
1997 Collegiate Second Team
1998 Collegiate First Team
1999 Collegiate First Team
Kody Kuehnl, of Manitowoc, WI began his registered skeet shooting career in 1991 at age 13 and shot during what some might consider the “Golden Age” of skeet shooting in Wisconsin. His desire and passion for shooting came from his father, David (1940-2009), who was an avid outdoorsman and registered target shooter in trap, and later, skeet. In fact, David missed Kody’s birth as he was competing at the Wisconsin State Trap Shoot that week. The cliché, “the apple doesn’t fall from the tree” certainly holds true for Kody.
Kody’s eleven years shooting registered skeet in Wisconsin, although brief, were very productive and are marked with stats most any skeet shooter would be proud of, this despite competing as a junior or collegiate for most of this time. One might think that his first Wisconsin state shooting title would have come in skeet, however, it actually came during the 1994 Wisconsin State Trap Shoot, at the age of 16, where he captured the 1994 Handicap Championship besting over 700 shooters including 7 in a shoot-off (he was the only one to run the box). However, ten state skeet shooting championships were soon to follow, with perhaps the most impressive being a 1995 HOA championship (where Kody broke 399×400) and a 1995 HAA championship (498×500). In addition to these achievements, during this time Kody was a regular member of the All-State Team (7 times), including captain four times and was also a member of the All Zone team (Captain twice), and NSSA All American Junior and Collegiate Teams (6 times).
One of Kody’s greatest strengths in shooting was his consistency. Of the 40,950 registered targets he accumulated while in WI, Kody broke 90 one-hundred straights (22%, 8.2 per year). His most productive year came in 1997 when he broke 25 perfect scores (45.5 % for that year) and finished with career high averages in 12 gauge (99.50), 20 gauge (99.45), 410 bore (97.70), Doubles (97.66), High Overall (98.87), and High All Around (98.63). His HOA average ranked 17th in the world that year. His high average in the 28 gauge (99.27) came one year later. Also in 1997, Kody won the Collegiate World HOA Championship with a 399×400 (tied for the highest score ever shot at the Junior World), the State Doubles and HAA titles (497×500), and, perhaps most impressive, shot a perfect shoot breaking a 500×500 at the Hawk Open and winning all seven gun events. At the time, Kody was the youngest individual ever to shoot a 500×500.
Kody’s skeet shooting career as a Wisconsin resident concluded in 2001 at the Wisconsin State Shoot where he captured the 20 gauge championship. At that time, his priorities changed and he went on to further his academic career, which culminated in an M.S. degree from Brigham Young University, and a Ph.D. in Evolutionary Biology from The Ohio State University. He currently resides in Hilliard, OH with his wife Amy and their five children and works as a professor at a small university in downtown Columbus, OH.
In total, Kody won gun championships at nearly every major shoot held in Wisconsin (and at many major out of state shoots as well) during the period 1994-2001 (e.g., Dragon Lady, Jeff Myers Memorial, Celebre Fly-In, Hawk Open, Bald Eagle) and also has well over 100 junior and collegiate gun championships from a number of major shoots including the Kentucky Bluegrass, NorthStar, Three-I, US Open, Zone 5 Championships, Anniversary Chicago Nationals, and many more.
In reflection and gratitude of this time, Kody would like to recognize his late father, David, who provided the opportunity and the means to enjoy this wonderful sport, and also the Robert E. Ehrgott family, his “adopted skeet family”, for their friendship and for sharing their skeet shooting adventures with him during this very special period of his life.
Wisconsin Skeet Shooting Association 