John Heller, Post-Gazette photos Former Steelers linebacker Robin Cole takes aim at a clay target last Sunday in the Shoot for the Hungry at the Nemacolin Woodlands Shooting Academy in Farmington. Click photo for larger image.

In football, the "shotgun" means one thing, in Sporting Clays quite another. Pittsburgh Steelers alumni picked up real shotguns last week at Nemacolin Woodlands Shooting Academy to support Shoot for the Hungry, an annual benefit event that provides nutritious meals of hunter-donated venison to the state's needy residents.

Former Steelers Robin Cole, Randy Grossman, John Kolb, Louis Lipps, Gerry "Moon" Mullins, Ted Petersen and Dwayne Woodruff all shot the world-class clays course at the Fayette County resort, attracting more than 120 other participants and helping raise enough money to process and distribute 100,000 high-quality venison meals.

"We were extremely proud and appreciative to have these world renowned Steeler stars helping us to raise the profile of our benefit event," said John Plowman, Pennsylvania state coordinator for Hunters Sharing the Harvest.

"This is clearly a worthy cause but the Steelers helped us draw more attention and participation, especially with the current popularity of the franchise following the Super Bowl."

Hunters Sharing the Harvest works through a network of volunteer county coordinators across the state each deer season, linking successful deer hunters with more than 80 participating butchers and meat processors.

Jon Kolb, who played offensive tackle for the Steelers in the 1970s, chambers a round at the Shoot for the Hungry. Click photo for larger image.

Hunters can donate a deer to the food-sharing effort, but butchers still need to be compensated for the time and expense of processing the meat.

Some hunters choose to donate the deer and the processing fee, but money raised at Shoot for the Hungry pays the bills for those who can't and encourages maximum venison donations.

After processing into ground burger the venison is distributed to food banks in the state, whose clients receive more than 200,000 venison meals each year.

Other special guests participating in the shoot were Pennsylvania Secretary of Agriculture Dennis Wolf, Shawn Dulehery, Ryan Hadden, Josh Richmond and Matthew Wallace of the U. S. Army Marksmanship Unit Shotgun Team, and Kane Robinson, National Rifle Association.

Dulehery, Hadden, Richmond and Wallace impressed participants with shooting demonstrations throughout the day.

The quartet broke randomly thrown clay birds shooting from the hip and in rapid-fire challenges.

"The secret to shotgun shooting, both in hunting and clay bird situations, is to not focus too much attention on the sights on the barrel," said Richmond of Hillsgrove, Pa. "Just let your eyes follow the target and you'll begin to hit more often."

The team traveled from its headquarters at Fort Benning, Ga., to take part. "We're here to support efforts to feed hungry people," Richmond said. "Our goal in coming up here is to draw more attention to the cause."

Several Pittsburgh-area businesses helped sponsor Shoot For the Hungry including, 84 Lumber, Complete Energy Holdings, Gander Mountain, Myriad Communications, Church Brew Works, the MBM Group and United States Products Bore Paste.

"We're doing everything we can to support Hunters Sharing the Harvest," said United States Products president Lee Brown.

"It uses an abundant natural resource to help alleviate suffering."

More information on Hunters Sharing the Harvest is available at www.sharedeer.org.clay