MADISON, Wis. — Little clay targets weren't the only things blown away during the opening round of the Shotgun competition.

Along with all those orange targets cast to the wayside are some of the top shooters in the nation, the old dogs if you will. All of them shot down by the young guns of the ESPN Great Outdoor Games.

Those noticeably missing after round one are: Scott Robertson (2003 gold medalist); Tre Sides (2002 silver medalist); Jeff Vick (2002 bronze medalist) and Jon Kruger.

"It was weird to see all the big dogs fall," said Travis Mears, 17, who knocked out Kruger.

Mears should have said "old dogs." Of the eight shotgun competitors left, five are 19 years old or younger.

"I give them all the credit in the world," Robertson said. "It was a trying night and they stepped up to the plate and got the job done."

"Trying night" may have been an understatement. The opening round of the Shotgun event was littered with inconsistencies.

It started with the first match up of the night and progressively got worse. Because of a heavy rainstorm that passed over the Great Outdoor Games earlier in the day, the Target Sports were delayed by almost two hours. Ordinarily, that wouldn't be a problem, but it caused "extenuating circumstances" that couldn't be foreseen.

For starters, no shots could be fired after 10 p.m. at the Shotgun event by request of area law enforcement officers. That request was made because of local concern over weapons being fired within the city limits weeks ago. As a result, once the Archery competition was over, the shotgun competitors didn't have time to practice.

"We had to go up there cold and I don't think anyone was ready," Robertson said.

Especially Robertson. He shot the first round against Anthony Matarese Jr., 19, and lost 18 to 13. The outcome, though, would provide the first controversy of the night.

In the Shotgun event, gunners are allowed two shots in their weapons to shoot at varying targets from springing teal to bouncing rabbits. Obviously, they miss on occasion. But rules of the game allow shooters to reload quickly, if possible, and shoot the target before it hits the ground.

"As long as you can get another shell in you're alright," Robertson said. "But in that first round I missed a shot and was reloading and the judge yelled, "lost bird." I thought he meant "no bird" and that I couldn't shoot again. It was just confusing."

The confusion forced officials to order a rematch based on a "judging error." Not that it mattered much, though. Matarese beat Robertson again 19 to 14 officially. But the confusion and resulting rematch set the tone for the night's competition.

In the midst of all that, a rule change on "no birds" was implemented. A "No Bird" is when the target comes out of the throwing arm already broken.

"Because of the rain, the targets were wet and it just seemed like there were no birds at every turn," said Shari Lagate, ESPN shotgun analyst.

The abnormal rate of targets coming out broken seemed to exacerbate tensions. In years past, a "no bird" call meant the round started over. This year the shooter gets to keep his score on any shot targets prior to the no bird. And the round resumes where the broken bird was thrown.

"It just seemed hard to sort through," Robertson said. "I'm not sure who was more confused us or the announcers."

The only ones not having any problem were the young guns. They marched through the old vanguard in record fashion, making up more than half the second-round field.

"They did well because this was a sprint," Robertson said.

In most shotgun events, the emphasis is on consistency while shooting around 200 targets in a match.

"It's only 20, so anybody can beat us in a sprint," Robertson said. "But it was even for everybody. They got the job done and that's what matters."

The only perfect shooter of the night was Mears. He shot a 20 of 20, while the majority of the field labored around the 15-hit target mark.

The second round of competition resumes Saturday night at 8:30 p.m., a full 30 minutes earlier than originally planned.