Although attendance at the first ever Republic Of Texas TEXtreme Field Target STATE CHAMPIONSHIPS fell short of projections, the quality of shooting talent in attendance certainly reflected the national-caliber level of competitors that claimed the State Champion awards, podium spots, and Airguns Of Arizona gift certificate bounties in the pistol and rifle competitions. And just as importantly (at least to my sanity and ego), I’m not alone in declaring this TEXtreme Sports weekend the best yet. Several of the 22 competitors have stated the same.
I won’t speculate (much) on why attendance fell short, other than to say it might have something to do with my belief that competition anxiety prevents some airgunners from experiencing the most fun you can have fully clothed; and opining this Texas STATE CHAMPIONSHIPS might have pushed some over the anxiety cliff. To clarify- yes, I am stirring the pot.
Official start to the championship weekend was the practice range opening on Thursday afternoon for sight-in/practice. The competition began Friday morning immediately after the 9 AM pistol match shooters meeting.
Seven pistoleros contested the cold, 54 shot pistol competition, enduring light precipitation (drizzles) on what the most experienced pistol field target competitor in Human history deemed the most challenging pistol FT course I’ve ever experienced. Reigning AAFTA Pistol FT Texas State Champion Paul Bracaglia rose to the occasion to also claim the Republic Of Texas TEXtreme Field Target Pistol STATE CHAMPION title, award plaque, and $300 Airguns Of Arizona gift certificate with an awesome 48/54 score. His distance from the rest of the (otherwise) tightly-packed field lends poignant perspective to my congratulatory, FANTASTIC SHOOTING, PABLO! Correction, CHAMP!
Paul used a UTG-scoped Benjamin Marauder rifle converted to (just within rules parameters) pistol of his own fabrication, shooting 15.9 grain JSBs just within the power limit. Although he claims to have fabricated the stock from a discarded two-by-four, looking at the thing (a painful exercise in itself) I have to believe said two-by-four was not only the product of a dumpster-diving expedition, but is a discarded ugly stick… that had lost an ugly stick war! But having put a few rounds through his “pistol” myself (out of inexplicably morbid curiosity), I’d describe Pablo’s pistol like this- as incredibly effective an EFT pistol as it is incredibly FUGLY! So I hereby christen Pablo’s extreme field target “pistol” Fugly Stick. (Trust me, he’ll find a way to make me pay for that!)
Airgun globe-trotter Carey Hymel captured the Second Place $200 Airguns Of Arizona gift certificate with an excellent 40/54 score. Carey shoots some kind of .177 caliber ray-gun gizmo he calls (in a strong Cajun accent) “A Little Sumpin-Sumpin”… VERY WELL! Carey’s Nightforce-scoped ray-gun shoots 13.4 grain JSB Monsters 805 FPS. Rumor is, Carey trotted beyond this globe to purchase his ray-gun.
It occurs to me this is the second time in as many State Championships that Carey has knocked me down a place by the slimmest possible of margins. In the previous case, literally a couple THOUSANTHS OF AN INCH. Great shooting Carey! In both cases.
Ron Robinson, alias ‘Og’, rounded out the pistol podium to nab a third place $100 Airguns Of Arizona gift certificate; his first TFT podium result in two years of trying! Also the TEXtreme Match Director, Ron used the (correction- THIS) world’s only RonCo airgun of his own rifle-to-pistol conversion. In one of his more cave-manly moments, Og employed his usual (patents pending) hack-saw and file butchery techniques on a perfectly good and EXPENSIVE .177 Brocock rifle (that averaged larger than one-inch groups at 50 yards) to fabricate his BroCo model EFT “pistol”. To everyone’s amazement but his own, the Weaver V-16 scoped RonCo BroCo now consistently averages sub-.75” groups at 50 yards with 13.4 grain JSB Monsters 805 FPS.
It now occurs to me that the only .177 “pistols” in the seven shooter field captured two of the three podium places, both shooting 13.4 grain Monsters at 805 FPS. A little food for thought in Extreme Field Target Pistol’s infancy.
Saturday’s Rifle Match #1 was contested by 22 shooters in cool, somewhat windy conditions. Chuck Misenheimer posted an excellent 48/54 score to claim the top spot in what proved to be a very tightly-packed race for the rifle podium. Chuck’s .22 Daystate Safari wears an NF N8 4X32 scope, and shoots 25 grain pellets 970 FPS. Great shooting, Chuck! Fortunately for the rest of us, Chuck did not contest Rifle Match #2.
Paul Bracaglia continued his roll of good LUCK (shooting skill had nothing to do with it) by claiming the second spot with an excellent 47/54, suggesting Pablo Pistolero might not be a one-trick pony. Pablo’s rifle is a tack-driving .30 FX Bobcat topped with Riton optics and shooting 44 JSBs 860 FPS. Excellent shooting, Pablo.
Third and fourth positions in the rifle race were a tie between Mike Bricker shooting a borrowed (from Derrick Wall) .30 KalibrGun Cricket Tac topped with an Athlon Helos scope and shooting 870 FPS, and Carey Hymel shooting what he calls (in a thick Cajun accent) “New Little Sumpin-Sumpin” topped with a Nightforce scope and shooting 25.4 grain JSBs 955 FPS. Apparently Intergalactic AirgunWerks sells ray-guns in rifle form also. Mike and Carey posted 46/54 scores, also tying in the first tie-breaker with five clean lanes each. Mike prevailed for the third spot virtue of our second tie-breaker, cleaning the standing shots with six, to Carey’s five standers. Good shooting, Gentlemen.
That the top FOUR shooters in Rifle Match #1 were separated by only TWO points not only gives perspective into these guys’ shooting skills, but also the possibilities for a blood-bath in Match #2! And hey, who doesn’t enjoy a good blood-bath?
Sunday’s Rifle Match #2 commenced shortly after noon in coldish temperatures, but lighter than normal TEXtreme conditions of single digit wind-speeds. Both the temperature and wind speeds increased over the course of the match, fortunately the wind speeds only a little. Scores reflected the shooting conditions, with most competitors posting higher scores than in Rifle Match #1.
Paul Bracaglia closed The Pablo Show with an impressive 51/54 score in Rifle match #2, for an aggregate score of 98/108 in the rifle competition to become (also) the 2022 Republic Of Texas TEXtreme Field Target RIFLE STATE CHAMPION. PHENOMENAL SHOOTING, PABLO!!! Congratulations Buddy!
I thought the boy was gonna crush my hand and shake my arm off as I presented him with his Rifle AND Pistol State Champion awards, and Airguns Of Arizona gift certificates totaling $700 for his weekend dominance! FYI, that makes Pablo the reigning AAFTA Pistol State Champion, TEXtreme Pistol State Champion, and TEXtreme Rifle State Champion.
Pablo may be a slow learner. But it would appear he’s learned enough in the past fifteen years to kick his field target mentor’s ass!
Speaking of asses, field target mentors, and slow learners, Ron Robinson jumped FIVE places from his standing after Rifle Match #1 to claim Second Place in the rifle competition, virtue of tying Pablo’s 51/54 Match #2 score for a 94/104 Rifle aggregate. Og stuffed a $300 Airguns Of Arizona gift certificate in his bear-skin thong for that (OBVIOUSLY) lucky effort. Apparently the old adage is true; “Even a blind Og can find an acorn once in a while”.
Og… or Sasquatch? Only it's hairdresser knows for sure!
Derrick “No-Stranger-To-The-Podium” Wall finished third in the aggregate Rifle competition, posting a fine 50/54 on day two; tying Og’s 94/108 Rifle aggregate. Og prevailed over Derrick for Second Place virtue of the second tie-breaker after they tied (also) in the first tie-breaker, each with nine cleaned (6/6) lanes in the rifle matches. However Og’s 11/12 points on the Standing lane bettered Derrick’s 9/12. Derrick added a $200 Airguns Of Arizona gift certificate to his vast collection. Rumor is, Derrick is well on the way to buying Airguns Of Arizona… with their gift certificate donations!
Yes, I realize the first tie-breaker for podium positions is a shoot-off by mutual agreement of tied competitors. Some that actually READ the rules might wonder why the Match Director did not even offer that option, which gives me a golden opportunity to repeat myself (again, as I often do). “There’s a method to my madness(es).”
I did not have to offer, or even mention the shoot-off option because there was not mutual agreement by the tied competitors for a shoot-off. Apparently one of the competitors, so physically and mentally exhausted he was about to LITERALLY drop in his tracks by then, was unwilling to participate, consider, or even mention a shoot-off! (Hint- think asses, field target mentors, and slow learners.)
Carey Hymel captured the fourth Rifle podium place and $100 Airguns Of Arizona gift certificate with an excellent 92/108 aggregate virtue of his 46/54 scores in both rifle matches. Good shooting, Carey. BTW, next time you visit Intergalactic AirgunWerks please ask Mikel NikschSky to telepath me for a conversation about ordering one’a them Space Shuttle Challenger custom ray-guns. I need to know if I can talk him into building one with a stock of alien material; of course assuming I can get my buddy Elon to deliver the walnut blank to him.
Before our drawing for multiple door prizes, I was floored when Mike Bricker donated an awesome extreme field target in the likeness of Elmo to the TEXtreme cause on behalf of Team Centercut. I was utterly flabbergasted by that unexpected show of generosity and support, and truly hope there are no I-Phone videos of me tripping over myself recovering from the shock. MANY THANKS, Mike!
We then had a drawing for door prizes that included a couple of nice work mats donated by AGT Airguns, thanks to Derrick Wall. Thank you Derrick. There were also schwag bags for every competitor, that included AGT key-chains, and TEXtreme-logo shameless marketing gimmickry.
We had five ladies in attendance, though only one competed. That they apparently enjoyed themselves at TEXtreme Airgun Sports Global Headquarters lends credence to my suspicions that it takes a very special lady to be a field target wido… errrr… uhhhh… I mean… wife! The ladies not only enjoyed themselves, but, increasingly all hopped-up on Texas Pecan coffee, added another layer of fun and camaraderie to the event. Matter of fact, the only way I think they could have had more fun was if I carry through on my threat to invest in a frozen margarita machine after I purchase a third Lamborghini and second Lear Jet with profits from my lucrative TEXtreme venture.
As always, I can’t thank Airguns Of Arizona enough for their sponsorship support from TEXtreme get-go, and continuing. Without their support there would have never been TEXtreme airgun competitions. I urge my shooters and all airgunners to support Airguns Of Arizona with your business. Feel free to also contact them with written or verbal thanks, I doubt they’d mind.
I’d also like to thank other sponsors and TEXtremists for all your help and support, including Jerry Cupples/PelletGage, AGT Airguns, Joe Peacock/airgunproducts.com , Art Womack, Jim Martin/Trailers Plus of Weatherford, Jim Clarke, Paul Bracaglia, Carlos Garza, and Shepard Meyers for adding a TEXtreme web page on the Boerne Airgun Club website.
Lastly, I’ll apologize to everyone I’ve neglected to thank. You deserve better treatment that that. By now you’ve (all) witnessed proofs-positive of my weak-mindedness, senility, struggles with puzzles and details, and e-n-d-l-e-s-s-l-y r-a-m-b-l-i-n-g stories and match reports.
Happy Airgunning All,
Ron & Maggyy
I won’t speculate (much) on why attendance fell short, other than to say it might have something to do with my belief that competition anxiety prevents some airgunners from experiencing the most fun you can have fully clothed; and opining this Texas STATE CHAMPIONSHIPS might have pushed some over the anxiety cliff. To clarify- yes, I am stirring the pot.
Official start to the championship weekend was the practice range opening on Thursday afternoon for sight-in/practice. The competition began Friday morning immediately after the 9 AM pistol match shooters meeting.
Seven pistoleros contested the cold, 54 shot pistol competition, enduring light precipitation (drizzles) on what the most experienced pistol field target competitor in Human history deemed the most challenging pistol FT course I’ve ever experienced. Reigning AAFTA Pistol FT Texas State Champion Paul Bracaglia rose to the occasion to also claim the Republic Of Texas TEXtreme Field Target Pistol STATE CHAMPION title, award plaque, and $300 Airguns Of Arizona gift certificate with an awesome 48/54 score. His distance from the rest of the (otherwise) tightly-packed field lends poignant perspective to my congratulatory, FANTASTIC SHOOTING, PABLO! Correction, CHAMP!
Paul used a UTG-scoped Benjamin Marauder rifle converted to (just within rules parameters) pistol of his own fabrication, shooting 15.9 grain JSBs just within the power limit. Although he claims to have fabricated the stock from a discarded two-by-four, looking at the thing (a painful exercise in itself) I have to believe said two-by-four was not only the product of a dumpster-diving expedition, but is a discarded ugly stick… that had lost an ugly stick war! But having put a few rounds through his “pistol” myself (out of inexplicably morbid curiosity), I’d describe Pablo’s pistol like this- as incredibly effective an EFT pistol as it is incredibly FUGLY! So I hereby christen Pablo’s extreme field target “pistol” Fugly Stick. (Trust me, he’ll find a way to make me pay for that!)
Airgun globe-trotter Carey Hymel captured the Second Place $200 Airguns Of Arizona gift certificate with an excellent 40/54 score. Carey shoots some kind of .177 caliber ray-gun gizmo he calls (in a strong Cajun accent) “A Little Sumpin-Sumpin”… VERY WELL! Carey’s Nightforce-scoped ray-gun shoots 13.4 grain JSB Monsters 805 FPS. Rumor is, Carey trotted beyond this globe to purchase his ray-gun.
It occurs to me this is the second time in as many State Championships that Carey has knocked me down a place by the slimmest possible of margins. In the previous case, literally a couple THOUSANTHS OF AN INCH. Great shooting Carey! In both cases.
Ron Robinson, alias ‘Og’, rounded out the pistol podium to nab a third place $100 Airguns Of Arizona gift certificate; his first TFT podium result in two years of trying! Also the TEXtreme Match Director, Ron used the (correction- THIS) world’s only RonCo airgun of his own rifle-to-pistol conversion. In one of his more cave-manly moments, Og employed his usual (patents pending) hack-saw and file butchery techniques on a perfectly good and EXPENSIVE .177 Brocock rifle (that averaged larger than one-inch groups at 50 yards) to fabricate his BroCo model EFT “pistol”. To everyone’s amazement but his own, the Weaver V-16 scoped RonCo BroCo now consistently averages sub-.75” groups at 50 yards with 13.4 grain JSB Monsters 805 FPS.
It now occurs to me that the only .177 “pistols” in the seven shooter field captured two of the three podium places, both shooting 13.4 grain Monsters at 805 FPS. A little food for thought in Extreme Field Target Pistol’s infancy.
Saturday’s Rifle Match #1 was contested by 22 shooters in cool, somewhat windy conditions. Chuck Misenheimer posted an excellent 48/54 score to claim the top spot in what proved to be a very tightly-packed race for the rifle podium. Chuck’s .22 Daystate Safari wears an NF N8 4X32 scope, and shoots 25 grain pellets 970 FPS. Great shooting, Chuck! Fortunately for the rest of us, Chuck did not contest Rifle Match #2.
Paul Bracaglia continued his roll of good LUCK (shooting skill had nothing to do with it) by claiming the second spot with an excellent 47/54, suggesting Pablo Pistolero might not be a one-trick pony. Pablo’s rifle is a tack-driving .30 FX Bobcat topped with Riton optics and shooting 44 JSBs 860 FPS. Excellent shooting, Pablo.
Third and fourth positions in the rifle race were a tie between Mike Bricker shooting a borrowed (from Derrick Wall) .30 KalibrGun Cricket Tac topped with an Athlon Helos scope and shooting 870 FPS, and Carey Hymel shooting what he calls (in a thick Cajun accent) “New Little Sumpin-Sumpin” topped with a Nightforce scope and shooting 25.4 grain JSBs 955 FPS. Apparently Intergalactic AirgunWerks sells ray-guns in rifle form also. Mike and Carey posted 46/54 scores, also tying in the first tie-breaker with five clean lanes each. Mike prevailed for the third spot virtue of our second tie-breaker, cleaning the standing shots with six, to Carey’s five standers. Good shooting, Gentlemen.
That the top FOUR shooters in Rifle Match #1 were separated by only TWO points not only gives perspective into these guys’ shooting skills, but also the possibilities for a blood-bath in Match #2! And hey, who doesn’t enjoy a good blood-bath?
Sunday’s Rifle Match #2 commenced shortly after noon in coldish temperatures, but lighter than normal TEXtreme conditions of single digit wind-speeds. Both the temperature and wind speeds increased over the course of the match, fortunately the wind speeds only a little. Scores reflected the shooting conditions, with most competitors posting higher scores than in Rifle Match #1.
Paul Bracaglia closed The Pablo Show with an impressive 51/54 score in Rifle match #2, for an aggregate score of 98/108 in the rifle competition to become (also) the 2022 Republic Of Texas TEXtreme Field Target RIFLE STATE CHAMPION. PHENOMENAL SHOOTING, PABLO!!! Congratulations Buddy!
I thought the boy was gonna crush my hand and shake my arm off as I presented him with his Rifle AND Pistol State Champion awards, and Airguns Of Arizona gift certificates totaling $700 for his weekend dominance! FYI, that makes Pablo the reigning AAFTA Pistol State Champion, TEXtreme Pistol State Champion, and TEXtreme Rifle State Champion.
Pablo may be a slow learner. But it would appear he’s learned enough in the past fifteen years to kick his field target mentor’s ass!
Speaking of asses, field target mentors, and slow learners, Ron Robinson jumped FIVE places from his standing after Rifle Match #1 to claim Second Place in the rifle competition, virtue of tying Pablo’s 51/54 Match #2 score for a 94/104 Rifle aggregate. Og stuffed a $300 Airguns Of Arizona gift certificate in his bear-skin thong for that (OBVIOUSLY) lucky effort. Apparently the old adage is true; “Even a blind Og can find an acorn once in a while”.
Og… or Sasquatch? Only it's hairdresser knows for sure!
Derrick “No-Stranger-To-The-Podium” Wall finished third in the aggregate Rifle competition, posting a fine 50/54 on day two; tying Og’s 94/108 Rifle aggregate. Og prevailed over Derrick for Second Place virtue of the second tie-breaker after they tied (also) in the first tie-breaker, each with nine cleaned (6/6) lanes in the rifle matches. However Og’s 11/12 points on the Standing lane bettered Derrick’s 9/12. Derrick added a $200 Airguns Of Arizona gift certificate to his vast collection. Rumor is, Derrick is well on the way to buying Airguns Of Arizona… with their gift certificate donations!
Yes, I realize the first tie-breaker for podium positions is a shoot-off by mutual agreement of tied competitors. Some that actually READ the rules might wonder why the Match Director did not even offer that option, which gives me a golden opportunity to repeat myself (again, as I often do). “There’s a method to my madness(es).”
I did not have to offer, or even mention the shoot-off option because there was not mutual agreement by the tied competitors for a shoot-off. Apparently one of the competitors, so physically and mentally exhausted he was about to LITERALLY drop in his tracks by then, was unwilling to participate, consider, or even mention a shoot-off! (Hint- think asses, field target mentors, and slow learners.)
Carey Hymel captured the fourth Rifle podium place and $100 Airguns Of Arizona gift certificate with an excellent 92/108 aggregate virtue of his 46/54 scores in both rifle matches. Good shooting, Carey. BTW, next time you visit Intergalactic AirgunWerks please ask Mikel NikschSky to telepath me for a conversation about ordering one’a them Space Shuttle Challenger custom ray-guns. I need to know if I can talk him into building one with a stock of alien material; of course assuming I can get my buddy Elon to deliver the walnut blank to him.
Before our drawing for multiple door prizes, I was floored when Mike Bricker donated an awesome extreme field target in the likeness of Elmo to the TEXtreme cause on behalf of Team Centercut. I was utterly flabbergasted by that unexpected show of generosity and support, and truly hope there are no I-Phone videos of me tripping over myself recovering from the shock. MANY THANKS, Mike!
We then had a drawing for door prizes that included a couple of nice work mats donated by AGT Airguns, thanks to Derrick Wall. Thank you Derrick. There were also schwag bags for every competitor, that included AGT key-chains, and TEXtreme-logo shameless marketing gimmickry.
We had five ladies in attendance, though only one competed. That they apparently enjoyed themselves at TEXtreme Airgun Sports Global Headquarters lends credence to my suspicions that it takes a very special lady to be a field target wido… errrr… uhhhh… I mean… wife! The ladies not only enjoyed themselves, but, increasingly all hopped-up on Texas Pecan coffee, added another layer of fun and camaraderie to the event. Matter of fact, the only way I think they could have had more fun was if I carry through on my threat to invest in a frozen margarita machine after I purchase a third Lamborghini and second Lear Jet with profits from my lucrative TEXtreme venture.
As always, I can’t thank Airguns Of Arizona enough for their sponsorship support from TEXtreme get-go, and continuing. Without their support there would have never been TEXtreme airgun competitions. I urge my shooters and all airgunners to support Airguns Of Arizona with your business. Feel free to also contact them with written or verbal thanks, I doubt they’d mind.
I’d also like to thank other sponsors and TEXtremists for all your help and support, including Jerry Cupples/PelletGage, AGT Airguns, Joe Peacock/airgunproducts.com , Art Womack, Jim Martin/Trailers Plus of Weatherford, Jim Clarke, Paul Bracaglia, Carlos Garza, and Shepard Meyers for adding a TEXtreme web page on the Boerne Airgun Club website.
Lastly, I’ll apologize to everyone I’ve neglected to thank. You deserve better treatment that that. By now you’ve (all) witnessed proofs-positive of my weak-mindedness, senility, struggles with puzzles and details, and e-n-d-l-e-s-s-l-y r-a-m-b-l-i-n-g stories and match reports.
Happy Airgunning All,
Ron & Maggyy
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We're gonna need a camera too!
) I'd say you'd have better than an excellent chance of being elected!
. Think I just stumbled upon a(nother) lucrative TEXtreme venture opportunity!
Dude, I wasn't born tomorrow.