With heavy heart I share that Mike Smith passed away earlier today, from complications from an ongoing battle with cancer.
He was what I refer to as "a field target friend" and that's the context I'm going to keep for this. I'll let his eulogy be at the funeral.
Mike was the man behind "Mike's Dandy Targets" (MDT Targets) which some of you likely own. These were the smaller version of the heavy duty targets that he and Ben Spencer sold as S&S Targets (I believe the S's were Smith and Spencer). And some of you likely own those too. They're the best field targets I've ever personally experienced. He also made and sold "KYL" Know Your Limits targets, and again, they were the best money could buy.
He was a perfectionist at making targets, and also a perfectionist at shooting. Whether it was field target, benchrest, ultimate field target, 10meter, etc, I can't think of anybody here in AZ that has had more perfect scores in ft matches than Mike. He used to shoot what we call "Unlimited" or "Freestyle" class, essentially using a tripod and a laser rangefinder. He shot a lot of perfect matches that way. Some folks gave him grief about the class he was shooting so he jumped over to Hunter class a couple years ago, trading in for a bipod and using his scope to range at 16x. And he shot a lot of perfect scores in Hunter class too. Folks knew that it was gonna get serious when he pulled out that green and gray Thomas, topped with the Khales scope. And that was one of the things I loved about Mike. He was a serious competitor, but still had lots of fun. He'd be laughing and joking and teasing and still get a perfect score. He was a fun guy to be squadded with. And I'll miss not ever getting to shoot a match squadded with him again.
Lots of texts amongst us Arizona field target shooters went out today, and some of them suggested I make a post about Mike, and other's shared a few thoughts about him. I'd like this to be that, a place for any of the field target crowd that would like to, to comment about him.
And I'll start with an experience that my older son still talks about. Mike and I were squadded together at a monthly match at the Perry Pit match site, just south of Flagstaff, AZ. This would have been around 5 years ago, making my son about 5 at the time. Colben hadn't started competing yet, but he'd keep score for me and my squadmate. Throughout the whole match Mike complimented Colben about how good of a score-keeping job he was doing. And of course it was a bit tongue in cheek, but a 5 year doesn't pick up on stuff like that. At the end of the match, Mike presented Colben with a $1 dollar bill and told him he deserved to be paid for keeping score for us the whole match. Coulda been $100 dollar bill for all that 5 year old cared, and Colben would have been just as ecstatic. Mike made Colben's day, and mine too. Since then, and at any match Colben attended with me, Mike would always walk up and shake Colben's hand and treat him like any other "field target friend" despite his young age. Mike was Colben's friend just as much as mine.
Me and Colben are gonna miss Mike at matches.
He was what I refer to as "a field target friend" and that's the context I'm going to keep for this. I'll let his eulogy be at the funeral.
Mike was the man behind "Mike's Dandy Targets" (MDT Targets) which some of you likely own. These were the smaller version of the heavy duty targets that he and Ben Spencer sold as S&S Targets (I believe the S's were Smith and Spencer). And some of you likely own those too. They're the best field targets I've ever personally experienced. He also made and sold "KYL" Know Your Limits targets, and again, they were the best money could buy.
He was a perfectionist at making targets, and also a perfectionist at shooting. Whether it was field target, benchrest, ultimate field target, 10meter, etc, I can't think of anybody here in AZ that has had more perfect scores in ft matches than Mike. He used to shoot what we call "Unlimited" or "Freestyle" class, essentially using a tripod and a laser rangefinder. He shot a lot of perfect matches that way. Some folks gave him grief about the class he was shooting so he jumped over to Hunter class a couple years ago, trading in for a bipod and using his scope to range at 16x. And he shot a lot of perfect scores in Hunter class too. Folks knew that it was gonna get serious when he pulled out that green and gray Thomas, topped with the Khales scope. And that was one of the things I loved about Mike. He was a serious competitor, but still had lots of fun. He'd be laughing and joking and teasing and still get a perfect score. He was a fun guy to be squadded with. And I'll miss not ever getting to shoot a match squadded with him again.
Lots of texts amongst us Arizona field target shooters went out today, and some of them suggested I make a post about Mike, and other's shared a few thoughts about him. I'd like this to be that, a place for any of the field target crowd that would like to, to comment about him.
And I'll start with an experience that my older son still talks about. Mike and I were squadded together at a monthly match at the Perry Pit match site, just south of Flagstaff, AZ. This would have been around 5 years ago, making my son about 5 at the time. Colben hadn't started competing yet, but he'd keep score for me and my squadmate. Throughout the whole match Mike complimented Colben about how good of a score-keeping job he was doing. And of course it was a bit tongue in cheek, but a 5 year doesn't pick up on stuff like that. At the end of the match, Mike presented Colben with a $1 dollar bill and told him he deserved to be paid for keeping score for us the whole match. Coulda been $100 dollar bill for all that 5 year old cared, and Colben would have been just as ecstatic. Mike made Colben's day, and mine too. Since then, and at any match Colben attended with me, Mike would always walk up and shake Colben's hand and treat him like any other "field target friend" despite his young age. Mike was Colben's friend just as much as mine.
Me and Colben are gonna miss Mike at matches.
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... so sorry to hear this. He was definitely a great guy and will definitely be missed... many great memories...
