Shotgun Sports USA
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Shotgun Sports USA
Wyatt Hargrove: Rising to the top
Wyatt Hargrove is a competitive sporting clay shooter from Eastman, Georgia. He has been in the sport for many years. Recently, Wyatt's name has become a regular fixture at the top of the leaderboard in various tournaments showing his talent and determination.
His hard work paid off with a remarkable M6 finish at the World Sporting Clays Championship in 2024. This impressive finish has only fueled his ambition, as he sets his goals on even greater success in the future. With his dedication and competitive nature, he is on the right track to becoming great.
Welcome to Shotgun Sports USA. Powered by Winchester Ammunition, the American Legend. Listen to the best shotgun shooters from all over the world in every discipline Championship winning coaches, gun clubs, target setters, vendors, as well as companies that make it all happen, brought to you by Briley Rick Hemingway's Promatic Trap Sales, cole Gunsmithing, clay, target Vision, castellani USA and Falcon Strike. Thanks for listening and remember to visit us online at ShotgunSportsUSAcom like us on Facebook and follow us on Instagram.
Speaker 2:in this episode, I have a guy from eastman, georgia on with me that is a top 10 finisher at the recent world Sporting Place Championship. He's been shooting a while now and in the past few years it's common to see his name at the top of most shoots he's attending. I'm glad to have him on with me here. He is Wyatt Hargrove. Wyatt, welcome to the show, man.
Speaker 3:Thank you for having me, Justin.
Speaker 2:Is this the first podcast you've ever done?
Speaker 3:Yes, sir, it is.
Speaker 2:Did you ever think old Georgia boy from down in the country be on a podcast about shooting a shotgun? I guess you would, but in this situation maybe not no, not, not really.
Speaker 3:Uh, I wouldn't expect this day to come well, the day's here right so yes, sir, it is all right.
Speaker 2:So, uh, for those of you who don't know why, why just tell everybody who you are. You know where you live, and, and we'll go from there all right.
Speaker 3:Well, uh, my name is Wyatt Hargrove, I am from Eastman Georgia, which is in central Georgia. Uh, I've been shooting for about 14 years, uh, competitively 10. Uh, you know, I'm about to be 25 years old and just I like to shoot, and so far we're turning it into a more of a productive sport than just a hobby sport.
Speaker 2:So I didn't realize you've been shooting that that long yes, sir, yep wow, well, it showed all right. So, uh, I messaged you the other day. I said, hey, we need to do a podcast why it finished m3 in the world world championship up at m&m and I kind of want to get a story. You know, I mean m3 at the. Basically, that's what is that? That's six overall, is that right?
Speaker 3:Yes, sir, is the top six.
Speaker 2:Yeah, so six overall. He got to experience a super final Um, and I just kind of want to get to the point to where he is now. I mean, it's it's, it's pretty, it's pretty cool to me. You know, I I kind of remember you from several years back and you were just a shooter and it seems here recently that you're up at the top a lot. When did you really start getting into it?
Speaker 3:The past three or four years maybe, with NSCA. Well, I've really gotten truly hard to decor with NSCA. When I got about 19, 20 years old, so roughly five years ago I've always shot SCTP and 4.8 growing up and whenever it started getting time to looking, you know, does this end here or does you know can I continue it on? And I found NSCA and started just going to a couple of state shoots, some, you know, just small registered shoots here and there.
Speaker 2:Yeah, you shot. For what college you go to?
Speaker 3:I went to a manual college, which is now manual university, but while I was there there it was a manual college up in north georgia they didn't get big time turned into a university yes, sir, they did. Uh, they kind of made me wish I can go back and uh change my diploma so how, how?
Speaker 2:when you went to school, did you go to school and knew and know you were going to be a? You wanted to shoot sporting clays, trap and skeet, and all that for college. Did you know that?
Speaker 3:no, sir. So, like I said, you know, whenever it got to the time of wondering, okay, is there shooting beyond this, beyond sctp and 4-8, um, my mom, actually you know she said, okay, do you, do you want to play football in college or do you want to see if there's any colleges that might have a shooting team? I said, well, it won't hurt to go out there and look. And so we looked on the Internet and the first thing that popped up was a male college's clay target team. And we reached out to John Sheelyely, who is still the director of the program nice, so you shot there, for I guess you got a four-year degree right yes, sir, I did.
Speaker 3:Yep, yeah, I shot there for four years and it was a blessing. And I, if I had to go back, you know people ask me do you wish you can go back to Georgia Southern? Or, you know, would you stay with Emanuel College? I said, well, I made a name for myself at Emanuel College, and so I still, to this day, pick Emanuel College over Georgia Southern.
Speaker 2:All right. So let's talk about that for a second, because there's a lot of kids that are in the sport, a lot of kids coming up and want to do kind of what you did. What? What uh advantages do you see in shooting college and what would you? What kind of path, I guess you'd say, would you recommend somebody that wants to shoot in college to go down?
Speaker 3:So, um, whenever I took this path, Georgia Southern at the time didn't have a team, so Emanuel was kind of the only one in the state of Georgia that or let me rephrase that Emanuel College was the only scholarship team in Georgia. Uga and ABAC down in Tifton they all had club teams. But the difference between a scholarship team and a club team is that the scholarship you know you have, a scholarship that helps pay for your funding for shooting Club team is all out of pocket. So that was one direction I went in. Now I don't know if any colleges have changed. If you know, georgia Southern may have a scholarship team. Now I have no clue.
Speaker 3:But also I would tell kids to really consider yes, shooting is great and all, but really consider what degree and what path you want, because some colleges don't have the program that you might want to go into or they might not offer what you really want. Don't settle for less. Get your degree first, because, as I was shooting, school was always first. That was my first job. Shooting was just a luxury part of it. Yeah, um, yeah. So, other than that, that's what I would advise people that want to go into further shooting, into collegiate. They need to put that in consideration as well.
Speaker 2:There's several and you'll have to name them because I don't know them, but I know they went there. Several uh people that went to emmanuel that's actually doing pretty well now which what shooters are they that that went there?
Speaker 3:you have uh, aaron copeland, uh graham eubanks, eric brown, uh john dean, daniels colton evans, um the the list goes on and on and on. Ambus, powell all those guys. I've shot with them and they're fantastic shots. Some of them aren't shooting as heavily as I am some of them just decided to focus more on work but all of them are great shots. You can always look them up. You know they're well known, especially when it came to you shooting um so, but some of them are still out there shooting still yeah, okay, so let's let's talk about.
Speaker 2:I'm gonna put you on the spot with this question. It's not a hard question, but you probably aren't ready for this. What? What shoots have you finished well at in the past two years?
Speaker 3:past two years I have done successfully well the most recent one here at the world um. Before that I I finished a couple side events at gator cup, seminole Cup, southeast Regional. I've done well all their five stand and super sporting events and feet ass. But a major one that some people have noticed. I don't know if anybody really has noticed but uh, was the South Carolina State back in 22 or, yes, 22. It was at Morey's. I took home the South Carolina State title so it was pretty great. That was the underdog story, if you know it was. It was a battle for that one.
Speaker 2:Well, tell it.
Speaker 3:That's what we're here for. Well, we're so. Morey's was my first time ever being there and I thought they were running both main events on the same day, but everybody shot the same course on Saturday and the same course on Sunday. Well, eric Dorsey set the Saturday main and I thought it was great targets, don't get me wrong, but I thought they were a little bit on the easier side.
Speaker 2:Eric, is that easy targets, Surprisingly, I know.
Speaker 3:So I shot a 90. There was Richard Cheek ahead of me with a 92. Turner Parcell ahead of me with a 94. Brandon Powell, rick Hemingway, mike Longo and several others were leading it by 95. So from the leader, I was five targets behind. So we go into the Sunday main. So from the leader, I was five targets behind, so we go into the Sunday main.
Speaker 3:I was shooting the 12 o'clock rotation on Sunday. Everybody that was ahead of me was shooting the three o'clock. Well, I was just enjoying my day. The first rotation went out there and shot. I didn't go on score chaser, but everybody else was. They were keeping track of it. Well, Kyle Millwood, he shot the 9 o'clock rotation on Sunday and he was the leader for his rotation, know his rotation, and he shot a low, low, 80, high, 70 and everyone else below him were in the 60s, 50s and below. But I had no clue about, I wasn't looking on score chaser. So then I go out there first First station. I lost dead. I said great, great start. So then my gun breaks. The top latch on my K80 was locked and I couldn't get it to open. So I was shooting with a fellow that had a K80 Parkour 34-inch barrel and he said hey, real, real quick, there's some targets out there in the grass, just drill two shots and see if you line up. Perfect, so I take it. Boom, boom, looks good. I had one of my buddies come up and he said hey, I can take your gun to Mike and granny if you wish. I said yes, please, I would feel more comfortable about it. So he hauls butt up there to Mike and Granny.
Speaker 3:Well, I shoot the next two stations with this gentleman's gun and I hadn't dropped a target. These targets to me at the time they didn't seem like they were high difficulty, but they they really were. I get two or three stations down the road, I see my gun coming back and I look at this station. It's two tower shots that were probably 55 yards away and I said, ooh, what do I need to do? So I finally decided to go back to my gun. Nothing changed. Ran the station, I said perfect. To go back to my gun. Nothing changed. Ran the station. I said perfect, we're back in business. So we're going along.
Speaker 3:Get to about station two or three and there's a Rabu Shondell and a standard Shondell across the pond. They were landing about 45-, 50 yards. It was a two-pair station. I only hit one target so I dropped three targets there. Last two stations I dropped another target had a 95. So I thought at the time I was like man Brandon and Mike Longa and Rick Hemingway and Turner they're all going to shoot this. Very well, they still got a five target lead on me. They can shoot a good 93, 92 and still win.
Speaker 3:I had nothing for the rest of the day. I hang out with Mike and Granny and tell them thank you for fixing my gun. About five o'clock rolls around and the first person to come and congratulate me was Brandon Powell. He got out of uh Chip Welch's buggy and he came and shook my hand. He said congratulations, you're the new South Carolina state champion. I kind of looked at him dumbfounded. I said what do you mean? You pull my leg? And he said no, you just want it. And he shot a 89 on that course, putting me one target ahead of him.
Speaker 2:So Brandon can be beat? Oh, he shot an 88.
Speaker 3:My bad, yes, sir, he can. He can be beat. I'm just making sure. Yes, sir, he is human, but uh well good mike will long go. He shot low 80s, turner shot uh uh 88 as well, I think, and rick henway shot at 89. So I got to take home the title, not in state but out of state, but really I took it all yeah, well, good for you.
Speaker 2:I didn't even know that story. I don't even know you won that yes, sir, that's what I'm saying.
Speaker 3:It was a real underdog story, and that was also the year that braxton oliver had that bad wreck. Um, he didn't get to compete yeah, yeah, I didn't know that.
Speaker 2:Talk about targets. You brought up targets just as an example. You said that some targets sat you, somebody sat, you thought a little, were a little easy, and then you said these are really difficult. What is your take on how targets should be set at a tournament? What do you think? How do you think they should be set? Do you think they should be set one easy course, one hard course, both hard courses, two easy courses? What do you feel is fair? Because there's a lot of conversation and a lot of talk going on about targets? How do you feel about that?
Speaker 3:my take on that is the target setter has a job.
Speaker 3:He can either set it completely hard for your top 5% of shooters that are here to prove a point and see who's the best, or they can set it a little bit softer for the rest of your crowd than the ones that are really coming just to enjoy the event and just to shoot and be a part of the event.
Speaker 3:But my take on it is they still have a job, but I do believe that they do need to have it where it still has a difficulty for us that are in the top 5% to 10% but still doable for the rest of your competitors, because if you do set it just for us, then you're gonna lose your money base with the rest. If you set it too soft, then some of us we kind of get I wouldn't say discouraged but we get kind of get I wouldn't say discouraged, but we get kind of conflicted and we're not satisfied and we kind of get bored and we don't tend to shoot our best. Yeah, but I've heard this many times from many people the easy targets count just as much as the hard targets, which is a hundred percent correct.
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 3:Um, so to me the best way it's like a two day main or a three day main. Let's have, you know, one course being your softer course, maybe a couple of hard targets or a couple of hard stations on it, kind of build your way up.
Speaker 2:Yeah, listen to this. What scares you most as far as a target is concerned? A very slow rabbit or a very fast Shondell? Which one scares you the most?
Speaker 3:Well, I'm just going to throw this out there for all the target setters. If you just want to beat me that desperately, throw all Shondells, because Sh Bells are my worst weakness really I thought you was going to say the rabbit.
Speaker 2:I thought you would say the rabbit no sir, I actually enjoy the rabbit. It's something different every time all right, let's try it again, because I wanted the other answer. All right, so a very slow Rick Hemingway flopper or a fast crosser which is harder to hit for you, the flopper, I'm telling you that's kind of the quote when I asked you about the rabbit If it's slow and it's barely moving, oh my God, you can get. There's no telling how many people you can beat with that.
Speaker 3:Yep. You know, those slow, just barely moving targets. I'm sure you're going to get into this later in this podcast, but I'm more of a maintained lead shooter than I am any other technique. But I have been known to figure out that on the slower ones I need to do a swing through and come from behind. And this is the slower ones. They get me every time. If you give me a 40-yard full spring crosser, I'm your man, I'm going to get it. But if it comes to slow targets, loopers, you got me.
Speaker 2:It's a wrap, all right. So let's talk about the World Championship Now. Listen, wyatt. Okay, it's a wrap, alright. So let's talk about the world championship Now. Listen, wyatt. Okay, I think you're probably going to be the first person to talk about these targets On. Everybody's seen Nick Barry's videos and videos and Whoever's posted videos wherever, but I don't know that anybody's talked about it yet. So you're going to be the first person, so you need to do a good job, okay, alright, so let's start out with your week. World Championship was last week. All right, yes, sir, how was the event? Let's just talk about that. How was the event?
Speaker 3:Well, I am kind of limited on talking about some of these targets because I only got to shoot the tower challenge, the feet, ass and the main. I did hear that the Castellani pre limb and the super sporting were good targets, but I never got to see him. I'm sure later on this week I'll take some time and look at Nick Barry's videos on them. Um, but for as when it came to the targets, I did get to see. Tower challenge was something that I thought would be cool and it absolutely was.
Speaker 2:Um how was that? How was that? Yeah, that's the first time I've seen that. Uh, how was it?
Speaker 3:He, he had seven kind of make sure I'm yep. He had seven targets thrown out towers and lifts and fire trucks. Um, I didn't. When I saw it I thought it was going to be kind of like a sporting event, but he had it set up as five stand style. Um, it was really fun. I enjoyed it. Um, I only shot a 34 out of 50 but it was. It was fun because I don't get to shoot towers that much and I thought that it was a pretty unique event and my whole squad you know they were laughing with me, we were laughing the entire time. You know there were shots that in pairs that would just seemed wow, how can I pick up on that bird before it hits 100 yards away? You know, yeah, so it was. It was challenging. But I think we need to see more of those kind of events because not everybody gets to see a tower shot. You know, not everybody gets to see towers it seems like in georgia.
Speaker 2:Correct me, other than a couple. Uh, I don't know where do you see towers at in georgia.
Speaker 3:I guess forest city maybe forest city, meadows, old hudson and big red oak. All right, so all of them. So I guess I just hadn't seen any of them.
Speaker 2:Meadows, old Hudson and Big Red Oak so I guess I just haven't seen any of them well, I wouldn't say all of them.
Speaker 3:Down here at Gator Creek we have like a 25 foot tower, but it ain't no lift or anything like that. Elberton, up there in Elberton County they're quarries, so they're quite opposite. You're shooting downward instead of upward. Um, you know, there there's a couple other gun clubs here in Georgia that don't you know Cherokee Rose. They have a couple of 20 foot tall towers. They don't have no lifts. Yeah, yeah, you know not, not every gun club has them, but yeah, that that I'm.
Speaker 2:I guess it's just the background. Maybe when you're shooting up at something, the line, if a target's going up, I don't know what it is with me. I have a hard time with towers. A lot of people do.
Speaker 3:The best advice I can give for that is act like you're in a dove field.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I guess, so that's where they're at.
Speaker 3:They're flying above you right. Yes, sir all right.
Speaker 2:So, anyway, you shoot the tower challenge. I'm looking at scores right now zach shot 34. I mean nick barry shot 34, you shot 34. Cory crew shot 35. So you're right there with I mean those, all of them guys right there, they know how to shoot, you know. So, um, so you shoot the tower challenge, then you shoot the tower challenge, then you shoot the main. Let's talk, let's talk about the main, because that's what that's, you know, that's what everybody's talking about, that's what wins it. So what about the main?
Speaker 3:yes, sir. So first day main I shoot the dt11 course. The dt11 was preferred as, like, the medium course. Okay To me. I wouldn't say that. The only reason why I say that is because I saw a lot of repetitive targets on there. I saw a lot of trap shots. I saw, you know, just a lot of loopers, you know. It seemed there was a lot of teals. You know I saw the same target, maybe different background, maybe a different position, but eventually I saw the same target repetitively on that course somewhere on there, um, not just at different gun clubs but at anthony's. It was the same thing over and over. So I shot it well, don't get me wrong. Uh, I shot it very well. But I, you know, I've been struggling with first day main event, you know, keeping my head in the game and I really was focused on doing well, and so that helped me get through that repetitive state yeah, and I'm looking at the scores.
Speaker 2:You shot it the best. So, uh, you shot dt11 the first day, um then I shot the sl2 second day okay, how was it?
Speaker 3:sl2. Um, to the crowd it seemed to be the easiest to me. It had a little bit more technicality in it. There were different style of targets. It did have me interested but what got me was I Guess I never looked on score chaser, at scores. But you know you're gonna hear people talk about oh I shot this or so and so shot this. So when I went into sl2 I went into a careful, kind of you know, cautious state instead of being aggressive like I like to be, and I started shooting other people's games. I wasn't shooting wyatt's game. There were targets that I normally would shoot either off the arm or I would let it develop a little bit more and you know I would just do quite opposite of what I would have done. And after I missed that target on the first or second pair, I'll, you know, shoot it the way you post to and I run the rest and I run the rest. Other than that, those targets, they were a little bit more interesting to me and had a little bit more technicality to it than DT11.
Speaker 2:All right, so 694 is last, I guess, for you, and that was your worst score. Yes, sir.
Speaker 3:How was it.
Speaker 3:Well, the reason why and I think that everyone else would agree when I say this it was the bigger targets, it was the divider state of course. Um, there those targets were. They were really good targets I had. Joe Skoll did a very well good job setting targets. I enjoyed that course the most and people are probably going to be like why you shot that course the worst, you're not going to like that, why should you like that course? But heck, no, that leaves more room for me to perfect it than the easier courses. You know and I enjoy bigger and harder, more difficult, more difficult targets than most.
Speaker 3:So the Team USA representatives they got to shoot the 694 the first day and you know I'm friends with Brandon Powell and he comes up to me and said how did you shoot today? And I told him I shot DT11 and shot a 60. He said, well, I shot a 61 on 694, and boy, those were some targets. I said, well, if you say those were some targets and you shot that, then you should really do great on the DT11 because it wasn't technically that hard. He said, okay, great.
Speaker 3:And that was the only time I heard scores. You know, heard everybody else say, oh, I shot this, I shot that. So I kind of put myself in that range. Second day, like I said, got careful. But after the second day, on Saturday, I did not hear not a single thing about scores and I kept to my word that I wasn't going to look on score chaser. So I had no clue what position I was in. So going into 694, I just shot. I went in there and I ran my first six stations and they were not, you know, no gimme targets.
Speaker 3:They were big lead, big gap targets, um, very challenging to most of your common shooters yeah then I drop one, run the next couple, I get station two where everyone kept talking about, oh, oh, george Digweed. George Digweed zeroed that station.
Speaker 2:Well, I was going to ask that next. But yeah, go ahead and talk about that.
Speaker 3:Well, I can see why he zeroed it, but I luckily got out of there with a four, but of course it had a Shondell on it, so I was faking in my boots.
Speaker 2:What were the targets doing?
Speaker 3:It was a quartering left to the right Machine was probably, I don't know, 25, 30 yards full spring going down the tree line. Spring going down the tree line.
Speaker 3:second bird was a fundale almost almost full edge, like it was going directly away from you, yep, and it was going. It was going about 40 feet in the air, um, but I don't know why I do it, but every time I see a target like that I just shoot 10 miles in front of it but I go in there. I dead loss. I said all you shot in front, the dead paired and then the last pair lost dead. So I just didn't get on the line for the quartering target, um, but you know, that was a very rough station and I mean George probably should have shot, you know, maybe four or five out of six. But you know, going into station two, I didn't think that was the station that he zeroed because I looked at it and I said, nah, this can't be the one.
Speaker 3:Station three was a power station. Station three was a power station. It had a MIDI on report 110 international target. And that was when I looked. Everybody said, oh, this is the station George zero, it's got to be. And I looked at the numbers oh, this is station three. He's zero. Two, yeah, but yeah.
Speaker 3:I enjoy harder targets, and Joe did a very good job with that court. I enjoyed it the most.
Speaker 2:It was something different every time. He did so good he got a new logo Did you see that?
Speaker 3:No, I didn't.
Speaker 2:Joe's got a logo now, Joe Skull.
Speaker 3:Heck yeah, I like Joe Every time I see now Joe skull Heck.
Speaker 2:Yeah, joe, I like Joe. Every time I see him he's, he's fun to talk to. I'm glad he did good. And you know the targets. I mean you got to think when you're setting three main event courses, you know. I mean there's only so many targets you can throw. You know what I'm saying. I mean it's. I can understand where maybe some repetitiveness happens. You know that's, that's that's cool. I mean so uh interesting. You shot 60. You talked about the DT 11, um, and Brandon shot 59.
Speaker 2:So yes, it sounds like you did pretty good on that one. But anyway, you finished master, master, third, m3 and uh, then you got to go to the super final and I mean, I know you fairly well enough that you're just a, you're one of them, good old boys.
Speaker 3:You know how did it feel to know that you're about to go to a super final world championship well, um, to be honest with you, justin, um, I had a couple people come watch me shoot the last couple stations on the 694 course, yeah, and I noticed that they were watching me. We had a long wait on my last station and I went up to them and I think they were on score chaser and they were all whispering, talking about the score and I walked over and they all kind of just got quiet. I said what is it? They said we're just, we're just talking. I said you're talking about something. And y'all looking nervous. They said well, why you're? You're at where you need to be. And I said well, hey, this is my last station.
Speaker 3:I looked, it was Chip Welch. I said Chip, where am I at? He said I want to tell you, but then I don't. I said well, I kind of need you to tell me. And he said Wyatt, if you run this station, you're in. If you drop one, you're still in. If you drop one, you're still in. If you drop all three, you have to go in a shoot off to get in. And I looked down. I said, well, no problem, I'm just gonna go run the station. I ended up shooting two out of three. So after I got off the station they were all you know, they were all tearing that. I got in and that's what I knew right then. And there I was, in um, my dad. He was a nervous wreck. He smokes Marlboro Gold and I could tell he was looking at scores because he's back there pacing back and forth and I think he smoked two whole packs right then and there on one station.
Speaker 2:But he didn't have no beer with him, did he?
Speaker 3:No God. No he was, he was shooting. I told him leave the alcohol in the truck I didn't know he was shooting with you yep, he.
Speaker 3:He said he wanted to participate and so we got him in. But uh, yeah, I I could tell things were tight whenever I look over and he's over there pacing back and forth and smoking two whole packs of cigarettes. That's funny. I think he was more excited than anyone about it. He was definitely more excited than I was because, like I said, if you would have told me a week ago that why would you see yourself in the super final, I would have said if you would have told me a week ago that why would you see yourself in the super final, I would have said, heck, no, I don't see that day coming for a while.
Speaker 3:But going into the shoot-off though I guess a lot of people know me a little bit better through make-or-break shoot-offs. I guess a lot of people know me a little bit better through make a break shoot offs. Um, I am a make a break fanatic. I love doing it, it's fun, um, but the super final shoot off was definitely a different beast than a make a break shoot off.
Speaker 2:They were throwing all sevens, weren't they?
Speaker 3:Yeah, they, they were seven birds, all right.
Speaker 2:I tried to watch nick's video and you could see some. It's like you know, it's so hard to video that kind of stuff, especially with the way nick does it, but he does a good job with what he's got. But you couldn't see most of them. So what were they? Just big, far targets ahead of me.
Speaker 3:Yep, there were some On the first stand. We had probably a 50-yard kind of just out there. It was a 90 maybe. No, it was a standard. The first one was a standard, it was about 50 yards. It was just slow rising target. And then the second bird was overhead tower. That was on full spring. So of course I get the further target and I hit all of it and it took me to my last pair to finally figure out the lead that it took for that overhead tower.
Speaker 3:Um, I just kept letting the bird beat me and I never get enough lead yeah so the second stand had a 90 millimeter going straight up in the air and then falling right back down, 60 yards away most likely, and then it was forgot. The other target on that stand. But I struggled with the 90. I kept trying to shoot it while it was still rising and when I pulled the trigger it was still going past my shot. So my last pair I said let it drop and let it fall, and I hit it. Then the last stand this is where I threw it all away.
Speaker 2:All right so if you'd have ran this last stand, where would you have finished?
Speaker 3:If I would have ran the last one, I would have finished. I'm trying to do the math real quick. Make sure I say this correctly there was nine shots. On the last one I had a 13. I would have gotten um. I would have gotten second overall.
Speaker 2:Okay, All right. So you know that, going into this, I'm sure at this at this time, Yep, so well, I didn sure at this time, yep.
Speaker 3:Well, I didn't know necessarily, I would get second overall. I just knew that I would get a podium position if I did really well on this stand. Okay, and the first target was a Rabu Shondell, shondell, yep, we get full use of the gun, so I wasn't necessarily as nervous. Um then, the next uh pair that we had was a full spring right to left uh crosser, dialed in, kept shooting in front of the Sean Bell and I once I missed it twice back to back. I kind of just something didn't go through my head and I ended up losing both of the last two pairs and it dropped me down to the last spot, which was master third.
Speaker 3:Wow, and that's the one on the video that Brandon got up there and shot a hundred miles an hour yes, sir, he, uh, when he gets to going and he has a crowd that you know, that can vibe with him, that can get on his level of energy. I think it was like at first it started with one guy and then all of a sudden, after like the second pair, when he, he was loading the gun and he, and before he even closed it, he, he was calling pull and you know they just said, yeah, brandon, keep going.
Speaker 2:I heard that he just kept speeding up.
Speaker 3:Yep, and once he was on he was on and you know I'm proud of him. You know he's done it all, I believe, except for go win it overseas. But yeah, he turned it on and I wish I was there on that same level he was, but I think he was on a mission.
Speaker 2:Yeah, oh yeah, yeah it's. Uh, I'm proud. All y'all at the top. I mean you know david. I mean you don't see david at many shoots anymore. I saw him more this year than I have you know finished runner up and Turner. I mean I said this a while back that Turner was going to be a problem.
Speaker 2:And here he is, and you know you got Jasper and and, and you, and I mean Christopher Keller, I mean you got a bunch of guys up there that are. You know I'm just proud of everybody that that finished and and and did well, so it's, and I know you're, you're proud of yourself.
Speaker 3:I mean that's, that's, that's saying something right there, why you know that yes, sir, yes sir, I think I'm just really proud that the majority of us were from the southeast region of the united states, you know yeah, I always said that the southeast region of the united states was your best. Yeah, I always said that the Southeast reason in the United States was your best region to have competition.
Speaker 2:So we'll take, we'll take. Let's see the tops. Uh, let's take from uh, HOA down that master to M five. Okay, so you got. You got Brandon, Southeast, Turner, Southeast Jasper, Southeast you, Southeast, Zach and Wendell, both Southeast. So one, two, so six, six of you are from Tennessee, southeast All right, chris, chris Keller. So that's seven. So David's the only one in that whole group that's from the North.
Speaker 3:Yes, sir.
Speaker 2:That's crazy. I didn't even think about that when you said that.
Speaker 3:I, we were really proud. Hey, I'm. I'm proud that. I'm proud that three out of well, technically you got Wendell. He's down in gay Georgia, but Zach me, Jasper Brandon, we're all Georgia. I was proud of that as well.
Speaker 2:Yeah, that's pretty neat. Out of 1,622 shooters. I was proud of that as well. Yeah, yeah, that's, that's pretty neat, you know, out of uh, 1,622 shooters. I mean it's saying something you know as far as, as far as the shoots concerned and overall, I mean it was, I'm sure it was ran right. You know you're up in Eminem.
Speaker 3:Yes, sir, I will say they did run the world. That was my first world, by the way. They ran it really well that many shooters, some gun clubs, wouldn't even have the thought of running that size of a tournament, but they ran it really well. I didn't hear no problems when it came to you know traffic or you know parking or whatsoever Hospitality was great. I always enjoyed the Italian food up there in that area. So you know me and you, we're big guys. So our main objective sometimes is food.
Speaker 2:Oh yeah, and I'm going to tell you something. If you want me to shoot, good, put a steak at the end of it. Yes, sir, you got that 100% correct, I'm either going to shoot good or fast and shoot bad, one of the two. I'm going to get to that steak. You know what I mean.
Speaker 3:Yes, sir.
Speaker 2:So you're back. What's next for you? What are you planning on going? Where are you going next? Shoot once, that's a good question.
Speaker 3:I recently had to drop a couple of events. These next couple weeks have work come up? You know, I would love, you know, to focus more on shooting, but you know, sometimes we got to pay the bills and so I have work and where do you work? But I think I work with Craig Graham with AgriMed International.
Speaker 2:Okay, Okay, good, Didn't he? He was some sort of sponsor up there. I think he sponsored some. I saw his name.
Speaker 3:Yes, sir, he uh, he was a water sponsor for the water hospitality.
Speaker 2:Hey, sometimes that's all you can get. You know, I tried to. I tried to call one time on a sponsorship for a company and they said you can have the shuttle cart. So well, okay, get what you can get. So you're going to US Open, though I know that you got to be.
Speaker 3:The plan is to go to US Open. Yes, sir, good, I've actually been to Northbrook once. It's a beautiful gun club.
Speaker 2:It is.
Speaker 3:So it's pretty unique. I like the rolling hills they have.
Speaker 2:You know, and I say this, people that listen to this show will know this, but I've been shooting for a minute, been podcasting for a minute. I've never been to Eminem. Really yeah, I keep saying I'm going to go, that's the only place I really want to go. You know I don't know that there's another place that I really want to go. I'd like to go to EJ overseas, but I really want to go to them.
Speaker 3:Yeah, maybe we can go to World next year at EJ, me and you. Well, I will say this Anthony does have a beautiful gun club. He has a course for every terrain. Really, to be honest with you, I think my most favorite course is a course that you know they're not even throwing no targets, except for the practice course. The practice course is over the marsh with all the ducks.
Speaker 2:So you had a good time. Sum it all up you had a good time, I guess.
Speaker 3:Yes, sir, that was my second time being at M&M and he hadn't disappointed. You know there can always be. You know you can always try to go towards perfection, you can always try to get better, but he's about got it wrapped up. He's as good as he can get. Yeah, he's got it, he's almost got it there.
Speaker 2:Well, good, I'm glad you did. Well, you know I know your dad, your mom's proud, and Trey and all them. You know I'm glad you did. Well, I know your dad, your mom's proud, and Trey and all them. I'm glad, shells, he does help me out with that.
Speaker 3:I've been Shooting BMP, f2, mops, 1300 feet per second. I don't have a preference on 7.5 or 8. You know that part don't bother me, but I have been shooting them for a while. But you know who can go wrong with a good old Winchester double a.
Speaker 2:You know, super handy yeah that's right yeah that's right, but you know, I didn't know, I didn't know what. Uh, I've never even asked you that.
Speaker 3:So that if I this is kind of a gray area for me, cause you know I, I say I prefer a area for me because you know I, I say I prefer a certain shell, you know. But I really, to be honest with you, no matter if you give me a certain shell, I will say it does take me a couple practice shots or heck, even sometimes it takes me a month to make sure that I know that I'm in rhythm with the shell. Because, you know, some people say, oh, I can't tell a difference between the 1300 feet per second to a 1250 or a 1235, whatever you name. But really your body reacts with it different and it does adjust.
Speaker 2:Yeah Well, I guess you're good at adjusting, yes sir.
Speaker 3:But other than that, though, I shoot a K80. A long time ago I was shooting Browning Satoris, but whenever my shooting game increased I needed a more reliable gun because I was constantly putting in parts and fixing my Satoris and as many rounds as I was putting through because that's when I was going through collegiate and going through NSCA and just my shooting increased like 100% percent and so, um, I was kind of pushed towards the k80 and ever since I got it I've been happy. Ever since I've my students definitely increased ever since I got it well, good, what.
Speaker 2:This is where we wrap it up. Big dog, I could do a whole nother episode with you and ask you questions that you haven't, we haven't even talked about, but I wanted to. I wanted to go over what we went over. I mean, you know the world championship you're doing as well as you have. I appreciate you taking some time with me and talking about these things. Congratulations on as well as you did. It's not stopping here. I mean, you know that. So anybody you want to thank, I really enjoyed it Good.
Speaker 3:I really just want to thank for my family and Trey and everybody that's helped me and supported me along the way. I'm not like everybody else, having a buttload of sponsors to help me get there. So me and my family and Trey, you know they're the ones that helped me get to where I am, so I all the credit goes to them and you know and I, other than that, I just enjoyed you know shooting and I always will, and hopefully we can continue going up from here.
Speaker 2:Yeah, that's right. Well, going up from here? Yeah, that's right, all right, thank you, buddy. I'll see you at the next one. I don't know which one that'll be. I'm sure I'll be at one that you're at. So, uh, come holler at me will do justin. Thank you, all right, buddy, we'll see you. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
