Arizona State Spring Piston Championship – “Spring Fling in the Desert”
April 18 & 19, 2025 – Ben Avery Shooting Facility – Small-Bore Range
Phoenix, AZ – Wayne Mauler, match director
First off, apologies for scheduling this match during Easter week. We did not realize this was the case until it was too late to change it. We always shoot the 3rd Saturday of the month. Next year, Easter is April 5; we already looked. Next year’s date will not interfere but will still be the 3rd Saturday. Specific days are still in planning stages.
We also planned this match to remember Mike Smith, who left us a year and a week ago. Mike was not overly enamored about shooting a “springer dinger” and would tease us relentlessly about it. He slowly came around and became enthusiastic, realized the potential, finally bought a piston gun, and was in the process of getting it set up, but then passed before even getting to shoot it. This match is therefore dedicated to Mike. Knowing Mike’s propensity for practical jokes, we firmly believe he had a hand in the match conditions over the past two days. More on that later….
We had two beautiful looking days in which to shoot. Both Friday and Saturday the skies were blue. Lots of clouds on Friday with temps ranging from 63° up to 68° and humidity in the upper 30% area. The wind, on the other hand, was very blustery. Wind velocity on Friday was above 10 mph and gusted to over 20 mph. Directionally, it came from west, WSW, and shifted around to the SSW. It was “almost” predictable and we worked with what we had.
Friday night, after the match, the wind blew even harder and overnight it rained for about 4 hours, according to the guys that camped in BASF’s campground. It blew so hard the cooking tarp set up by one of the guys, blew away. No idea where that may have ended up; probably down in Pinal County. It blew everything around on the range, as well. Saturday morning saw a lot of clean up before we could resume shooting.
Saturday appeared to be a prettier day than Friday. The NWS called for only 5mph winds out of the north and shifting south in the afternoon. It turned out that the wind conditions that we experienced were worse than Friday, and although the temps were similar, if felt colder due to wind chill. And the wind was ONLY in the immediate area where we were shooting. Both Anthem and Deer Valley Airport weather monitoring stations reported mild wind conditions. This is why we believe that Mike had a hand in playing games with us by “arranging” these winds…..just for us. Mike, I hope you are happy now that you have made a spectacle of yourself. That’s okay, we still miss you, buddy!
With numerous things happening, regarding individual’s personal schedules, we had but 12 shooters competing. Between injuries, a surgery, spring turkey season hunt, overseas trip, conflicting family events, other responsibilities, and we cannot forget Easter, we still had some diehard shooters competing. We did have fun, regardless. Overheard through the gusting wind, were outbursts of joy when a target went over, along with Tony, the tormenter’s outbursts of “Faaaaaawk !!” when things didn’t go so well.
Twelve lanes / two targets per lane / two shots at each / 48-shot match is what was planned in order to accommodate a course difficulty with a Troyer of 30.92T on Friday and 31.03 on Saturday. Okay, now factor in the wind and Friday turned out to be 38.39T and Saturday was 38.50T. Eleven of the targets were set beyond 40 yards, and even the close ones were not really that close, which all contributed to a very challenging course. I will also go on record to say I HATE those damn 3/8” kill zone targets…..LOL! One lane on each day was designated as forced position, with one offhand target and one kneeling target. With the wind shifting as quickly as it does, it was quite a chore trying to figure the hold-off. Jesse, aka “Q”, has his work cut out repainting all the target faces.
Here are the scores, equipment stats, and final placements;
On Saturday during the match, Mike’s widow, Donna, and daughter, Chelsie stopped in to say hi and observe. We are always happy to see them. Now, we have to get Chelsie to come out and start shooting. We can corrupt her just as well as her dad can.
At the end of the match, when tabulating scores, a tie was discovered in Hunter Piston class for 3rd place. Jesse Avery and Tony Pellegrino each tied with a 49. A 1” kill zone target was quickly set up at……somewhere out there. This was a one-shot, sudden death shoot-off. At this point, at the end of the match, the wind had also surprisingly died off to almost nothing. After a coin flip, Jesse shot first, but barely missed dropping it. Tony set up, fired his shot and drilled it dead center. It may have been a short shoot off, but was still exciting for all to watch. We did have to keep a close watch on the other Tony, who was sitting in the back with a Cheshire cat smile on his face, just waiting to shout out something, but he held his tongue. He was primed and ready to go. Like I mentioned earlier, we do have fun!
We have to thank Wayne Mauler for acting as match director. He hurt his lower back and was not able to shoot, and decided to fill in for Larry Piercy. Larry was the scheduled match director, and wanted to shoot, but had to endure dental surgery on Thursday to correct a concern. He wisely opted not to shoot the match while still coming down off of anesthesia. Come to think of it, that could have been quite entertaining.
We also want to thank Wayne, Larry, Dave, Mark, and Jesse for getting to the range early on Thursday to set up the course. Thanks to everyone who helped take in the targets, blocks, clamps, etc. afterwards. With everyone chipping in, it makes things go a lot easier.
As a finale, scores were announced, winner’s medals were presented, pictures were taken, and everyone said their farewells, finished packing their gear, and headed for home; some close, others many hours away. Safe travels and Happy Easter to all.
Respectfully submitted,
Mark Kauffman
Secretary, Airgunners of Arizona, Inc.