Arizona State PCP championships – September 18, 19, & 20, 2026
Mormon Lake, AZ
Wayne Mauler, Match Director
Friday, September 18 dawned crisp and cool in the Arizona mountain country of
Mormon Lake, at 7200 feet above sea level. The troops had arrived the day
before and set the courses under the direction of Kent Gladden. He had help
setting the two courses of 9 lanes each with 3 targets per lane to the AAFTA Grand
Prix prescribed difficulty factor of 35 – 36 Troyer. Helping were John and Andrew
Welchert, Van Tucker, Carl Forrey, Luis Granillo, Ryan Small, Ed Brockway, Steve
Montgomery, Crystal Gladden, Matthew Means and Bobby Corcorran. Kudo’s go
to Bobby Corcorran for setting lane 9 of both courses down into the pit. If you
have ever had the opportunity to shoot into the pit (a gravel pit used by the
forestry service for roadway repairs and servicing), it Is quite the challenge, steep,
and a lot of fun! With Van directing, the pistol course was laid out at the same
time. Many thanks go out to all that assisted.
Later in the day on Friday, after most had arrived on site, the pistol match was
contested with 10 shooters in attendance. The weather was perfect, with temps
in the mid-70° range and humidity in the mid-30%. Wind was mild, coming from
the south to southwest between 4 and 7 mph, with supposed “gusts” of 15 mph,
although it wasn’t noticed by those participating. Van Tucker acted as match
director for the pistol event. A shoot off was needed between Jim and Cole to
determine 2nd and 3rd places. Here are the pistol scores and stats
Saturday, September 19. Another beautiful day and day ONE of the rifle event.
Kent Gladden and Carl Forrey were match directors today with 27 shooters in
attendance. Once again, the weather was cooperative with temps ranging in the
low 70°s, and humidity in the low 30% bracket. Wind was again very mild at 5 – 6
mph, out of the south to southwest, again with reported (NWS) gusts of 17 – 20
mph, but again, not noticed. With the ponderosa pines in proliferation at this site,
the wind could be moving thru the trees, but you wouldn’t notice it at ground
level. High score for the day was shot by Cole Reardon, with a 52 out of a possible
54 in hunter class and the only shooter to break 50. Phenomenal shooting! Sadly,
Cole could not join us on Sunday due to understandable religious obligations.
After the match, lunch (Fire House Subs) was provided, followed by our annual
raffle. Once again, Airguns of Arizona provided all the raffle prizes of a .22 cal
rifle, .22 cal pellets, rifle cases, quadrant target, and much more. A big thank you
goes out to them for their generosity. The lovely Miss Emma, daughter of our club
treasurer, Mary Ann, was on hand to sell raffle tickets. Who could say no to those
gorgeous big eyes and smile? From what was reported, the club made a few
dollars from her efforts.
This was followed by the ever-popular game of “Chicken Little”; an addictive
silhouette game devised by Kent using rimfire metallic silhouettes set at insane
distances out to 80 yards. No data was given regarding number of shooters or
scores, so unfortunately it cannot be reported here......Sorry!
Sunday, September 20 and day TWO of the main event. Although Cole had to
leave, Steve Ott showed up today and shot with the group. High score today
would be shot by.....”gasp”......Garrett Kwakkestein (!) with a 52 out of 54 in WFTF
class! Unbelievable! Another beautiful day weather-wise with temps once again
in the low 70°s and humidity in the mid-20%. Wind was even milder than
Saturday, with 4 mph “breezes” and lower gusting, reported as being in the low-
teens. You could not ask for better weather than this. Cloud cover on all three
days was lightly scattered and not a bit of rain forecast. That hasn’t always been
the case, and I (for one) clearly remember soaking rains in past years. Yeah, fun
stuff!
When all was said and done, we had TWO shoot offs; one between Kent and Billy
for first and second place, and another between Van and Crystal for third and
fourth place. But the big news was the scores! Crystal Gladden almost toppled
her old man, Kent, by ONE POINT in the final score breakdown! OH, how we
would have loved to have seen that. Although he would have whimpered and
crawled home with his tail between his legs, he would have been one proud
papa!! There’s always next year, Crystal. Keep practicing. Here are the rifle scores
and stats;
After the awards were all presented by Wayne Mauler, our club vice president,
and acting match director, everything was torn down and repacked in the new
club trailer for transport back to Phoenix. Note that because club president, Larry
Piercy was not present, due to his recovering from recent surgery, Wayne did a
most admirable job of filling in for him. Also, note that there were no piston guns
in competition either, as the piston championships were held at Ben Avery range
in Phoenix back in April. The elevation, 7200 feet at Mormon Lake, is not
conducive to piston longevity, in case you are wondering. It is still a beautiful
venue.
So, thus endeth 3 days’ worth of near perfect conditions for shooting, and many
happy memories. Thanks to everyone who pitched in to help. Thanks to all the
correspondents who contributed to this report. Thanks to Mary Ann and Wayne
for providing the photos. And thanks to everyone who participated. I was told
you all had a great time.
Respectfully submitted,
Mark Kauffman
Secretary, Airgunners of Arizona, Inc.
It always seems impossible until it is done!