Horner Wins 3GN Pro Series Shoot-Off in Texas
Horner Wins 3GN Shoot-Off for Record 5thTime
Daniel Horner won his record fifth 3GN Shoot-Off following the Larue Tactical Texas Multigun Championship.
By Chad Adams
Austin, Texas – He had a glint of that familiar look in his eye heading into the 3-Gun Nation Pro Series Shoot-Off following the Larue Tactical Texas Multigun Championship here April 22. After his first run, he smiled a knowing smile, said “those off-hand shots aren’t too bad,” and there was little doubt Daniel Horner was immediately dialed in for this 3GN Shoot-Off.
Horner defeated Stag Arms’ Kalani Laker in a competitive final round of the 3-Gun Nation Pro Series Shoot-Off to pick up his fifth 3GN Shoot-Off win, along with a $5,000 check from SureFire. For finishing second, Laker earned $3,000 from SureFire. Laker jumped out to an early lead on Horner, who cleared a shotgun malfunction and ran down Laker during the rifle position—45-yard offhand shots at six, 8-inch steel plates on an MGM plate rack. Horner maintained that lead into the final pistol position, 10 Colt Speed Plates, leading by two plates when he knocked down his stop plate for the win.
Horner’s road to the finals began with a narrow 1.7-match point victory over Taran Butler in the Larue Tactical Texas Multigun Championship, where Pro Series shooters competed in Tactical Optics for match prizes, 3GN Pro Series points and a slot in the Shoot-Off. With the top seed, Horner drew Patrick Kelley, who replaced SureFire’s Mike Voigt, who qualified but pulled out due to a nagging foot injury.
The eighth-seeded Kelley was game in the opening bout, pushing Horner through the shotgun and rifle positions. But Horner was smooth and able to establish a lead he held through a solid charge by Kelley on the pistol. For Kelley, the run was further affirmation he could play with the best the Pro Series had to offer, including an impressive eight place finish in Florida in March. For Horner, it was business as usual, as the AMU shooter looked confident and poised in his first 3GN Shoot-Off since last November’s 3GN Championship elimination round.
In the second round Horner matched up with James Casanova, whose 3-gun game seems to grow with each successive match. Casanova showcased tremendous speed in out-sprinting and firing the first shotgun round before Horner—a fact that raised Horner’s eyebrows following the bout. Few people can beat the AMU shooter to the first position in this format. But after emerging from the shotgun positions evenly, Horner picked up the pace with the rifle and cruised to the win, setting up his final showdown with Laker.
Laker continued his strong 2012 start with a runner-up finish in the 3GN Pro Series Shoot-Off in Texas.
Laker, who has been hot early in the 2012 3-gun campaign with a second place finish at Superstition Mountain Mystery 3-Gun and a fourth place finish at the 3GN Pro Series match in St. Augustine, Florida, qualified into the Shoot-Off as a number seven seed. Laker’s road began with an extremely tough out in second-seeded Taran Butler. But Laker, after falling behind early on shotgun, managed to edge back ahead and maintain a half-second lead coming out of shotgun, through rifle and then pistol, holding on as Butler mounted a furious charge through the final pistol poppers to the stop plate.
In the second round, Laker faced off against Burton Thompson, an unsponsored shooter from Washington who was competing in his second 3GN Shoot-Off. Laker, after again getting beaten to the shotgun position, rallied to stay even with Thompson all the way to the pistol before pulling ahead and edging Thompson by the stop plate in an exciting bout, setting up his match-up with Horner.
In the opening round, fourth-seeded James Casanova knocked off fifth seeded Keith Garcia, who looked extremely dialed in and had established a strong lead when his pistol went down. By the time Garcia got his gun back into action, Casanova had overtaken him and was first to the stop plate.
Burton Thompson, in his second 3GN Shoot-Off, finished third to take home a $2,000 payday from SureFire.
Also in the first round, sixth-seeded Burton Thompson eliminated third-seeded Greg Jordan of Team FNH USA, in what was an extremely competitive and entertaining run between two of the younger faces in 3-gun—both of whom are expected to place in the money in future 3GN matches. For finishing in third place in the Shoot-Off, Thompson was awarded $2,000, courtesy of SureFire.
The 3-Gun Nation Pro Series Shoot-Off consist of shotgun, rifle and pistol arrays, an all-out race to the stop plate in an exciting man-versus-man format. Competitors used their own gear through all preliminary bouts before switching to sponsor provided equipment in the finals, including the FNH USA SLP, FNH USA SCAR 16, FNH USA FNS 9, Leupold Tactical Optics and ammunition provided by Federal Premium.
The next event on the 2012 FNH USA 3-Gun Nation Pro Series Tour, Presented by Federal Premium, takes place June 16 at the South River Gun Club near Atlanta, Georgia. A 3-Gun Nation-produced event, $10,000 will be on the line from Stag Arms, part of $26,000 in guaranteed cash payouts to the field. Also at stake are 3GN Pro Series points, as each competitor fights to remain in the Top 30 for a shot at a trip to Las Vegas during SHOT Show 2013, for a slot in the Rumble on the Range, where one winner will be crowned 3GN Pro Series Champion, taking home $50,000, provided in part by Leupold Tactical Optics.
3GN Pro Series Results – Texas Multigun Championship
- Daniel Horner 1087.797944
- Taran Butler 1086.100748
- Greg Jordan 1021.653011
- James Casanova 981.1491515
- Keith Garcia 966.7249084
- Burton Thompson 966.5096796
- Michael Voigt 954.4041397
- Kalani Laker 949.7944461
- Patrick Kelley 932.9918576
- Matt Burkett 921.7960333
- Clint Upchurch 920.5961353
- Bruce Piatt 919.3730948
- Travis Gibson 916.1804805
- Ben Fortin 909.3188944
- Jeremy Parker 901.2619087
- Ting Sun 899.4700953
- Chris Andersen 894.6985249
- Barry Dueck 885.8377831
- Jason Tielke 880.4062463
- Jesse Tischauser 867.1504412
- Mark Hanish 863.8731086
- Rustin Bernskoetter 858.1543748
- Ty Gentry 856.1937195
- Trip McIngvale 850.4493888
- Erik Lund 843.0264865
- Adam Popplewell 829.1172047
- Larry Houck 827.2022967
- Bennie Cooley 824.1389267
- Andrew Daun 823.7986982
- West Chandler 816.3818491
- Cameron Thompson 805.7733736
- Scott McGregor 805.7334891
- Bryan Ray 793.6341475
- Brian Vaught 781.1196506
- Maurice Griffin 775.8251268
- Ryan Nowell 769.3898416
- Tommy Thacker 751.4969726
- Chris Patty 742.1203006
- Stefan Wiggins 730.8257418
- Mark Roth 690.3620296
- Neal Emery 689.9219135
- Greg Purcell 678.2370211
- Jansen Jones 649.0456162
- Michael Fordyce 593.6471019
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