The annual Florida Open Pistol Shooting Tournament was held 20-23 February in Frostproof, Florida and hosted by the Universal Shooting Academy. Frank Garcia is the Match Director, as well as the host of the competition. There were approximately 350 shooters from various countries that came to compete in the "Sixth" annual Florida Open. This is always my first match of the year and one of the best for sure. Frank Garcia puts on truly one of the best matches you can possibly shoot in the US.

This year in the Open category there were names like Eric Grauffel, Saul Kirsch, Chris Tilley, Matt Burkett and more. This competition always brings the best from all over the world. Matt Burkett shot the match on Friday and the rest of the guys were composed into the Super Squad (squad 11). Matt shot a very good match on Friday which put the pressure on the other top shooters. We arrived on the range at dark on Saturday morning as our first start time was 7:00am. As the sun started to rise the squad began to form together on Stage 1. Everyone said their hellos and we got underway.

Early on in the match it remained very close between all of the top shooters. Toward the end of the first day, Eric began pulling away little by little. Myself, Saul, and Chris remained close throughout the competition. In fact, going into the last stage of the match, there were only about 4 points between myself and Chris. Everyone shot a great match considering the challenging stages. I was very pleased as I shot the match with NO penalties! As the last shot was fired on stage 10 and the match was complete several of the shooters had the new palm pilot scoring system and knew the results immediately.

Results Open:
1. Eric Grauffel 100%
2. Chris Tilley 95.56
3. Max Michel, Jr. 95.37
4. Saul Kirsch 93.62
5. Matt Burkett 92.11

I need to say a couple of words about the Limited Champion as well. I had the pleasure of shooting with Travis Tomasie during the competition. As you all know, he is now a member of the Army Shooting Team. Before we left for the match I told him "I can't wait to go just to watch you win". I knew he was going to win before we left because of the way he was shooting on the practice range. He finished the match with one penalty, which is insane for a limited gun at this match! He again showed the world why he is known to be one of the best all around shooters and swept the competition. Great job T!

Results Limited:
1. Travis Tomasie 100%
2. Mike Seeklander 98.28
3. Estuardo Gomez 94.67
4. Phil Strader 93.10
5. Emanuel Bragg 92.98

I would like to thank all who made this match possible and say job well done! We know without your hard work and dedication our sport would not be alive today. Thank you.

Until next time,
Max Michel, Jr.