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2026 Oregon State Field Target Championships
He ran the weekend and competed throughout it, taking the Hunter Pistol title in a Saturday morning shoot-off. At right, Wayne shoots the rifle course with his custom USFT pistol while Hunter Pistol bronze finisher Sam Russo keeps score.
The 2026 Oregon State Field Target Championships wrapped up Sunday with the final rifle day under the Ashland oaks. Wayne Burns ran the weekend as match director and shot his way through it as one of its leading competitors, taking the Hunter Pistol title in a Saturday morning shoot-off with Jason Blackburn after the two finished Friday evening’s pistol match in a dead heat. Two 51-shot days on the main course settled every rifle class. Shooters scored for one another lane by lane, the last cards came off the course, and the weekend closed with medals and recognition in the range shelter. The complete verified results are preserved below, along with photographs from the firing line and awards.
It was a championship that showed how tight the West Coast field has become. All five rifle classes were decided by three points or fewer across 102 shots, two of them by a single point, the pistol title needed a shoot-off, and newer shooters spent the weekend pushing the experienced hands who have anchored Oregon field target for years, though the veterans’ long experience in reading wind and range still counts for plenty.
Championship at a Glance
Pistol Championships: Final Results
Friday’s pistol match ran 40 shots across 10 lanes on the upper course, with targets from 10 to 35 yards and kill zones from ½″ up to 2″. When the cards were tallied, the Hunter Pistol title came down to a dead heat at the top.
Hunter Pistol / 40
| Competitor | Score |
|---|---|
| Sam Russo | 33 |
| Larry Durham | 32 |
| Randy Ebersole | 26 |
| Scott Aldridge | 26 |
| Tim Robinson | 24 |
| Jason McWilliams | 22 |
| Chris Merritt | 18 |
| Paul Burdeaux | 15 |
Wayne Burns and Jason Blackburn both carded 36. Burns won the Hunter Pistol title in a shoot-off held Saturday morning, July 18. Sam Russo finished third in Hunter Pistol with a score of 33.
Limited Pistol / 40
Kerndt’s 39/40 was one target shy of a perfect pistol card.
Rifle Championships: Final Results
Two 51-shot days on the main course decided the 2026 rifle titles. Placements are as recorded on the official results board.
WFTF 12FPE Piston Final / 102
| Competitor | Day 1 | Day 2 | Total | Place |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cameron Kerndt | 41 | 36 | 77 | 1 |
| Jason Blackburn | 39 | 35 | 74 | 2 |
Jason Blackburn kept the pressure on Cameron Kerndt through both days, 41 to 39 on Saturday and 36 to 35 on Sunday, but Kerndt never gave up the lead he built on the first card.
WFTF 12FPE PCP Final / 102
| Competitor | Day 1 | Day 2 | Total | Place |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Joe Hayward | 39 | 40 | 79 | 1 |
| Mark Weidert | 41 | 37 | 78 | 2 |
| Lonnie Smith | 37 | 40 | 77 | 3 |
| David D’Agostino | 35 | 27 | 62 | 4 |
Joe Hayward has been closing on this field for a while, and this was the weekend it paid off. Mark Weidert led Day 1 at 41, Hayward answered with a 40 on the final day, and the title turned on a single point, 79 to 78, with Lonnie Smith one more back at 77.
Hunter PCP Final / 102
| Competitor | Day 1 | Day 2 | Total | Place |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bill Galloway | 46 | 45 | 91 | 1 |
| Alain Herriott | 43 | 46 | 89 | 2 |
| Sam Russo | 40 | 40 | 80 | 3 |
| Wayne Burns | 32 | 47 | 79 | 4 |
Other recorded totals:
| Competitor | Day 1 | Day 2 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jason McWilliams | 35 | 43 | 78 |
| Kevin Hirsch | 36 | 40 | 76 |
| Paul Burdeaux | 34 | 42 | 76 |
| Tim Robinson | 32 | 35 | 67 |
| Jeff Collier | 32 | 35 | 67 |
| Matt Swarts | 33 | 33 | 66 |
| Jeff Young | 24 | 22 | 46 |
At the top, Bill Galloway and Alain Herriott traded the class’s best cards all weekend. Alain Herriott posted the stronger final-day score, edging Bill Galloway 46 to 45 on the second rifle day, but Galloway’s opening 46 preserved a two-point championship victory, 91 to 89. Wayne calls Galloway an up-and-comer, and the results agree: he is pressuring the most established names on the West Coast and, this weekend, beating them.
The match director’s own rifle match had a rougher start. Wayne Burns opened Hunter PCP with his USFT rifle and watched early shots print high. Checking the setup afterward pointed to no equipment failure, just shooter error, most likely holding the wrong reticle lines. Rather than chase the problem mid-match, he picked his pistol back up and shot much of the first rifle day for fun, then came back Sunday with the rifle sorted. His 47 was the best Hunter PCP card of the weekend.
PCP Open Final / 102
| Competitor | Day 1 | Day 2 | Total | Place |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jim Whittlesey | 43 | 41 | 84 | 1 |
| Pat Callahan | 40 | 41 | 81 | 2 |
| Chris Merritt | 43 | 37 | 80 | 3 |
| William Scott Aldridge | 32 | 35 | 67 | 4 |
PCP Open was dead level after Day 1, with Jim Whittlesey and Chris Merritt tied at 43. Whittlesey’s steady 41 on the final day settled it, and Pat Callahan’s 81 split the two.
Free Style PCP Final / 102
| Competitor | Day 1 | Day 2 | Total | Place |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Larry Durham | 44 | 49 | 93 | 1 |
| Mark Tsunawaki | 48 | 44 | 92 | 2 |
The closest title fight of the weekend came in Free Style. Mark Tsunawaki’s Day 1 card of 48 was the highest of the championship to that point and gave him a four-point lead. Larry Durham answered with a 49 on the final day, the best single card anyone shot all weekend, and took the title by one, 93 to 92.
The USFT Thread
USFT rifles and pistols were unusually visible across the championship, with about five competitors using versions of Larry Durham’s design during the weekend. Wayne Burns ran a USFT rifle in Hunter PCP and shot the pistol match with a custom USFT pistol, the third one Durham has built, topped with an Athlon 4-20×50 in a 1-inch tube and sending .177 JSB 10.34 grain Heavys at about 700 fps, right around 11.5 foot-pounds. Durham ran his own most recent custom-built USFT rifle to the Free Style title. Chris Merritt campaigned an older USFT, Paul Burdeaux ran his with an Athlon 6-24 second-focal-plane scope, both on JSB 10.34s, and Randy Ebersole, who runs the same USFT pistol setup as Wayne, shot the pistol match but was kept off the rifle course by an injury.
The rifle Durham designed is still built by him in limited custom runs, and it remains one of the most respected and hardest-to-get platforms in American field target. Seeing this many on one Oregon firing line said as much about the state of the match as the scores did.
Around The Course
Cedar decks, oak shade, and the steady clang of falling steel: Day One had everything but easy targets.
The course itself ran two full days of competition without a single target failure. Randy Ebersole prepared the targets, and when a lane did go cold it was the usual field target culprits, a reset string caught in the brush or wind working the string around the mechanism, never the steel. The newer pellet-collecting target boxes on the course were built and installed by Wayne Burns, and they quietly did their job all weekend. They are part of a product direction AirGun Oregon is continuing to develop.
The Final Rifle Day
Sunday’s closing 51-shot round carried the weight of the weekend: PCP Open dead level at the top, two-point gaps in both WFTF classes, and every title still live. The photographs below are from that final day on the main course, July 19.
Why the FX Dreamline Fits Field Target
Jacob Sumner’s FX Dreamline shows why the platform can make a strong field target rifle. The Aeron stock provides a competition-oriented foundation, while the UIT accessory rail is ready for the addition and adjustment of a field target hamster. That combination gives the shooter more flexibility when building a stable seated position and adapting the rifle to fit.
- FX Dreamline platform
- Aeron competition stock
- UIT rail ready for a field target hamster
Explore current FX rifles and availability at AirGunOregon.shop.
Official Final Results Board
The photographed board is preserved as the primary result record. The tables above use canonical shooter names while retaining the scores and placements recorded at the championship.
Awards and Recognition
The People Behind the Weekend
Shooters scored for one another throughout the weekend, competitors shared the firing line, and the final results came together through course work, scoring, photography, and help from across the AirGun Oregon community. Randy Ebersole prepared the targets. Wayne Burns wore two hats all weekend, running the match while competing in it. A fuller record of the volunteers, travel, friendships, and work behind the championship will be added in the completed match report.
Full Championship Report
Additional championship photography, awards coverage, acknowledgments, and match notes will be added after final review.
The 2026 Oregon State Field Target Championships are in the books: seven classes, three days, one shoot-off, and five rifle titles decided by three points or fewer. The complete verified results above stand as the official record.