Extreme Airgun Challenge 2026

I’d like to thank everyone who attended. We had 41 competitors this year, with shooters traveling from all over the country and even from across the ocean, and everyone made such a huge effort to make this event a success.

First, our generous sponsors: lead co-sponsor AirGuns of Arizona, who backed the AOA Extreme Field Target Grand Prix with $1,500 in cash prizes; Skout Air Guns; Rapid Air Worx (RAW); Athlon Scopes; Altaros Slugs; JSB Pellets; and Dead Lead Slugs. Please support them with your airgun-related purchases. Without them, this event simply doesn’t happen.

This event would not have been possible without my event team: Randy Ebersole, Jacob, Darren, KC, Scott Schnieder, Paul Bordeaux, and the RSO staff from the Ashland Gun and Archery Club. A special shout-out to Randy Ebersole, who took on the enormous task of converting all of the Extreme Field Target course targets to lit-when-hit, and they performed absolutely flawlessly all weekend. That was a tremendous amount of work, Randy, and it showed.

A very special thank you to Alan, who worked right alongside me scoring the Extreme Bench Rest targets (slug and pellet classes); to Jim Whittlesey for tremendous organizational help and filming; to Jerome and KC, who also helped with video recording and editing; to Matt Swarts, who printed all of the Extreme 100-yard targets that worked perfectly taped and glued to cardboard sheets in our custom-built frames; to Scott Schnieder and Paul Bordeaux for their help throughout the event; and to my sister Laurie and my wife Christine, who did all the cooking and kept everyone well fed all weekend. Thank you all from the bottom of my heart.

The weather gave us its usual Southern Oregon personality: cool, cloudy, and with winds that kept everyone guessing all weekend. The Rogue Valley bowl has a way of making the wind dance in every direction at once, and 2026 was no different. It added a challenge to every event, but made the high scores that much more impressive.

AOA Extreme Field Target Grand Prix

The EFT match ran Friday and Saturday mornings across 15 lanes with 2 targets per lane, ranging from 15 to 110 yards. This year every target on the course was converted to a lit-when-hit target, a major undertaking by Randy Ebersole, and they performed flawlessly. Seeing those lights flash on a hit was a thrill for shooters and spectators alike.

AirGuns of ArizonaLead co-sponsor of the event and title sponsor of the AOA Extreme Field Target Grand Prix, backing the field with $1,500 in cash prizes. Our deepest thanks for making this match the centerpiece it is.

Jayson Barnes led wire-to-wire with the most consistent pair of cards, 41 on day one and 42 on day two, for an 83/96 and the EFT title. Anthony Pellegrino and John Bagakis both finished at 82, forcing a shootoff that Pellegrino won for 2nd. Three competitors (Barbara Pellegrino, Abdallah Fawaz, and Cameron Kerndt) all tied at 80, with Barbara Pellegrino winning the shootoff for 4th after shooting the best day-two card in the entire field: a remarkable 43/48.

* Won shootoff  ·  Day scores out of 48, total out of 96

100-Yard Pellet Class Bench Rest

The pellet class bench rest ran Friday and Saturday afternoons, with the two-card finals on Sunday morning. The Extreme 100-yard targets, printed by Matt Swarts and mounted on cardboard sheets in our custom frames on the custom plate-collecting backstops, performed flawlessly all weekend.

Jayson Barnes added a pellet bench rest title to his EFT win, shooting a 217 on card one and a stronger 227 on card two for a 444 total, the only man to crack 440. Tom Seely took 2nd at 435, Mike Bricker 3rd at 432. Three competitors (Barbara Pellegrino, Jeremy Pepin, and Todd Blanchard) all tied at 421.

Athlon OpticsRidiculously good glass, and the scope of choice across the firing line this year, from the Ares ETR to the Cronus and Midas Tac. The official targets carried the Athlon name too. Shop Athlon scopes at AirGun Oregon.

JSB Match DiaboloCzech-made match pellets that have anchored countless field target and bench rest podiums. A staple in the .25 and .30 pellet classes. Shop JSB pellets.
Shop the glassAthlon Ares ETR UHD 15-60x56The field-target scope of choice on the line this year. Snaps in and out fast with razor-clear glass.Shop at AirGun Oregon →

100-Yard Slug Class Bench Rest

“A Major in the Lebanese Army, traveling all the way from Lebanon, and then shooting like that. What a great guy and what a terrific shooter.”On Abdallah Fawaz, the standout of the 2026 Challenge

If there was one name that defined the 2026 Extreme Air Gun Challenge, it was Abdallah Fawaz, a Major in the Lebanese Army, who traveled all the way from Lebanon to shoot with us in Southern Oregon. Shooting his Daystate Delta Wolf with Altaros .22 caliber 40-grain slugs through an Athlon scope, he delivered a 239 on card one and a 233 on card two for a 472 total, well clear of the field.

Mike Bricker pushed Fawaz all the way with a 470. Brad Stevenson took 3rd at 466 and had the most X’s of anyone in the finals with 16. Altaros slugs were the projectile of choice for 9 of the 12 finalists.

Altaros SlugsThe dominant slug at 100 yards, chosen by 9 of the 12 slug finalists, including champion Abdallah Fawaz. When precision matters down range, this is what the winners loaded. Shop Altaros slugs.

Dead Lead SlugsHard-hitting, precision-cast slugs and a welcome new sponsor to the Extreme Air Gun Challenge family. Look for them on the shelves at AirGun Oregon.

145- to 300-Yard Long Range Challenge

Competitors were assigned to one of five benches, shooting all five targets in sequence at 145, 175, 195, 250, and 300 yards from their starting bench, 5 shots per target, for a maximum of 250 points. The lit-when-hit indicators added excitement, though lower-energy .22-caliber projectiles at 300 yards sometimes didn’t trigger the lights reliably, so we’ll have that corrected for next year.

A note of history: Mike Bricker shot a perfect 250/250 in this event, we believe in 2023, a benchmark that shows just how demanding the top of this leaderboard can be.

Abdallah Fawaz completed his dominant weekend by winning long range with a 215/250. Behind him, Scott Hull, Todd Blanchard, and Mike Bricker all tied at 190, split only by X-count (3, 2, 1). Hull, running a custom rifle in .257 caliber with Altaros 84-grain slugs at 1,060 fps, claimed 2nd with 3 Xs.

The big bore contingent added great color: John Bagakis ran an AirForce Texan with Mr. Hollow Point .30-cal 150-grain; Robert Steele’s MCAR BINTAC in .457 with 338-grain bullets was noted on his entry form as “so slow you can see it!” and still shot 155. We salute the big bore brigade.

Rapid Air Worx (RAW)The legendary HM1000X and TM1000 platforms were well represented across every discipline this weekend. American-built precision that holds up under pressure.

Skout Air GunsThe electronic Epoch and Evo rifles turned up at the top of every leaderboard, including podium finishes in pellet and slug bench rest. The future of precision air, here today. Shop competition rifles.

Jayson Barnes was the story of the EFT and pellet bench rest, taking double gold. But Abdallah Fawaz, Major in the Lebanese Army, traveling all the way from Lebanon, had the single most impressive overall performance of the event: winning the slug bench rest by a clear margin, topping the long range challenge with a 215, and finishing 5th in the EFT. What a great guy, and what a terrific shooter. We very much hope to see Abdallah back on the line next year.

Again, thank you to our sponsors: AirGuns of Arizona, Skout Air Guns, Rapid Air Worx, Athlon Scopes, Altaros Slugs, JSB Pellets, and Dead Lead Slugs. And thank you to our entire event team: Randy Ebersole, Jacob, Darren, KC, Scott Schnieder, Paul Bordeaux, and the RSO staff; Alan for scoring; Jim Whittlesey, Jerome, and KC for organization and filming; Matt Swarts for the targets; and Laurie and Christine for the food. Hope to see everyone again next year!

Wayne BurnsMatch Director, AirGun Oregon
2026 Extreme Air Gun Challenge

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