TDean Posted April 1, 2002 Share Posted April 1, 2002 Some shooters are fun to watch. One of them is/was Merle Edington (US Army team). What ever happened to Merle? It looks like he hasn't shot a LimNats since '98. My Glocking hero Armando Valdez was gone from the scene for a while due to injury, but he's making a comeback. Who what other top 16 shooter, Open or Limited, has dropped off the radar recently and where are they now? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill Schwab Posted April 1, 2002 Share Posted April 1, 2002 Tom Campbell from S&W??? I want to say Plaxco too, but George Smith was telling me he's shooting the Sportsman's Team Challenge. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ErikW Posted April 1, 2002 Share Posted April 1, 2002 Speaking of fun to watch and dropped off the radar: Jamie "buzzsaw" Craig. I saw Tom Campbell at the 2001 LimNats. Never seen anybody shoot a Smith like that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TDean Posted April 1, 2002 Author Share Posted April 1, 2002 Tom Campbell, he's the guy that has apparently never missed a Limited Nationals since the beginning. He was an LE rep for Safariland right? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BSeevers Posted April 1, 2002 Share Posted April 1, 2002 Matt Mclearn world shoot winner Jeff Cooper Ken Tapp Jethro Dionisio Arnt Myhre Bill Wilson Ok I will quit, well what about John, Ross there have been many come and go Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill Schwab Posted April 1, 2002 Share Posted April 1, 2002 Bill Wilson shoots IDPA now (big surprise) Jethro the Jet retired Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
38supPat Posted April 1, 2002 Share Posted April 1, 2002 Tom Cambell is still shooting and unless I'm mistaken, won limited ten this year at the Nationals Pat Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Detlef Posted April 1, 2002 Share Posted April 1, 2002 and Cooper sure didn't disappear. He now (again) heads the training effort at Gunsite and is eloquent and vocal as ever. And I don't think he was *ever* a top 16 Limited or (gasp!) Open, he'd probably feel that would count as insult... --Detlef Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BSeevers Posted April 2, 2002 Share Posted April 2, 2002 Sorry guys I forgot to plant my tongue in cheek. I know all these guys stories. Just trying to be funny, especially Bill Wilson/Jeff Cooper since they dumped us. Jethro RETIRED!! What is he 25? Im close to twice his age(well maybe not but significantly older) and am not looking to retire (Edited by BSeevers at 8:35 pm on April 1, 2002) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill Schwab Posted April 2, 2002 Share Posted April 2, 2002 I thought I heard that Jethro retired from pro shooting to run the family business in the Phillipines, but I could be wrong. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
benos Posted April 2, 2002 Share Posted April 2, 2002 Bill, Yes, the last time I spoke to the Jet he said he was just running the family gunshop/range. be Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill Posted April 2, 2002 Share Posted April 2, 2002 I guess a good question now is; WHY don't they shoot anymore? I have been shooting some form of pistol competition for 20 years. I have seen a LOT of people come and go. Bill Nesbitt Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TravisT Posted April 3, 2002 Share Posted April 3, 2002 (Edited by TravisT at 7:07 pm on June 11, 2002) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill Posted April 3, 2002 Share Posted April 3, 2002 Yea, I guess $ could be a reason. I shoot for fun. That's why I am still doing it after all these years. I figure even loading on a Dillon 1050 I am still in the hole. Bill Nesbitt Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest bulm5 Posted April 3, 2002 Share Posted April 3, 2002 Jethro shot the last world shoot ( 1999) . Yes he is running their business and is the exclusive distributor of SVs in the Phils. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kevin Kline Posted April 3, 2002 Share Posted April 3, 2002 I don't know what happened to Merle? I know he got divorced, but that's it. The money issue plus the stress of being sponsored and having to finish at the top all the time I'm sure takes it toll on them. Some just get burned out having to always place at the top and "get up" for every match, major or local, you shoot. Just my .02 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
j1b Posted April 7, 2002 Share Posted April 7, 2002 If I may comment - since I do kind of consider myseld one who was there and ain't now. Most of the guys you all mentioned were among the best in the world. Specifically Jethro, Merle and Matt Mclearn. Personally I think their stories are all relatively similar. Matt stopped shooting to run his gun shop - which near as I know was not successful and he is now working in another industry. I don't believe it was a lack of money due to sponsorship or anything like that - it was simply a lack of money. He has a wife and several children he has to take care of. I do know that recently he shot an IDPA match in OK or TX. Matt is a top notch guy - I'd love to see him get back into the sport. Jethro did the same. He was 25 or so - and he had to start making a living. I believe it is that simple. He wasn't unlike me in that he kind of left after college. Merle left the AMU and then left the Army. He again had to get a job and make some money. That's why I left. College was over and I had to start a career. Although I am doing a bit more shooting - certainly I am not shooting like I was. And I would be VERY surprised if I was able to place in the top 16 at any match I shot - which would leave everyone still wondering what the hell happened to Jack Barnes. Personally I look to get more involved as time goes on - but I lack the sponsorships and money to continue doing what I was doing. I am also thinking about getting back into the industry if I can find a job and career that makes sense. It's difficult since I have a good job with a secure company. Just my $.02 from "has been" JB Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2alpha Posted April 8, 2002 Share Posted April 8, 2002 How about Ken Tap? Anyone know what happened to him? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Singlestack Posted April 8, 2002 Share Posted April 8, 2002 Are you refering to Ken Tap that lives in Alabama? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
j1b Posted April 9, 2002 Share Posted April 9, 2002 Last time I saw Ken he was living in Oklahoma on a piece of property that John Nowlin Jr. had bought. That was several years ago though. I don't know where he is at these days. JB Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
benos Posted April 13, 2002 Share Posted April 13, 2002 I guess my story is a bit different. I shoot very little these days, although I could easily shoot just about every day if I chose to. Basically, I burned out on the "traveling/scheduling" thing. And what's weird, I didn't fully realize that until recently. Shooting a fully sponsored schedule requires a tremendous amount of planning, scheduling, preparing, etc. I just got sick of it. I notice, today, that I hate anything I have to do that involves creating or sticking to a schedule. When I quit the "circuit thing," I truly did not know what I was going to do. I just knew I was done with it. Shooting full time that is. The only thing I felt like I wanted to do was write. I started building the website with the hope selling a few books now and then, but mostly to have a place to market the new one - if I ever got it done. The cool thing is, which was totally unexpected, is that the web design, building, writing provides the creative outlet I need to stay sane. I enjoy it way more than I ever anticipated. And, being involved with the forum has created an outlet for expression. I love sharing with like minded folks. I'm the kind of person who tends not to "miss much," in that I'm just doing whatever I'm doing. I don't miss the past. So, nowadays, I don't shoot much because I feel like I have so much work I'd like to do - it will never get done if I spread myself too thin. be Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
j1b Posted April 16, 2002 Share Posted April 16, 2002 That's interesting Brian - To me you and shooting are the same. That is to say - my best days on the range were days when "the group" was all there. All of us shooting and marveling at things we did either great or incredibly stupid. Although you don't shoot much anymore - I still consider you a threat at any match. That being the case - I still consider you an active shooter. Its interesting. I do at times live in the past (as is obvious by many of my posts) That isn't to say I don't love life now - but certainly there were aspects of my life several years ago that I truly enjoyed. There were also aspects that I most definitly did not enjoy. Anyhow - all of this to say that the name Brian Enos - and the individual I know (and consider a friend) is a great shooter. Whether he picks up a gun today or in ten years - I will always consider you to be simply a great shooter. I will encourage you to take as much time as you need though. I chomping at the bit to get my hands on the new book. JB Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bird Posted April 16, 2002 Share Posted April 16, 2002 I agree with JB1 in that Brian has never really gotten out of "shooting". That is like saying that Albert Einstein got out of Physics for a few years This forum is proof of that... Thanks BE Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BrianH Posted April 16, 2002 Share Posted April 16, 2002 Something Jack said reminded me of an interview from years ago; Matt M. talking about when he first got into IPSC back in Nova Scotia...one of the things he said was "I had nothing else to spend my money on....." I think that happens to a lot of us...even top shooters like Brian and Jack. Life gets serious and sometimes the sports/hobbies/fun stuff has to take a back seat, or sometimes go away entirely for awhile. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Duane Thomas Posted April 16, 2002 Share Posted April 16, 2002 "I notice, today, that I hate anything I have to do that involves creating or sticking to a schedule." INFP much? I'm the same way. We "artsy" INFP types tend to hate living to a schedule. That's why I quit the Army to become a free-lance writer. The only job where you can be your own boss and get paid for not working, b'God. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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