shred Posted March 19 Share Posted March 19 Top shooter, 1992 Limited National champion, Two-time IPSC World Champion in Standard Division, founder of AASA and man with a really interesting life history, Ted Bonnet passed away this morning. RIP. Details to follow as available. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shred Posted March 19 Author Share Posted March 19 . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drdre352 Posted March 19 Share Posted March 19 This one hurts. Such a wonderful guy, loved his shooting family. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guy Neill Posted March 19 Share Posted March 19 My condolences to his loved ones. RIP Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim O'Young Posted March 19 Share Posted March 19 NOOOOO!!! Ted was one of the truly good guys and one of the early superstars of the Limited Division. He could really drive those iron sights! I remember him earning a spot in the Stee Challenge shootoff with his irons, after nearly everyone switched to the dot, as well as always being near the top in Montrose, using a single stack against all the hi-caps. Shooting steel was his passion, especially the American Handgunner World Championship Shootoffs in Montrose. He seriously considered buying the match & range from Paul Miller and put on his own matches at the Bullet Hole range near San Antonio. (Shred- It's been many years since I have seen Ted, so please chime in if I'm not recalling anything correctly) He was a pilot, loved his daughter dearly and couldn't wait to get back home from a match to see her. My fondest memory was from the 1998 (or was it 1999?) Steel Challenge in Piru, when Ted, Kerby Smith, Claudio Salassa, Ernie Langdon, Tom Yost & I were all having dinner together at the Claim Jumper. Ted had the biggest smile and said he was so happy to be surrounded & sharing the company all of his friends & sponsors (who were also his friends) and being at the Steel Challenge. As much as he was an incredible shooter, he was even a more incredible person and I will ALWAYS remember him fondly for being both. Rest in peace, my friend. I hope you're shooting steel in the sky and may your single stack never run out of magnetic bullets! Jim Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim O'Young Posted March 19 Share Posted March 19 5 hours ago, drdre352 said: This one hurts. Such a wonderful guy, loved his shooting family. And loved BY his shooting gamily... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
outerlimits Posted March 19 Share Posted March 19 Met Ted at my 4th steel challenge in 1987-nicest guy. he was shooting irons mostly. he had a helluva fast draw with that gun hand held high. RIP, Ted. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shred Posted March 19 Author Share Posted March 19 Ted was the guy to beat at the local clubs when I started as it was around then that he won Standard for the first time at the Bisley World Shoot. Most of the time he shot a CZ in .40 with shaved basepads to fit the IPSC box. I was happy to have twice his time on a stage and he was the reason my first 'race' holster was a Hellweg. He did love the man-on-man-shootoff format and kept it alive around San Antonio for decades with AASA (it's still a going thing). One of my special plaques is this one, because I had to beat Ted to get it. One of my favorite memories with Ted was when NicTaylor and I talked with him for a while one evening while winding down after the Paper and Iron match in Midland TX. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim O'Young Posted March 19 Share Posted March 19 32 minutes ago, outerlimits said: Met Ted at my 4th steel challenge in 1987-nicest guy. he was shooting irons mostly. he had a helluva fast draw with that gun hand held high. RIP, Ted. I forgot all about his rather unorthodox "surrender" start position- high & wide... It certainly worked, drawing from that Hellweg holster. Do you remember the bandana he always wore around his neck?? Don't cry because he's gone; smile because he was here. I miss him already... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
outerlimits Posted March 20 Share Posted March 20 Here's Ted's "different" surrender start. he was fast. TB.mp4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IYAOYAS Posted March 20 Share Posted March 20 Ted was my friend and I will miss him. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RuckUp Posted March 21 Share Posted March 21 I always liked Ted. Such a friendly guy who didn't seem to fuss about much. Obviously, he was a really good shooter too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jdav327 Posted March 22 Share Posted March 22 Very sad to hear about Ted's passing. I have many fond memories of shooting with Ted. Space City Challenge, Texas Riviera and local matches. Took some lessons from him probably 30 years ago and still have the notes. He will be missed by many I'm sure. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shred Posted March 22 Author Share Posted March 22 A Ted Space City Story-- One year the range had a great crop of berries on the berms-- raspberries I think. Ted noticed and picked and ate several... to find out they'd been recently sprayed with weedkiller. Poor guy went into shock and turned a remarkable shade of gray, but with some help from medically-trained shooters was able to recover and shoot the match. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rowdyb Posted March 30 Share Posted March 30 Many fun Ted stories and I'm glad I got to meet a Texas OG shooter when I moved here. I only shot a few AASA matches when I moved here but that guy was giving his all to get beginners into some version of competitive shooting. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CocoBolo Posted April 7 Share Posted April 7 Shot Two USPSA Nationals and a Couple Texas State Limited Championships, and many a local matches with Ted . He had a few idioms one that I like to use from time to time is "There is nothing worse than a slow miss." He got me hooked on the shooting sport, and I paid him back by getting him hooked up with an Open Gun. I had an Infinity Limited gun Ted bought from me, and a few years later I bought it back, now that Ted is gone, that gun is more special than ever. Next time I go out to an AASA match I'll shoot it as a tribute. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
colt22man Posted April 28 Share Posted April 28 On 3/19/2024 at 5:37 PM, Jim O'Young said: NOOOOO!!! Ted was one of the truly good guys and one of the early superstars of the Limited Division. He could really drive those iron sights! I remember him earning a spot in the Stee Challenge shootoff with his irons, after nearly everyone switched to the dot, as well as always being near the top in Montrose, using a single stack against all the hi-caps. Shooting steel was his passion, especially the American Handgunner World Championship Shootoffs in Montrose. He seriously considered buying the match & range from Paul Miller and put on his own matches at the Bullet Hole range near San Antonio. (Shred- It's been many years since I have seen Ted, so please chime in if I'm not recalling anything correctly) He was a pilot, loved his daughter dearly and couldn't wait to get back home from a match to see her. My fondest memory was from the 1998 (or was it 1999?) Steel Challenge in Piru, when Ted, Kerby Smith, Claudio Salassa, Ernie Langdon, Tom Yost & I were all having dinner together at the Claim Jumper. Ted had the biggest smile and said he was so happy to be surrounded & sharing the company all of his friends & sponsors (who were also his friends) and being at the Steel Challenge. As much as he was an incredible shooter, he was even a more incredible person and I will ALWAYS remember him fondly for being both. Rest in peace, my friend. I hope you're shooting steel in the sky and may your single stack never run out of magnetic bullets! Jim Well spoken. I did not know Ted nor have I meet him. So highly regarded, I would have enjoyed meeting Ted. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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