Not only is Chad Heckler a top-10-ranked Pro Series shooter in the Precision Rifle Series, he is also a gunsmith who chambers his own long-range rifles, as well as those of many of his competitors.
COOL UNDER PRESSURE When 2021’s AG Cup came down to a three-way sudden-death shoot-off, Chad Heckler had it dialed in for the win. PHOTOS BY CHAD HECKLER
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he year ended with a bang – literally – for Chad Heckler. The Michiganbased long-range competitive shooter beat out the competition to win Precision Rifle Series’s coveted 2021 Armageddon Gear Cup title. “The format of the AG Cup finale is unique in that the competitors are not allowed to communicate about stage planning or wind reading, and we are not allowed to observe anyone shooting with our binoculars or spotting scopes,” explains Heckler. “Those rules coupled with some very small targets made
for one of the toughest, yet most fun matches of the year.” The finale match was held December 10 through 12 at the K&M Training Facility in Finger, Tennessee. According to Heckler, the scores from the first two days were cumulative and only the top 15 competitors qualified to shoot on the third and final day. “I made it into day three by finishing the two-day qualifier in 13th place, but that didn’t matter much because all the scores reset for everyone on the last day,” says Heckler.
“The scores were tallied and posted on a TV screen throughout the day, but I never really looked at it because I figured that knowing my score wasn’t going to benefit me in any way … so I just put on my headphones, listened to my match playlist and kept to myself since we couldn’t talk to the competitors anyway.” He continues, “Halfway through the day, people kept coming up to me and telling me to ‘Keep it up’ … but I really had no reference to what that meant. Was I in the top five? Was I tied for americanshootingjournal.com 23
