Arizona’s Rising Star: The Trap Shooting Journey of Alexis Fernan | Trap Talk E159

Summary

Trap Talk From The Back Fence

Episode 159: "Arizona’s Rising Star: The Trap Shooting Journey of Alexis Fernan"

Date: January 16, 2026
Hosts: Zach Nannini & Richard ("Ricky") Marshall Jr.
Guest: Alexis Fernan

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Episode Overview

This episode spotlights Alexis Fernan, a standout trap shooter from Arizona. Hosts Zach and Ricky delve into Alexis’s journey in the sport—from her humble beginnings in 4H, through the intricacies of top-tier competition, to her evolution as a writer and industry ambassador. Alexis shares insights about shooting as a young woman in a male-dominated field, the importance of gun fit and mental toughness, and her goals for the future. Listeners will find advice for aspiring shooters and a behind-the-scenes look at the challenges and triumphs of a rising star.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Alexis Fernan’s Trapshooting Background

• Native of Casa Grande, Arizona; started shooting at age 8 through 4H, initially with rifle and pistol, then transitioned to shotguns and skeet ([04:02]).
• Progressed from casual shooting at a local cotton farm to organized events like SCTP, ATA, CYSSA, and Junior Olympics.
• Five-time Arizona All-State team member (2x sub-junior, 3x junior, all as captain); two-time Junior All American; 2023 Arizona State Handicap Champion—scored a 98 ([01:26]).
• Notable for breaking 100 straight in registered skeet.

2. Competition Mindset & Motivation

• Alexis thrives on competition and proving herself, particularly to those who doubt her abilities ([05:58]):
  "I just wanted to prove that point to myself and anyone who believed in me or didn't believe in me that if they can do it, I can do it just as good."
• Attributes her drive and resilience to both internal competitiveness and family support.

3. Transition Between Divisions & Notable Wins

• Switching to "Lady 1" category after aging out of the junior division; chose this as the timing and competitive landscape felt right ([43:30]).
• Regularly competes (and often places) alongside/better than top male shooters; beat peer Weston at the Cardinal Classic ([07:05]).

4. Club Affiliations and Arizona Trap Scene

• Originally practiced at Casa Grande Gun Club, but after the passing of the owner’s husband, the club scaled down; now primarily shoots at Tucson and Ben Avery (Phoenix) ([09:21]).
• Mention of the legendary $60K+ 100-straight handicap purse at Casa Grande—unclaimed and a major local draw ([10:14]).

5. Role as a Writer & Industry Engagement

• Writes feature articles and takes photos for Trap Shooting USA; started after being approached by Sean Holley at the Cardinal Classic ([13:20], [13:44]).
• Enthusiastic about combining her passion for writing with her love of the sport:

  "I also take the pictures. And Sean provided me a wonderful camera, thankfully, and I've loved it. I love writing." ([14:14])

6. Work-Life Balance & Ambition

• Works three jobs to support her shooting career:
  1. Writing for Trap Shooting USA
  2. Sales at an armory in Chandler, AZ
  3. (Soon-to-be) Shooting Sports Ambassador for Iron City Polaris ([18:47])
• Aspires to attend community college for business and potentially build an entrepreneurial path related to shooting/travel ([17:22]).

7. Equipment Evolution & Gun Fit

• Began with a Remington 1100 and makeshift gear; transitioned through a Siren ELO Sporter, then a Caesar Guerini Tempio, and now shoots a Kohler combo ([20:35], [23:09]).
• Switched guns due to technical issues and injury (double fire caused dental injury), found increased comfort and performance with the Kohler ([23:36]).

  "Since I've read books of like Mind vs Target ... it builds the confidence of, okay, you know, you can do it, don't overthink it. Just go out, see it, shoot it. Caveman pretty much." ([29:15])

• Importance of gun fit for women:

  "Gun fit is truly crucial, especially in females. Our bodies are constantly changing, especially all the weight you lose first is in your face. ... With the Kohler, it makes it a lot easier to keep the gun fit snug and whatnot. But honestly, another thing is like mental game. Switching to the Kohler, I've gained a lot more confidence in myself..." ([26:07])

8. Coaching & Learning from Others

• Mentored by her father, with additional coaching from Phil Kiner and Sean Holley; values gathering advice, but filters and adapts it ([27:21], [32:25]).
  • On Phil and Sean’s biggest lesson:
    "If you can't see the target, don't go for it. You can't shoot a target you can't see. ... Stay home until you really see that bird where it's going. Track it, go for it." ([32:25])
• Took lessons on eye dominance—discovered temporarily shifting dominance due to setup ([34:00]).
• Views each club visit as a learning experience, sifting constructive advice from excess noise ([28:21]).

9. Technique, Choke Selection, & Mental Approach

• Hold points: varies for singles and handicap; lowers for handicap to avoid rushing, similar holds for singles/doubles ([38:07]).
• Choke choices:
  • Singles: varies between modified/light modified depending on wind; admits her approach may be unconventional ([41:36]).
  • Handicap: full choke.
  • Doubles: IC (bottom), modified (top).
• Mental slogan: "See target, shoot target." Stresses not overcomplicating things and relying on trained reactions ([29:15], [50:13]).

10. Advice for Young Shooters—Especially Women

• Focus on gun fit and self-confidence.

  "Always checking gun fit, always making sure, just because you don't want to be getting hurt, like cutting open your shoulder, cutting open your face or whatever. ... Having a crucial mental game of caveman. See target, shoot target..." ([50:13])

• Recognizes the male-dominated nature of the sport, but pushes for all competitors to "go for champion, not just category" ([56:15]).

11. Family and Sponsorship Appreciation

• Deep gratitude for her family’s sacrifices—especially her father's work as a border patrol supervisor and her mother’s constant support ([59:10]).
• Thanks sponsors: Iron City Polaris, Chandler Armory, Combat Clays, Ryan Castani, 80 Below Sporting Oil, Chambliss Game Totes, and Trap Shooting USA.

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Rising as a Woman in Trapshooting:

  "There's more and more people are gonna have to wear these damn pins on their hat because I don't know anybody that hasn't been beat by a girl in this sport at this point..." – Zach ([07:16])

• On Mental Game and Growth:

  "Some of the best advice that I've gotten in my shooting career didn't necessarily come from a world champion shooter. It was just the right place, the right time and a thought..." – Zach ([28:35])

• Advice from Phil Kiner:

  "If you can't see the target, don't go for it. ... Stay home until you really see that bird where it's going. Track it, go for it." – Alexis ([32:25])

• On Overcoming Setbacks:

  "First week of Tucson, I completely tore open my collarbone ... and I had some of the best help from ... my dad, they all helped me out... that's when my score started the incline..." – Alexis ([50:13])

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Segment Timestamps

• [01:26] – Ricky introduces Alexis and lists her achievements
• [04:02] – Alexis describes her entry into trapshooting
• [07:05] – Discussing competition, beating peers
• [09:21] – Shooting clubs and Arizona’s trap scene
• [13:20] – Start of Alexis's writing career with Trap Shooting USA
• [18:47] – Alexis's multiple jobs and plans for college/business
• [20:35] – Evolution of Alexis’s equipment and gun fit
• [23:36] – Picking up the Kohler and resulting performance jump
• [27:21] – Coaching, mentorship, and learning process
• [29:15] – Building the mental game; influence of books
• [32:25] – Key coaching lessons from Phil Kiner and Sean Holley
• [38:07] – Hold points and technical setup debate
• [41:36] – Choke selection breakdown
• [43:30] – Decision to compete in Lady 1 category
• [50:13] – Gun fit and advice for women in the sport
• [56:15] – On pushing to compete for champion, not just category
• [59:10] – Family and sponsors acknowledged

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Final Thoughts

Alexis Fernan’s journey is marked by resilience, fierce competitiveness, and a willingness to give back to the community—both as a competitor and as a writer. Her story is both an inspiration and a practical resource for up-and-coming shooters (especially women and youth), blending hard-earned advice with candid reflections on setbacks, perseverance, and the vital role of support networks.

For more insights or to follow Alexis’s journey, check out future Trap Shooting USA issues and keep an eye on the major western trapshooting events.

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Hosts:
Zach Nannini & Richard Marshall Jr.
Guest: Alexis Fernan
Podcast: [Trap Talk From The Back Fence, E159 – "Arizona’s Rising Star: The Trap Shooting Journey of Alexis Fernan"]

Transcript

[A]

Welcome to season four of Trap Talk.

[B]

Brought to you by Craig off the choice of champions.

[A]

Hey folks, if you're wondering where you can get your merch, head on down to shop Trap Talk podcast dot com.

[B]

Yes folks, you can get hats, T shirts, sweatshirts. They even have a ladies tank, shooters, towels. We might have some new stuff coming out for the 2026 year. Who knows?

[A]

We got all the swag. Head on down to the website. Thank you so much for being Trap Talk supportive.

[B]

Thanks everyone.

[A]

Welcome back Trap Talk listeners. I'm your host Zach Dennis. I'm here with my co host Richard Marshall Jr. It's a wonderful day other than it's a little bit cold outside where we're at in the parts of the country, the Midwest, it's, it's that time of the year where we're thinking more about ducks and hunting than we are shooting clay targets. But, but you know what, we, we decided to call into a warmer place in Arizona and get Alexis Vernon on the show. So thanks for joining the show today, Alexis.

[C]

You're welcome.

[A]

Ricky. Would you mind introducing young Alexis for the listeners that might not have seen her on the top of the scoreboard?

[B]

I'm sure, I'm sure they've seen her, you know, but Alexis Hales from Casa Grande, Arizona where it's nice and warm down there, I'm sure today versus up here in the Midwest. But Alexis has been shooting what about five years roughly all the disciplines.

[C]

Yeah, four or five, four or five.

[B]

But she is a five time all state member in Arizona. Two is sub junior, three is junior and all those are captain positions. So she's the number one youth shooter in the state of Arizona. She's also a two time junior all american team member. This year though, she's going for lady one. So we'll get in, in depth in that versus, you know why the switch and, and such and, and go from there. But she is the 2023 Arizona State Handicap champion. She did that break in a 98, so that's pretty awesome to win that. She's got a ton more accolades that will get in depth with her and she can explain all the different structures of shooting she's done. She also has 100 straight and skeet. Zach, I don't think you have a 100 and skeet, do you?

[A]

Not registered. No.

[B]

Don't say you haven't practiced because I know how you practice. Numbers are 1, 2, 25. That's you.

[A]

You know what it's like when I play golf. You get mulligans, you're just like, oh.

[B]

We'Ll get in depth, Alexis. So welcome to the show, Alexis.

[C]

Thank you. Thank you.

[A]

Oh, yeah, welcome. We just actually had Weston on the other day, and, you know, and I was shooting with him and in Tucson at the Autumn grand, and it was crazy because I. I didn't really know Alexis that well, but I started to see her on top of the board pretty much every day in Arizona. She was shooting like a house of fire. And we went into the. The last day, and it was pretty much me, Weston, Sean, Holly, and Alexis were like the top four on the board going into it. And, you know, she obviously won the lady one high overall. Correct me if I'm wrong. Right, Alexis, that. You did win that.

[C]

Yes, I did. So.

[A]

So, you know, you shot fantastic over there. I didn't really like how. How much you were hammering those targets on some days, but, you know, it just shows that you're. You're doing the right things.

[C]

Thank you.

[A]

So one thing we want to know is one, why do you love the sport that we love so much, and how did you get into the sport?

[C]

So I originally got into the sport. I started through 4H in Arizona, just locally in my town. I started with like.22 light rifle and pistol and, you know, just plinking around pretty much. And my dad came up to me one of these days, and he was like, hey, do you want to try a shotgun? And I was like, yeah, why not? You know, I'm. I'm eight years old. I'm ready to go. And I. I went out. My first time ever shooting a shotgun was on the skeet field, and I probably shot like a 10. And I was like, you know what? I really like this. I want to keep shooting. So I. I grew up more so doing skeet and sporting clays. There's a farm locally in town, a cotton farm. And they had set up some traps, and we were just having some fun. Nothing registered, nothing competitive. And I then started to shoot trap, probably about when I was 9 or 10 years old, I want to say. And that's when I finally started getting more into like 4H and especially SCTP, the scholastically target program. And from there on, I branched more into ATA and CYSSA and usa. Yes, I. I do. I did some of the junior Olympic type shooting, whatever, but there's so many organ organizations that I've competed in. It's just crazy. And then I. I really like doing this just because I live for the thrill of competition. I'm a really competitive person when it comes to anything I used to do like, I used to play softball and volleyball and a little bit of soccer, but I wasn't very good at it, honestly. And.

[B]

Well, when you played volleyball, don't mean to interrupt you, but you play. Were you the setter then?

[C]

I was more of a libero.

[B]

Okay.

[C]

So always diving for the ball and being competitive with my. With my team and. But when I did that, it. I just. I got a thrill for being competitive and being number one, and that's how I feel when I shoot. Especially going for junior these last two years, I. I wanted to almost, I guess, prove a point to myself that if they can do it, I can do it. Sure, I may still be learning and advancing and whatever, and. But I just wanted to prove that point to myself and anyone who believed in me or didn't believe in me that if they can do it, I can do it just as good. And I made junior All American first team two years in a row.

[B]

Yeah, that's what I was just looking at that.

[C]

You.

[B]

You were 10th on the. On the junior team. But the last shoot of the year for. Well, second to last shoot, because you guys did come to the Heartland grand. But yeah, you know, you and Weston did go out to the Cardinal center and shot the Cardinal Classic. And. And if I'm not mistaken, did you not beat him in the overall out there?

[C]

I did.

[B]

I thought so.

[A]

Weston, we're gonna get through the beat.

[B]

By the girl pin. Weston, We.

[A]

We got some trap talk ones were getting made because, oh, yeah, we just had Maddie Oswald on the show the other day, and. And she had won the. The. The handicap at Ohio, and, And. And I know that Joe didn't necessarily get in a shoot off with her that day, but I had made fun of Joe as I do, and said that he got beat. Beat by a girl. And I got a girl. Oh, yeah, we're gonna hand present that pin to Joe and let him know. But you know what? There's more and more people are gonna have to wear these damn pins on their hat because I don't know anybody that hasn't been beat by a girl in this sport at this point, because, I mean, I've been beat several times.

[B]

So. Have you just.

[A]

Sometimes you just get drugged because you guys are so competitive. And I almost feel like women pick it up faster than the guys do. I don't know why that is, but I've seen them progress a lot quicker with it when they start, you know, it usually takes a little bit longer for the guys to pick it up. Now once they pick it up, they can, you know, obviously shoot really, really well. But, but I just like, if I had like a, like a two 12 year old, a 12 year old boy and a 12 year old girl, the 12 year old girl generally figures it out a little faster, at least from what I've seen in doing some lessons. But, but, but that's, that's awesome that you're, you're competitive and, and I like what you said about, you know, proving the people right that believed me, but proving the people wrong that didn't believe me. You know, that's, that's haters gonna hate. Right? And then there's a whole bunch of, there's a whole bunch of people in this world that might not necessarily support your vision or support your goals or support what it is that you're trying to do. And at the end of the day, having that mindset that, you know, you basically live and breed off of the people saying that you can't do something, I mean that's, that's, that, that's, that's some, that's some Italian right there. I mean that's what we like, we love it.

[B]

Well, Alexis, now. So you live in Casa Grande. So Grande. Do you shoot out at the gun club there? Is that your home club then or.

[C]

No. So I, I used to a lot, but just recently, I mean, unfortunately Tiger, the lady that owns the range, her husband recently passed away and he used to maintain the range a lot more than anyone ever did and more than some of these people I've seen across the country. Like he was always out there doing whatever. But yeah, since he's passed away, unfortunately, the range has kind of gone to like just being somewhere to plink around. Nowhere that I can really get competitive targets. So I more so now travel to Tucson or Ben Avery up in Phoenix. They both are about an hour, an hour and a half away from me. So the drive isn't horrible, but I'm grateful to have at least those two good facilities as backups.

[B]

Back up for it now is, is Tiger. I mean, they still have, they got a massive 100 straight purse.

[C]

Yeah. So for the handicap, if you play an option. Yeah, there's. I don't remember what it's up to now, but no one that I know of has won it yet, so.

[B]

No, I was teaching there. It's been a little over a year ago. I did some lessons there and I, I think it was. Someone told me recently it's up to like 60 some thousand dollars probably.

[C]

It's probably close yeah, yeah.

[B]

Now, is she still going to continue to have registered shoots there then or.

[C]

She holds. Yeah, some weak shoots like always before the autumn and the spring grand. She always holds like a cabin fever or she always has that breast cancer shoot.

[B]

Yeah.

[C]

And big 50s on Mondays. Just here and there, register targets. But it's always a good time out there.

[B]

Yeah. Because they throw green targets there. Yeah, I always love shooting green target, but I've never shot a registered target there, so.

[A]

Yeah, well, it sounds like there's a reason for people to go on out if they got 67 grand to shoot for. I mean, we, we. She needs to have like an all handicap shoot that, that just encourages people to fly out and try to get it, call it the, Call it the jackpot first shoot or whatever and have everybody come out and just play it and shoot it and see it. I mean, if enough people show up and shoot, I'm sure somebody will get it. It's just going to take.

[C]

Yeah.

[A]

You know, might take a few hundred, a few events, that's for sure.

[B]

Yeah. No, absolutely.

[C]

Yeah. Like a marathon type deal.

[A]

Yeah, like, like, I don't know, two or three handicaps a day. Or like you said, a marathon. Like if you had a marathon set up where as many people could show up and just keep shooting 100 handicaps and playing that option every time. I mean, either it's going to keep building it really, really, really, really fast.

[B]

Well, the downside, you can't do it on a marathon, because a marathon, everybody's going to shoot on one trap.

[A]

So the four trap marathon, Ricky.

[B]

Yeah, they don't. That's not how marathons are done, Zach. You, you don't. You've never shot a marathon. You're like that. I go shoot 100 targets until now. You're the point whore of Stockdales.

[A]

No, I, I've shot. I've shot a few marathons back in the day, Redlands, Spanish Fort, those places. And I really learned the, the. The marathon shooting when I went to Spanish Fort and I had a 97, a 98 and a few 99s, and, and that same day, Tim Reed had, I think two or three hundreds from the 27. And, and I was like, well, I thought I was doing good, but not so much. I said this.

[B]

Yeah, I was.

[A]

I was walking to the clubhouse like, man, I really did something today. And they didn't.

[B]

I wasn't even.

[C]

Nope. No, I wasn't even.

[A]

You weren't even in the top five. It was like, oh, man, I missed three today out of 500 handicap. That sucked. I'm like, that's pretty damn good. Pretty salty.

[B]

Well, Alexis, so you write for Trap Shoot in the usa?

[C]

I do.

[B]

So tell us a little bit about that. How'd you get involved with doing that?

[C]

It's kind of funny. So recently, my first article that I wrote was the Cardinal Classic. And I guess it was like a the stars align type of moment because Sean, Holly, he had called me, like, second day of the shoot. He was like, hey, do you like to write? And I was like, yeah, I did a lot of college courses in high school with English and whatnot, and, you know, I like to write blogs and stuff, and I like to journal. And he was like, well, I got something for you. I was like, okay. He was like, you wanna. You wanna write for Trap Shooting usa? I was like, yeah, of course I do. So I. My first article, actually, I have the magazine right here. I. I wrote for the Cardinal Classic, and It's on page 90 of the recent issue.

[B]

Okay.

[C]

And ever since then, it's kind of just been like, I'm. I recently just wrote for the Nevada State. I'm not sure when that one will come out, but I wrote. And then I'm. The next two that I'm going to write are the Spring grand as well as the Arizona State. So you'll. People have to look out for those. But, no, I love doing it. I also take the pictures. And Sean provided me a wonderful camera, thankfully, and I. I've loved it. I love writing. And I reported Zach actually at the Autumn grand for your singles. So.

[A]

Yeah, thank you for that. I appreciate it.

[C]

I.

[A]

Thanks for the love.

[B]

It was a short article. I think it.

[A]

Yeah. Not much report. Ricky, he.

[C]

He honestly exacted the reporting for me. Honestly. I asked one question and he said for the rest of the video, he was talking. I was like, all right, that. That makes my job easy. So that.

[B]

No, don't give Zach a mic if he wins. It's like, put a quarter in. Put a quarter in.

[A]

I just. I. It was really easy. I said, I want to thank all the little people, and I want to thank Ricky Marshall for not coming to this shoot. It was. It was simple, straight to the point. I said, I can get used to this.

[B]

He'll make it easy for you, Alexis. That's a fact.

[C]

He will. He will.

[A]

You know, Ricky, I know you use it on your barrels, but you even know what RGS stands for?

[B]

No, Zach, what does it stand for?

[A]

Really good.

[B]

Well, that is true. It is good stuff, folks. I use it to clean my barrels, and it does make them shine.

[A]

Only problem is I wear white T shirts when I clean my barrels and I get them all messy, so I got to be better at that. But it gets all the plastic, all the gunk out. Give them a try, folks. They're great.

[B]

That's right. Give RGS a try. We appreciate all the support. Hey, Zach, have you been out to.

[A]

73 Pointers Ranch lately? Know I have. Rick and Carla Burke have been great. I normally hunt pheasants and chucker down there, but now they got a brand new sporting clay facility and it is topnotch. I shot it the other day, absolutely loved it. And if you guys haven't, you need to go give it a check out.

[B]

Well, I'll have to come out and do a little hunting and we'll shoot.

[A]

Some sporty clays then 45 minutes from St. Louis Airport. Come see it if you haven't. Guys, check them out. You know, Rick, I. I know you had a lot of involvement with them since the beginning, since they started. But I really love the way that the shot tracker, you know, catches the doubles from shot to shot with the looping. You know, tell the folks what they need to know about that system.

[B]

It's the best system out there. It's like having a coach on the end of your barrel, like we say, but going especially in double from first shot to second shot. You can see it on the graph, you can see it on video.

[A]

Yeah, I mean, if you talk about that J hook with Shawn, Holly and all them, I mean, it'll literally show that loop. And I think that's really powerful if you're doing it. They've supported the show since the beginning. They love trap shooting. They're great people. Give them a shot, folks. They make a great product.

[B]

Take Aim technologies. Well, so you're writing for Traction usa. So are you wanting to do. I mean, you're not going to college right now, right?

[C]

No, but I plan on it or what? Yeah.

[B]

What's your.

[C]

Yeah, I plan to do some like, community college, some sort of like, business. I'm not fully decided. I haven't honestly really looked into it as much as I should. But something like business related because one of my future aspirations is like owning a business. Like not as. Probably not as big as Elite, for example, or Excel, whatever, but something along those lines where I can travel and sell product or guns or whatever and shoot as well and have some fun and just enjoy myself really.

[B]

Well, in order to do that szec, you gotta make money.

[C]

Yeah. Oh, yeah.

[A]

Gotta have quiche or you gotta have what we call in the industry a trust fund.

[B]

Now.

[A]

Then, you know, you know that that's a little better way to go about it. It's a little easier. You know, it's. It's.

[C]

I'm working. Yeah.

[A]

Opm. It's other people's money.

[C]

That's fair enough. I'm. I'm working three jobs right now to support what I do, so.

[A]

Well, that's good because you got a lot of money then and you're working hard and building it on your own instead of. Instead of needing opm. Stay away from that.

[B]

So how many jobs did you say you had?

[C]

Three.

[B]

Three. And what are those three jobs consist of?

[C]

So one is for Trap Shooting usa. They're paying me for those articles, which is really nice and really awesome of them. I. The other job, I work for an armory up in Chandler, Arizona, where it's kind of out of my territory, but I love doing it. I. Selling guns to people and helping them out with ammo or whatever they want to build and whatnot and accessories. And the guys up there, super awesome shout out to them. And the third job is with Iron City Polaris. There's a store here as well as a store up in Phoenix. Wayne Bird, he helped me out with that a lot. I'm gonna be like a. It's not truly final, but it's getting there and I know I'm gonna get that spot. I'll be like a shooting sports ambassador for Iron City, Polaris and whatnot. So they'll be paying me to do that as well.

[B]

Well, nice. Don't be competing. Don't be competing against our Big Red Motorsports.

[A]

Sorry.

[C]

Sorry. Sorry to.

[B]

Oh, George ain't gonna like this.

[C]

No, he won't.

[A]

There's about to be a turf war. We're gonna have to race. Race the rig in Arizona.

[C]

Yeah. Oh, yeah. We'll see.

[B]

We can see.

[A]

I know.

[B]

And listen, them Polaris don't go as fast as them can. Ams.

[C]

No, they. No, I will say that.

[B]

That is true. Oh, man.

[A]

So, Alexis, it sounds like you're. You're working really hard.

[B]

You're.

[A]

You're focused on your goals, but to getting back into, you know, your, your, your journey and starting with trap shooting, you know.

[C]

Yeah.

[A]

When you started, you know, what kind of equipment were you using and shooting back then and what have you transitioned to now?

[C]

So when I really started, I had some makeshift pouch that my dad and I had kind of put together that we had found it was a belt and almost like, I guess, I don't know, like it was a bag for empty halls. And we clipped it on and I was using that at first and I was using a little Remington 1100 or so and literally wearing my dad's sunglasses that were way too big for me, that I looked like a bug. And yeah.

[B]

Good eye protection.

[C]

Yeah, I, I was protected. I was protected, yes. But transitioning on my first true over and under was a siren ELO sporter gun. I had that for, I want to say about two years or so. I wanted something short amount of time. And that's what I shot my first hundred in skeet with. And I shot my highest score with. It was a 99 in singles. And at the time I wasn't really shooting handicapper doubles yet. Then moving on, I, I realized I need something that I can adjust and something that can fit more of my needs of moving on into singles, handicap and doubles. So I went to a Caesar Guerini Tempio trap combo. I had that up until Autumn grand last year. And I, I love that gun with all my heart. That gun, they got me through so much. I, I did. I won the handicap championship with it. Got my first hundred in singles with it. Both of my doubles, I also got that with it. But up until it was. It was actually at the state shoot, it started to double fire on me just because of how much I was shooting it. And up until then I was fighting double fires every single day. Pretty much it felt like I was shooting. And it finally got so bad at the Autumn grand that my tooth actually got knocked inwards and I just. Yeah, yeah.

[B]

I don't think I'd be shooting the Tempio, but just saying.

[C]

No, I. After that I, I dropped it in. Ryan Castani and actually Weston, they both helped me out getting my Kohler fit to me now. So I shoot a Kohler. It's a low profile LPT. Yes.

[B]

3430 or 3432?

[C]

34. 32.

[B]

Okay.

[C]

And I love it. I love shooting it.

[A]

Well, I'm glad to hear that. You're not going to need to get any fillings anytime soon. That's one of those things, you know, you're knocking out.

[C]

It freaking hurt.

[B]

We're glad you don't need any dental work coming up.

[A]

Yeah, I mean, we could, we could maybe put something out on the show, letting the dentists across the country know. If you get that.

[C]

Oh, yeah, those gold fillings are gone. Business will be booming after that.

[A]

Well, I'm sorry That we have to have fun here, but if we don't entertain ourselves, we couldn't get through all these episodes. So I apologize.

[C]

No, it's fine.

[B]

So.

[A]

So how long have you been shooting the Kohler now?

[C]

Since about autumn grand 24 and my first. Yeah, about.

[A]

Yeah, I mean, and. And in that one year, I mean, just for me watching, it looks like you've made some very, very big strides in your game as far. As far as consistency.

[C]

I finally hit 27 and my scores have been a lot more consistent recently, and I felt a lot more comfortable shooting it. It's just. It's been a dream shooting the Kohler. I mean, here and there I'll have my moments where I'm like. But after that I'm. It's all right.

[B]

So. So, Alexis, you switch to it in 20 for the 25 season then, basically, right?

[C]

Yes.

[B]

So, looking at your averages, I mean, your singles average went up just a little over about 2.25, 2.26 points. In singles, your handicap went up almost three targets and your doubles average went up just a little bit. But now for the 26 year, your singles are up higher, your handicap is up almost three targets again. So, yeah, it. It seems like it's made a big improvement for you.

[C]

It has, it has.

[B]

Going to that now, I guess.

[A]

Would you think. Would you think that the improvement is because you're not getting recoil anymore like you were, or do you think that it's just the way the gun fits you or, you know, what do you think is the reason why it's. It's jumped up so much?

[C]

Honestly? For one, yes, gun fit is truly crucial, especially in females. Our bodies are constantly changing, especially all the weight you lose first is in your face. That's where it all goes. And it's just. I mean, I've been bad about taking care of myself and either losing or gaining weight a lot. I know, I know you're 19.

[B]

Years living.

[C]

But gun fit is truly crucial. And with the Kohler, it makes it a lot easier to keep the gun fit snug and whatnot. But honestly, another thing is like mental game switching to the Kohler. I've gained a lot more confidence in myself and truly believing that my gun fits me or it's not going to hurt me with the tempio or whatever. I know every single. Yeah, I know every single time I mount it, I know I can have the confidence be like, okay, we're good. Just see the target, shoot the target. That's it.

[B]

So you, you talk about the Mental game there. Have you had any coaching prior or were you just kind of self taught? Your dad. What, who, who's your, your mentor?

[C]

So for the longest time and he still does. My, my dad, he has helped me out as far as he can go, being more so a rifle pistol shooter, but doing whatever he can to help me with trap and okay, but up. I think I want to say two years ago or so, Weston and I actually went to Phil Kiner in Wyoming and we got a clinic from him which was really awesome. I've also had help from Sean Holly and doubles. He's gave me some pointers here and there, especially in vernal. And just honestly, anybody from like, I know you're not supposed to take advice from everybody, but there's always someone where I go that, yeah, they, they give me something and I kind of correlate it all into one motion. Pretty much.

[B]

Yeah. No, that every gun club you go to, you're going to get advice. My dad always told me, you know, take it for a grain of salt and. Yep, you know, if you think something's good, fine. If not, just let it go in one ear and out the other.

[C]

That's exactly what my dad told me too.

[A]

Yeah, and that's, and that's fair because you know, you'd be surprised. Some of the best advice that I've gotten in my shooting career didn't necessarily come from a world champion shooter. It was just the right place, the right time and a thought. And then I took that thought and I said, you know, I never really thought about that way and, and me.

[B]

See target, me shoot target.

[C]

That's what pretty much.

[A]

The secret of the game. But you know, I guess, you know, that mental improvement, do you think it's more your self confidence or are you physically reading things or physically writing things down to help build that mental game?

[C]

It's kind of a mix of both, honestly. Like since I've read books of like mind versus Target or I believe it's called knowledge is power, whatever it is. But there's a couple, couple of mental books that I've read and I'm like, man, why didn't I think of that? You know, and, and then it builds the confidence of, okay, you know, you can do it, don't overthink it. Just go out, see it, shoot it. Caveman pretty much. And I mean becomes.

[B]

That's honestly so much easier. Yeah, but the confidence, Alexis, like you're saying you switched from the Caesar to the, to the Kohler, you were more worried. I think every Time that you shot about the recall. So you became recoil sensitive. Oh, yeah, probably you. You were coming out of the gun almost every shot because you were like, I don't want to get kicked by this thing. Which in turn makes the kick more.

[C]

Yep, you're spot on about that.

[A]

Yeah. It's like when you're a kid and you're lighting the firecrackers and some of the fuse are shorter than the others and you're like, you never would know which one's gonna pop. And.

[B]

Good analogies. Zach. Zach always used to just hang on to them.

[A]

I can't hold this for very long. You're getting them jumping out of that hand. Baby, you gotta go. It's not fun. It's not fun. And I gotta tell you, you don't want to hold it around like that or you'll won't be able to open up your catching bottles later on in life. But you know, and I love to hear that. I. I do want to circle back for a second because there was something else that you said that I wanted to investigate. You said that you and Weston went and took a class from Phil and then you had some teaching from Sean. What was maybe one or two things from each of those shooters that you learned that you integrated in your game that was immediately helpful? You know, Rick, the only thing looks better than these hats we're wearing right now, It's a bunch of gold and silver from Ron Prescott at Mid State Precious Metal. Show them the goods.

[B]

Listen, all I got, silver right now, I won't bring the gold out for.

[A]

Zach, but you know I always want to get that.

[B]

Gold shotgun shells, 10 ounce bars. Folks, he can do anything for you. For all your shoot needs, give Ron Prescott a call. Midstate Precious Metals dot com.

[A]

He's a great guy. Support him. He supports all the shoots. He supports trap. Talk. If you're thinking gold or silver, you need to be thinking Ron Prescott at Midstate Precious Metals. Thank you, Ron.

[B]

That's right. Thanks for all the support.

[A]

You know, Rick, I just love having the peace of mind and knowing that if I'm traveling or I'm flying, something happens, I can get my winig and my craig off replaced quickly and easily without costing me a bunch of money.

[B]

Yeah, exactly. The gun and trophy insurance, it's the best out there to ensure your guns. Sure. Your trophy, animals, everything.

[A]

Thank you to the whole Cushman family for supporting the show and everything they do for trap shooting.

[B]

Absolutely. Get a hold of Cole Cushman and he'll get you set Up.

[C]

Honestly, they both. Almost like. They both pretty much have the same mentality. But the biggest thing from both of them was, all right, if you can't see the target, don't go for it. You can't see. You can't shoot a target you can't see. Obviously, you have to have a clear picture of it until you're like, okay, there it is. Boom. Phil and Sean, they both really have the. The mentality of stay home. That's the biggest thing. Stay home until you really see that bird where it's going. Track it, go for it. Phil also, he likes. He did the recording of standing behind and doing the videotaping and makes you watch and realize, all right, can you see what you're doing? And he would have me explain, all right, either I went right left on the bird, or I just pulled too early or I pulled too late, whatever. And he would then take what I'm seeing and be like, so either that's why you can or can't realize what you're doing wrong. I never realized, like, I shoot with both eyes open. But for a while, Phil was telling me that I was more left eye dominant than right eye, so my left eye would see that bird before anything else. And I was trying to go to it, wherever it was, and basically spot shoot him. And. But over time, I.

[B]

Well, so Phil said you were left eye dominant now.

[C]

Yeah.

[B]

Have you done idomacy tests to show that you're right eye dominant or what?

[C]

Yeah, I did a couple with Weston. He helped me out with that. And. What. Why? You look confused.

[B]

Okay, there you are. You cut out for a second.

[A]

Oh, technical difficulties. No problem.

[B]

So what did you. So how did you. Are you right eye dominant or left eye dominant?

[C]

I'm right eye.

[B]

Okay. So he was thinking you were more kind of multi dominant or.

[C]

Yes.

[B]

Cross dominant.

[C]

Yes.

[A]

A lot of the times. A lot of the times that cross dominancy happens more when you're not set up the proper way. So I've seen people that are right eye dominant that have no issue being right eye dominant, but the two things that commonly happen when the dominancy starts to change is either the comb gets too low and they start blocking out the retina of their right eye so that their left eye wants to get into the picture, or they start mounting the gun in a way where they're really, really, really turned with their head so that their right eye is having to fight. And if you get over on post one and post two, if I've got somebody that's Only having dominancy issues on post one and post two, the first thing we look at is as the center of their face. Like are you, are you doing this where that left eye is hanging out on the left side and it, I mean if you block out the right eye and the left eye is the only thing out there that's gonna take, it's gonna take over. I mean, just the same way if you plug something in front of it. Well, now I'm, now I'm left eye dominant, right. If I take it away.

[C]

Yeah.

[B]

Now I go back and Zach and, and also for the listeners out there, this is the main reason why I hold on the house or I tell people that's your best place to hold. Now you don't have to hold there, but you never have any dominancy issues if you're on the house. Because what happens is people get up on post one and two, they'll hold high or they'll hold inside even, and that target beats them to the left. And the first thing, oh, they, their left eye sees it and then they stop versus not on the corner, of.

[A]

Course, and even, even more. So like, let's just talk about, okay, if I'm holding three or four feet above the house on the left hand side on one and two, if that target flies into that zone where that barrel is just like Ricky's saying, it's not even beating you at that point. But now it's in the gun and now your right eye can't see it. And right when it breaks past the gun, the first thing that wants to catch it is that left eye hanging. So there's, there's so much to be said. We could spend a whole day talking about eye dominancy and, and you know, and gun fit and you know, and it's all crucial at the end of the day, if you take all of that stuff and you push it out of the way, which is basically what me and Ricky are doing when we're taking that gun and we're drawing it into the house is you're just pushing all that below so that the only thing that these eyes see is target. And then, and then, and then the gun takes over and goes.

[B]

You react to it. Yeah, yeah. So that is the one thing for all the listeners out there, if you are struggling with some dominancy stuff, check your setup. See if you're, you're holding too high, you know, or you could even be holding too low to where you're. Some guys I see holding in the back, bottom of the Trap house.

[C]

Yeah.

[B]

And then as they're throwing the gun up, the gun gets in the way, too.

[A]

Correct. You're throwing it with too much energy, which causes it to go past and then to stop.

[B]

Or.

[A]

The other thing that I've seen when they get too low into the house is. Let's just say the targets are really high. Well, then when they're coming up, their head comes up before the gun comes up because they're. They're down so low that they have that jack and they're kind of coming out early. Was that what you were doing?

[C]

Are you talking to me?

[A]

Yeah. I thought you said something, Alexis. I. I didn't.

[C]

Oh, no, I said that they're. They're looking for it instead of actually staying on the gun and staying with it.

[B]

Yeah, yeah. No. So where's your whole point that, Alexis?

[C]

I'm holding, like, literally maybe a couple inches right above the house. That's just where I am comfortable. I. I used to be really high so I could spot them, and then I realized that's not helping me at all, so I brought it way down, and that's. That's where I've been comfortable, so.

[B]

And your scores have increased.

[C]

Yeah.

[A]

Do you feel like it's the same hold point in singles, doubles, and handicap for you, or is there any variance for the listeners?

[C]

Personally, for me, my singles and handicap hold are different. I. From where I hold in singles. In handicap, I hold just a little lower, so I'm not rushing to those birds. And then for singles and doubles, I hold about the same height. I. I spot the first one as. As fast as I can. I don't. Honestly, I don't even see the first bird in doubles, so I. I just shoot where I. As soon as I. I know you're not supposed to, but as soon as I see the flash of the barrel or of the bird go through my barrel, I pull, and then I immediately look for that second bird and drive, so.

[B]

Well, everybody has a different technique, you know, to shooting doubles. I always say you want to make a little bit of moving doubles so you can get on the line, but you got to recognize it, you know?

[C]

Yeah.

[B]

So. But it's worth a couple hundred, so.

[A]

I think you can definitely shoot it the spot way. Where I see the problem with the spot is when stuff is not consistent. So. No, you go somewhere where, you know, let's just say we take you to a gun club where the targets are sliding a little bit. I think that's where you're going to give the advantage to A guy like Ricky, where he's going to the bird and seeing that bird and making a reactionary shot. But I have also seen guys that, if the targets are perfect, like, I don't know, many places that throw a better target than like Sparta at the grand as far as consistency, at least in some of the banks. And, you know, they get those targets up in the air and they're kind of hanging them in one spot. You know, there's some guys that spot shoot on that target with zero wind, and they do reduce the gun barrel movement at some level. So there's something to be said about less gun barrel movement. But. But I just think unless you're dealing with a really, you know, a really good set and everything's perfect, you. There's an advantage to learning how to. To. To make a line on a shot.

[C]

Because. No, I agree, it.

[A]

It ain't going to be that way when you go to Stockdale's or when you go to Florida. Yeah, you go to anywhere with a. With a handset. I mean, and there's not a lot of handsets left in the country, but. But that zero. Is there. None.

[B]

Not any big registered shoots anymore.

[A]

See, see, last time I shot Kingsburg State shoot, that was a long guy ago. They had half the banks were still handsets on the right. And I don't know, I don't shoot out.

[B]

I don't. I haven't shot the California State shoot. So. So.

[A]

So for me, you know, there was a lot of clubs in California that were still on those handsets. And so when we shot handset doubles, we knew it. They would emerge very quickly, but you really had to let the kid get those things on the arm, otherwise, you know, it was crazy. You would. I mean, if he didn't get those things set on the arm properly, it was a crap shoot, not a trap shoot.

[C]

Yeah.

[A]

So.

[B]

Well, Alexis, so what do you shoot for? Chokes in your barrel, then?

[C]

For double or for all of it?

[B]

All three.

[C]

So singles, I go between a mod and a light mod, depending on if it. If it's like a windy day, I'll go a light mod to give myself more room. But if it's like a. I know, I know, it's. It's weird.

[B]

The opposite. But you're going the wrong way, girl.

[A]

You're going the wrong way.

[C]

All right, I'll switch to tighter, but. And then for handicap, I shoot a full and doubles, I shoot IC mod. I see on the bottom mod on the top.

[A]

Yeah, I thought you were gonna say that when you shot the light mod. You shot the light mod in, like, bluebird days. And then if it gets really windy, you throw the mod in there. But like, no, if it's blowing all over the place, I want to just blow pellets with the wind. And I'm like, oh, Jesus.

[B]

The problem people don't understand is with the pattern and your density and everything, it. Even though you're throwing this huge pattern, you also have these holes, and the hole only has to be about that big for that target to get through. So I always recommend, at minimum, about 25,000.

[C]

Okay.

[B]

And then up for singles. Now doubles. I'm still 20,000, 30,000. That's your best performing choke by far.

[A]

Hey, like they used to say back in my school when we were in it, you just throw the light nines in and ride them.

[B]

We're not shooting nines.

[A]

Great advice.

[B]

Well, so, Alexis, now we've talked about your gun and stuff and your. Your setup. Now let's talk about the all American team stuff. So you. You are a junior all American now. You've. You're out of junior category. So you could. You Junior gold. But you. Now you've transferred. You're going to shoot lady one.

[C]

Lady one, yeah.

[B]

Okay. Is there. You didn't want to shoot, try for junior gold. You just said.

[C]

Honestly, I saw it as like a pick your battles type deal. It's almost like either. All right, Junior gold, you got Cole Henning and Ethan Prescott, Grayson Stewart, those two are the primary dominance on the west coast. Whereas lady one, it's like Elizabeth turns, Madison Oswalt, Shelby Skaggs, whatever, whoever. And I was almost. I. I really don't know where I'm going this year. I want to try to travel a lot. Haven't made a set schedule yet, but I saw Lady 1 as almost like the. I felt a lot more confident this year going lady one especially. I didn't. Especially. Yeah. Shooting my Coler more. I was like, well, I. I feel more confident. I feel more ready to go lady one. I'll probably. I'll think about doing junior gold next year. We'll see. But just in. If I do end up staying on the west coast, I figured lady one would be my best bet.

[B]

What, are you planning on moving or something or what?

[C]

No, I. I just don't. I don't have a schedule made of where I'm going this year.

[B]

I want you or what's the deal?

[C]

Am I what?

[B]

I said, are you traveling with Weston anywhere or what?

[C]

Probably not a lot this year, unfortunately. I want to. I really want to. But if now that I'm working more in the three jobs, if Trap Shooting USA especially needs me to write more on the west coast, that's where I'll be.

[A]

Hey, Rick, we got to take a second. We got to thank Outlaw Engineering and the Preston family for supporting Trap shooting and supporting Trap Talk podcast. They've been here for us. They're great people, you know. You know them real well, Rick.

[B]

Yeah, I've known Randy since 1988. R2 and the family, they're great supporter of the show. Coop just won the Autumn Grand Handicap championship with a 97.

[A]

I know, I was there. I got to interview him. It was great. I was so proud of him. He's doing a great job. Hashtag, where's Coop? He's somewhere with that big buckle. He's having fun. So you need anything engineering related, get a hold of Outlaw. They'll take great care of you.

[B]

Great folks. Thanks for all the support. Outlaw.

[A]

Hey folks, we really want to thank Remington for supporting the show. Since day one, I've been shooting the STS, ounce and eighth light eights for singles and doubles and the Nitro 27 from the 27 yard line, ounce and eight, seven and a half. They make a great product. You should give them a try. And as always, thank you for the support. I just love the way they're covering all the shoots across the country. The content, the pictures, what they're doing online, what doing. They're it on Facebook, Instagram. What do you think?

[C]

Yeah.

[B]

Traption usa, it's a great magazine. They are the official magazine of our podcast and we are the official podcast of Traption usa. So we really appreciate it.

[A]

That's really cool. And what they got is a deal right now. If you put Trap Talk PN for the print version and Trap Talk D for the digital version. It's 19.99 for the print and $9.99 for the digital for one year. You're not going to find a better deal. So subscribe today. You to want regret it.

[B]

Absolutely. Thank you for all the support.

[A]

You know, Rick, I was at the Autumn grand and the Nevada State shoot and I was just really impressed with how I could see where my squad was when I was up. Just the technology, the ability to be able to see what options I've played if the event's paid or not. I mean, what's your experience with with the app?

[B]

Listen, SOS Clay's app, it's the best thing out there, folks. You can see everything. It's great. You See your option payouts. You can see when you're up, you can see, see who's paid on your squad. Sometimes Zach doesn't pay on time, but.

[A]

It'S, I get out there. But what I really think is, is for gun clubs, it's free. Call Greg, get a hold of him. He'll set you up, he'll get you running.

[C]

Right.

[A]

And if you pay the, the premium once a year, you get free pre squatting in all the shoots. And that's the best value in trap shoot.

[B]

Absolutely. SOS clays.com Rick, I really think that.

[A]

Gunfit is probably the most important part of shooting big scores. Would you agree with that?

[B]

Absolutely. I think gunfit is the most important thing.

[A]

I mean, most of the top all Americans are shooting custom stocks. I know when I got my custom stock, my scores went up. I broke 100, trip in the 27 within seven days. I mean, I'm sure your experience has been similar.

[B]

Yeah, I've been shooting a custom gun stock for 20 years, winning. If you want to win championships, get a win of gun stock.

[A]

Yeah, call Bobby, call Luke. I mean we got the stock whisperer over there, Bill, Give them a shot. They're great and they know what they're doing.

[B]

Absolutely. Winig.com Check them out. Yeah, well, it's understandable. I mean, life gets in the way, of course, you know.

[C]

Yeah, unfortunately.

[B]

Yeah. Well, there's a lot of shoots in Arizona and, and you know, you got Nevada State shoot, which we just had. You know, you've got this, the autumn grand we just had. You have the spring grand coming up. You have the Arizona State shoot.

[A]

You know, there's New Mexico State shoot.

[B]

Utah western grand, all that.

[C]

California. Yeah, yeah. A lot of great shoots over here.

[A]

Oh, there's, there's a lot. I mean, and, and I, and I love to see that the west coast is still, you know, thriving at certain their big shoots and, and I want to see some of the shoots that have declined. Get back to that. The heyday of what they were. Obviously it takes time and effort and it takes marketing and it takes support. But you know, you've got good weather on the west coast. I mean, I will obviously say the only reason why I think I worked on my game and got to the point where I could compete pretty quickly was because in California I had 12 months of the year that I could shoot. So, you know, every month, every month it didn't matter if it was December, January, February, you know, whatever I'm shooting and you know, you come to The Midwest. And most people put the gun away from November till March. I mean, unless they're traveling to Florida or they're traveling to Arizona. Arizona on a plane. I mean, most people are hunting in the off season, and then they're shooting trap in the on season. And I found that at least when I was young, if I shot all 12 months of the year, I was able to come back stronger in the next season because, you know, those guys were off for six months, and, you know, you come back and they're about. They're about the same as they were the year before, and you're that much better. You know, that was just condensing the. Condensing the practice regimen. So. And. And I mean, if you look at the past records of great all Americans, there's a whole lot of great all Americans that came from California, you know. Yeah, a bunch. Yes. The west coast, so.

[B]

Absolutely.

[A]

So, Alexis, I do want to. I do want to get in a few tips for the listeners. You know, you being a lady who shot in junior and, you know, sub junior and kind of transitioned and. And now in the lady one category. And is there any good tips for young people, whether they're juniors or ladies or any stuff that you'd be like, okay, this is my secret sauce that I really think everyone needs to know.

[C]

Honestly, like, especially for ladies, I would say the biggest would be always checking gun fit, always making sure, just because you don't want to be getting hurt, like cutting open your shoulder, cutting open your face or whatever, you want to have that confidence that you can. You can get your head on your gun and know, I'm going to hit this target every single time you mount. And especially having a crucial mental game of caveman. See, target, shoot, target, you know, and just. Just knowing that every single time you throw up your gun, no matter what you're shooting, where you're shooting, how you're shooting, it's gonna be, I'm gonna hit this bird every single time. Like, I went through that for prime example, first week of Tucson, I. I completely tore open my collarbone. I don't know what I was doing. I was getting in my head. I was. I was throwing my gun way too high up on my shoulder and just, I was rubbing, rubbing, rubbing. And I knew I was in need for a new butt pad anyways, and I was way too stubborn to change it, but tore open my collarbone. And I had some of the best help from, like, Chase Dabinski, Aaron Willoughby, Brad Young, my dad, they all helped me out with putting on A pad adjuster. And right as the first weeks or the grand week started, that's when my score started. The incline, incline, incline. Because I had the confidence, hey, I'm not gonna get hurt. My gun actually fits. I'm not gonna feel like I'm gonna throw my head off. Off the. The stock, you know, So I really. I really went through it. First week of autumn grand. I. I hate to admit it, but that was, like, one of the toughest weeks for me, shooting and Nevada. Yeah, Nevada's always. Yeah, Nevada is always a good time. I'm. I don't complain about Nevada at all. I love shooting there, no matter how I shoot, whether it was good or bad. I mean, I came out with the lady one singles out of state champion with a 198. 198. So I was. I was happy about that. But just some of the events, you know, like, I struggled with the handicap out there, just not being able to see the targets, which. What can you do, you know, if you can't see it, you can't shoot it. Unless you. Unless you've tried everything, then, I mean.

[B]

But, yeah, it can be tough in Nevada.

[C]

Yeah, I know, but I. I consider Nevada almost like a second home for me just because of how much I go up there.

[A]

Yeah. I really like the advice that you gave to female shooters of making sure the gun fit is correct. Because if you're not lined up on the gun, you're not shooting where you're looking, you can't do your job. And on top of that, you know, and unfortunately, it's becoming more and more common. But almost every shoot I go to, I see one or two or three young people with a hole in their face. And, you know, and I know. I know what that's like. He knows what that's like. I mean, mine was right here. There's kind of a little scar from it, but Ricky's got a much bigger one. And it's. It's just because, I mean, at the time, I can't speak to Ricky. But at the time, I was shooting good, and I was stubborn, and I wasn't willing to relearn how I did it. So I kind of, you know, you know, grounded my head into the stock, and, you know, my. My length of pull was too long, and I was doing all the wrong things. I was hitting targets, but I was beating my body up because I wasn't smart enough to say, oh, this is the wrong way. There's another way to break a target. I can. I can maneuver my head And I can adjust it. And unfortunately, I had to learn the hard way. I had to shoot long enough that I figured out, you know what? I'm tired of having a hole in my face at every shoot. Let's change the way we're mounting the gun, and let's, you know, get a little bit of a better fit. And really what helped is when I went to the winning, because before I had the winning, it was pretty much all straight stocks, and I was trying to make a straight stock work and, you know, adding excessive length and these other things that necessarily weren't the savior or the solution, because I obviously knew everything, right? You always know everything when you're that age. You know, you know, your own. Your own mind until you. Until you learn it.

[B]

Well, it ain't. It isn't really learning it. It's you. You got to understand that, hey, this ain't right. Let's get it fixed. You got to figure out what is the best way to fix it, you know, so, yeah, it sucks when you're. You're getting beat up or gun issues or that. So, yeah, you really gotta watch. And that's why I always say, you know, go to someone that knows what's going on and can help you, and. And that's usually your quickest fix.

[A]

Yeah, it really is. And I think the. The hard part for me was I went to a couple people that said they knew what. They knew what they were doing and, you know, put these, you know, adjustable pad kind of situations on my stock and did this and that and maneuvered and, you know, yeah, the recoil wasn't there, but I was hitting 12s, and I'm like, this isn't going to work, right? So, like, you know, sometimes you can alleviate the recoil, but you can completely screw up the gun fit, right? So there's not a lot of people that can say, we can alleviate the recoil and we can get the gun fit right. And that's where I had the frustration where I basically had to learn exactly what I wanted and. And why it is the way it is so that we can, you know, duplicate it. But. But, Alexis, you know, it's. It's been a real pleasure getting to know your story. Is there anything else, Any other good advice? Because that was such a good answer, I almost got to ask it again. Is there any other good advice that you would give other than that.

[C]

I guess, to touch back on you saying that I went as a junior All American, as a lady, I. More so that was like. More for me to realize, like, how I said earlier, if, if I can do it, they can, or if they can do it, I can do it. You know, and obviously I, I hate to get into stereotypes, but this is a male dominated sport, as you guys know. And respectfully, you see all the big wins coming from males and not so many females, you know, but it's, it's just me being competitive. Like, I want to be like you. I want to be my name right there as the, whatever champion of the, like, for example, Weston being the HOA champion. I was so close. I really wanted that. But.

[B]

Yeah, you were. But hey, that's good, that's, that's awesome to have that, that want and that mentality, drive.

[C]

Yeah.

[B]

You know, that's, that's what you need to, to win. I mean, if you don't believe in yourself, no one else is going to believe in you. So it all starts at home, you know?

[C]

Yeah.

[B]

Believe in yourself.

[A]

Yeah. And just that, that grit and that tenacity of wanting to beat everyone. I have known some category shooters that they're just really concerned with winning their category and that's it. And I, and I, and I always tell him, I said, I think you're leaving some gas. You're leaving some gas in the tank. Because I mean, yeah, you can win your category and be competitive in your category, but if you start going for the top of the table all the time, your category is going to come natural, right?

[C]

Yeah.

[A]

Gonna fall into place if you're always going for champion. Yeah.

[B]

Bowler just worries about his category.

[C]

That's Bowler.

[A]

That's Bon New Year's initiative. We're not going to be so rough on Bullard going into 2020.

[B]

We are definitely going to be rough on Bullard. That is a fact. Sorry, that was, that was an early.

[A]

April Fool's joke of mine. I apologize. We're going to be twice as mean to him as always.

[B]

But, but thinking about changing residency and moving to Nevada.

[A]

Oh, yeah, those west coast states, I mean, they could, we could, we could have some fun over there. It'd be a good time. But, but yeah, I, I, I love Rich and he's always been a good sport, so we appreciate him letting us.

[C]

Make fun of him.

[A]

For anybody that might not know how good a close of friends we are, we are close enough that he hears these and he calls us the next dance. Says, man, why do you guys gotta keep picking on it?

[B]

But he likes it because his name's still out there.

[C]

Oh, yeah.

[B]

You know, we're helping.

[C]

He's in the cycle. He's in the cycle.

[B]

That's right.

[A]

Well. Well, Alexis, is there anybody that you'd like to thank as far as sponsors or family members or things like that before we go wrap up and get out of here?

[C]

Well, obviously my biggest sponsor being my father working tireless nights as he works as a border patrol supervisor. So he's working graveyard shift always and doing whatever he can to take time off to come see me shoot or go to practice with me and always be there for. I want to thank my mom for just doing whatever she can as well to drive me across the country and always support me. And even when I was out east the first year I went to the Grand, I was by myself with Weston and his mom, and she was. She was calling me every day. How'd you do? How'd you do? You know, my dad was doing the same thing and especially going to, like, Ohio this recent time where I hit my 27. I was, I was happy that I hit 27, but I was so disappointed because that was the one shoot I wanted my dad to be there to see at me actually make it there. But regardless, they. Whether they both are there or not and whether I'm shooting or not, they're always, they always have my back. They're always supporting me, giving me the best advice they can. Same with my sister. Um, she used to shoot with me, but unfortunately life got in the way for her and she dropped out of it. But even so, she always is out there and looking out for me as much as she can sponsor wise. I want to thank obviously Iron City, Polaris, the Armory, the that work that I work for up in Chandler. They help me out here and there. They give me some ammo combat clays. Brian Stoa, he makes some of the comfiest shirts out there and they always have great sayings on them. Yeah, Ryan Castani, he's helped me out a lot this last year just from either providing me ammo or support or whatever he can think of. He helps me out with that 80 below sporting oil. They make some of the best oil and grease for my gun and I love using it. And Chambliss game totes. He also helps me out here and there and he's a great guy. So working on more sponsors, we're going for it. But those are my, those are my biggest ones.

[A]

I think it's really cool that you're affiliated with Trap Shooting usa. Obviously. They're the official magazine of Trap Talk podcast. So, you know, we love, we love dealing with Sean and we love dealing with Matt and everyone over there. And, you know, you being someone that writes the articles, you know, we're definitely gonna have to have you on, you know, just to kind of decompress some of the articles that you've written and, you know, maybe give the listeners a preview of. Hey, this is what's coming up in the next episode. This is why you want to read it. This is what's up. So, you know, you keep us in the loop when you're doing some cool projects, and we'll definitely. We'll definitely want to hear about them moving forward. For all you other listeners tuning in, Happy Friday. Thank you for listening to Trap Talk. Like share. Subscribe.

[B]

Get your merch.

[A]

We get your merch. Ricky's wearing that. I'm even wearing a hat.

[B]

Max finally got a hat on today.

[A]

Use a new one. But the problem is, I know I. I've run out of equity, so they're not giving me any more free merchandise I'm having. If anybody wants to buy a hat and send it to me, I could use a new one. But. But other than that, it's. It's a. It's a great time. We. We love seeing y' all at the shoots. Don't forget to. To send us your messages, your questions, and. And even your recommendations if there's some great people that you'd like us to interview at Trap Doc, we're always listening. We're here to be the voice of the trap shooter in this country, and we will. We will get your message out to the people that need to hear it. So we thank you so much. And, Alexis, thank you for coming on the show and giving us your time.

[C]

Thank you for allowing me to be here.

[B]

Absolutely. Thanks, Alexis. Good luck, everyone. Shoot.

[C]

Well.