Team Erhardt Project: What? I’m Not On The Super Squad?

This is the latest installment in the Team Erhardt Project series which appears on The Shooting Wire.

After months of practice and countless drills (if you loosely define the term ‘countless’), imagine my shock when I learned that I would not be shooting on the Super Squad at this year’s Steel Challenge.

What? Do they know who I am?

Oh, this will not stand.

Clearly there must be some kind of mistake, yet when I checked with registration they confirmed I was not – they repeated ‘NOT’ – on the Super Squad with the rest of the top shooters.

I carefully explained the situation. How I had been given, not just an M&P but, an M&P Pro from Smith & Wesson. I repeated ‘M&P Pro’ emphasizing the ‘Pro’ part in case they didn’t catch it the first time.

How I got a top-of-the-line competition ELS rig from Safariland, the same model all the top guns use.

And of course there was the set of Pro Ears electronic hearing protection (again, note the ‘Pro’ part). The 1776 Tactical Rangepack, the Danner boots, the PACT timer, the Apex Tactical Specialties parts and an awesome training program from the guy who wrote the book – literally – on competition training, Mike Seeklander.

Come on people, they don’t give out this kind of stuff to just anybody.

Unfortunately I could tell by the stone-faced expressions of the folks in registration that they were not impressed.

Well, fine then. I’ll show them.

After two solid days on the Piru practice ranges, with plenty of coaching support from Tom Yost of Smith & Wesson and Mark Redl, a shooter for Colt, I’ve been able to knock out some personal best times.

And word of my progress has gotten around.

Several shooters have come up to me with words of encouragement, praising the progress I’ve made. Many have even given me tips on how to improve my times, or handle a particular stage.

B.J. Norris, one of the top Steel Challenge shooters anywhere, is stuffing SBR Ammunition’s practice and match ammo into my hands like a hunger relief worker handing out food in a refugee camp.

There’s even a poll on Facebook asking people where they think I’ll finish. And while there were those who predict I’ll only marginally improve with a time somewhere between 186 and 200 (I’ve made note of all your names, by-the-way), Kippi Leatham weighed in and was the first to predict I’d win my division.

There are now three people that say I’ll win. (Three’s considered a groundswell, right?)

By the end of the day on Wednesday I was feeling pretty good about my chances.

However, game day is a whole other matter. Practice runs let you know what you can do, but don’t mean you’ll actually do it when the clock starts and the score keeper makes it official.

I know I have what it takes to knock 50 seconds (at least) off my time, but making that happen in Friday’s competition is not a given.

I need a little something extra.

It’s a bit late for performance enhancing drugs…right?

And cheating, while a perfectly acceptable option (if nobody knows I’m doing it), is too hard to pull off. Plus, no matter how much money I might accidentally misplace, say in an ROs hands, I’m more likely to have my time increased than decreased.

Some of these ROs are a surly lot.

But that’s fine, I’ve got a secret weapon I’ve been holding in my back pocket for when the time was right.

And the time is right today.

First, you need to understand something about the Steel Challenge, and practical shooting in general. And that is Filipino shooters are some of, if not the fastest shooters. I mean FAST.

There’s fast. There’s faster. And there’s fastest. But in shooting there is a fourth level of speed, and that’s Filipino fast.

No other group of shooters, except for generic, nondescript white guys, has so thoroughly dominated speed shooting like the Filipinos.

It was a Filipino shooter, the great Jethro Dionisio, who was the first to win the Steel Challenge three times (’90, ’92 and ’93).

K.C. Eusebio has also won three times, with his first at the age of 15 (’03, ’08 and ’10). J.J. Racaza won the title in ’06.

Among the women, the wonderful Valerie Levanza has won it twice (’92 and ’93) with her sister Cathy Levanza also claiming a title (’98). And the amazing Athena Lee is another back-to-back title winner (’02 and ’03).

All told, Filipino shooters have claimed 12 Steel Challenge overall titles. Factor in the wicked fast 14-year-old Janae Sarabia and that number is going to go up, and up, and up in the coming years.

Now that you understand a little of the history of the Steel Challenge, and the amazing performances by Filipino shooters, you can fully appreciate the impact of my next statement.

I am officially declaring myself…Filipino.

Yup, that’s right. My fast just got a whole lot faster.

Along with the obvious phenomenal increase in speed that comes with now being Filipino, there are two additional benefits that make the change well worthwhile.

The first is that I am obviously much better looking. Take one look at J.J., K.C. or Lee Dimaculangan and you’ll understand exactly what I mean.

The second benefit – and for those that know me you’ll agree this is huge – I’m now much nicer. If you’ve spent any time with the three I just mentioned you know they are some of the nicest and most charming guys to be around. And since I’m now Filipino, count me in that group too.

When I hit the range today, I’ll be going into competition with top rate gear, great instruction, and the confidence that comes from knowing I have that extra gear that only Filipino shooters, like me, have.

I don’t need to be on the Super Squad. I am the Super Squad…make that the Super Duper Squad.

…and, I’ll probably be shooting for Team Limcat next year.

– Paul Erhardt

Follow the Team Erhardt Project on Twitter at @TheShootingWire, use hashtag #TeamErhardt.