Colonel shoots to win

  • Published
  • By Kevin Gaddie
  • Team Eglin Public Affairs
EGLIN AIR FORCE BASE, Fla. --  Colonel Mark Hays, the Armament Directorate deputy director, recently won three pistol shooting awards at two national level events.

Hays, a member of the Air Force National Pistol Team since December 1998, won the 2011 High Air Force competitor at the 51st Inter Service Pistol Championships at Fort Benning, Ga. in June.

He also won the 2011 General Curtis LeMay trophy for Highest Air Force Individual Service Pistol Competitor and the 2011 General Carl Spaatz trophy for the Highest Air Force Scoring Individual competitor in the National Trophy Pistol Team Matches, at the National Pistol Championship at Camp Perry, Ohio in July for the second consecutive year.

Hays shoots in bulls-eye competition, where competitors fire automatic pistols one-handed, from an unsupported standing position, at eight-inch targets from 50 yards and 5.5-inch targets from 25 yards, within fixed time limits.

There are three courses of fire: Slow Fire, where 10 rounds are fired in 10 minutes at 50 yards; Timed Fire, which consists of two five-round strings with 20 seconds per string; and Rapid Fire, which has a 10-second limit for two five-round strings both at 25 yards.

This form of shooting is judged on precision and accuracy, Hays said.

"It always feels good to win," said the Columbus, Ga. native. "When I approach competitive shooting, it's more about my mental state, because the person I'm competing against is me. I'm not there to compete with others. If that was the case, I'd never win."

Hays said a key to his results is "simply allowing myself to do what my body already knows how to do. It's like breathing - I don't think to breath, so I don't think to shoot."

In between Air Force team gatherings, he fine-tunes his pistol skills by participating in at least two local competitions a month.

"I've competitively shot all over the country," Hays said. "Every place I've relocated to, I've found the bulls-eye organization and shot with them. Most local competitions are typically small, involving about 20 competitors. People come in from all around the state to compete in regional matches and state matches, which can involve as many as 50 competitors."

Hays became interested in competitive shooting when a friend on the Air Force National Pistol Team invited him to a match in 1998.

"I didn't have anything to prove," Hays recalled. "I didn't have my own gun and I had never shot competitively. I had shot in my childhood, at small targets. They said 'this is how you do it,' and I stepped up to the line and did what they told me to do."

Hays' results were good enough to get him on the team as a developmental shooter.

Since joining the team, Hays has enjoyed the camaraderie he shares with his teammates.

"When the team gets together, we're always asking each other questions like 'how do you control that trigger a little bit better?' or 'how do you deliver a better shot?' or 'what kind of equipment do you have?'" he said. "However, we always go back to the fundamentals to fix problems, like sight alignment and trigger control."

Hays gives back to the sport by mentoring young shooters at competitions. He and other seasoned shooters spend quality time helping them improve.

"I love to see the kids develop," Hays said. "It's amazing how you can train a young person and watch them mature. They start off not having the skill set, and we help them get there, safely. The poise and the accuracies they produce as a result of this sport is just amazing. We're giving back as much as we're taking."

Hays is glad to have found his passion, and plans to compete in pistol shooting after his active duty days are behind him.

"When I retire, I won't be able to participate in military events anymore," he said.  "However, plans are in the works to form a 'Gray Eagles' team for retired Air Force National Pistol Team members, where we can continue to compete in national events."

For more information on the Air Force National Pistol Team, click here.