"Just a Bit of Background Info"  

 

 

My given name is Roger Keith O'Neil Jr. Primarily I go by Roger, though, since I've begun writing, I have had the profound urge to recreate myself. Therefore I have been writing my name and signing things R.K. O'Neil Jr. Now I don't know if that actually looks or sounds better written at the bottom of a poem or story, but I like it.

 

I have been blessed with the talents to pursue and be reasonably successful at anything I've wanted to try. This I owe to God, Himself. Without His help I would not have succeeded at all. There have also been many people who have inspired and helped me along the way.

Working for other people most of my life I began to realize that nobody cared about my future or livelihood as much as I did! So with that knowledge, and my love of horses, I started planning a career as a Farrier / Horse Shoer. After establishing myself as a Farrier and obtaining a decent and functional reputation, I decided I needed to do something fun and/or different in my "spare" time. Having done some team roping, and being total addicted to it, I thought I would get back into it. But, remembering the travel and cost involved I decided against it.

 

Then I saw an article in a magazine about Cowboy Mounted Shooting. Well, I had the horses, and the interest, so I thought I'd check into it. Unfortunately, in Virginia, where I live, Cowboy Mounted Shooting was not practiced. To be able to compete we were back to the time and cost of traveling.  In my search for information about mounted shooting I came across a different shooting sport called Cowboy Action Shooting. (CAS).

 

After a little research, I found that there were several Cowboy Action Shooting Clubs in the central Virginia area. I began to researching the guns and equipment needed, and attended my first match in February 2003.

 

After that match and a few local ones, I decided to make myself some targets and target stands to practice on. The targets I saw at some of the local clubs were, for the most part, made out of whatever could be found cheap or free. In my research of Cowboy Action Shooting I'd often heard that lead splatter from the lead bullets hitting the target plate could be expected to fly back and hit those competing! With a few matches under my belt, and having been hit on numerous occasions, I decided there HAD to be a better way.

 

Several prototypes later, I came up with a target stand design that helps with this problem. But, part of the problem involved with lead splatter was the target plates themselves. Most I came across were made from mild steel plating with varying thickness. Mild steel shot with lead bullets will dimple when used in CAS. This dimpling caused the lead splatter to fly backwards at odd angles.  The solution to this problem is target plates made from hardened steel that will not dimple when shot at. The hardened steel plates used in conjunction with the stand I designed have virtually eliminated lead splatter.

Now for the rest of the story!

 

Wanting to try out my new design in a real match I loaded up my new stands and plates and took them to a local club for the ultimate test.

 

 They performed flawlessly!

 

I contacted the club with a price quote for what they were looking for and found myself in the target and target-stand making business!

 

I still shoe horses full time and work on the targets in my almost non-existent spare time. I have orders to fill and some new designs in the works.

 

I have truly enjoyed working with steel and creating targets and stands. I'm hopeful that, Lord willing, my next adventure will be to pursue my writing career!

 

With utmost gratitude,

 

Regards,

R.K. O'Neil Jr.© 2004