Interview with Pro 3 Gun Shooter Jesse Tischauser & Brandon DuBois of BoomerShooter

By Mac MacDonald

Jesse Tischauser
Jesse Tischauser Top-tier Pro 3 Gunner and BoomerShooter.com Moderator

JACKSONVILLE, FL –-(Ammoland.com)- A few months ago I set out to learn more about 3 Gun. Before I bought my gear I decided to do a little online research about the sport and browse the various firearm blogs for feedback from those running in matches to learn what I could from their experiences.

I waded through multiple forums trying to learn as much as possible. While a lot of the forums provided great information I felt like I was having to work too hard to extract the information I was looking for, but all this changed when I ran across a website called BoomerShooter.com.

This site was great! They had a dedicated 3 Gun section and the user base was insanely helpful in their responses to my long list of questions. I knew this was the site for my 3 Gun initiation.

I ended up getting all my 3 Gun Gear and guns thanks to the guys at BoomerShooter.com. Having finished my research I decided I’d like to learn more about the crew running BoomerShooter.com and reached out to them and see if they’d like to do an interview.

Thankfully they agreed and here is the output of that interview.

:: Interviewees ::

Brandon DuBois  (Brandon’s GunZoo GunVault) – Owner, BoomerShooter.com

Background:  Brandon is an active USPSA competitor who is enthusiastic about shooting and promoting all types of shooting sports. His love for shooting drove him to create BoomerShooter.com and provide a place for firearm enthusiasts to share their experiences and learn from one another.

Jesse Tischauser  (Jesse’s GunZoo GunVault)– Top-tier Pro 3 Gunner and BoomerShooter.com Moderator.

Background: Jesse has an impressive shooting resume and is sponsored by some of the biggest names in shooting, namely Stag Arms, who recently came out with a new AR-15 dedicated solely to the game of 3 Gun. In early 2012 Jesse was invited to join the Pro Tour of 3 Gun Nation.  Truly an honor!

:: The Interview ::

GunZoo: Tell us a little about BoomerShooter.com.

Brandon: We launched BoomerShooter in October of 2010 – we wanted a site for shooters without all the other BS that other sites had.  We were tired of having to sort through tons of “I LIKE BACON” and “BABE OF THE DAY” type threads just to find information.  We decided to create a site BY shooters FOR shooters. We have a great staff of moderators that honestly don’t do a whole lot. The perks to having a site with guys dedicated to shooting – there isn’t a ton of BS that goes around that you have to moderate. If you like shooting of any kind – you are pretty much our target audience.

GunZoo: What’s your shooting story?

Jesse: I bought my first pistol an FNP9 in late 2008. I bought it to participate in my first action shooting style match in January of 2009. It was an IDPA based indoor winter fun league run by the Society of Petroleum Engineers. It was really basic because most of the participants were 1st timers like me. We started every stage at lower ready, targets were closer than 10 yards and we did very little reloading or movement. Despite finishing somewhere near 65 out of 120 shooters  I was hooked immediately!

One day after the match I was telling some coworkers from out of town about the match and they said it sounded like USPSA. I googled USPSA and found that the Oklahoma City Gun Club was 7 miles from my house. I shoot USPSA as often as I could for the next 8 months.  At some point in 2009 I found some videos on YouTube of 3 Gun matches.  It looked as awesome!

Unfortunately there were no local 3 gun matches in the area at that time. So I acquired some haphazard gear and shot my first 3 gun match at the 2009 Arkansas Section Multi Gun Championship. It was 100 times more fun than watching it on YouTube and 3 times for fun than a pistol match. Again despite finishing around 60 out of 100 or so I knew I needed more 3 gun ASAP.

One year later I won the indoor SPE IDPA league. Two years after my first 3 gun match I won the Arkansas State 3 gun title as well.

The most fun I have ever had shooting was at a local 3 gun match in December 2010. I broke my ankle 3 days prior to the last ever Ft. Benning 3 gun championship so I didn’t get to attend the match as originally planned.  I had spent a lot of time and money training for that match so two weeks after my ankle surgery I hit the local club 3 gun match on crutches and a Rascal scooter.  It was the most fun I have ever heard shooting a match.  Here is the video.

I have a bunch of goals for the 2012 season. Make Master in IDPA and USPSA Pistol. Repeat as the Tactical Shotgun Champion and Arkansas State 3 Gun Champion. Win a Tactical Optics title at one of the major 3 gun matches.

But my number one goal is to get into the 3 Gun Nation Season Finale in Las Vegas.

Brandon: I always grew up around guns as I began hunting at an early age as most kids do in the south. It wasn’t until I met Jesse in 2009ish that he started trying to get me into shooting. It took me over a year to put down the golf clubs and finally buy a pistol and start shooting – I think I shot 3 matches within 7 days the first week I started. I was instantly hooked. I had to take about a 6 month break due to traveling and relocation and all that jazz but now I try to make about 3 local matches a month and usually 1 major match a month. I’m just hooked!

GunZoo: Jesse, Can you talk briefly about your experience on 3-Gun Nation? What are some personal highlights? For most of us the buzzer alone is enough to generate some nerves. What is it like to shoot with a camera crew chasing you?

Jesse:  I haven’t been a featured shooter on the show yet. I fully intend to change that through my performance in 2012 though. 3 Gun Nation has given me and my Stag Arms teammate Kalani Laker some really good press on their website.

I have had the pleasure of working with the show during the shoot offs. Being that Stag Arms sponsors the show and the new Model 3G is used in the shoot offs I get help prep the rifles during the shoot offs. It’s not even close to being as great as being in the shoot offs but it gets me an up close view of the action. I have become good friends with the producers of the show Chad Adams and Pete Brown which is really cool because their great guys who really care about making 3 gun a premier sport.

GunZoo: Back to the website, I see that you’re based in Oklahoma and you seem to have a very active community across all disciplines of shooting. Who would you say BoomerShooter.com is for? 

Jesse: BoomerShooter.com is for everyone. We all enjoy different forms of shooting. I have yet to find a better means than a forum for introducing new shooters to the shooting sports and answering their questions about getting involved. We are trying a bunch of different things to get people in all of the great shooting sports involved in our forum so we can all grow together.

Brandon: We started off based in Oklahoma making our target audience the local shooters and feel we still have a VERY strong fan base in Oklahoma. Lately though we have been seeing shooters from across the country and world sign up – many mention that they always seem to find their answer on our site. We have a broad range of shooters from beginners to experts so we really cater to anyone who just wants to talk and learn more about shooting in general

GunZoo: What are your plans for the future of BoomerShooter.com?  Are any cool new features on the horizon?

Jesse: We really want to get more of a National presence on the forum. So in 2012 we are going to try to sponsor several regional and national matches. We don’t know of any other forum that is doing that right now.

We are also trying to work out the details of a contingency program for 2012. It would basically consist of shooters joining the forum, buying one of our really cool shooting shirts and wearing the shirt at larger regional or national level matches. They will have the opportunity to win cash and prizes while being a part of a really cool shooting team.

Brandon: We recently launched our “BLOG” section of BoomerShooter.com – we plan to do some pretty in depth reviews starting next year.  The plan was for me to go to ShHOT Show this year however with some changes with my day job it looks like I’m going to have to pass. So in 2012 we plan to do some reviews, have a BoomerShooter.com type contingency program and just do a bunch of fun giveaways and things like that. We have given away 3 guns already to our members and plan to do more next year. How many sites that you go to GIVE AWAY GUNS!?!?!

GunZoo: What advice would you give a new shooter looking to get into competition?

Jesse: The best advice is to get out and shoot a match as soon as possible. The first thing we hear from someone that is considering shooting a match is that they “aren’t ready for a match just yet”. They “need to practice first”. That’s crap!!! There is no getting ready. You won’t embarrass yourself no matter what happens. Matches are just a bunch of guys shooting for fun.  We just keep score to help us get better. There really isn’t an intimidating competitive atmosphere at a match. Everyone helps everyone so we all shoot our best and have fun.

Brandon: JUST DO IT. The great thing about this sport is I have yet to find someone who wasn’t willing to help the new guy.  How many times in other sports will a competitor, someone who you are DIRECTLY competing against, come up to you after he performs and tells you a BETTER way to do it than he did?  This sport is full of people that just want to help others – so don’t be scared – show up and shoot – I PROIMSE you will be HOOKED!!!!!

GunZoo: What advice would you give a shooter looking to get into 3-Gun?

Jesse: Basically the same thing. 3 gun takes three times the guns and even more gear. It takes a couple years of shooting matches to figure out what works best for you and what doesn’t. Furthermore there are so many lessons that you can only learn by actually shooting.

GunZoo:  Let’s talk equipment. What’s important to you when you’re choosing your competition gear? What do you favor?

Jesse: The very most important thing about your gear is that it looks cool when you post it up on GunZoo. If it doesn’t look cool everyone will tease you at the range. LMAO!

Seriously though the most important thing is that your guns and gear will run 100% of the time. For 3 gun I run the new Stag Arms model 3G AR15 rifle. Stag Arms has been making AR’s since the ’80’s. They have the AR15 platform figured out and their guns flat out run. So when Stag Arms asked me to join their team and help them develop their 3 gun competition rifle I knew it would be a winner simply because of their reputation for reliability and quality.

On the shotgun front I use a Benelli M2 that is highly modified by the Accurate Iron. Mike Cyrwus from Accurate Iron does the most reliable and economical competition modifications to Benelli’s. He also makes them look awesome which always makes them shoot better!

On the pistol side of things I have been shooting custom Glock’s modified by Accurate Iron. I originally chose the Glock platform because of its reputation for reliability. I wasn’t an expert on pistol maintenance so I wanted something that I knew would work with little input from me.  Now that I understand pistols more I understand that the Glock or any polymer gun for that matter has its limitations so I am having Accurate Iron build me a set of custom STI 2011 pistols for the 2012 season. I could go in for hours on guns and gear but it’s much easier if you check out my GunZoo profile and hit me up in BoomerShooter.com with questions.

Brandon: Honestly – I like quality and service. When you think those two names there is really only one brand that comes to mind – STI.  The saying “Buy Once, Cry Once” is 100% true – if you are going to do it might as well do it right. I have seen STI offer a shooter a gun off their display table because his was having trouble just so he can finish the match. Ever seen other companies do that? I run an STI Trojan in SS, and have a custom STI Limited gun by Mike Cyrwus at Accurate Iron that is about complete. I also have an STI Open gun in the safe but have yet to venture to far into open yet.

GunZoo:  Once you’ve got your equipment, how do you suggest new 3-Gun shooters train? Most ranges don’t let shooters “run and gun”, are there any drills for static ranges that you would recommend?

Jesse:  The hardest thing for a new 3 gunner to be good at shotgun reloading. It takes hours of practice to be good. Start early and practice often. I don’t do a lot of running and gunning during practice. The keys to being good at 3 gun all lie in the fundamentals. You have to be a master of trigger control, site picture, and proper gun handling. You can practice all of those at home without any ammo. I spend a lot if time on the range shooting groups with my rifles. Knowing where your bullets impact from 5 yards to 500 yards is a must. Being able to get first round hits at any distance is paramount.


About GunZoo LLC

First launched in 2010, GunZoo LLC delivers innovative and interconnected solutions to the firearms industry and shooters of all disciplines utilizing world-class technology. They are committed to helping gun enthusiasts of all ages and experience levels conduct research, connect with others, and to share the story of its users’ collections. More information about GunZoo can be found at www.gunzoo.com.

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