This past weekend was the 21st "Running of the Wheelguns" out in San Louis Obispo, California, which is perhaps better known as the 21st Annual Smith & Wesson International Revolver Championships. The 12 stage match drew 226 revolver aficionados to the Hogue (yes, that Hogue) Action Pistol Range to compete in the International Confederation of Revolver Enthusiasts' (ICORE) three divisions: Open, Limited and Classic. (see the complete final results here)

He's got 20 straight wins, but who's counting. Photo by Yamil Sued

The shocking news from the match - shocking I tell you - is that Jerry Miculek won the Open division and overall title. This year marks the 20th time Miculek has won the match, giving credence to those many rumors circulating throughout the shooting world that this Miculek guy just might be the next big thing in revolver shooting. Smith & Wesson's standard bearer is widely regarded as all but unbeatable, even as he faces a rising tide of younger shooters all threatening to unseat the now senior champion. Chief among those looking to chase down Miculek at the IRC is Rich Wolfe who again placed second, just 6.62 points behind Jerry after giving up 13 seconds to the winner on the Far & Near Standards - the traditional 'make or break' stage of the match. Following Miculek (200.55) and Wolfe (207.17) were Neil Hogue in third (209.67), Eric Leach in fourth (228.85) and Frank Bray in fifth (234.50). By-the-way, for those of you wondering, Miculek has won 20 of the 21 IRC events because he has only shot in 20 of the 21 matches. Maybe it's just me but, while not attending a match is a reasonable excuse for not winning for most shooters, for somebody like Miculek - a near deity when it comes to the revolver - the excuse seems just a bit lame. In the Limited contest, another Smith & Wesson shooter, John Bagakis, took home the title placing eighth overall with 240.14. More importantly, this win puts Bagakis 1/4 of the way towards his own Miculek-like win streak now with five straight IRC Limited titles. But 15 more consecutive wins might be a bit tough, especially considering his competition.

With 5 wins in the books, John Bagakis only needs 15 more to match Miculek. Photo by Yamil Sued

Finishing second behind Bagakis was Team S&W's David Olhasso who, like Wolfe, gave up significant ground - 14 seconds - to the winner on the Far & Near Standards. Rounding out the top five in Limited were Jess Christensen in third (260.27), Team S&W's Elliot Aysen in fourth (264.58) and Cliff Walsh in fifth with (265.16). And if these names aren't enough to put a Bagakis dynasty in doubt, the name Josh Lentz sure is. Lentz, also a Team Smith & Wesson shooter, won the Classic division title just like he did last year when he placed 18th overall. However, for 2012 Josh managed to improve his standing - just a little - with a final score of 239.44 which put him in seventh place overall and one spot ahead of the Limited champ. If you have not seen him shoot before then you might want to catch Lentz in action when you get the chance. That way you can fully appreciate how fast he is. Of all the young revo shooters looking to dethrone Miculek, Josh Lentz is likely at the top of that list.

Josh Lentz is poised to be the next dominant wheelgunner. Photo by Yamil Sued

Yes, I know that Rich Wolfe is beating down the door in Open, and Matt Griffin - who did not shoot the IRC - is also an extremely talented shooter and a major threat, but Lentz has the potential to move into the position of the predominant revolver shooter, assuming two things. First, one must assume that Jerry Miculek will at some point make a habit of not winning, and second, you have to assume that a company, like Smith & Wesson, will invest in Lentz's future with strong sponsorship support that will help him ascend to that dominant shooter position. It's hard to say which of those two assumptions is the more plausible. For my money I suggest NOT betting on Miculek slowing down. In the Classic division Lentz is running away from his competition and clearly focusing on keeping pace with those in the other divisions. Last year Lentz won the division by 54+ seconds. This year it was just over 102. After Lentz the Classic division top five were Harold Nicholson in second (341.52), Roger Reid in third (343.49), Bryan Brockway in fourth (375.21) and Matthew McCourt in fifth (378.49) Among the women, Team Smith & Wesson's Annette Aysen picked up her fifth straight Women's Limited title finishing 42nd overall with 309.62. She outpaced Team Apex's Lisa Farrell, who won the title in 2007, by a strong 48 second margin. Farrell finished second with 358.53, followed by Molly Smith in third (361.78), Teddi Edington in fourth (428.64) and Susan Collier in fifth (512.01).

Kinda like Thunderdome, two Aysens enter and two titles come out. Photo by Yamil Sued

While Aysen retains her position as one of the top two or three women in revolver shooting, the real story among the ladies is the continued emergence of 15-year-old Janae Sarabia as the next women's revolver icon. In 2010 Sarabia lost the Open title on the Far & Near Standards to Julie Golob but returned in 2011 to win the Women's Open title by finishing 40th overall. This year she took the title again but also moved up to 35th overall, and, of course, took the Junior Open title (again). Sarabia was recruited to Team Smith & Wesson by Julie Golob, El Capitan of S&W's shooters, and has been progressing rapidly. Unless both Golob AND Aysen take a hard run at her in Open, it's difficult to see how Sarabia doesn't lock up this title for the next several years - and quite possibly emerge as the top woman in the Wheelgun Nation.

At 15, Janae's the youngest Queen of the IRC. Long live the Queen. Photo by Yamil Sued

In the IRC's Senior category, Jerry Miculek took the Open title (obviously) while S&W teammate (and Annette's better half) Elliot Aysen won the Senior Limited title, and Cedric Yoshimura claimed the Senior Classic title with 433.23. Among the Super Seniors Roger Reid took the Classic title (343.49) and Richard Koester claimed the Limited title (326.28). And in Open, another Sarabia, this time dad Rolando, took top honors with 294.64 and joined daughter Janae on the awards podium. Anybody care to bet this is the last year dad sees his score ahead of his daughter's in the final standings? And finally, we already noted that one Junior title (Open) went to Miss Janae "The Juggernaut" Sarabia, but the other Junior title, for the Limited division, went to Team RangeLog's Jesse Wills. Last year Wills won the Junior title while also winning the award for shooting the highest power factor ammo (ouch). With a more appropriate and lighter load, Wills finished this year with 337.81 putting him 27th among all Limited shooters (winning C class) and 65th overall in his last IRC as a junior shooter.

Team RangeLog's Jesse Wills takes a break from the action with Apex's Lisa Farrell. Photo courtesy of Cliff Walsh

If the name Wills sounds familiar it's because 17-year-old Jesse is one half of the famed Wills Brothers. Younger brother Lee, who opts to shoot the 1911 as part of Team Para, isn't likely to step into the IRC to uphold the Wills tradition of Junior title wins. That's probably for the best though, considering Jesse is not only the smarter and better looking of the two Wills brothers, but he's also the far, far - did I mention far - superior shooter...with a bigger fan club too, Lee. And if you're wondering, yeah, I'm picking on a 12-year-old. Sure I'm not proud of it but honestly, he started it... - Paul Erhardt, Editor, the Outdoor Wire Digital Network Got shooting sports news? Send us an email at info@shootingwire.com.