I am saddened to report the death of Mike Smith, a member of Airgunners of Arizona, and a popular shooter in the Arizona airgun community as a whole.
He passed on Thursday, April 11 after being in hospice for less than a week. His daughter, Chelsie, texted me last evening to inform me that he had passed. I was in to visit him just the day before.
Mike was a fixture within the airgun world in Arizona, shooting wherever there was a match. He was a fun loving prankster, practical joker, serious shooter, and loveable sarcastic pain in the backside at times. Everybody liked Mike.
He has been in and out of the hospital over the past two years, it seems, yet always found the strength to shoot......as often as possible, and shot VERY well. He started out shooting field target in freestyle class, switched over to hunter class, and had quite a few perfect FT scores regardless of the course difficulty.
Mike has taken that journey that all of us will take at some point. Fortunately, he is not longer in pain.
He was a big part of our lives and we were a big part of his. Mike and I....and Bobby....shared the same birthdate, albeit a year apart. We will miss him greatly. Rest in peace, brother.
