Editor’s Note: Patrick Flanigan, a native of Oshkosh, Wisconsin, holds nine world records for exhibition shooting. He's been shooting exhibitions for 15 years and has traveled the world shooting exhibitions for the last 12 years. But Flanigan’s more than an exhibition shooter – he’s an Xtreme Sports shooter. This year he’ll be putting on shows in Europe, Peru and all across the U.S. Each year he participates in 60 to 75 live exhibitions. “I try not to try to impress people with my shooting,” Flanigan says. “I want to entertain them.” Flanigan’s show starts with some modern rock music, explosions and fireworks. Then he entertains people shooting shotguns, rifles and revolvers. Flanigan is one of the newest members of the Mossy Oak team. When he's not traveling the world producing shows, he's an avid waterfowl hunter and upland bird hunter. His favorite pattern to wear is Mossy Oak Shadow Grass Blades. He believes that Mossy Oak Shadow Grass Blades can’t be beat for waterfowling or upland bird hunting and explains, “I've worn Mossy Oak camouflage my entire life. I really feel fortunate to be a part of Mossy Oak’s national Pro Staff.”
I try to schedule my shows, so that I have the most free time during waterfowl season and upland bird season, because I have a real passion for wing shooting. Wing shooting is the way I’ve grown up, the way I’ve learned to shoot, and it reconnects me with my family and my heritage. Although my passion is hunting anything that flies, I also enjoy deer hunting. As well as loving wing shooting, I'm a dog man. I have Labrador retrievers that I enjoy watching work. If you're a hunter, you can understand that a hunter likes to hunt any animal that’s in season. I have land in the Black Hills in South Dakota where I bowhunt, and I have land here in Wisconsin where I deer hunt.
I really enjoy bowhunting, but my main focus is waterfowl and upland birds. That’s why my favorite pattern of Mossy Oak camouflage is Shadow Grass Blades. For me, Shadow Grass Blades fits in with the type of terrain where I hunt. I also use the other patterns like Break-Up and Infinity when I’m bowhunting. I feel really blessed to earn a living from my love and passion for shooting hunting.
Another thing I’m passionate about is my Christian faith. Because I’ve been so blessed to be able to earn a living doing what I love, I've created a foundation called Take Out. Originally, I started this foundation as a way to get youngsters outdoors. Now we’ve started working with families who can’t afford to take their children hunting. Take 'Em Out provides the money to get the families to the hunting areas, teach them gun safety and take them out for a hunting experience. We also provide a hunting experience for terminally-ill children to go on whatever type outdoor experience they and their family want to have.
Right now www.gunbroker.com is auctioning off one of my world-record Winchester shotguns that I used to shoot three world records. All the money from the sale of this gun will go to the Take 'Em Out Foundation. The gun is a Winchester Sx3 Flanigan. This gun was a big part of my shooting history. However, I decided that if I could auction this gun off to help young people have an outdoor experience, then that was a more-appropriate use of this gun than having it hanging on my gun rack. This gun is the one I set the world record with of firing 12 rounds in 1.42 seconds - the first speed-shooting world’s record I ever set. I also used this same gun to set the 9 clay targets thrown and shot from the hip and also the 7 clay targets shot from the hip with one hand world’s record. So, this gun was responsible for my setting three world speed-shooting records. Although these world records mean a lot to me, if this gun can provide additional income to help more young people and their families have great outdoor experiences, then that may be the greatest accomplishments this shotgun ever has produced.
To learn more about Patrick Flanigan and to see him perform some of his incredible shots, go to his YouTube channel at www.youtube.com/xtremeshooter or his Facebook team page www.facebook.com/flaniganxtremeteam where you’ll find more videos and pictures, or his webpage at www.patrickflanigan.com.
Patrick Flanigan Believes His Hunting Roots Produced the Outdoor Career and Life He Now Lives
