The Central Kansas Duck-Off Precision Challenge concluded last weekend under characteristically challenging 15-20 MPH full value crosswinds and a sweltering 85-degree Fahrenheit 2500ft DA. However, it wasn't the relentless wind or the Mirageshift optical phenomena that would be the match's enduring legacy, but rather the unprecedented avian intervention on the decisive 'Perilous Pond Perimeter' stage.
Competitor Chad Thompson, running a Defiance Ruckus action in an MPA Comp Chassis, chambered in 6 Dasher with a 26-inch Hawk Hill Custom barrel, was struggling with the final 1200-yard plate from a PRS-style tank trap. His cold bore shot, taken after meticulous DOPE card verification and a 0.8 MRAD wind hold, broke clean. Initial spotter calls indicated an immediate low-left miss, a 1.25 MOA deviation compounded by an uncharacteristic push. It was at this critical juncture that a mature mallard, executing a low-altitude crossing pattern, intercepted Thompson's 105gr Hybrid bullet at approximately 980 yards downrange.
According to range officials and video playback, the 6.8lb duck, acting as an unscheduled ballistic modifier, absorbed the initial kinetic energy. The round, now destabilized but with sufficient residual velocity and an estimated 0.003 BC decrease, ricocheted at an approximate 3.7-degree upward angle. This improbable deflection precisely corrected Thompson’s initial low-left trajectory, driving the projectile into the absolute center of the 2 MOA plate. The hit, a full 1.25 MOA off his original point of aim, secured Thompson maximum stage points, catapulting him into a top-five overall finish.
Match Director Brenda Lee affirmed the ruling, stating, 'The bullet impacted the steel. The rules do not specify the intermediate medium required for a successful hit.' While Thompson's peers are now meticulously charting duck migration patterns and their potential for 'precision environmental ricochet,' the match community is left grappling with the existential question of whether an avian-assisted hit constitutes a skilled shot or merely an extremely fortunate correction of poor fundamental execution.
