A member of River Bend Gun Club in western Dawson County is the 2012 Black Powder Cartridge Rifle National Champion.

Shooting in the master's class, Doug Gazaway of Gainesville won the scope division held July 17 and 18 in Raton, N.M. His spotter, Steve Hubbard, is also a club member.

"With the different wind conditions out there, they kept saying someone from the south, where we don't have that kind of weather, could never win," he said.

An experienced marksman, Gazaway said he shoots two to three times each week, and credits the Silhouette range at the gun club as an asset to developing and maintaining his skills.

Originating in Mexico in the late 1940s, Silhouette is one of the fastest growing shooting sports in the world. In the game, shooters compete to score the most points by knocking down steel, silhouette profiles of animals of varying size, ranging from 40 to 100 meters in distance.

The first day Gazaway scored 50 out of 60 animals, followed by 43 on day two for an overall winning total of 93.

He received an NRA National Champion ring and an engraved 2012 National Champion Scope as his prize.