Members of Team Hornady® finished with a win in the Tactical Limited Division, and top placement in the Tactical Scope and Heavy Metal Scope Divisions at the Superstition Mountain Mystery 3-Gun match. The match was held at the Rio Salado Sportsman Club in Mesa, Arizona March 23–25, 2012. With a $210,000 prize table, it is considered the season opener and primer for all shooting competitors.
Kelly Neal finished first in the Tactical Limited division shooting Hornady® 223 Rem 75 grain Steel Match® in his rifle and Hornady® 9mm 125 grain Steel Match® in his pistol. Neal stated, "I'm convinced the 75 grain bullets hit the LaRues and MGM targets harder than lighter bullets. When shooting Hornady ammo, I don't worry about the ammo, all misses are on me."
Keith Garcia finished third in the Tactical Scope division. Shooting both Hornady® 223 Rem 75 grain Steel Match® and 53 grain V-MAX™ in his rifle, Garcia used Hornady® 125 grain HAP® in his 9mm pistol. Garcia said, "Hornady ammo is exceptionally accurate. It flies flat, and as long as I do my job and shoot well, the ammo does the rest and that's crucial."
Adam Popplewell finished seventh in the Tactical Scope division shooting Hornady® 75 grain Steel Match® in his rifle and Hornady® 180 grain HAP® in his 40 caliber pistol. Popplewell noted, "I'm able to shoot consistently because Hornady ammo always performs great."
Tate Moots finished fourth in the Heavy Metal Scope division shooting Hornady® 308 Win 155 grain TAP® in his rifle and Hornady® 230 grain HAP® in his 45 caliber pistol. Moots said, "With all the variety of targets at the different stages, Hornady ammo performed flawlessly, it was spot on and I never had any concerns there would be a bad group."
Dan Furbee, match director, and his team designed 11 stages, incorporating the natural and diverse terrain of the Arizona desert. Furbee commented, "We try to design our stages to resemble true life tactical scenarios, so each competitor will execute the stage differently."
Over 369 competitors from 30 states competed shooting rifle, pistol, shotgun birdshot, buckshot and slugs for a minimum count of 369 rounds. With the Usery Mountain Range as a backdrop, targets were set from arms length to 340 yards encompassing standard IPSC targets, clay pigeons, poppers, Meggitt target systems and a variety of steel knock down plates.