Shooting comeback | Michael Paa

In May 2024 I returned to competition after several years away. I started in the United States together with my mentor and team-mate Frank Reiche. At the CMP Bianchi Cup and the NRA Flagler Cup we took medals in the Production Division. For me that was the right way back in: not quietly on the margins, but on the ranges that define this sport.

A few weeks later, in July 2024, The Tactical Games followed in Searsboro, Iowa. I finished third among more than 150 competitors. The match combines physical load with precision shooting. That was the hard part, and that is why the result confirmed more than a routine training win would have done.

Motivation with mentor Frank Reiche

Around the turn of the year Frank and I talked a great deal. We took training sessions and past matches apart and named strengths and weaknesses. With every exchange the standard rose again. We knew the next starts had to be serious ones.

Frank is not only a mentor. He is a top-level shooter and a veteran of this sport. The original FAGT report records that he holds Hall of Fame records with BDMP and with WA1500. His experience and his calm manner make him a partner I can rely on in training and in matches.

Preparing for the world championship

In May and June 2025 the spontaneous idea arose to travel to the world championship in New Zealand in October. At the same time the announcement for the German International Bianchi Cup and the 23rd ranking match in Alsfeld was published. We decided to go after both.

With support from gunsmiths Klaus Hiendlmayer and Tim Kiesewetter in Eggenfelden we started fitting the match guns. Parts were polished, adjusted and tested again and again. A match gun is not an off-the-shelf tool. It has to be reworked and shot until grip, trigger and cycle fit the way I actually shoot.

Trigger work and fitting the gun

Many people think a lighter trigger automatically means better scores. It does not. In the NRA Action Pistol Production programme that governed us then, Production and Production Optics have a mandatory minimum trigger weight of 3.5 lb. Making it lighter is therefore not the path in that division. What matters is the character of the trigger.

For me that is simple: it has to run smoothly, with a clear pressure point, and break cleanly. Under time pressure I need that defined break, not an unclear roll-through.

Production Optics with the Holosun 507 Comp

In the Production Optics Division I shot with the Holosun 507 Comp. With that setup I scored 1,885 of 1,920 at the German International Bianchi Cup. The original FAGT report placed that score as a new German and possibly European record, and said such a result had not been reached on European soil in this division before. I do not have an official record list as confirmation. I therefore record the 1,885 as a documented match score, not as a verified record.

The next day, at the ranking match in Alsfeld, an even higher score seemed possible for a time. I was on track for 1,898 until two malfunctions cost points. I finished with 1,848 – still a result I can live with after the setback.

German International Bianchi Cup and ranking match

At the German International Bianchi Cup 2025 in Alsfeld temperatures reached about 31 degrees Celsius. The field was international. I won Production and Production Optics.

One day later the 23rd ranking match followed. Two more wins, again in Production and Production Optics.

Four starts, four wins. After the 2024 comeback in the United States that was, for me, confirmation that the months of work had held.

What became of that outlook

Back in September 2025 the view was clearly toward the world championship in New Zealand. The months ahead were meant for preparation. I am leaving that arc in place because it belongs to the report.

The 2025 world championship in Hamilton is now behind me. The full report is in this blog. The Alsfeld scores remain the standing before that journey – not the sum of what followed.