On a crisp Saturday morning, Rod Napier lines up his shot at the range. Better known as “RodZilla” at the Sporting Club, Napier will tell you he’s addicted to competitive pistol shooting.
The Kentucky native discovered practical pistol shooting in 2023 and hasn’t looked back. Through Hog Heaven’s Pistol PT program, he’s lost 80 pounds in a year while dramatically improving his shooting skills, and now he's training for an international competition in Puerto Rico this February.
One thing is certain: You can't miss him. He’s the one in the white cowboy hat, driving an orange doorless Jeep Gladiator, with reggae music drifting from his bay. “Hog Heaven is my happy place,” Napier says. “Whether I’m shooting pistols or clays, there’s a smile on my face.”
On the other side of the property, Neal Bangs, shotgun instructor known for his cool-as-a-cucumber attitude and signature purple sunglasses, is working with a young shooter from the Hill Country Clay Shooters team.
Bangs’ passion for clay shooting started in 4H, competing in skeet and trap before falling in love with sporting clays. Since 2011, he’s discovered that teaching brings him just as much joy as competing. Now, as an instructor at Hog Heaven and volunteer coach, Bangs’ favorite moments are the “Aha!” breakthroughs when a student finally connects with a target they’d been struggling with and starts breaking it consistently.
And then there’s Madison Sharpe, a world champion shotgun competitor who also instructs at Hog Heaven. Sharpe’s journey started on her family’s farm, hunting ducks and deer with her dad. At a charity shoot, she hit her first clay target with a gun that was too big for her, and she instantly fell in love. That moment led her from local gun clubs to competitive podiums around the world.
Now she’s at Hog Heaven, building the same supportive community that shaped her own journey. Sharpe believes the best way to grow as a shooter is to surround yourself with others who share your passion, and as both competitor and mentor, she embodies that philosophy every day on the range.
We’re honored to have these individuals at Hog Heaven; we know that, without them, our community wouldn’t be the same.
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