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Since 2002, Geoff Fox has written about the offbeat and dynamic personalities that make Pasco County unique. He is now revisiting them, meeting new characters and sharing more stories. Email

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Shooting Star

Posted Jun 5, 2009 by Geoff Fox

Updated Jun 5, 2009 at 05:00 PM

Put a golf ball atop a fence 50 yards away and I would probably just see a white blob (if that) – even with my glasses on.
Travis Rubio, 17, could not only see the ball clearly, he could blast a hole through the center of it with a bullet fired from a flint-lock muzzleloader rifle. If you’re anything like me – can’t tell a shotgun from an Uzi – that might not mean much.
But what isn’t fun about learning?

A muzzleloader was a firearm used in the Civil War, among other long-ago skirmishes, and fires one ball-shaped bullet at a time. Given the 19th-century technology, bullets fired from such a weapon don’t travel as fast as ammo fired from more modern guns, which makes it more difficult to hit a target. They’re also more difficult to load. “You basically have to build your own bullet,” said Travis, a senior at Pasco High School. “You just have to get the rhythm down: powder, patch, then ball. That’s the order it goes into the barrel.” He is so proficient at the process, and such a good shot, that he has qualified for the National 4-H Shooting Sports Invitational in Grand Island, Neb.; the event is June 24 to 28. He earned a spot in the tournament by recently winning a Florida competition in Levy County. During the nationals, he will shoot at a variety of small metal targets shaped like rams, hogs and bears, as well as a bull’s eye, from as close as 25 yards to as far as 100 yards away. The event is meant to test a shooter’s accuracy more so than the speed at which he or she can fire.

However, scopes are not allowed on the 50-caliber muzzleloader rifles and a bullet’s trajectory can be altered by wind. At a competition in South Dakota a couple years ago, Travis said, the air was thinner, making the bullets travel faster and rise in flight. A couple of days a week, he practices on the land of neighbor Manuel Martinez, who lives near the family off Bellamy Brothers Boulevard, north of State Road 52. He was taught to shoot by father, Jose Rubio, and said he has been firing guns practically since he could walk. He also has competed in archery tournaments. Through the years, Travis has collected a roomful of trophies, said his mother, Brenda Rubio. She is currently trying to find sponsors to help fund the trip to Nebraska. Ammunition alone could cost as much as $1,000. “We’re going to make up T-shirts with the sponsors’ names,” she said. Thanks to his past success, Travis already has qualified for next year’s 4-H national shotgun competition. Someday, he said, he could be shooting targets for a living in tournaments around the country. Judging by the appearance of the golf ball he nailed from 50 yards, that could be a viable career option. “I didn’t know what would happen” if the bullet hit it, Travis said of the golf ball, which he shot a few weeks ago. The bullet didn’t go all the way through the ball, but left a hole in it down to the center. “It just shot straight up in the air, about 20 feet,” he said. For information about sponsoring Travis Rubio’s trip to the National 4-H Shooting Sports Invitational in Grand Island, Neb., call (352) 588-0490.