TexasMac grew up in a rural environment, fishing, hunting & shooting near a small town in Central Texas. After military service, college, marriage & two children followed by jobs in California, Texas & Florida, he returned to Central Texas near Austin in 1984 working for a semiconductor manufacturer as an engineer & business manager. He became interests in black powder cartridge rifles (BPCRs) shortly after the 1990 release of the movie, Quigley Down Under, starring Tom Selleck as Matthew Quigley. At the time he owned a custom target-grade muzzleloader and competed in local matches. Transitioning to black powder cartridge reloading seemed relatively easy. He assumed all that was required was a rifle, appropriate reloading dies, cartridge cases and a couple of cast bullet moulds. He was to later learn how shortsighted this assumption was.

Around the same time, he became aware of a firearms writer by the name of Mike “Duke” Venturino. At the time Mike’s focus was on BPCR silhouette, having participated in the 1st experimental match held near Raton, NM in 1985. In late 1995 Mike authored an article in the Black Powder Cartridge News titled “Browning’s Model 1885 Silhouette Rifle”. The article discussed his “thumbs-up” evaluation of the very first rifle released for evaluation. Shortly after Mike’s article was published, TexasMac undertook a detailed comparison of all available rifles on the market & the preferred cartridge for BPCR silhouette competition. In late 1996 he purchased one of the 1st Browning BPCR’s in .40-65 Win. His research & experiences with the rifle in BPCR silhouette competition plus buying & selling many for resale resulted in his book titled, Browning Model 1885 Black Powder Cartridge Rifle, now available in 3rd Edition. He has authored many published articles on BPCR & related subjects & continues to compete in local, state & regional silhouette matches.