LAKE PLACID, N.Y., July 12, 2002 — If it's a sporting weapon, chances are that Randy Hendrix and Jackie Caudle are deadly accurate with it.

The pair are representative of the most versatile athletes in Lake Placid this week for the third annual ESPN Great Outdoor Games presented by Dodge. They are unheralded two-sport stars who epitomize today's serious sportsman who switches weapons with each hunting season.

Both are good friends and have been frequent match competitors over the past 20 years.

Hendrix, 45, from Clemons, N.C., is the defending gold medallist in the Great Outdoor Games.

Caudle, 50, is one of the sport's pioneers. In fact, the Caudles of Gadsden, Ala., are known as the "first family of archery" because most of the clan is accomplished tournament competitors. The patriarch took home the gold in the inaugural Great Outdoor Games in 2000.

"Jackie was the first pro that I met and we've been pretty much head to head ever since," Hendrix said. "It seems like we both shoot bad at the same time or we both shoot well. We pair up regularly."

"I can't tell you how many times Randy and I have ended up shooting for the championship of a tournament," Caudle added.

On Friday, friend and foe found themselves paired together in the opening round of the Games' archery competition, which Hendrix calls "the number one event in our sport." And, true to form, their battle came down to the final shot and the last second. Hendrix nailed his last shot just before time expired to break the tie.

But these Great Outdoor Games champions have had more than just shooting fast and straight with a bow and arrow on their minds this week. Interestingly, Hendrix also qualified to compete in the rifle-shooting event, while Caudle took aim with the best shotgunners in America Thursday night (losing in the first round despite breaking 17 of 20 targets).

Targets of any kind don't stand a chance with these two marksmen.

Both pros grew up hunting and target shooting with a variety of arms. Hendrix competed in two Buckmaster national rifle competitions - earning the championship each time. Caudle has proven to be a natural with a shotgun both in the field and on the line.

The differences between archery and rifle or shotgun shooting are not as sizable as one might think, according to these experts.

"It's all a mental game," Hendrix said. "Once you've got your equipment set - rifle or bow - it's down to the mental ... part. Just making the good shot no matter what you're shooting.

"I've always been good at getting a quick shot off. I can get on a target and shoot quickly, and that's what has helped me in both types of competitions. I've just always been good at hitting where I was looking."

"There are some similarities (between wingshooting and archery) in this type of archery competition and shotgunning - speed," Caudle interjected. "Every three-and-a-half seconds they throw you a bird, and you've got to shoot five shots starting out with just two shells in your gun.

"And like with our moving Bermuda Triangle (archery) target, you've got to be able to lead the target like you do with shotgun targets. And the follow-through is a whole lot similar."

Unlike the other target sports, the mano-a-mano style archery competition in the Great Outdoor Games is done with one eye on the target and the other focused on the opponent. That creates a considerable degree of drama - as evidenced by Hendrix' last-second heroics on Friday. Hendrix waited so long to see how Caudle would fare on the final target that he released his arrow a nanosecond before time expired.

Even after 20 years of top-level archery competitions, both pros insist that they still feel that old familiar pressure each and every time out.

"You always feel pressure out here," Caudle said. "It's just a matter of how well you handle it. The pressure is there any time you're competing heads up, and that's what this game is. You've got to beat the guy you're up against to advance. So everybody feels the pressure."

Saturday's competitions include: Men's and Women's Log Rolling, Speed Climbing, Men's and Women's Endurance, Retriever Trials, Rifle, Big Air Sporting Dogs, Bass Fishing, and Agility Super Weave.

Sunday's final day of competition will wrap up with Retriever Trials, Tree Topping, Large and Small Dog Agility and Timber Team Relay.