MADISON, Wis. — Seventeen-year-old Travis Mears of Burleson, Texas, became the youngest shooter to ever win a gold medal in target sports at the ESPN Great Outdoor Games presented by Dodge when he won a dramatic triple-overtime shoot-off Saturday night with veteran Robbie Purser of Macon, Ga.

During Friday night's opening round at the Alliant Energy Center, Mears shot the evening's only perfect round by hitting all 20 shots.

His hot streak continued in the opening round Saturday night when he shot his second straight perfect round to defeat Jamie Riggs, 19, of Franklin, Tenn. Mears then advanced to the semifinals, where his third straight perfect round knocked the 2003 silver medalist, Brett Dorak of Sobieski, Wis., into the consolation round.

Not until his opening five-shot bracket with Purser in the gold-medal round did Mears finally miss a shot. Their matchup ended tied, 19-19, forcing the shoot-off Mears won in the third sudden-death round, 5-4.

Leading up to the gold-medal round, Andy Duffy of Ronan, Mont., lost to Purser in the semifinals and then defeated Dorak in the shoot-off to win the bronze medal.

The Great Outdoor Games shotgun competition pits shooters in a bracketed format. Two shotgunners take turns shooting four sets of five clay targets.

The shooter who breaks the most out of the 20 targets wins the round and advances.

In the shoot-off rounds, the shotgunners shoot progressively faster sets of five targets until determining a winner.

Mears was atop his game both nights after entering the competition as the sixth seed, and hit most his targets squarely with his first shot. Even so, he said he was nervous throughout the competition.

"I knew I had a chance to win it, but I was nervous," he said. "I was shaking all over. My plan was to think quick, hit hard and shoot faster than everyone else."

Purser, the 2002 gold medalist and the 2003 bronze medalist, congratulated Mears and then turned to the boy's father, Lonnie, and said: "We put up a great match. He shot well and deserved to win."

Mears finished fourth at the 2003 Games at Reno-Tahoe at age 16. He will be a senior in high school this fall.

Coming into Saturday's competition, the "young guns" were the talk of the shotgun competition. Not only are Mears and Dorak teenagers, but so are Riggs, 19; Chris McClelland, 17, of Stewartstown, Pa.; and Anthony Matarese Jr., Pennsville, N.J., 19.

Matarese lost to Duffy and McClelland lost to Dorak in Saturday night's opening round. Purser is 43, and Duffy, 41. The night's other shooter, Richard Aitken, 50, of Colorado Springs, Colo., was the event's oldest competitor. He lost to Purser in Saturday's opening round.

Unlike Friday night, when the practice rounds were canceled by rain, the shooters got in a few practice rounds before Saturday's competition. Mears, however, said before the match that he didn't think it mattered.

"If you're focused and you're on your game, you know it," he said. "You're either ready to shoot or you're not."

Shotgun - Finals

1. Travis Mears, Burleson, Texas
2. Robbie Purser, Macon, Ga.
3. Andy Duffy, Ronan, Mont.
4. Brett Dorak, Sobieski, Wis.
5. Anthony Matarese Jr., Pennsville, N.J.
6. Jamie Riggs, Franklin, Tenn.
7. Chris McClelland, Stewartstown, Pa.
8. Richard Aitken, Colorado Springs, Colo.
9. Jeff Vick, Northport, Ala.
10. Tony Rivera, San Antonio, Texas
11. Cory Kruse, Liberty Hill, Texas
11. Jon Krueger, Sunman, Ind.
11. Kenny Stringer, Garland, Texas
11. Scott Robertson, Flower Mound, Texas
15. Justin Huckabay, Lubbock, Texas
15. Tre' Sides, Montgomery, Ala.