Hans and Ray Appelles were largely responsible for the very existence of Crosman's Marauder rifle, having worked closely with Crosman with valuable input on design and features, and testing feedback from their perspectives at the highest levels of American field target competition(s). The bullpup stock was adopted for easier packing and travel to distant matches. I think they might have also contributed similarly to Crosman's Challenger model; possibly others.
A further bit of trivia- At one point the AAFTA BoG was about to impeach Ray for reasons I don't now recall; but although I didn't like him at the time, I talked the BoG Chairman out of doing so by suggesting they give him the opportunity to
resign. And that's what happened.
Attached is my match report of the 2009 U.S. Field Target National Championships mentioning not only Hans' and Ray's podium placements, but the placings of other FT legends of that era (a few still active). The match report also documents the birth of Pistol Field Target competition, the first Pistol FT National Championship, and a LOT of other interesting field target history that even FT newbies might find informative and entertaining.
By the way, there has never been a Crossman team.
It's spelled C-R-O-S-M-A-N, with
ONE s.
. View attachment 450257
hardairmagazine.com 
