They almost always walk
62%
of contests with a top-10 call
A call in 8 of 13 contests
A top-10 category call in 62% of their 13 contests — they get to the stage more often than not.
BJ's Smokin Pistols
At a glance (everything the results say about this team, in numbers)
Rating
1488
peak 1508 · rated over 12 contests ⓘ
Contests
13
in the data
First seen
2014-05-17
latest 2022-10-14
Grand champs
0
0 reserve
Category wins
0
2 podiums
Overall top-10s
2
of 13 contests
Avg finish
top 63%
overall standings
Perfect 180s
0
Current form
644.09 ▼
last 5 Master vs avg 645.49 (-1.40)
Walk rate
62%
contests with a top-10 call
Consistency
±15.63
std dev of Master overall scores (lower = steadier)
Strongest meat
Chicken
avg 164.02 · weakest Brisket (156.96)
Road miles
3,910
mi across 13 mapped stops · furthest 998 mi
Schedule strength
47%
of rated fields were softer than their average draw (1561)
Purse competed for
$10K
listed at 1 contests — purses, not winnings
State championships
0 🏅
GCs in 1 state-championship entries
Master avg
645.49 / 720
12 Master contests · 0 GCs
Storylines (10 found in this team's record)
Each card leads with the number that made it a story — read straight out of their results, no editorialising.
High-water mark
665.0284
career-best overall
92.4% of a perfect 720
Their best day on record: 665.0284 at *Anchor City Cook Off — 92.4% of a perfect 720.
- Master
- 2018-10-12
The one to beat
2×
one call ahead of them
CLUCK , OINK & MOO BARBECUE has finished one call ahead of BJ's Smokin Pistols 2 times — their closest competition in the data.
Their season
2018
their best year
2018 was the year it came together: 3 contests, 0 Grand Championships and 0 category wins, at an average finish in the top 52%.
- 3 contests
- 0 overall top-10s
- 0 category wins
- average top 52%
A tough matchup
3–1
behind in the head-to-head
QUAU ahead in 75% of their meetings
QUAU has come out ahead in 3 of their 4 shared contests.
The weak link
−7.1
points behind their best meat
Brisket is where the weekend gets away from them — it averages 7.06 points below their chicken, and turns into a call 8% of the time against 42%.
- Brisket avg 156.96
- Chicken avg 164.02
- 1 calls in 12 entries
The comeback
4 yrs
off the trail, then back
Off the trail for 4 years, then back at King of the Corn (2022-10-14).
- last seen 2018-10-12
- back 2022-10-14
Chicken nemesis
3 of 4
shared chicken entries lost
GOTHIC TOWN GRILLERS ahead 75% of the time
Even in their strongest meat, GOTHIC TOWN GRILLERS has out-cooked them in 3 of 4 shared chicken entries.
The long haul
3,910
road miles between contests
Contest to contest, they've covered roughly 3,910 miles across 13 mapped stops — the longest single trip being 998 miles to *Fire it up Frostproof!.
- 13 mapped stops
- furthest 998 mi
The metronome
±2.17%
swing around their own average
Their overall lands within ±2.17% of a perfect score of their own average — whatever the field, you know roughly what they'll turn in.
- averages 89.7% of a perfect score
- 13 contests
Teams like this (closest power rating)
The nearest teams in the power rankings, with a different reason on each card — six teams on one rating are rarely on it for the same reason. Rating decides who makes the list; where teams tie on it, the ones this team has actually cooked against come first, then teams at a similar point in their own career. KCBS doesn’t publish where a team is from, so nothing here is inferred from geography.
145 rated teams sit within a point of this rating, so a place on this list means the numbers match — no more than that.
#3729 of the rated field
- Contests
- 10
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 30%
- Peak
- 1488
1–0 in 1 shared contest (100% to BJ's Smokin Pistols)
One contest in common so far: too few to settle anything, but a team BJ's Smokin Pistols has actually stood beside rather than a stranger on the same rating.
⚔ Head-to-head#3719 of the rated field
- Contests
- 13
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 0%
- Peak
- 1503
No shared contest yet.
Careers of much the same size, 13 contests to 13, so neither rating has had more chance to settle than the other.
⚔ Head-to-head#3737 of the rated field
- Contests
- 13
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 23%
- Peak
- 1488
No shared contest yet.
This is the highest they've ever been rated, 13 rated contests in — a team sitting at its own career peak.
⚔ Head-to-head#3717 of the rated field
- Contests
- 13
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 0%
- Peak
- 1489
No shared contest yet.
Their last contest in the data was back in 2017, 5 years before BJ's Smokin Pistols's most recent — their rating stopped moving when they stopped cooking.
⚔ Head-to-head#3708 of the rated field
- Contests
- 10
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 40%
- Peak
- 1489
No shared contest yet.
They turned up 7 years after BJ's Smokin Pistols did, first appearing in 2021.
⚔ Head-to-head#3747 of the rated field
- Contests
- 10
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 0%
- Peak
- 1506
No shared contest yet.
Level with BJ's Smokin Pistols on power rating, which is the whole reason they're on the list.
⚔ Head-to-headBy meat
| Category | Entries | Calls | Wins | Podiums | Best | Worst | Average | Avg finish |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chicken | 12 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 171.9656 | 151.9656 | 164.02 | top 52% |
| Pork Ribs | 12 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 173.1200 | 142.7656 | 162.11 | top 59% |
| Pork | 12 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 173.1544 | 150.1940 | 162.40 | top 60% |
| Brisket | 12 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 167.9656 | 139.9544 | 156.96 | top 67% |
“Calls” = top-10 category finishes (getting called to the stage). Scores here are the final weighted totals KCBS publishes; per-criterion appearance/taste/tenderness marks aren’t in the public results feed.
By state / province
| Where | Contests | GCs | Avg finish |
|---|---|---|---|
| MO | 6 | 0 | top 62% |
| IA | 3 | 0 | top 75% |
| IL | 2 | 0 | top 59% |
| AR | 1 | 0 | top 37% |
By contest size
| Field | Contests | GCs | Avg finish |
|---|---|---|---|
| Small (<20 teams) | 3 | 0 | top 54% |
| Medium (20–39) | 7 | 0 | top 66% |
| Large (40+) | 2 | 0 | top 63% |
Contest-by-contest record (recurring contests they've cooked twice or more)
| Contest | Visits | Best | GCs | Avg finish | Last visit |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Missouri's North Star BBQ Championship | 2 | 6 | 0 | top 59% | 2015-08-07 |
The story so far (17 numbers that describe this team)
On the trail
8.4 yrs
2014-05-17 → 2022-10-14
Busiest season
2015
4 contests
Contests a season
2.6
across 5 seasons in the data
Cooks most in
MO
6 of 13 contests · 5 states/provinces in all
Contests visited
11
1 of them cooked more than once
Most-entered meat
Chicken
12 entries · 0 wins · 5 calls
Strongest meat
Chicken
averages 164.02 · weakest Brisket (156.96)
Walk rate
62%
a top-10 call in 8 of 13 contests
Overall top-10 rate
15%
2 of 13 contests
Master average
645.49
out of 720 · 12 contests · 0 GCs
Opponents faced
279
130–221 across every shared overall standing
Road miles
3,910
13 mapped stops · furthest 998 mi
Schedule strength
1561
average field rating faced — tougher than 47% of rated contests
Purse competed for
$10,000
listed at 1 contests — purses, not winnings
State championships
0
from 1 state-championship entries
Longest layoff
4 yrs
2018-10-12 → 2022-10-14
Power rating
1488
peak 1508 · #3732 of 6,413 rated
Milestones (the firsts, the round numbers and the personal bests)
- 2014
- First tracked contest Smokin on the Lake
- First call Smokin on the Lake
- First overall past 90% of a perfect score663.9200 Smokin on the Lake
- First overall top-10 Missouri's North Star BBQ Championship
- Peak power rating (1508) Missouri's North Star BBQ Championship
- 2018
- 10th tracked contest *Fire it up Frostproof!
- Career-best single call (Pork)173.1544 *SMOKEToBERFEST
- Career-best overall score665.0284 *Anchor City Cook Off
- 2022
- Most recent contest King of the Corn
Power rating over time (1500 = average; recomputed nightly)
📈 Biggest rating jumps
| Swing | Contest | Date |
|---|---|---|
| +6.9 | Bikes Blues & BBQ | 2015-09-25 |
| +6.4 | Missouri's North Star BBQ Championship | 2014-08-15 |
| +5.9 | Smoke on the Prairie | 2015-05-29 |
| +4.3 | *SMOKEToBERFEST | 2018-10-05 |
| +3.7 | *Anchor City Cook Off | 2018-10-12 |
📉 Toughest weekends
| Swing | Contest | Date |
|---|---|---|
| -12.1 | Hermann Bar-BQ and Brats Festival | 2014-09-26 |
| -10.2 | King of the Corn | 2022-10-14 |
| -7.4 | Missouri's North Star BBQ Championship | 2015-08-07 |
| -6.7 | Smoke the Town | 2017-09-01 |
| -5.4 | *Central Illinois BBQ Throwdown (JUDGES FULL) | 2017-07-21 |
Category scores over time
Overall finish over time (top-% of field, lower is better)
Where they finish (overall)
Best vs average (by meat)
How entries end (by meat)
Season by season
| Season | Contests | GCs | Top-10s | Category wins | Walk rate | Avg finish | Best overall (% of perfect) | Avg overall (% of perfect) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0% | top 92% | 89.8% | 89.8% |
| 2018 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 67% | top 52% | 92.4% | 91.5% |
| 2017 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 50% | top 77% | 89% | 87.2% |
| 2015 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 75% | top 55% | 91.4% | 90% |
| 2014 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 67% | top 60% | 92.2% | 89.5% |
Contest history (click a row for the event, a column to sort)
| Date | Event | Overall | Chicken | Ribs | Pork | Brisket |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022-10-14 | King of the Corn 🏅 Ottumwa, IA | 33 / 36 (646.2284) | 33 (162.2284) | 28 (162.8456) | 31 (162.2972) | 28 (158.8572) |
| 2018-10-12 | *Anchor City Cook Off Centralia, MO | 17 / 33 (665.0284) | 8 (171.4400) | 18 (165.6800) | 19 (167.3828) | 23 (160.5256) |
| 2018-10-05 | *SMOKEToBERFEST Ottumwa, IA | 21 / 40 (653.0056) | 22 (161.6800) | 21 (162.2628) | 4 (173.1544) | 31 (155.9084) |
| 2018-09-01 | *Fire it up Frostproof! Frostproof, FL | — | — | — | — | — |
| 2017-09-01 | Smoke the Town Leon, IA | 13 / 16 (640.4572) | 15 (151.9656) | 3 (173.1200) | 10 (161.1200) | 13 (154.2516) |
| 2017-07-21 | *Central Illinois BBQ Throwdown (JUDGES FULL) Peoria, IL | 35 / 48 (615.7368) | 14 (165.1316) | 46 (142.7656) | 41 (150.1940) | 22 (157.6456) |
| 2015-09-25 | Bikes Blues & BBQ Fayetteville, AR | 13 / 35 (656.4112) | 4 (171.9656) | 9 (167.4172) | 18 (161.0856) | 21 (155.9428) |
| 2015-09-19 | Table Rock Boats and Bones Kimberling City, MO | 19 / 33 (650.6856) | 16 (167.3828) | 25 (161.1200) | 29 (155.9428) | 17 (166.2400) |
| 2015-08-07 | Missouri's North Star BBQ Championship Kirksville, MO | 21 / 26 (627.2916) | 13 (161.6800) | 6 (169.7028) | 24 (155.9544) | 24 (139.9544) |
| 2015-05-29 | Smoke on the Prairie Brimfield, IL | 8 / 18 (658.1828) | 9 (164.5600) | 6 (166.2400) | 10 (159.4172) | 5 (167.9656) |
| 2014-09-26 | Hermann Bar-BQ and Brats Festival Hermann, MO | 34 / 37 (621.0284) | 33 (155.9656) | 36 (149.7028) | 28 (161.1084) | 31 (154.2516) |
| 2014-08-15 | Missouri's North Star BBQ Championship Kirksville, MO | 6 / 16 (647.8744) | 8 (163.9772) | 11 (162.2400) | 2 (172.0000) | 12 (149.6572) |
| 2014-05-17 | Smokin on the Lake Monroe City, MO | 13 / 25 (663.9200) | 8 (170.2628) | 22 (162.2628) | 10 (169.1200) | 15 (162.2744) |