Tex Grebner shoots himself into redemption

It was the shot heard ’round the world.

Nope, not the one that is purported to have started the Revolutionary War.

I’m talking about the one that propelled Tex Grebner to appear in a Web redemption on Tuesday’s edition of Tosh.0.

“It hurt like a fuckin’ bitch,” Tex said about the bullet that ripped through his thigh before flying out above his knee. “It feels like getting hit in the leg with a sledgehammer and then a burning, ripping pain. And then the charlie horse from hell. And that’s all in a total of approximately 30 seconds until you are completely OD’d on adrenaline.”

But it was that shot that prompted Comedy Central to fly Tex – and several of his firearms – out to California recently to meet Daniel Tosh and take part in his own Web redemption, where he’ll soon join the girl in her prom dress who stumbled down the stairs and smacked her head on the floor, the backyard wrestler who flopped on the moonsault, that other girl who completely whiffed it imitating Risky Business, and Tron Guy. (Note: As of this writing, the video has 499,962 views on YouTube).

“People ask me, ‘So what is Daniel Tosh like?’ ‘Is he pretty cool or is he a dick?’ ‘Is he a dick or is he pretty cool?’

“Daniel Tosh is a pretty cool dick,” Tex said. “He’s cordial, he’s very intelligent, but he played dumb long enough to make me look dumb.”

Tex isn’t allowed to spill details until the episode airs, but he opened up about the process of what it’s like to be on the show.

Tex said Tosh interviewed him for about 2 hours before relocating to the Los Angeles Gun Club, where cameras rolled for another 6 hours.

“There was a lot of shit they were asking me in the interview,” he said. “Certain questions that I absolutely fucking refused to answer.”

Those questions prodded details about his family, his background and about his arsenal of weapons.

“I knew that whether or not they presented me in a positive light was up to them,” he said. “But I was just gonna be myself.”

The host of Tex Grebner Outdoors initially wasn’t so sure about being a part of the web redemption.

“At the time I was reluctant because, well, it was Comedy Central and I just blew a fucking 45-caliber hole through my leg,” he said. “I worried about my credibility, future careers (and) what kind of press it would bring me.”

He ultimately decided, with the counsel of his mentor and instructor, that he is a representative of the school at which he trained.

“I tried to represent the school in a positive light,” he said.

Tex was paid to do the show, but “I don’t like necessarily talking about how much I made.”

Even though Comedy Central paid Tex’s way round-trip to Culver City, he would have preferred driving himself, if nothing more than to at least get a few meals during his trip. The show’s crew wanted him to look like he does in his videos, so he wore his old-school fatigue jacket and cowboy hat to and from the shoot. Tex said he’d be sitting at an airport bar when he’d hear whispers before his video started playing. Annoyed, Tex would journey to a different spot.

Overall, though, he said people were very gracious and complimentary.

“Even back in August, it was apparent that I was very recognizable as ‘that guy,'” Tex said. “It amazes me that people think I’m cooler than I am.”

He said he’s literally the epitome of “kind of a big deal” because he doesn’t think he’s famous. People tell him, “Holy shit, man, you’re gonna be on TV.” But Tex said he would rather remain modest and “let others grow my legend as opposed to talking my own shit.

“Outside of real life, people really think I’m fuckin’ something,” he said. “In life, I’m just another fuckin’ guy trying to win a rat race.”

Tex looks at his newfound fame like this: “Life ain’t like the pornos and huntin’ ain’t like the shows.”

The 2006 Metamora Township High School graduate said it’s interesting having local fans now, as opposed to his YouTube subscribers who are far and away.

“Where was all this fucking popularity in high school when I gave a shit about it,” he asked. “Women are swooning over the fact that I’m gonna be on Tosh.0 (that eight years ago) wouldn’t give me the time of day between classes.”

Tex’s exploits, to be sure, have garnered some national attention in addition to Tosh.0.

“What’s funny is I made the Huffington Post, but not the (Peoria) Journal Star,” he said.

Tex will be appearing on the Nov. 17 episode of the Top 20 Most Shocking on TruTV, and he’ll also be on upcoming editions of S.W.A.T Magazine TV on the Outdoor Channel and VH1’s Top 40 Funniest Fails. He’s also in talks with the Discovery Channel for giving an interview and licensing his clip.

Tex admitted he has two regrets about the mishap.

“Firstly, just after the shot, I did not burn the entire magazine into the target,” he said. “However, I think I acted for the best. That way, if there was any question of foul play, the gun was in the actual condition” it was when he pulled the trigger.

“My next regret is that I did not grab the camera as I went past and film myself wrapping the wound or check the wound,” Tex said. “I didn’t want to be accused of hamming it up for the camera.”

Tex said he had all his guns and ammo stored in his vehicle and had stopped the bleeding before the EMTs arrived.

Despite shooting himself in the leg, the thought has never crossed Tex’s mind to put guns down. In fact, two weeks after the incident, he went to Tennessee to take a combat handguns class.

“I’m literally sticking to my guns,” he said.

(Images retrieved from Tex’s Facebook profile.)