Loading ...
Posted By admin on October 2, 2021
Originally printed in the Fall 2021 issue of Junior Shooters magazine, Volume 44.
Note editor’s correction to Savanna Barks name from printed issue due to editor’s error.
Interviews with athletes at the SCTP 2021 Nationals
Please click on link or photo to go to actual 4 page article magazine spread!
https://indd.adobe.com/view/b9862028-2039-4761-a89f-7c91fb56c056
Posted By admin on September 21, 2021
Yes, Volume 44, Fall 2021 issue, of Junior Shooters has shipped from the printer. It will be on the Newsstands the first week in October and was just mailed. Mailing usually takes 2-3 weeks.
This is a great issue. Subscriptions are $16.00 per year (4 issues) and normally start with the next coming issue. Send check to:
Junior Shooters
7154 W. State Street
Boise, ID 83714
Back issues are available for FREE on-line under our ARTICLES tab or click here: » ARTICLES (juniorshooters.net).
This means that Volume 43, the Summer 2021 issue is now available FREE on-line at: » ARTICLES (juniorshooters.net)
and is the top issue on that page.
We hope you enjoy both our current issue printed magazine and our back issues.
More great article and information posts coming here soon.
Posted By admin on September 12, 2021
ANNISTON, Ala. – Registration is now open for the Civilian Marksmanship Program’s (CMP) 12th annual Dixie Double Air Rifle and Air Pistol Competition, set to fire Nov. 4-6, 2021, at the South Competition Center in Alabama.
The Dixie Double attracts both novice athletes and those already accomplished, including some 2021 Tokyo Olympians.
Hosting a variety of individuals from around the country, including some national-level athletes, the Dixie Double serves as a learning opportunity for new, upcoming competitors as well as a worthwhile challenge for experienced marksmen and women.
The event features two days of 60 Shot international air rifle and air pistol competitions for adults and juniors, along with a final to end each day. A two-person aggregate team event is also held concurrently with the open shooting competition. Overall competitors are awarded each individual day as well as from the combined, two-day aggregate scores.
The Dixie Double is a 60 Shot event for air rifle and air gun competitors.
Sign up now for one of the South’s most popular air gun competitions! The CMP South Competition Center is home to the CMP Store and 80, 10-meter air gun firing points. Each point is equipped with electronic targets, which allow instant shot displays to both competitors and spectators.
For more information about the Dixie Double and to register, visit https://thecmp.org/cmp-matches/dixie-double/.
NOTE: Although it is CMP’s hope to hold our upcoming events, please keep in mind that we may have to cancel due to COVID-19 issues. For those events that we do conduct, we will follow the appropriate state’s guidelines and recommendations. We continue to monitor the venue states’ guidelines and adjust our procedures based on those guidelines and common sense. As always, the safety of our customers and employees is our priority.
— By Ashley Brugnone, CMP Staff Writer
The Civilian Marksmanship Program is a federally chartered 501 (c) (3) non-profit corporation. It is dedicated to firearm safety and marksmanship training and to the promotion of marksmanship competition for citizens of the United States. For more information about the CMP and its programs, log onto www.TheCMP.org.
Posted By admin on August 8, 2021
Amy Cawley 2021 Double Skeet SCTP National Champion, Junior Shooters magazine writer, Junior Shooters’ Instagram manager, and author of Skeet, My Approach.
Amy Cawley (18) just became the SCTP Double Skeet 2021 Nationals Champion at the recent SCTP Nationals Championship. Amy is sponsored by Winchester Ammunition for her ammunition, is a Junior Shooters magazine staff writer and also runs Junior Shooters magazine’s Instagram page.
We published an article in Volume 39 Summer 2020 issue by Amy titled: “Skeet, My Approach” which is an excellent guide to shooting skeet. This new National Champion will tell you her approach to winning and some of the techniques to make you a better skeet shooter. Check it out at the link below:
https://indd.adobe.com/view/092bdea9-3907-4f33-b402-9f08afd629c8
Amy Cawley author of Skeet, My Approach.
Here is also a direct link to the COMPLETE FREE issue of Junior Shooters magazine’s Volume 39 issue: Chock full of events, reviews, and stories; including: SCTP, SASP, CMP. Skeet, My Approach, Chiappa’s M Four-22, Daisy’s Gamo 599, and Sig Sauer’s P365.
https://indd.adobe.com/view/dc9dafad-b381-472a-9045-8b046bad6aa6
Junior Shooters magazine Volume 39, Summer 2020 issue chock full of events, reviews, and stories; including: SCTP, SASP, CMP. Skeet, My Approach, Chiappa’s M Four-22, Daisy’s Gamo 599, and Sig Sauer’s P365.
Posted By admin on July 27, 2021
The Scholastic Action Shooting Program (SASP) has Olympic athletes in their ranks, ready to perform on the world stage in Tokyo. With their newly established international disciplines, SASP athletes saw podium finishes at the recent 2021 Air Pistol Junior Olympic National Championship before putting on incredible performances at the 2021 SASP National Championship.
First up in the Olympic shooting sports schedule will be SASP’s own Director of Development for International Disciplines, James Hall. As the official youth feeder program for USA Shooting, Hall quickly established and continues to expand the SASP’s new international disciplines of 10 Meter Air Rifle, 10 Meter Air Pistol, and Sport Pistol. Hall’s journey to the Olympic stage began at Jacksonville State University, where he was a four-time All American, Team Captain, and USA National Rifle Team Member. Along with his deep knowledge of the rifle and pistol competitor’s experience, James also has an extensive background in coaching junior athletes at the Civilian Marksmanship Program (CMP). Hall secured the first U.S. quota spot in air pistol for the Olympics in Tokyo with his Gold medal at the 2018 Championship of the Americas.
Also poised to represent the USA at the Olympics are current SASP athletes, Jackson Leverett and Henry Leverett who will be competing in the Men’s 25m Rapid Fire Pistol event. Currently sophomores of the Ohio State University Pistol Team, the Leverett brothers have set a 5-year streak of winning gold at the Pistol National Junior Olympic Championships. Prior to joining the pistol team at Ohio, Leveretts set four USA Shooting national records in junior men’s Rapid Fire and junior men’s Sport Pistol. Henry won the U.S. Olympic Rapid Fire quota spot for the Tokyo 2020 Olympics after placing 5th in the 2019 World Cup Bejing, while Jackson helped Team USA win gold medals in Air Pistol and Rapid Fire in the 2018 Championship of the Americas. As current SASP athletes, both Jackson and Henry are SSSF College All Americans, having secured their spots on the 1st teams for international air, sport, and standard pistol.
https://olympics.com/tokyo-2020/olympic-games/en/results/shooting/olympic-schedule-and-results.htm
https://www.nbcolympics.com/schedule/sport/Shooting
Tom Davis
Scholastic Shooting Sports Foundation
Marketing & Communications Manager
Posted By admin on July 14, 2021
Kiae shooting in the kneeling position. What a great training rifle!
By James Abrao, Logan Hunt (13), Kaitlin Hunt (11)
From Volume 41 Winter 2020 issue.
A miniature .22 LR version of the classic Mosin-Nagant 1891/30 Rifle used by the Russian infantry through the Russo-Japanese War, World War I and, in its improved 1930 Soviet version, World War II. It is the first of a series of Mini Mil-Surplus rifles, a collection of five WWI and WWII rifles scaled down for youth shooters and chambered in America’s plinker, the 22 LR cartridge. Kids can shoot their own version of Grandpa’s cool military firearms.
The front sight has a solid post producing an excellent sight picture.
The Keystone Sporting Arms 9130 Mini Mosin Nagant has a 20-inch barrel, precision-machined to ensure the durability and accuracy that is normally reserved for the big guns. Its walnut stock is nostalgic and subtly elegant. The action is based on the proven, safe, single-shot Crickett design and has a straight-handled bolt, just like the original Mosin Nagants. This slows down the process, immensely. Making it a perfect training pace. It is less dramatic than a magazine fed bolt action.
I used the Mini Mosin-Nagant at our Junior Shooters team’s range training day to instruct our newest juniors on the fundamentals and factors common to all firing positions. We reviewed the prone, sitting, kneeling, and standing.
The Mini Mosin is scaled perfectly to allow an instructor to isolate the essential elements of each pos
The rear sight is adjustable just like the original Mosin Nagant rifle.
ition as the junior manipulates the rifle. The junior easily operated the rifle with no problem working the bolt, trigger, inserting a cartridge. It is easy to aim and accurate. When we focused exclusively on those elements and taught them in sequence comprehension came as quickly as their smiles did.
This dynamic little single shot is the perfect tool for teaching kids the sporting and history side of firearms.
Logan
The Mini Mosin Nagant .22 is a fun gun. It is very small and very light. I would definitely recommend this to new shooters. What you do is pop a bullet in the chamber, move the bolt forward and lock the bolt handle down. You pull the end piece of the bolt back to cock it and now it’s all loaded and ready to go. It has next to no kick back, and that is very helpful if you are new because you don’t want to be shooting something like a shotgun when you first start shooting.
Logan, loading a cartridge.
The few times I shot it was a lot of fun and I could easily see myself shooting for hours-upon-hours with it. The Mini Mosin Nagant .22 is a 10-out-of-10 gun in my view I have nothing bad to say about it. It’s range is great and it is very accurate.
Kaitlin
This Mini Mosin Nagant .22 is really fun to shoot, but I called the gun, The Pellet Gun. I called it this because it only takes one bullet (cartridge) at a time. The Mosin is easy to load, but it only takes one bullet at a time so once you fire you have to reload. Either way, The Pellet Gun is simple to load once you know what to do.
Kaitlin, just getting ready to shoot. Notice the us of the safety flag.
The Mini Mosin Nagant rifle is not the best for long-range (100 yards), but when shooting it at close-range (50 yards or less), it is really easy to hit the target. The good thing about the Mini Mosin Nagant .22 is it isn’t very loud.
Editor’s note: Though Kaitlin called the Mosin “The Pellet Gun” it actually takes a .22 Long Rifle (LR) cartridge. It also accepts .22 Shorts and .22 Long cartridges.)
MSRP $399.00
Specifications:
Stock: Black Walnut
Caliber: .22LR
Weight: 2.8lbs
Barrel: 20? Blued
LOP: 11.5?
OAL: 33.625
Posted By admin on July 5, 2021
Excellent grip and shooting position shown at the SASP College nationals 2020
Article from Junior Shooters magazine Vol 39 Summer 2020 with results and photos from the SASP College Nationals Winter 2020. CHECK IT OUT.
https://indd.adobe.com/view/1e600d71-2498-423f-9e8b-d236a38969a5
////////////////
CHECK OUT JUNIOR SHOOTERS magazine’s INSTAGRAM PAGE! QR CODE BELOW
Lots of great posts by junior shooters! See what they are talking about.
Posted By admin on June 29, 2021
Featuring Cole Gunsmithing and TSK stocks
By: Georgie Seagraves (16)
From Volume 43 Summer 2021 Junior Shooters magazine
Georgie, shooting her Blaser from Cole Gunsmithing with a TSK stock.
In Clay Shooting, finding a gun that fits you can really bring your game to the next level. But there are a few things to consider beforehand: price, longevity, reliability, and fit.
I didn’t realize this when I started, but you can really spend as much or as little on a gun as you want, I know people who shoot guns that cost well over thirty thousand dollars, but others that shoot guns under five hundred dollars. It is important to note that, as the saying goes; “it is the archer, not the arrow.” This means that you could shoot the most expensive gun in the world, but that does not mean you’ll become the best shooter, and on the opposite end of that, you could shoot a more inexpensive gun but that doesn’t mean you can’t progress and become an exceptional shooting sports athlete. The goal when searching for a gun is to find one that fits your body and budget.
Georgie, shooting her Blaser from Cole Gunsmithing with a TSK stock.
Now, there are reasons some guns are so much more expensive than others and one of those is: longevity. Competitive clay shooters put a lot of rounds through our guns, and the most inexpensive of guns may not be able to handle it for very long, depending on how often you shoot. This kind of gun is made for someone who bird hunts once or twice a year, not a competitive shooter so you may find yourself having to buy a new gun often, maybe even multiple a year; because it isn’t built for that kind of wear and tear. Whereas there are actual competition guns, or guns geared toward the more avid hunter. So, if you’ve decided you are dedicated to shooting sports and have the ability, it may save you in the long run to make the investment on a gun that is built to last.
There are things that should be done to increase the longevity of even the nicest guns, such as regular cleanings and quality ammunition. At the very least, every time a gun is handled the exterior metal should be wiped down to remove the oils from touch, this can create rusting and pitting, I use gun oil wipes. Deep cleans are up to the shooter and how much they practice, to deep clean is to take apart all the pieces, remove all the oil and carbon buildup, and lubricate the moving parts. If you hate deep cleaning as much as I do you can also shoot shells that don’t produce much carbon buildup, Winchester ammunition happens to be my personal favorite for practice and competitions. Winchester produces a very reliable, inexpensive, and clean shell, they also happen to be the official SCTP ammunition!
TSK stock detail view. AWESOME! Get it at Cole Gunsmithing. Click on photo.
Reliability doesn’t mean having a gun that just won’t completely break on you. A gun is a complex machine even though it may not look that way on the outside, this can make cleaning and long term function a hassle. This is where another choice comes into play because a semi-automatic shotgun tends to be much lighter than its Over and Under (O/U) counterpart but it has a significantly more complex system and is therefore more prone to malfunction. In a competition malfunctions can be the difference between winning and losing, not only can they cause lost birds, but they also can break the competitors focus. The O/Ur separates into three, easily disconnecting, main parts so it’s easy to diagnose an issue, but the semi-automatic has tens of tiny parts which makes cleaning a daunting task. Most people start out with a semi-automatic and eventually move on to a O/U for better reliability among other advantages such as reduced recoil and better choke options. As someone who started with a semi-automatic and transitioned to a O/U, if I were able to go back and skip that stage altogether, I would.
How a gun should fit you is hard to put into words because it really depends on the shooters dimensions and shooting style. For me, and many others, when I was looking for my new O/U shotgun, a custom gun stock wasn’t in the cards. So, I tried many different guns: Blasers, Zolis, Berettas, Guerinis, etc. Cole Gunsmithing has the widest range of demo guns I have ever seen and are masters of finding the best fit for you! And I truly believe that anyone can find a gun that’s good for them straight out of the box. For example, I’m a five-foot-three girl with less than broad shoulders so, for me, a Blaser F3 out of the box was absolutely perfect because they tend to have thinner butt stocks and forearms along with the other qualities I was looking for: price, longevity, reliability, and of course the superior triggers and craftsmanship was a huge plus! I wouldn’t trade my Blaser for the world! If you do want or need to make a change to a stock and are considering a custom stock I would highly recommend the TSK which can also be bought and demoed at Cole Gunsmithing. The reason it can function in the place of a custom wooden stock is because it is adjustable in many ways but I’ll break it down into three parts: the comb, the cast, and the length of pull. The TSK is an excellent option for youth shooters, especially kids who still have a lot of growing to do because it will be able to grow with them. I personally shoot a recoil reducing TSK on my Blaser F3 and they are a match made in heaven!
Finding a gun that is best for you is amazing, but there’s no rush! Take the time to do the research, test them out, and save up that money for your dream gun!
////////////////
CHECK OUT JUNIOR SHOOTERS magazine’s INSTAGRAM PAGE! QR CODE BELOW
Lots of great posts by junior shooters! See what they are talking about.
Posted By admin on June 13, 2021
Check out this great article on a custom GLOCK 34 from BAR-STO called the BUMBLEBEE!
Click on the link or the photo!
https://indd.adobe.com/view/5365cdfd-54a2-4831-aa86-0597575c7829
From Junior Shooters magazine
Vol 43 Summer 2021
////////////////
CHECK OUT JUNIOR SHOOTERS magazine’s INSTAGRAM PAGE! QR CODE BELOW
Lots of great posts by junior shooters! See what they are talking about.
Posted By admin on June 4, 2021
Bremen Butler has only been competing in marksmanship for about two years but has seemingly found her stride.
By Ashley Brugnone, CMP Staff Writer
CAMP PERRY, Ohio – Bremen Butler, 16, of Fort Wayne, Indiana, made herself known at the Camp Perry Open marksmanship event (held Friday, May 21, to Sunday, May 23) by earning wins in both the Three-Position Air Rifle portion and the newly added 3×40 Smallbore match.
The 2021 Camp Perry Open attracted more than 250 athletes from around the nation in Three-Position (3PAR) and 60 Shot Air Rifle, 60 Shot Air Pistol and 3×40 Smallbore Rifle competition. The annual event is conducted by the Civilian Marksmanship Program (CMP) at the Gary Anderson CMP Competition Center – located on the Camp Perry National Guard Training Base (CMP Headquarters) in Ohio.
“I was happy with my performance in all three of this year’s disciplines,” she said. “I enjoyed shooting the 3PAR Match. I felt confident and was pleased with my performance.”
When she’s not training at home, Bremen travels to as many competitions as she can.
Typically fired in January, the 2021 Camp Perry Open was strategically moved to May in order to allow the 3×40 Smallbore Rifle portion to be added to the schedule for the first time. Over 60 competitors took to the firing line on Camp Perry’s Petrarca Range to take advantage of the additional competitive opportunity, with Bremen coming out on top.
“I feel any opportunity to boost the number of matches for shooters is a fantastic and welcome idea,” she said. “I was excited to be shooting on Petrarca. My first experience shooting Smallbore was on that same range during the 2019 CMP Summer Camp.”
Bremen also secured two silver medals at USA Shooting’s Junior Olympics: one for air rifle and one for smallbore.
“I felt like I had come full circle after winning this competition,” she went on, “I enjoy shooting Smallbore and like the extra challenge the wind brings when shooting outdoors.
Once the inaugural Camp Perry Open Smallbore event was completed, Bremen went on to claim the overall win in the 3PAR match, fired the same day. She also finished eighth overall in the Open 60 Shot rifle event.
“I had a rough first day,” she said of her performance in 60 Shot. “However, I was able to recover on Day Two by shooting a new PR (personal record) of 625.2, which was personally very exciting for me.”
Bremen had signed up for her first Camp Perry Open last year, but an ear infection made shooting difficult. When the event came back around again in 2021 – she was ready.
“I was looking forward to it and made it my goal to stand on the podium,” she said. “I was equally, if not more, ecstatic to find out that Smallbore and 3PAR were included in this year’s Open.”
The week before the Camp Perry Open, Bremen shot at USA Shooting’s Junior Olympics and brought home silver medals for both Smallbore and Air in the J2 age group. She also qualified for the Smallbore Finals and finished sixth overall in the discipline.
Last year, she traveled to CMP’s South Competition Center in Alabama to fire in the annual Dixie Double air gun event and competed in the USA Shooting Winter Airgun event (held at CMP’s air gun facilities) where she won gold for the J2 age group. It was her first national medal in only the second event of that level in her career.
Bremen brought home gold from USA Shooting’s Winter Airgun event in 2020 – her first national-level competition.
“My family has been very supportive as we travel to as many matches as possible,” she said.
Bremen began competing in Precision Air Rifle and Smallbore almost two years ago. In July 2020, she began training remotely with Olympian and current rifle coach Jayme Shipley via WebEx and utilizing SCATT. She uses her laptop and a separate phone to allow for multiple-angle views for her coach to observe.
To train, she stands in front of her kitchen stove and shoots through the living room into a trap sitting on the family’s fireplace mantel. She uses a single paper bull with the SCATT attached to her rifle to score a 60-shot match each day. Bremen says she trains four to six days a week, which has helped her scores steadily improve.
She uses the nearby Eel River Gun Club and Fort Wayne Izaak Walton Rifle/Pistol ranges for Smallbore training. Bremen tries to make it to as many CMP Monthly Air Gun Matches as she can as well as USA Shooting competitions and competes in several state and local CMP and NRA matches on the weekends.
When she finds time, she and her family make the trip to Camp Perry to practice air rifle within the Gary Anderson CMP Competition Center. Now when she makes the trip, she can think back to her 2021 Camp Perry Open memories as she works toward even more marksmanship successes.
“I love the CMP ranges and enjoy visiting it whenever possible for training,” Bremen said.
Plan Your Visit to the CMP Competition Centers. The CMP operates two indoor air gun ranges equipped with electronic targets. Plan your visit to our Anniston, Alabama, or Port Clinton, Ohio, ranges by calling (419) 635-2141, ext. 704. Both ranges are open to the public and offer rental equipment for your visit.
— By Ashley Brugnone, CMP Staff Writer
The Civilian Marksmanship Program is a federally chartered 501 (c) (3) non-profit corporation. It is dedicated to firearm safety and marksmanship training and to the promotion of marksmanship competition for citizens of the United States. For more information about the CMP and its programs, log onto www.TheCMP.org.
////////////////
CHECK OUT JUNIOR SHOOTERS magazine’s INSTAGRAM PAGE! QR CODE BELOW
Lots of great posts by junior shooters! See what they are talking about.
Posted By admin on May 22, 2021
— By Ashley Brugnone, CMP Staff Writer
In its inaugural year, the Civilian Marksmanship Program’s (CMP) Smallbore Postal .22 rifle postal match saw over 230 entries. The postal match was held at participant’s home ranges from January to April. Participants were able to choose between 3-Position Smallbore (3×20, Kneeling, Prone, Standing) with metallic sights or Prone 60 Shot (Sling and F-Class). All matches were fired from 50 feet.
Emma Pereira is shown here shooting her Feinwerkbau 2800 at the 2021 National Rifle Junior Olympic Shooting Championships.
Junior athletes led the 3×20 competition overall, with Emma Pereira, 17, of Chesapeake, Virginia, besting the field with a score of 583-25x. Pereira outscored past Junior Olympic competitors Natalie Perrin, 18, of Coopersville, Michigan, and Rachel Engels, 18, of Meridian, Idaho, who reached second and third, respectively.
Andrew Duross, 17, of Marlborough, Massachusetts, claimed the overall spot in the Prone 60 Shot metallic sights event – surpassing his junior comrades as well as the adults with a score of 616.5. Frank Garbouchian, 63, of Fremont, New Hampshire, topped the scoped category, while CW3 Allen Wood, 69, of Mico, Texas, overtook the F-Class event.
During the Smallbore Postals, adult and junior competitors completed each course of fire at their home ranges before sending results to the CMP for official recording. All scoring was configured with the use of the Orion Scoring System.
Awards were presented to the Top 3 performers in each event of the CMP Smallbore Postal competition. Congratulations to the following individuals:
3×20 (Open and Junior):
Andrew Duross claimed both the open and junior titles for the prone 60-shot (metallic sights) match.
Prone 60 Shot (Metallic Sights, Open):
Prone 60 Shot (Metallic Sights, Junior):
Prone 60 Shot (Scope):
Prone F-Class:
A complete list of results of the 2021 Smallbore Postals can be found on the CMP’s Competition Tracker page at https://ct.thecmp.org/2021smallborepostalresults.
Upcoming CMP Smallbore Opportunities:
Registration is now open for the CMP’s Smallbore events at the 2021 National Matches at Camp Perry. The smallbore phase will be fired July 20 through July 28 and will include 3-Position and Prone events for adult and junior athletes. For the first time, a smallbore Small Arms Firing School, led by members of the Army Marksmanship Unit, will be offered during the series. Learn more about the CMP National Matches smallbore events at https://thecmp.org/competitions/matches/cmp-national-matches/smallbore-national-matches/.
CMP Smallbore matches are also available all year long at various clubs throughout the United States through local match sanctioning. Interested clubs may host their own outdoor 3P and Prone matches as well as indoor 3P 50-feet matches. Find matches near you on the CMP Competition Tracker page at https://ct.thecmp.org.
To learn more about the CMP’s Smallbore Program, including how to conduct match sanctioning, visit https://thecmp.org/competitions/cmp-smallbore-program/.
The Civilian Marksmanship Program is a federally chartered 501 (c) (3) non-profit corporation. It is dedicated to firearm safety and marksmanship training and to the promotion of marksmanship competition for citizens of the United States. For more information about the CMP and its programs, log onto www.TheCMP.org.
////////////////
CHECK OUT JUNIOR SHOOTERS magazine’s INSTAGRAM PAGE! QR CODE BELOW
Lots of great posts by junior shooters! See what they are talking about.
Posted By admin on April 27, 2021
By Amy Cawley (17)
Whenever we talk with new shooters about Trap or Skeet, my father always says Skeet is the more difficult of the two to learn, but the easer to master. This makes a certain degree of sense. Targets always come from the same place (the high and low house), and will always fly the same speed and trajectory, crossing at the center stake (assuming no wind). It is this consistency that can lend itself to shooting some good scores – with the right kind of effort and preparation. I hope that some of the tips I provide can help get you to a point where you are no longer just attempting to break clays, but confidently and comfortable doing so.
PRACTICE:
There is more to practice than shooting full rounds one after the other. Walk onto a field with a specific purpose in mind. Sometimes the purpose is just having fun, and that’s OK – shooting clays should be fun. But to really progress in the sport here is what helps me. I always have a specific goal that I work to achieve that day. Think about each of the fundamentals – foot position, hold point, look point, break point, follow-through, and so forth. For example, making sure my foot positioning is consistent every time I walk onto the pad or, staying in the gun and following through each time I shoot. Practice in such a way that you can review and digest it later. Shoot a full box on one station if there is something specific you are working on. Use an orange cone or stack of clays placed one-third of the way to the center stake to reinforce hold points. Focus on the process, not the result. Another key component of any shooting activity is your mindset. Your mindset is something that can make or break how you shoot for that day, somake sure you start on a good note. A big thing for me was changing “I have to shoot today” to “I have the opportunity to shoot today”. It was a slight change that made a world of difference. It can, however, be a little tough sometimes to appreciate the “opportunity to shoot” in the winter (especially Western New York winter!), so just do your best.
Following a practice day, it’s always good to reflect. For the sake of your mental game, I choose to always start with the positives that went well that day. After that, for every negative, I do my best to think of two more positives. They don’t have to be huge victories, but just something to help remind yourself that your mistakes don’t define you. It is also a good idea to keep a shooting journal so that you can track how you have progressed.
COMPETITION PREP:
When preparing for a skeet competition there is a lot to take into consideration. These preparations can take place anywhere from months before the event to right before your squad goes out on the field.
Months:
You want to decide if you want to do big tournaments, small ones or both. If you do choose to compete in a larger one and hope to do well, you need to come up with a training plan. This may consist of scheduled practice dates and times, workouts, and deciding the right kind of food to fuel your body. These things should be taking place months before so that your body and mind are conditioned to compete at that higher level.
Days:
If you pre-registered for the event, verify your assigned field and shoot time. Always check – never assume! You should also be watching the weather so that you can prepare and dress accordingly. Pack a small duffel bag with extra clothes in case it rains or is colder (or warmer) than forecasted. Clean your gun and make sure the right choke is in the barrel. Completely unpack and repack your shooting bag to make sure you have everything you need.
Right before:
Get to your assigned field early. If there is another squad on the field ahead of you it is a great opportunity to see how the targets are flying and what they look like against the background. Before the start of your first round take a few minutes to walk the field. Stand at each station and look to your expected hold points for that station.
Find a landmark such as a tree that will help you confidently find that hold point each and every time during your rounds. Grab two of your squadmates and check the targets again. One of you should be on station 1, another at 4 and the third at 7. One and Seven are watching their bird to ensure it flies true over the center stake and lands close to the boundary marker. The person at Four is checking that a pair crosses at the center stake and would pass through the hoop if it was there. This is the time to ask the referee for an adjustment if something doesn’t look right. When everyone is ready to go, double-check your safety and enjoy the round.
RANDOM THOUGHTS:
Another thing that is very valuable on the skeet field as well as the other discipline is how you choose to react to a missed target. It is very easy to let that one target get to you, but as I’m sure you have seen that often leads to another lost target. Shooting is a mental game and dwelling on a missed target will promote a poor mindset for the rest of that round.
In skeet your first miss requires you to take your option target. It is very easy to quickly go from your miss, right into your option and make the same exact mistake you just made. Make sure you have a routine that has become subconscious for when you miss. An idea for this might be to take a step back, close your eyes, take one deep breath and reset. When we miss our coach reminds us we must do something different when you execute the next shot. Always think positive, practice with your goals in mind, and watch your scores go up!
Author Profile:
Amy Cawley is a High School Junior and currently resides in Western New York. She shoots Trap, Skeet and Sporting Clays with the A&B Clay Busters team in the Scholastic Clay Target Program, as well as her high school Trap team in the High School Clay Target League. She is an NRA Level 1 (Junior) Shotgun Coach. Amy is a also a staff writer for Junior Shooters magazine and manages their Instagram page.
////////////////
CHECK OUT JUNIOR SHOOTERS magazine’s INSTAGRAM PAGE! QR CODE BELOW
Lots of great posts by junior shooters! See what they are talking about.
Youth Models: Henry Repeating Arms
