Local junior shooter competes nationally

Superior Junior Rifle Team target shooter Nick Learn recently returned from a successful showing at the National Junior Olympic Rifle Championships held at the US Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, Colo.

Participation in the match was by invitation only, based on performance at regional qualification matches held each winter. In this year's qualification matches, Learn’s individual scores and earned him a coveted invitation to shoot shoulder-to-shoulder with some of the nation's best young rifle shooters.

Learn spent a day making sure that his rifle and personal equipment met the same stringent technical rules used in the Olympics, followed by a day of practice on the same rifle range used by U.S. Olympic shooters for training.

The next two days were spent in intense competition.

Target shooters familiar with shooting holes in paper targets had to get used to the all-electronic scoring system used in the competition, where score markings appear instantly on a computer monitor. The matches also required more physical conditioning and stamina than a typical competition, just due to the number of shots required to complete an Olympic-style tournament.

Competitors also fired at 50 meters rather than the more common 50-foot distance most were used to (which requires changes in rifle sights and more attention to ballistic qualities of ammunition).

Learn did very well in competition, firing 556 out of a possible 600 points in the first prone match and 561 of 600 in the second, taking fourth in his J3 age group. In the three-position match (prone, standing, kneeling), Learn also took fourth in his classification, shooting 1,069 out of 1,200, and 1,064 out of 1,200.

The Superior Rifle team and the Learn family were very thankful to the local businesses and organizations whose donations made the trip possible.

For more information about the Superior Junior Rifle Team please visit www.superiorjuniorrifle.com.

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