Shooting with the Ison family
- by senior correspondent Jennifer Martens

Daniel Ison, Greg Ison, Michael Ison, John Butcher,
Shane Ison and Stephen Ison. Shooting has always been a pastime the whole family can enjoy and in recent years, it has been appropriately and rightly marketed as the ‘safe, fun family sport’. The popularity of shooting has increased with many families making up a large portion of the shooting sport’s membership. The Ison family of New South Wales are one of the thousands of shooting families who could aptly serve as the sport’s ‘poster family’.

Greg and Louisa Ison’s participation in shooting activities soaks up a lot of their time. If they are not travelling to the shooting range, at the shooting range, at the gunshop, in the bush or reloading, they are usually talking about the sport with their sons, 17-year-old Daniel and 15-year-old Michael.

The Isons are members of the SSAA Bateman’s Bay Shooting Club. While Louisa rarely shoots, she’ll tell you that she is still quite involved in the sport. “I mainly organise the family calendar…when we travel to competitions and set up camp, I am chief cook and bottle washer,” she says. Essentially, Louisa creates a comfortable and enjoyable environment that allows the guys to focus on their competition.

The sport’s allure in the family extends beyond these four. Greg’s brother, sister, mother, uncle and nephew are also keen shooters. Greg’s brother Stephen and his uncle John Butcher have been very instrumental in training and supervising the boys when they are shooting in competitions. “We would have been lost without their help and support,” said Louisa.

Interest in the sport began at a young age for Greg and the two boys. Greg was 10 when he began Air Rifle shooting on his family’s orchard. Daniel, the most competitive of the bunch, struggled to wait until he was eight and met his parents’ ‘tough’ criteria: “I had to be as tall as my mum’s .410 shotgun before I could shoot,” he recalls. Michael’s interest peaked when he was 12. They rapidly progressed from a low-key beginning in the sport to a life that revolves around the shooting calendar, club shoots and competitions. “Every month when we receive the Australian Shooter, Mum goes straight to the competition schedule to book events into our calendar,” says Daniel.

While young Michael has chosen to specialise in .22 and Air Rifle shooting, Greg and Daniel have branched out, competing in 10 different disciplines, including Rifle Metallic Silhouette (Air Rifle, Rimfire, Centrefire, Hunter Class Rimfire and Hunter Class Centrefire events), Field Rifle (Rimfire and Centrefire events) and 3-Positional (Air Rifle, Rimfire and Centrefire events).

Daniel’s passion for the sport and competition has seen him begin to make a name for himself among the junior competitive shooting fraternity. He has held the title of Overall Champion at the annual Interstate Junior Challenge for the past three years. While he is pleased with his results and awards, he gets the most satisfaction from ‘personal bests’ or PBs in Metallic Silhouette - his favourite discipline. His PBs so far include a 35/40 in Air Rifle, a 32/40 in Rimfire and a 29/40 in Centrefire.

He’s not inclined to boasting, but his family will also tell you that he placed in the top 10 in Metallic Silhouette at the 2007 Nationals held at Monarto in South Australia. With such an impressive start up the competitive path, Daniel is hoping to some day represent Australia in international Metallic Silhouette competitions.

For Greg and Michael, the core of their competition comes from within. With encouragement from one another, they strive to improve their skills with each outing to the range or bush.

As a father, Greg knows that spending time with active teenagers, and energetic boys in particular, is a special opportunity that will most likely diminish with each passing year. As such, he is grateful for the time shooting has afforded him with his sons. Not only do they target shoot and hunt together, but Daniel and Greg also reload 7mm-08, .223 and .30-30s together. Daniel is in charge of resizing and priming and Greg handles the loading.

The family does have other interests, such as waterskiing, soccer, fishing and beekeeping, but their discussions usually turn back to shooting.

The boys are competitive, but Louisa says that they don’t typically compete with each other. The age difference between the two is part of the reason, but Greg and Louisa have taught the boys that there is more to life than winning. “The big thing we have instilled in the boys,” she says, “is that the aim or goal is to beat your PB and that’s the best you can do.”

Their ‘winning isn’t everything’ philosophy is easily driven home in the bush, where a love of nature, family time and conservation is fostered. “The boys love hunting locally and they do it regularly; it’s part of their practice,” said Louisa. In fact, locals often request that they assist in the removal of ferals from their properties. “They definitely do their best for the environment and consider themselves conservationists,” she said.

It’s been said that kids who fish and hunt don’t deal or steal. Greg and Louisa certainly agree with that perspective. They strongly believe that sports shooting has benefited their children in many ways. Aside from channelling their energies and keeping them out of trouble, shooting has given them confidence, responsibility, time outdoors and quality time together.

The Isons are family-orientated, quiet achievers who love their rural lifestyle and who are passionate about the sport of shooting. If you are ever asked if shooting really is a ‘safe, fun, family sport’, you need only to refer to the Ison family of New South Wales.