Sam Medway - junior Single Action shooter
- by Associate Editor Kaye Jenkins
SSAA junior member Sam Medway comes from a family of shooters. His dad is a keen shooter and hunter, his big sister is a competitive shooter, one of his younger sisters will soon become a competitive shooter and his mother doesn’t mind having a shot too. Sam himself was introduced to the world of shooting at the age of nine by his father. He says that back then they just hunted rabbits around the family’s farming property, but it was something that the two of them have always enjoyed. Four years later, at age 13, Sam began competitive shooting and he hasn’t looked back since.
A SSAA member for three years, Sam mainly participates in Single Action shooting. He says he enjoys every aspect of Single Action, which includes pistol, rifle and shotgun shooting events, but says that his real love is the shotgunning.
Sam is coached by his father, but says he also receives great support from the Cowra Cowboys and the Single Action Shooting society as a whole.
When not shooting competitively or out hunting the local fox and rabbit populations on the farm, Sam enjoys other sports. He plays hockey during the winter months and enjoys a game of golf every now and then. However, he says that shooting is where his heart is and admits that he would spend every waking moment on shooting if he could get away with it. He spends at least 15 to 20 hours a week on shooting-related activities such as reloading his own ammunition and practising, but says this time doesn’t really include club days or competitions.
Sam and his father load their own specific hunting and target loads. They load .22 Hornet and .22-250s for hunting and everything from shotgun shells to .38 and .45 handgun calibres to .30-30, .45-70 and .38-55 rifle loads for competition.
Sam has competed in some Service Pistol competitions, but competes in every Single Action competition he can get to. His greatest achievement so far is becoming the 2007 Australian Junior Champion. He is also the 2006 Australian Black Powder Junior Championship and NSW Junior Champion winner and the overall Master Gunfighter from the 2007 NSW State Titles.
Sam’s current goal is to shoot at the World Titles in the USA later this year while he is still a junior and he would love to become the World Junior Champion. But he says he also just wants to try to be the best that he can be and wants to be a good representative for shooting to help ensure a future for our sport.
SSAA junior member Sam Medway comes from a family of shooters. His dad is a keen shooter and hunter, his big sister is a competitive shooter, one of his younger sisters will soon become a competitive shooter and his mother doesn’t mind having a shot too. Sam himself was introduced to the world of shooting at the age of nine by his father. He says that back then they just hunted rabbits around the family’s farming property, but it was something that the two of them have always enjoyed. Four years later, at age 13, Sam began competitive shooting and he hasn’t looked back since.