Philip Spedding
by senior correspondent Jennifer Martens
Philip Spedding is one smart kid. Not only is the Year 11 student studying four Year 12 subjects and looking to major in electrical engineering, he also took the opportunity to become an active member of the SSAA as soon as he was eligible.
Philip was introduced to the shooting sports as a youngster by his father and was subsequently taken on a few hunting trips, but it wasn’t until he began regularly accompanying his father to the range that he really got into the sport. Early in 2004, Philip joined the Brisbane Junior Target Shooters (BJTS). Ever since then, he has been a regular at their bimonthly shoots. “I shoot some form of Silhouette shooting about once a week, either Air Rifle, Hunter Class Rimfire or Rimfire,” he said.
When he first began competing, Philip used his older brother’s CZ 452-2E fitted with a Nikko Stirling 4x32 scope. As his skills improved and his confidence grew, he switched to his father’s Sako Quad fitted with a Leupold VX-III EFI. He also uses a Weirauch HW100 for Air Rifle Silhouette competitions and a Tikka T-3, 7mm-08 for hunting and Centrefire competitions. He is currently using factory loads for the Tikka, but will soon begin reloading to “reduce costs and control the mass of the projectile”.
To date, his best shooting accomplishment was when he shot 10 out of 10 (chickens) in the Air Rifle Silhouette event at the 2008 Australian Shooting Games. His current goal is to obtain his gold award in any or all of the Silhouette disciplines.
Philip credits his parents’ continued support for his success in the sport so far. Although, he says, “Thanks must also go to the many shoot captains and officials, range officers and older shooters who have coached me and helped me improve my technique throughout the years.”
Philip says he is a confident shooter and able to handle stress well, especially the stress that comes during large competitions. “The majority of my personal bests have been shot during competitions.” However, to continue moving up in the ranks, he knows he needs to work on recovering from the occasional bad shot - something he’s struggled with since beginning in the sport.
Philip enjoys competing against himself and facing the target alone. “The fact that target shooting requires a high level of concentration is really appealing,” he says. Out in the field, he enjoys the adrenalin boost that comes from chasing feral animals.
Philip has been an Australian Air Force Cadet since 2005, recently earning the rank of Cadet Sergeant and the appointments of Flight Commander (2 Flight, 219 Squadron) and Assistant to the Cadet Squadron Warrant Officer. After finishing Year 12, he hopes to join the Australian Defence Force via the Australian Defence Force Academy where he will study electronic engineering.
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