The Australian Junior Shooter

We know shooting’s a sport for all ages and abilities and one where lifelong friendships are forged. But in many instances it’s also a family affair and that’s underlined in this issue’s cover story which profiles young Sarah Shelley, a third-generation shooter following in the footsteps of her father and grandfather. Sarah’s introduction to the sport was initially a low-key affair which began one Saturday afternoon with a visit to the local SSAA range with her dad. It didn’t take long for the shooting bug to bite her and she soon became a regular visitor and subsequently a junior member of the SSAA. South Australia was host state for the 2023 Single Action National Championships towards the end of last year and Peg Hobson was there to document the progress of a handful of youngsters who look destined for good things ahead. It’s a challenging and multi-faceted discipline which requires skill and concentration in equal measure and this young quintet really got into the spirit of things and acquitted themselves admirably. And if it’s hunting you’re interested in then have a look at Leon Wright’s article where he tutors his grandson on the art of deer hunting. Leon’s a seasoned campaigner when it comes to stalking those often-elusive targets and his hard-won knowledge was vital when it came to 14-year-old Justin learning the ropes during a sambar culling session for a farmer friend.

In Issue 29 our cover story ‘Call of the wild’ sees Chris Redlich document his son’s successful red deer hunt after a disappointing knock on the footy field saw him out of the U16s Grand Final after just 45 seconds and requiring surgery and a four-month recovery. Thomas Tabor turns his attention to a firearm which will prove ideal for youngsters starting out in our great sport – the Ruger American 8331 chambered in .22LR. Benchrest shooting at the highest level is one of the toughest skills to master, yet at just 17 years of age, Josh Russell from Queensland is well on his way to joining Australia’s elite. Experienced shooter Gemma Dunn outlines what’s what at the range and how newcomers can prepare for their first visit, as for some it can be a bit daunting. Chasing deer is quite the challenge, but 14-year-old Ryder Creeke has set himself a high bar for the rest of his hunting career after successfully taking an impressive fallow stag during the rut.

Our cover story this time round features Western Australian ‘trigger sisters’ Nicolene and Talita, two shooting siblings who are members of Perth Rifle Metallic Silhouette Club. The teenagers were introduced to the sport by their parents and are already trophy winners. Mark van den Boogaart has been documenting the transition as his eldest son moves from interested spectator to hands-on hunter and he accompanied dad on a weekend forest hunt east of Tamworth where fallow deer were on the menu. Gun-fit is important for any shooter so starting out with the basics in place is a must for aspiring ‘young-guns’. To that end, our National Coaching and Membership Development Manager Gemma Dunn has contributed a highly informative article on the subject, one which any young shooter will benefit from as she outlines the various aspects of making sure your rifle or shotgun is ‘fit for purpose’. And 12-year-old Daniel Stewart has been hunting with his dad and tells us his account of how they took a couple of rabbits and a feral goat for the freezer.

The 27th instalment of our twice-yearly supplement for younger members carries a tale of inspiration and determination on the cover as we turn the spotlight on Katarina Kowplos who attended a come-and-try shooting day as a 12-year-old and just six years later was representing Australia at the Olympic Games. And for all junior shooters looking to improve their skills we turned to SSAA National Coaching and Membership Development Manager Gemma Dunn who has kindly offered her top 10 tips to help make you a better shooter, including some of the routines which saw Gemma herself rise through the international ranks. Mark van den Boogaart says his chosen sport of hunting is something he’s now encouraging his own sons to take up and reckons that tradition is something all hunters can look at passing on to the next generation. And proving it’s never to young to start shooting, we caught up with eight-year-old Jaidyn Patterson who’s making headlines in Western Australia with his outstanding performances in the Fly Shoot discipline.

Young Rachel Redlich decided to mark the end of her high school years on a ‘schoolies’ trip with a difference when she and dad Chris embarked on a hunting adventure on a property near Inglewood in Queensland. What followed was certainly not what the pair had expected and in an entertaining account of a highly eventful few days, read how they coped with some very tricky situations in testing terrain. Youngsters are the very future of shooting and encouraging them into our ranks is paramount for the healthy advancement of our chosen sport and in this edition, Bob Boland outlines the many ways young shooters can coax others their age to join our ranks. And sticking with the next generation of shooters, Mark van den Boogaart has been teaching his eldest son the fine art of stalking and hunting during a long weekend excursion near Toowoomba.

In Issue 25 of Australian Junior Shooter we turn the spotlight on Arwen Casley-Porter, a go-ahead young lady who gets things done – and then some. Arwen was keen to introduce her school classmates to the joys of the shooting sports but her school had no provision for such.

No shooting team? No problem to Arwen who put the wheels in motion with a ‘come and try’ day which led to the formation of the Trinity Anglican College shooting team. We also hit the road with Joseph Nugent who shunned the traditional ‘schoolies’ celebration as he completed Year 12 and chose instead to go bush with dad Derek as they went in search of boars and barra on the banks of the Alice River. Mark van den Boogaart’s son is a young hunter in the making and in a trip with dad to the aptly-named Hunter Valley in New South Wales, he was in on the action as an impressive fallow deer was taken for the table.

Educating young shooters on the fine art of hunting is the theme of edition 24 of Australian Junior Shooter, with some of our regular Australian Shooter contributors teaching hunting and stalking skills to the next generation. Among our tutors are Mark van den Boogaart who teamed up with a couple of mates to give his young son a weekend to remember, Leon Wright looks back on 25 years of teaching fox luring to a new breed of budding hunters and Chris Redlich goes bush with his son who took the first red deer of his hunting career. We turn the spotlight on the shooting stars of the future who came to the fore in this year’s New South Wales Benchrest state championships and, with an exclusive juniors-only competition, our latest edition should appeal to young shooters far and wide.

Young Jaqui Walker features on the cover of Junior Shooter No.23 and tells of how she and hunting buddy Christie Pisani accepted a boys v girls hunting challenge and came out on top. And sticking with the hunting theme, Joseph Nugent goes in search of a trophy red deer stag and puts paid to a pesky wild dog in the process, while Senior Correspondent John Dunn takes his grandchildren into the field to help spread the shooting sports message to the next generation. We turn the spotlight on the inaugural inter-state school shooting competition between St Brendan’s College of Queensland and Woodenbong Central of NSW, and have a $60 Glowshot Flipping Jack .22 reactive steel target to be won in our juniors-only competition.