By KAREN JAEN
Taking slow, controlled breaths and gathering the right accuracy using proper positioning, to pull the trigger, junior Sarah Chipley prepares to shoot her 22’’ long barrel rifle.
“[I enjoy shooting] because it takes a lot of concentration and precision, and it helps build confidence,” Chipley said.
Every Saturday, Chipley spends four hours practicing shooting at a shooting range near Moss Park. It takes her approximately an hour to set up her gun and targets before shooting.
“If I get [my gun] set up right. I’ll get a bull’s-eye every time. As long as you don’t move it, it’s not going to move,” Chipley said
In May of her sophomore year, Chipley’s dad introduced her into shooting. He had been a competition shooter since he was 15. He took a hiatus on the sport but because of Chipley’s interest in the sport he is shooting again.
She spends four hours shooting on Saturday with the help of her instructor Margaret Langfield. Langfield trained her daughter Daniella Langfield who is now a junior Olympic shooter on the United States team. Langfield helps Chipley practice her breathing habits, keep her balance, and adjust the sights on her gun, all of which are essential for accuracy.
“To practice being calm, I take an hour of my day, get into position and try to get my heart rate steady. To learn how to slow down and control breathing I just have to keep steady,” Chipley said.
She also has to practice her positions which range from sitting, kneeling, standing and prone position, where Chipley lays down with her face up to shoot the gun.
Chipley’s interest in shooting brings out criticism from people around her.
“They ask me how much danger it puts me in. [It causes] no danger because I know what I’m doing,” Chipley said.
Strong breathing techniques and having proper positioning motivated her to try out for the National Rifle Association Team, which she accomplished five months after she started shooting.
She has been on the team since September. There are different levels on the team; to move ahead a level, shooters must achieve different shooting lengths.
Chipley is a sharp shooter and her current shooting length is 250 yards. However, her rifle has the capability of shooting up to one mile.
At competitions, shooters are judged based on how accurate their shots are on the targets. Each shooter must shoot 10 targets, each worth 10 points. Points are determined by how many bull’s eyes the shooter hits or how close the shot is, Chipley’s current high score is 91.
She has placed second in smallbore competitions, which are competitions where shooters have to shoot up to the range of 50 yards. She competes against 17 shooters in her Small Junior Shooting branch.
“[During competitions] there’s a level of excitement when you lie down, you try to do your best,” Chipley said.
She also aspires to be a professional competition shooter and possibly join an Olympic shooting team in the future.
“[Shooting] is something I can do without having to be fit or physical. I feel calm and confident because I know what I can do,” Chipley said.