Whether shooting competitively or for recreation, shooting athletes are required to work hard, hone their skills, practice mental as well as physical conditioning, and be dedicated to the pursuit of excellence.

Four young shooters who epitomize a successful commitment to these values are profiled here as an example to the growing ranks of new shooting athletes. We congratulate them all for their enviable record of accomplishments!

Olympian´s Dream Comes True Early

The first time Corey Cogdell shot a round of trap she broke just three clay targets out of 25. A few short years later, the then 21-year-old from Alaska was standing on the podium receiving an Olympic bronze medal in trapshooting.

Corey obviously didn´t let her first outing stop her from giving trapshooting another try. In fact, she says once she got the hang of it she started to see rapid improvement.

“When I was 14, I got involved in the SCTP (Scholastic Clay Target Program) and 4-H and got introduced to competitive shooting ” says Corey. “The instant gratification of seeing the target explode; I was hooked.”

Growing up in a hunting family, Corey is accustomed to being around firearms. She remembers first learning how to shoot from her dad at age 3 or 4.

“I think growing up around firearms contributed, but it didn´t mean I was a great shot,” she adds. “I shot competitively at the local level a couple of years, and then started traveling to national shoots. At 16, I got to come to the Olympic training center and was introduced to international trap. I was blown away with how different it was and how hard it was. At that point, I didn´t even know shooting was an Olympic sport.”

Watching other U.S.A. Shooting team members inspired Corey to shoot for the gold.

“I decided if the Olympics was something I wanted to achieve I knew I needed to work at it,” she recalls. “I moved to Texas to train, and my dream was to go to the 2012 Olympics. I had no expectations of going to the 2008 Games. I thought it was unrealistic.”

At the Olympic Trials, Corey not only made the team, but in doing so demonstrated her determination and skills by making up an eight target deficit and winning by 12 targets!

“It was a fulfillment of a dream I didn´t think would happen for another four years. It was such a huge surprise,” Corey says. “My new goal was to win a medal in the Olympics against the top 20 women shooters in the world, and I finished third ”

As for her newest goal, Corey says she has her sights set on winning the gold medal at the 2012 Olympics. If her track record is any indication, don´t be surprised to see Corey atop the podium in a couple of years.

Young Hunter Taking His Passion Around the World

Growing up on a farm has enabled 16-yearold Brian Reiger to develop an appreciation for hunting. The Leesport, PA, high school junior says hunting is a vital part to farming.

“Deer, especially, eat and often destroy crops such as corn and soy beans,” says Brian. “Also, hunting itself is a ´crop´ as it provides meat for almost all family meals. That is how growing up in a hunting family on a farm has helped shape my passion toward hunting.”

Brian is an honor´s student, a Boy Scout who earned Eagle rank in November 2009 and is also active in athletics, playing tennis, golf and basketball. As a Life Member of Safari Club International, Brian is active in the Lehigh Valley Chapter, helping at fundraisers and also at Cabela´s Yes October weekends.

Brian comes from a family of hunters and enjoys going hunting and fishing with his father and grandfather. By age four, he started fishing and at age six, he started shooting. At age 11, Brian took his first big game animal. It wasn´t long before Brian was pursuing his passion outside the gates of his family´s farm.

Brian´s hunting, fishing and scouting have taken him to Canada, the Bahamas, Scotland, Namibia and nine different states. Brian´s involvement in Safari Club International led him to organize donations of clothing and school supplies, using the Safari Club International Blue Bags, and distribute the items to a local school in Outjo, Namibia.

“Although my favorite hunt was in Namibia for mountain zebra in August 2008, my most memorable experience was hunting in Saskatchewan in 2005,” Brian recalls. “In September, my dad and I both took black bear from the same tree stand the same night. Then again in November, only about 200 yards from where we hunted bear, we both took whitetail deer from the same blind on the same day. My Dad has been most influential in mentoring my hunting career. The most important values I have learned are patience and perseverance.”

Brian shares those values with others and also enjoys taking his friends hunting for whitetail deer on his parents´ farm. “My role in helping others get involved is to offer them an opportunity. This is very important, because an opportunity is all that is needed for someone to find a passion in hunting. Mentoring others has given me many more memorable times in the field.

“If I could share one piece of advice with others it would be patience,” Brian says. “Many times television programs about hunting are deceiving and give new hunters false information and ideas about how hunting really is. It´s more than just a 30 minute segment.”

Fair Chase and Conservation

Guide Young Hunter

Growing up in a hunting family and being around nature has helped Caroline Pruitt develop a deep respect for wildlife. The 15-year-old from Nacogdoches, TX, says knowing how important wildlife conservation is, plus the fun of shooting, has led to a passion for hunting.

“Nothing makes me happier than to be stalking some form of wildlife, whether a white-tailed deer in my family´s woods or a wildebeest in Zimbabwe,” says Caroline.

Caroline is an active member of Safari Club International, a life member of the National Rifle Association and the president of the 4-H Shotgun Sports club. Locally, Caroline supports the SCI Pineywoods Chapter, Sportsmen Against Hunger as well as other humanitarian service programs. Caroline hosted two Sensory Safaris at her farm this year for the Stephen F. Austin State University´s Camp Independence for the visually impaired.

Hunting and conservation opportunities have taken Caroline to four continents where she has taken more than 50 species using rifle, shotgun, pistol, compound bow, crossbow, and muzzleloader. She has earned the First Pinnacle of Achievement award with both rifle and bow, taking 15 SCI Top 10 trophies, including three Number Ones.

Caroline is a proponent of fair chase, ethical hunting. “I would have to say that my family´s good friend Eugene Yap has been the most influential mentor in my hunting career,” she says. “Throughout all my hunting adventures, I have learned that although hunting is a sport, you should always be respectful to the animal which you have decided to hunt. Also, it is very important not to gamble on your shots; always make sure you have a 100 percent clean shot before you take it.”

Her greatest conservation accomplishment was participating in a hunt in West Africa where the value of conserving the forest animals through sports hunting was demonstrated to the indigenous forest villagers. Here, she also shared a Safari Care Blue Bag with the local villagers.

A few of her proudest achievements include; darting a rhino in South Africa, successfully taking a bongo on a chase-libre hunt, and taking a large Pacific Coastal black bear with her bow on a hunt filmed for TV. “The most memorable hunt I have had would definitely be a tie between the rhino dart in South Africa and the black bear hunt with Jim Shockey in British Columbia. Why? Both hunts have given me killer adrenaline rushes (pun intended!) and I consider myself a thrill-seeker!”

“As a young hunter who is busy with school, sports, and 4H, I now hunt with my family during the local deer season and hunt abroad during the summers and breaks,” says Caroline. “I hope that ladies and youth in particular will take a serious look at making hunting their sport. My advice to new hunters is to find an accomplished mentor and just have fun! That´s what hunting is all about. And of course, always be safe and respectful!”

Skeet Shooting Champ Is A Natural

Like a lot of kids, Jon Michael McGrath II discovered clay target shooting during a Boy Scout Camp. He recalls having some free time and since there wasn´t a wait at the shotgun range he thought he´d give it a try – he broke four out of five!

“We contacted our local gun club to find a place to shoot and it has all gone up from there,” says Jon Michael, a 17-year-old senior at Bishop Kelley High School in Tulsa, Oklahoma. “The first time I shot a full round of skeet I broke 21 out of 25 targets. Four months later I won a world championship in San Antonio.”

Jon Michael currently holds 14 world skeet shooting titles and three national skeet titles and is a member of the United States National Team in shotgun. He was named an alternate on the Olympic team and got to travel with the team to Beijing, China.

What does it take to reach the top of the game in skeet shooting?

“On average, I probably spend three or four hours a day at the gun club and if we´re really trying to buckle down, maybe all day long,” says McGrath. “Some days I might shoot 500 targets,
others maybe 1,000. You pretty much have to stay in your discipline, doesn´t take much to get you off your rhythm.”

And, what does all that work get you? Well, for Jon Michael, it means opportunities to compete with the best in the world.

“Skeet has opened up a lot of doors,” he says. “I get to meet a lot of people.”

As ambassador for the Scholastic Clay Target Program, Jon Michael was responsible for promoting the shooting sports across the country. He also is a spokesman for the Shotgun Training and Education Program (STEP) through his state wildlife conservation agency.

While shooting a demonstration in New York, three-time Olympic medalist Kim Rhode asked McGrath to be her training partner in preparation for the 2008 Olympic Games.

Although most of his time is devoted to skeet, Jon Michael enjoys playing baseball and hunting.

“Some of my friends have started hunting and I´ve been trying to get them out to the skeet range,” he says. “I do a lot of dove, pheasant, duck and quail hunting. Skeet is a good way to get ready for hunting because it shows you a lot of different angles you see in the field.”

But, his passion is still smoking clay targets.

“Skeet shooting is a blast!” he says. “You never know what opportunities await you. Anyone who´s young and up-andcoming in anything, I would say just be open to change; go out and try something new and whatever you do always go out and do your best.”