GRAND ISLAND, Neb. — Local teen Tanner Hunsicker spent the last week of June competing in the 2016 4-H Shooting Sports National Championship.
A record number with 685 shooters from 36 different states went to Grand Island. In order to compete at the national level, shooters had to compete and qualify at local and then the state level (Tanner placed first at the state shoot in April).
Kansas took 36 shooters (4 per team) in nine different disciplines — air rifle, air pistol, small bore rifle, small bore pistol, muzzleloading, compound archery, recurve archery, shotgun and hunting skills.
Tanner was a member of the Air Rifle team and competed in three days on intense competition. The first day of competition was (3P) paper targets. 3P stands for 3 positions (prone, standing and kneeling). After the standard 20 shots per position, the top 8 were brought forward for a “final” shootout. The top 8 were given 10 more shots to determine the winner for the day.
Day two included 40 record shots in the standing only position and again the top 8 were brought forward for the “finals.” The third and final day of shooting consisted of shooting a “bank” of silhouette targets at different distances. The shooter has 2 and 1/2 minutes to shoot a row of five iron animals off their feet. There are two rows of each animal. Chickens (60ft) Pigs (90ft) Turkeys (108 ft) and Rams (135 ft).
Each shooter is competing as an individual but also as a team. The other members from the Air Rifle team were from all over the state included Bryce Nichols from Beloit, Joanna Mugglin from Wichita and Olivia Rogers from Kansas City area.
As a team, they did very well bringing home 1st place medal for standing postition, 2nd place medal for 3P and 3rd in silhouettes. They also brought home a medal for 2nd place overall. Tanner also brought home a medal for 2 place individual in 3P and a fourth place ribbon for standing and a 7th place ribbon for overall individual. Coach Ben Hunsicker was very pleased with how all of the team members did, and it was an exciting week to be a part of. As a state, Kansas finished in 2nd place behind Missouri.