What does a good shooter look like?
July 7, 2015
By Jackie Slosnerick, CMP Staff
On June 23, 2015 at the Gary Anderson Competition Center, a string of 10 shots with a score of 10x was shot. A 10x is a shot in the very center of the bullseye. By anyone’s standards, that score is good shooting. Now for the rest of the story.
On August 5, 2014 Ruth Ann Anderson, wife of Gary, the CMP’s director emeritus, gathered a group of ladies from her church and other friends to meet at the Anderson Center airgun range. They called themselves the Annie Oakley’s. The majority of these ladies had never shot anything before. Ruth Ann had pellets for the group donated by Scott Pilkington. Gary Anderson offered to volunteer his instruction. The Annie Oakleys were off to a great start!
One of these ladies, Kathy Tribble, debated whether or not to attend. After the first night she was hooked. Before this, Kathy had only shot twice with her father’s guidance when she was 8. Both times she was quickly told she couldn’t hit the side of a barn so pursuing this skill any further would be a waste of time and ammunition. She hadn’t shot since then.
After the positive experience with the Andersons, Kathy attended open public shooting almost every night the range was open. Her scores continued to improve. Shooting off the bench with a precision air rifle, Kathy set her first goal of 10 10s in a row at 200 yards simulated, next 30 10s in a row and then 50. She ended up with 68! Kathy also has had 24 10’s at 300 yards simulated, 9 10xs at 300 yards simulated and 15 10s at 600 yards simulated.
CMP Range Officer Kent Floro has helped Kathy develop her skills throughout the year. Kent challenged Kathy to get a string of 10 10x’s. She met that goal in less than a week.
Kathy has become quite a fixture at the range. Her manicured nails even reflect her new-found hobby. If you look closely, you can see a “target flower.”
Our interview ended just as Kathy’s phone rang. Kathy smiled, saying, “If it’s anyone important, they know where I am.”
To answer the original question, a good shooter looks like Kathy Tribble!
This is great. Goes to show shooting is alive and well.
Thank you for publishing this article about Kathy! She is the one person in the group that surprised me the most! Shooting in our club has given her confidence and purpose. Ruth Ann