This month’s Junior Shooter Spotlight is on Collin McSparron This is an excellent interview. I learn something new every time I read one of these. The Interview is below.

Q: When did you start shooting?

A: I started shooting competitively around 11 years old. Pretty strange having a 6th grader on the firing line.

Q: How did you get into competition shooting?

A: My dad joined a local rifle club that was 5 minutes away from where we live. It started as just a day at the range but soon turned into loading our ammo to save money, then my dad got a 26in AR, and we started there. A year later, for Christmas, my brother and I received a Remington 700 that I shot at the 2015 and 2016 F class nationals and many other matches.

Q: Where do you live?

A: Not by choice. I live in the sunshine state of Florida.

Q: What do you do for a living?

A: As of now, I’m an active high school student; in the workforce, I work at Tank America as a laser combat team lead, and I am the co-captain of the Bayside High School air rifle team. Most of my free time is spent either shooting of some kind or hanging out with friends.

Q: Do you have any family members who compete in shooting sports?

A: All of my family members shoot; my dad travels with me wherever I go and is my on-site number one fan. My brother Shawn is a great shooter, and I looked up to him for the longest time. When going to worlds in Canada, Shawn turned to me and said, “We are going to be either number 1 and 2 or last and second to last”. When my mom is home, she comes out to the range and helps out with scores. Once in a while, she will let me call wind while she shoots,

Q: Do you shoot F-Open or FTR?

A: I currently shoot FTR, and I’m not switching. I have shot an open rifle, and I feel that F Open will eventually make you lose the fundamentals of marksmanship. I also enjoy shooting “smaller” calibers. From a wind coach standpoint, aiming 2 feet away from the center is more fun.

Q: What advice do you have for new shooters?

A: I can only speak from personal experience, but you learn the most when not shooting. Just going to a local match and sitting in a spotting scope is practice. Looking at flag patterns will get a shooter familiar with what the wind does to a bullet.

Q: Where do you see the sport going in the future?

A: E-targets: Not many shooters like them because “they aren’t correct.” or “I don’t trust them.” Well, shooting has taught me one thing, and I live by it, I go to every match thinking, “if you are consistently wrong, you’re correct.” I also think the F- Class targets will be getting smaller. I hope it stays the same, but who knows what the future brings.

Q: Do you shoot on any team or teams?

A: I am part of the Bayside High School NJROTC air rifle team, and out of that, I have put together an F- Class rifle team. We competed in our first match and have three pending national records, so shout out to the bayside high power team who shot great under pressure and kept their barring in the winds of change. I am the wind coach for the U-25 USA team. During team shooting, you aren’t just shooting for yourself; you represent more significance than only one person. You are representing a local club, school, state, or country.

Back to Shooter Spotlight Series

5 Gun Nation is one of the world’s largest competition shooting websites. We have multiple articles on shooting sports and adding more all the time. If you can’t find it here. We are working on it.