On target: Local shooters excel at the range

WASILLA — There were modest beginnings for Jake Turtle when he joined the local Scholastic Clay Target Program based at the Grouse Ridge shotgun shooting club in Wasilla.

Like many of the participants in the program, Turtle had virtually no experience with the shotgun shooting sports. But Turtle is a veteran now. He’s part of a team that placed in the top 10 in the senior varsity division of the 2011 SCTP National Championships, and he has the potential to train within the Junior Olympic shooting program.

Much has changed for Turtle in the five years since he joined the program founded by a longtime family friend, Neil Moss.

“When I first started shooting, I was trying to hit one bird,” said Turtle, a 17-year-old Wasilla Lakes Christian School student. “I was hoping one day to get as good as my dad, to beat my dad, and as good as Neil. That’s where I was starting from.”

Now Turtle is among a group of local shooters excelling at a national level. Others helped the team finish high in the national standings. Ayla Arvin, a 15-year-old Colony High student, even won a gold medal.

“I didn’t really expect it,” said Arvin, who has been shooting competitively for less than two years. “I didn’t think I was good enough to win the medal. I haven’t been shooting very long. It was kind of surprising.”

Moss, who founded the local team eight years ago, said the shotgun shooting sports are rapidly growing within the state and across the nation. The team operates under the umbrella of the SCTP national program. Moss compared SCTP to other youth organizations.

“SCTP is primarily a youth development program just like Boy Scouts, 4-H or Future Farmers of America. They’re all trying to raise the next generation of responsible young men and women. That’s our goal here,” Moss said.

The sport itself is what separates the club.

“We use competitive shotgun shooting to achieve our goals,” Moss said. “Our goals are teamwork, responsibility, gun safety. We’re trying to raise some responsible young boys and girls.”

SCTP had existed in Alaska before Moss created the local chapter. Young shooters had met at the Birchwood Public Shooting Range south of Wasilla. That section of the club produced Corey Cogdell, who won a bronze medal in trap shooting at the 2008 Summer Olympics.

Before Moss started the local club, he said he read a magazine article about the youth shooting program and was intrigued enough to call the organization. He started advertising the new club within local schools, and had about 15 kids hit the range the first year.

Participation has varied throughout the years, but continues to grow. This year, there are 42 kids involved from across the Valley.

“We’ve had, pretty consistently, 40 to 45 in the last couple of years,” Moss said.

There are students from Palmer, Colony, Houston and Wasilla high schools. There are students from Mat-Su Career and Technical High School and Wasilla Lake Christian School. There is even a Service High School student, Chris Deren, who commutes from Anchorage to participate

“I wanted to start shooting more competitively. There’s not as much opportunity to shoot competitively,” Deren said.

Moss said the age of the participants ranges from fourth to 11th grade this year.

“I’d say the majority of them are still in middle school,” Moss said.

SCTP is rapidly expanding throughout the state, Moss said. Recently, there have only been teams based in Wasilla and Homer. Now there are also teams in Fairbanks, Soldotna, Ketchikan and Anchorage.

Moss said new teams are expected to pop up in Haines and Seward.

“Now that we’ve expanded new teams, now there’s going to be some intrastate rivalry,” Moss said. “It’s just phenomenal how it’s growing right now.”

The team has an opportunity for competition within the state. Moss said he is taking a handful of shooters to Soldotna next month.

There are three disciplines of shooting within SCTP — trap, skeet and sporting clay. What a team shoots depends on the facility used, Moss said.

“Out here, we’re primarily a sporting clay team,” Moss said.

Grouse Ridge will host the state championships June 8-10. Moss expects hundreds of shooters to compete.

Moss said the quality of the facility allows the local team to host the championships.

“We have the biggest club here,” Moss said. “This is the premiere shotgun club in Alaska. There’s no doubt about it. The local kids are really lucky to have this facility.”

Moss said the growth of the sport within the state and nationally could open doors for local shooters. There’s opportunity for college scholarships.

“Collegiate shooting is becoming huge everywhere,” Moss said.

Turtle is a prime example.

“There are a lot of options I can choose to go with this,” Turtle said.

The team will participate in a regional meet in Wyoming this summer. A handful of shooters will also compete in the national championships. Those who finish in the top 30 in the nation are invited to train in the Junior Olympic program and can compete for a spot on the Junior Olympic team.

Members of the team got involved for a variety of reasons. For some, it’s a family sports, and for others it’s completely new.

For Raynie Hamlin, it fit.

“I’ve been a tomboy my entire life. It’s just fun to come out here and shoot with your friends, have some competition,” said Hamlin, 15.

Hunter Smith, a 16-year-old Houston High student, is the son of a firearms instructor and has grown up around guns.

“I’ve been shooting competitively for six years, in general, since I could hold a gun,” Smith said. “I’ve just always loved shooting things.”

Moss said the team is always looking for new members and sponsors. Anyone interested in joining the program or supporting the team can call moss at 355-0962.

Contact Mat-Su Valley Frontiersman sports editor Jeremiah Bartz at sports@frontiersman.com.