Palmer Moose marksman among state's elite shooters

PALMER - Moose senior Scott Foxley finished Palmer's riflery season as the state's fourth-best marksman in small-bore, .22-caliber competition.

He punched out an individual score of 1,097 at the Region IV riflery Championships on Dec. 9 in Fairbanks.

The state's top small-bore shooter was Delta Junction's Mike Shetler, who compiled 1,143 points. Lathrop's Matt Wallace finished second with 1,129 points and Delta's Mike Coulter was third with a score of 1,123.

The Moose also finished fourth as a team with 4,089 points in the championship tourney, in which each Palmer team member shot his highest season score.

"For us, the first year of having a riflery team, at least we were competitive," Moose riflery manager Greg Foxley said. "They call it a regional tournament, but it's actually a state tournament because you have the best small-bore shooters in the state competing there."

Anchorage rifle teams converted to using air rifles for budget reasons, so the two categories of shooters never compete against each other.

Teams from Lathrop, Delta Junction, Palmer, West Valley and Tok participated in the match. Lathrop won the tournament with a team score of 4,275 points, while Delta finished as the runner-up with 4,229 points.

The top four shooters from each of the five schools competed at the tournament. Then, after the competitors shot a full range of targets, the top eight marksmen poised themselves for a 10-round shoot-off in the hardest position of all - standing.

"It is the off-hand position (standing) that separates the men from the boys," Greg Foxley said.

Shots were scored by the judges after each round during the shoot-off.

"They each took one shot at a time," Greg Foxley said. "That's when it turned into a spectator sport. It was good for the community, good for the schools, and good for the kids."

It may have been a surprise to riflery fans that Palmer finished with a top-four shooter in the state, but for Scott Foxley, it was just another day of competition.

"I was hoping to get in the 1,100's," he said. "So when I shot a 1,097, I was pretty happy."

Foxley, who had never before competed at this level, never expected he would be in a shootout with the state's best sharpshooters.

"I thought we were going to shoot another full course," Scott said. "I was tired. But I asked [around] and they told me it was a 10-round shoot-off."

As a youth growing up in the Valley with no competitive rifle teams, Scott trained his marksman's eye by hunting spruce hens, rabbits and cans.

"I used to shoot .22's when everyone else was shooting handguns that were like cannons going off," he said.

Scott admits that shooting competitively this year on Palmer's riflery team has improved his skills immensely.

"I went from shooting in the low 70's [standing position] to keeping in the mid 80's and low 90's," he said. "That's at least an improvement of 15 to 20 points."