Madmallard
.223 Rem
Rachel Champney said she likes competing in rimfire shooting competitions because "it's fun and she gets to meet new people all the time."
The 15-year-old Sherrill, N.Y. teen is also good - real good at what she does. Earlier this month, she won the ladies limited division at the National Shooting Sports Foundation Rimfire Challenge World Championship at a range in Woodville, Ala.
The competition involved shooting both a 22-caliber handgun and rifle in timed competitions at steel targets. Shooters were graded on speed and accuracy. A total of 314 men and women were at the competition - some using guns with optics (scopes); others, in the limited division (iron sights). Champney, a sophomore at Vernon-Verona-Sherrill School District, shoots with iron sights.
The Oneida County teen does not come from a family of shooters. In fact, her parents, Jennifer and Kevin Champney, initially didn't own any guns -- but eventually got the proper permits and bought some so their daughter could shoot.
Rachel's love of guns and shooting started at age 11, when she surprised her parents by saying she wanted to go hunting.
"We're not a family of hunters at all, but she still insisted," said her mother.
The parents decided it would be OK and allowed her to participate in a state Department of Environmental Conservation youth turkey hunt when she was 12 with an adult mentor by her side. She didn't get a bird that first year but really enjoyed it, her mom said. When she was 14, they enrolled her in a junior marksmanship program at the Oneida Rifle Club, "to make sure she was with people who would teach her the correct way to do things, safely and with discipline."
Upstate NY 'Annie Oakley,' 15, wins world shooting title in Alabama (video)
The 15-year-old Sherrill, N.Y. teen is also good - real good at what she does. Earlier this month, she won the ladies limited division at the National Shooting Sports Foundation Rimfire Challenge World Championship at a range in Woodville, Ala.
The competition involved shooting both a 22-caliber handgun and rifle in timed competitions at steel targets. Shooters were graded on speed and accuracy. A total of 314 men and women were at the competition - some using guns with optics (scopes); others, in the limited division (iron sights). Champney, a sophomore at Vernon-Verona-Sherrill School District, shoots with iron sights.
The Oneida County teen does not come from a family of shooters. In fact, her parents, Jennifer and Kevin Champney, initially didn't own any guns -- but eventually got the proper permits and bought some so their daughter could shoot.
Rachel's love of guns and shooting started at age 11, when she surprised her parents by saying she wanted to go hunting.
"We're not a family of hunters at all, but she still insisted," said her mother.
The parents decided it would be OK and allowed her to participate in a state Department of Environmental Conservation youth turkey hunt when she was 12 with an adult mentor by her side. She didn't get a bird that first year but really enjoyed it, her mom said. When she was 14, they enrolled her in a junior marksmanship program at the Oneida Rifle Club, "to make sure she was with people who would teach her the correct way to do things, safely and with discipline."
Upstate NY 'Annie Oakley,' 15, wins world shooting title in Alabama (video)
