Our Crazy Mixed-Up Summer Part 2 - The Daisy National Air Rifle Match in Arkansas

Most of you know the story of how John Allen got into shooting. If you don't, just click the link below to all of my posts involving shooting sports. He is not the best shooter in the world by far, but he has had some success. We have been blessed to have been able to attend many great shooting championships and to attend the Daisy National Championships - three times when he was younger and shot in the Daisy National BB Gun Championships and, for the past two years, the Daisy National Air Rifle Championships.

Let me tell you, Daisy puts on a fantastic event. They really treat their shooters right and put on an excellent event. The facilities that they choose are top notch and they give a lot of "extras" to the kids who participate. This year all of the shooters were given a free pass to a magnificent place that had a state of the art arcade, bowling alley, go cart track, restaurant and laser tag all in one building AND another free pass to a miniature golf course. The team from Bend of the River Shooting Sports that John Allen shoots for had a magnificent time - as you can see by the pictures below.

But, of course, the main reason they went was the shooting. This year we had two veterans Wesley, who has been shooting Air Rifle for about four years and John Allen who is in his second year of shooting Air Rifle. The other two members of the team, Austen and Keith were first year shooters. All of the team, though, shot on the BB team, so they have many, many years of shooting experience between them. Air Rifle, although it has many similarities, is more difficult than BB. Air Rifle is one of the shooting disciplines that they shoot in the Olympics. The team ended up placing 8th out of 14 teams this year which was better than last year, so they were pleased. Two other shooters from Bend of the River, Anne and Sam, shot as individuals and did quite well also. We love the shooting sports because of the camaraderie that the team has. They encourage each other and have really become friends with each other. They have a lot of fun at competitions like this and I really think that is what keeps John Allen shooting. The shooting family really is like a family. We have made a lot of friends in shooting. Friends that I'm sure will last a lifetime.