Faith and Jenna Collier are the future of youth shooting sports and from their enjoyment of shooting and their dedication, it appears that future is bright. Above, Jenna competed in a recent Steel Challenge. At left, Faith takes aim on the rifle course. Both girls are members of the all-women Austin Sure Shots club.
Anthony researched the gun which would be the best fit for their small hands and decided on the Ruger SR22 because of its small frame and two sizes of interchangeable grips. The raspberry and lavender colors the girls requested were not available locally, so Anthony ordered them online. Once the guns arrived at the Federal Firearm License holder, he scheduled the girls’ first trip to the range.
Over the next 18 months, both girls regularly went to the range with their parents. Faith and Jenna became proficient in the fundamentals of shooting and understood the principles behind them. Having the girls clean and maintain their own firearms helped them comprehend the mechanics of their guns. This aided them in identifying problems and malfunctions on and off the range. Faith, who has always been the more competitive of the two, loved shooting. Jenna, at that time, enjoyed it but was not as passionate as Faith. Given Faith’s passion for the sport, Anthony researched
18 | TSRA Sportsman
.22-caliber matches in the area. At the end of March 2016, Faith attended her first pistol match, the Texas Steel Competition in Bulverde, Texas. She absolutely loved the experience and the atmosphere. The match director was very supportive and coached Faith every step of the way. Everyone else at the match was equally encouraging. As an additional bonus, Faith met another junior shooter, Vanessa Aguilar (age 10 at the time). The girls became instant friends and started to shoot together on a regular basis. When inquiring about Vanessa’s training, her parents told Faith and Anthony that they should look into the Austin Sure Shots. Vanessa was an active member and trained with the all female shooting club in both San Antonio and Austin. Anthony reached out to Niki Jones, Austin Sure Shots founder, and scheduled Faith’s first practice session. Similar to Faith’s first competition, the Austin Sure Shots were a very welcoming group. Niki and the other coaches
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