Sharp shooter

NEW BREMEN - Catherine Langhals, 17, first picked up a gun in seventh grade.

It was around Christmas, and Langhals said her father had received a gun as a Christmas present. Several family members had guns of their own, Langhals said, so she tagged along with her dad to the shooting range.

Now, after five years of hard work and perseverance, the New Bremen High School senior said she is the second youngest woman from the Mercer County Sportsmen's Association's Junior Rifle Club to receive the Distinguished Expert with a rifle honors, the highest certification awarded by the National Rifle Association's Marksman Qualification Program.

The local rifle club teaches Olympic-style shooting to youths 10-20 years old, according to the MCSA's website. The club practices and meets at Grand Lake Guns in Celina.

"My instructor (Deny Morlino) describes it as a competition against yourself and making yourself better," she said. "And learning safety rules in a fun way."

Paul Renfro, senior instructor, said safety is the primary focus for kids when they join. Before they pick up a gun or enter the range, safety is the first lesson members are taught, he said.

Langhals said she joined the group when she was 12. Participants have different types of guns they can use, each with their own set of specific qualifications with it, she said. Langhals target shoots with a .22 rifle with peep sights.

Langhals said a gun has to be a single bullet action gun, meaning only one bullet is in the gun at a time.

In addition to safety training, Langhals said participants learn four different shooting positions and different tools that can be used. For example, Langhals said there are slings that can be worn around the arm to help stabilize a gun while firing it.

Students begin shooting in the prone position, Langhals said, which involves laying on one's stomach and propping yourself up on the elbows.

Once the prone position has been mastered, students then shoot from a sitting position, Langhals said. The sitting position is her personal favorite, she said. Shooters sit cross-legged with their elbows on their knees.

After sitting comes the kneeling position, which Langhals said is her least favorite because it can be uncomfortable. Langhals said students almost sit on one ankle with the other leg propped straight up and down.

Finally, the standing position is the last shooting position mastered. Langhals said her standing position is slightly unorthodox - both her body and head face forward for the most part when shooting. Langhals said most people turn their bodies toward a wall with their head facing forward when shooting standing up.

Before becoming a distinguished expert, trainees have to move up the ranks by first achieving 15 different award levels.

Once a student has risen through the ranks, they can qualify for the nationally recognized skill level and pinnacle of the program, Distinguished Expert, according to the NRA.

The training takes discipline and a certain level of athleticism, Langhals said.

"For me, I really practiced my positions and got used to holding the gun to get my muscle memory going," she said. "It even comes down to breathing, heart rate, pulling the trigger with the same part of your finger - really fine tuning things."

Langhals said trainees practice holding in place for 10 minutes to an hour to build up their muscles and transitioning from one position to another, such as from prone to the seated position.

Langhals said there were definitely times she felt like giving up, especially while she was training to become a distinguished expert.

"I hit my wall," she said. "I was missing (benchmarks) by one or two points. I kept going to prove to myself I could reach distinguished expert. I wanted to prove to myself I could do it."

Renfro said when Langhals started the program five years ago she was somewhat soft-spoken and shy. Now, Langhals can hold her own with a gun and stand with pride, he said.

Langhals said the skills she picked up during her training translate to her everyday life. She said she has better mental focus and learned to avoid negative self talk. She said she also has more situational awareness.

Situational awareness is the conscious knowledge of the immediate environment and the events occurring in it, according to the American Psychological Association.

"There's lots of stigma about guns and what you should do with (them)," she said. "These safety rules and knowing what's in front and behind you, that awareness is important."

Langhals said while many other students at the shooting range in Celina apply their skills to hunting, she does not. Langhals said she mostly sticks to trap shooting in the summertime.