SSAA NSW

12 Sporting Shooters Association of Australia (NSW) Inc. Junior Feature Cameron Smith Growing up in the central west, it was inevitable that I'd end up crossing paths with firearms. As a kid I spent a lot of time on a property near Narrandera that my parents stayed on during their work shifts. This is where I was first introduced to shooting, driving around the paddocks at night searching for that red flash of a fox's eyes and trying to whistle it in close enough for a clean kill shot. At the legal age of 12, my father Ben finally took me to sit my firearms safety course, so I could acquire my junior permit. My father introduced me to an old Bruno Model 1 chambered in .22 calibre, that had been passed down to him from his dad. Soon after that Dad would let me progress onto the larger calibre rifles he had, and eventually introduced me to shotguns. Dad grew up on the back of the ute, spotlighting with his Dad, my Grandpa, so naturally the roles were handed on and I become the frozen one on the back of the ute while Dad sat in the heated cab of his ute. I shot my first pig late one night out spotlighting with Dad, what a rush, a load of BBs dropped the pig instantly as it raced across the stubble. My favourite form of shooting is shotgunning, Dad had taken me out to the Forbes SSAA Range when I was younger and when I finally got my licence and got to shoot clay targets I loved it. Sporting Clays and 5-Stand are the best and last outing I outshot the old man – he told me I had to walk home! Earlier this year I had the privilege to attend the SSAA NSW Junior Camp that was held at Griffith. The members from Griffith and SSAA NSW staff and volunteers made the camp one of the best experiences I have had. The shotgun coaching we were given at this unique range was fantastic, some of these guys from Griffith can really shoot. This experience allowed me to broaden my range of skills and get a glimpse into different disciplines of sporting

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