Two young local shooters did not only the province but the country proud at a recent premier international event in the U.S.
Luke Trinke of the Winkler area and Andrew Wolfe from the Carman region were part of a Canadian foursome that took home second place in the junior category recently at the World Precision Rifle Championship in Grand Junction, Colorado.
It is an impressive feat considering there were competitors from 24 countries, and Trinke and Wolfe literally live about 15 minutes away from each other.
“I think we’ve got, in Manitoba alone, some of the best shooters in Canada and the world,” said Wolfe of the area. “It was very exciting.”
“It’s interesting there’s a high density of good shooters from the southern Manitoba area,” added Trinke. “We were both lucky enough to be selected.”
The precision rifle shooting competition challenges competitors to take on a series of targets in a specific order.
The distances vary from perhaps 300 to 1,000 yards, and it has to be done within a time period, which in this case was 105 seconds.
The targets can be a variety of objects: oddly shaped rocks, off of a vehicle, a barricade or even logs, tree branches, or stumps.
A 500 yard target might be six to 10 inches in size, and a 1,000-yard target might be about 10 to 15 inches. The shooters also move around to different positions to fire.
Supplied Photos
Wolfe aims and fires
Shooters qualify based on their results from competitions. In the case of Trinke, he normally competes in the open category, but in this instance he could shoot as a junior because it is extended to being under 20 for this event.
The Canadian contingent had a strong showing at the championships. Of the 30 Canadian shooters, Trinke ranked sixth across all divisions and was the top Canadian junior shooter. He was 81st in the world out of 266 shooters.
Now 19 and having grown up on a family farm north of Winkler, Trinke started shooting with his grandfather out into the country. Once he was old enough, he enrolled into a junior rifle club program, got his hunter safety certificate, and then got into competitive shooting.
“The reason I got into it was just to basically become a better hunter, so that I could make more accurate shots on game and just have more confidence in my equipment,” he said.
“I had started out with competitive curling, and I always wanted to be at the top level of whatever I was doing,” Trinke shared in explaining his mindset. “Eventually, getting into shooting, it started with becoming a better hunter, and then it morphed into just becoming the best and perfecting the craft.”
Trinke considers himself fortunate to be living in the country, whereas shooting is not as accessible to a lot of other people, especially if there are not many facilities or clubs available in more urban areas.
“It’s often very hard to find for most people, so I’m very lucky in that way,” he said. “I’m lucky enough that, living on a farm, I’m able to have some targets set up with some berms that I’ve built … and I’m able to practice with my sport, which is something most people are not able to do.
“It’s nice because it’s something I can do all year long, whereas hunting, there’s specific seasons … depending on where you want to travel, you’re able to shoot rifle matches throughout the whole year.”
In the end, he attributes his success to lots of practice and training.
“It’s not like there’s really any secrets I have found,” he said. “There’s things that you have to know and practice, but really it just comes with being out on the range and spending time pulling the trigger, perfecting your movements and making sure that all of your gear is fail proof and that you know how to use it all effectively.”
Wolfe, who is 17, also grew up shooting “since I could hold a BB gun” at age four or five. He got into competition shooting in 2019.
“Over COVID I had a really bad concussion. I used to play hockey,” he noted. “So I really just started getting more into the precision rifle game … I couldn’t play hockey.”
Wolfe also suggested his success comes from putting a lot of time into precision shooting.
“It’s just lots and lots of practice, getting to know the equipment and getting to know the devices we use,” he said, citing the example of using a kestrel wind meter or even just choosing the right ammo that will offer the best and consistent quality.
“I think really the big thing with me was the wind. It was really, really switchy wind out there, so it would go from right to left, left to right, and it would drop down to nothing and then gusts … and it’s some really small targets out there.”
Both Trinke and Wolfe see themselves continuing with precision shooting because it has become a passion for them.
“Yes, for sure,” said Wolfe. “Definitely.”
