Hello. My name is Summer Roberts. I am 12 years old. I’m in the 4-H Field and Stream club that I call the shooting club. So here is my story.

My grandfather Mike bought me an air rifle. I was so scared to shoot my first gun. See, my sister, Harleigh Smith, already knows how to shoot. She started shooting when she was three years old. I’ve been shooting for three months, but when I pulled the trigger I missed the target. I was glad anyway because I actually pulled my first trigger on my own.

Then I tried some more and then I made my first hole. It wasn’t in the black but I tried and that made me happy and my grandpa jumped 10 feet in the air and said, “You know what that means?”

I said, “No Paw Paw.”

He said, “That means you are going to be the best girl position shooter I’ve ever seen before.”

So we started practicing at the shooting range. On March 13, 2009. I qualified to go to the regionals in Biloxi and I made it to the regionals. My eyes got as big as the earth. That night I couldn’t stop thinking about it.

It’s the day to shoot. I’m so scared I’ve got butterflies in my stomach. My sister isn’t scared of nothing but the dark.

They have to check our guns to make sure we have weeder string in the barrel. The man checks my gun. He looked in my case and I had two pieces of weeder string in it and the man looked at me and winked.

I was getting ready to shoot and my grandpa said, “Where is your mat?”

“It’s at your shop. I thought you got it. Oh well.” I said, “I’m going to shoot anyway.”

“That’s a positive attitude,” Paw Paw said.

So we were getting in position to shoot and this man said, “Would you like to borrow my mat?”

I said, “Yes please.” While I was shooting I was thinking about what Paw Paw Mike always said to me. Breath, relax, slack, squeeze, and I did. So we are waiting on the scores. My score was 130. That’s good for me.

They were calling out first, second and third place for my position and called out “Second place goes to Summer Roberts.” I was so happy that I beat out all the boys there and when I went to go get my ribbon the man said, “Congratulations.”

That’s my story. And for all those boys that think they can beat girls at shooting, think again. Because girls are better than boys. Just remember that. So got to go. I hope you liked my story. Bye.