Hitting the mark

Herald-Tribune

Ethan Burchell can't wait for his next challenge -- next year's 4-H Shooting Sports National Invitational. The 18-year-old Vernon Countian is already making plans for his fourth appearance at the event -- his team having brought home top honors from the event this year in recurve archery in his third effort at nationals, held in Kerrville, Texas, in June.

Ethan started in 4-H shooting sports at a young age, trying out the air rifle. His dad, Steve Burchell, took the required certifications and became a coach when Ethan joined the shooting sports.

"I've always liked shooting. I've always liked archery," he said; and Steve does, too. Steve started participating in shooting sports at a young age, and Ethan followed suit. Steve believes strongly that "You cannot kid-proof a gun. But you can gun-proof a kid," through education on matters relating to shooting sports.

And so began Ethan's long trail to his third appearance at the national event.

His first trip to nationals was two years ago. Since taking up shooting sports, he'd quickly grown bored with the air rifle. "It wasn't loud enough. It didn't make enough of a pop," Ethan's mother Donna said.

So he progressed to the small bore rifle. Still not enough noise. So he progressed to muzzle loaders, which belch out a quite impressive "boom" when fired.

Competitors must reach the age of 14 before trying out for the national competition, and when the time came, Ethan was ready and made the team. A few more months practice, and he and his family went to their first national event. Ethan competed in the muzzle loader division. Muzzle loader shooters compete in silhouettes; novelty paper targets, and bullseye paper targets.

"I did OK. The team was good," he said.

Steve nodded and said, "That's another thing about 4-H. You become a team." Coaches can't interact with shooters on the course, but teammates can interact, so they take on a role of helping one another. The team experience leads to lasting friendships as well, and Ethan keeps in touch with many of the shooters he's met along the way. Sometimes, teammates even give one another nicknames. That first year, news reporters were seeking someone to interview and ended up talking with Ethan, so he was dubbed "Hollywood." A friend was dubbed "Superstar," because he was filmed by news crews.

As it turned out, doing "OK" meant 10th place individually on the first day, with the team in second place; the team placing third on the second and third days; and the team placing third overall.

"After that first year, I thought, 'I gotta go back,'" Ethan said.

Competitors can only participate at Nationals once in each discipline, so Ethan switched to compound bow archery and set his sights on a second trip to nationals. It was a tough goal. "Competition was stiffer, even just getting on the team," Ethan said.

This time, there were 13 shooters competing for the four slots on the Missouri team at nationals. But on the first day, he had the top spot, and when June rolled around again, the Missouri team brought home another medal -- third place in field archery.

"There were kids that, when they're old enough, are going to make their living at this," Ethan said.

That year, he was nicknamed "Lawyer," because he was the one who talked with range officials most often.

Archery events are a field course with targets a known distance away, with shooting performed in a hunting style with paper targets; FITA, or Olympic style shooting; and a 3-D course in which the targets are foam and the distance unknown, forcing the archer to judge the distance and aim accordingly.

Once again he set his sights on competing at Nationals, and sought another division. This time, he returned to what he says is his "first love" in shooting sports.

Archery with a recurve bow is Ethan's favorite shooting sport, and competition was tough -- it's not as popular as compound bow archery, but "definitely more challenging," Ethan said.

Nevertheless, "this was a good year," Ethan said, smiling broadly and gathering the medals he and the Missouri team had earned in June.

The experience fresh in their minds, the Burchells reminisced about this year's event. The terrain is hilly, somewhat similar to the Missouri Ozarks, but trees are short and cactus are common, and the weather was soggy, thanks to Hurricane Alex.

"When we left it was hot and dry, here. We thought we were going to be hot some more," Donna said.

"But we were wet instead," Steve said.

The cooler temperatures brought on by the rain were welcome, but the other hazards it sparked were less than appealing. At one point, weather sirens sounded -- not to warn of tornadoes as they would in the Midwest, but to warn of lightning. "They told 'em if that siren goes off while you're shooting, put your bow down and seek shelter," because the bows, like some other types of sporting equipment, could make good lightning rods. Also, archers were warned that scorpions seeking a dry place to shelter from the rain may be lurking under targets, so care in removing arrows was necessary.

This time, there was no nickname for Ethan, but there were honors in store for the archery team and the Missouri team as a whole.

By the time the competition was over, Missouri's teams had done well. For eight years, a traveling trophy has gone to the top scoring state -- and it's stayed in Texas every year until this year, when Missouri brought it home, thanks in part to Ethan's team.

Ethan scored seventh overall, and his teammates Levi Bachmann and Zachary Grant scored first and second, respectively. The team brought home the first place medal, overall. Ethan also earned a fifth-place ribbon in the field event and a fourth-place ribbon in FITA; the team was first in FITA, field, and 3-D events, setting a Missouri recurve record; but Ethan and his family were quick to point out that the medals and the coup of bringing home the traveling trophy was an honor earned by the whole team.

With a nod to the many sponsors required -- shooting sports are expensive, so the Burchells are grateful for the generous local support given them -- and appreciation for the fundraising competitors must do that Steve says gives the kids an understanding of the business of shooting sports as well as the shooting skills and fun, the Burchells are looking ahead.

His parents are thinking of college and Ethan's future. "One of his friends aged out this year. She's joining the Air Force. And she's going to try out for their shooting team," Steve said. Donna noted that many colleges also have shooting sports teams, so Ethan's skill could help him fund college, too.

Ethan nods in agreement; but for now, he is determined to get to nationals again next year. It'll be the last year he's eligible, and he's planning to get there shooting a small bore rifle. "If I don't do it with small bore rifle, I'll try it with small-bore pistol. If I don't do it with that, I'll try it with hunting and outdoor skills."