We talked to Lapua Team member Cathy Winstead-Severin at SHOT SHow 2017 in Las Vegas.
How did you get started in shooting?
I started when I was fairly young, as a 7-8 year old with a bb-gun in the Jaycee program in Montana. My older brother was shooting so of course the little sister had to join in too.
Which competitions are you looking forwards to this year?
I usually start out my competition year with Conard Cup in Washington state, which is normally in April. After that, we’ll go to Montana in June to shoot the IronMan up there. Then the Nationals are in July, in Pennsylvania this year. That’s always been fun, so I look forward to that.
What’s your favorite discipline?
My favorite is still the smallbore, probably the smallbore hunting rifle silhouette. I’ve shot hi-power for some years now and I like that as well, but smallbore is still my favorite.
Your Lapua product of choice?
Lapua Midas +.
How many shots do you approx. fire in a year?
I used to do a lot of practice shooting, something like 1500 rounds a week. But when I had my little one who’s six (six-and-a-half, she’d tell you) now, I started doing much more dry firing. Nowadays, depending on matches etc., I tend to rotate dry firing with live firing.
Do you have any time for other activities besides shooting?
We like to go hiking with the family, travelling, fishing, anything outdoors really. However as my husband’s also a shooter, our freetime pretty much revolves around shooting. Our daughter was a her first match at two weeks old. She seems to be interested in the sport as well. We figured she would either love it or hate it, and she seems to like it. She tried it out once, and went with her dad to fire some shots. Some hours later, she said, “Mommy, I wanna shoot again!”
Any words of wisdom and tips for youngsters who want to get into competitive shooting?
I’d say just try to get out there at an early age with a bb-gun. And also youngsters should practice standing up, so they don’t get scared of shooting standing up. And just have fun with it! So, to everyone who’s wondering about the sport: just try it! Like silhouette shooting, which is a news family sport. The people are great and we always have fun.
