Seventeen-year-old Nicholas Hunter, a junior at Oakville Senior High School, has been chosen for the 2003 Junior All-American Skeet Team by the National Skeet Shooting Association.

He is the son of Jill and David Hunter of Oakville.

Hunter gained this position awarded by the NSSA through his competitive skills, high averages and hard work on the skeet field, according to a news release. He started shooting registered skeet at age 13 and has continued to excel since. Between practice and competition, Hunter has shot at a total of about 50,000 clay targets.

He has progressed to become an “AA” shooter and also has earned the title of 2002 Missouri State “410” Gun Champ.

This was accomplished at the yearly Missouri State Skeet Shoot, which is conducted every August. Another recent ac-complishment was making the 2003 Mis-souri State Team for “doubles.”

Skeet is a competitive sport involving people from all walks of life. Competition is conducted for four gauges of shotguns, 12, 20, 28 and .410 and doubles, against others of like ability. In every event the competitor must shoot 100 targets in each gauge. This amounts to 500 clay targets on any given weekend.

This sport is designed to instill in participants friendly competition, commitment, responsibility, leadership, self-confidence, teamwork and, most importantly, the safe firearms handling and knowledge of shotguns. The NSSA is dedicated to the development of the sport as a means to create healthy competition and emphasizes the values of sportsmanship and good fellowship among its members.

At least twice a week Hunter practices at the St. Louis Skeet and Trap Club in Pa-cific or Scott Air Force Base in Illinois.

His season gets really busy from March to October when almost every weekend there is a “registered” competitive shoot.

At Oakville High, Hunter maintains a 3.7 grade-point average.

For more information about this sport, visit

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