One good eye is enough for Olympic sharp shooter

Tyler Volkman practices shooting his air pistol about six to eight hours a week. He shoots in his grandfather’s shop, at the 4-H shooting range at the fairgrounds, or inside his grandparents’ house.

If he squeezes in next to the stove, he can shoot down the hallway to the far closet door past the bathroom and his grandparent’s bedroom. A special collector catches the pellets without any harm being done, and Volkman is no ordinary teenager with a pellet gun.

Earlier this month, Volkman took second in the air pistol competition at the 2013 National Junior Olympic Shooting Championships in Colorado Springs, Colo. He was edged by 12.9 points by Wyatt Brown, of Twin Falls, Idaho for the national championship.

After falling short on three previous attempts to earn a podium position, Volkman used a strong second day of shooting and earned a coveted National Team jacket.

“I’m pretty happy about it,” he said. “I’ve been trying for the last three years, and it’s been kind of nerve wracking being so close. This year, I felt it was just something I absolutely had to do this time. I’ve worked really hard for this.”

The placing puts him on the national team and exposes him to other talented shooters and coaches. His dream is to someday make the World Olympics in the sport.

Volkman, a senior at Columbia Falls High School, has been shooting competitively with the Flathead County 4-H Shooting Sports club for six years. He got the inkling to try it when he went to a now defunct local club with a cousin who was involved in the sport.

“I just got good at it, I guess,” Volkman said.

Volkman uses only one eye. He’s legally blind in his right eye — it has 20/200 vision. He can see colors and shapes out of the eye but not much else.

Air pistol shooting is done at an inside range, 10 meters from the target. Shooters have to squeeze off 60 shots in 1 hour and 15 minutes. The pellets zip along at about 530 feet per second. A .22 short, by comparison, goes about 700 feet per second, he noted.

The pistols are specialized with finely adjustable sights and grips. He currently uses a club pistol but is considering buying his own. Competitive pistols aren’t cheap — the model he wants costs about $1,700.

When Volkman isn’t shooting targets, he enjoys hunting and fishing and is plans on competing in upcoming 4-H archery events. He’s also a good football player — the lineman was named first team all conference and was an all-state selection. He plans to attend Montana Tech in Butte after graduating to study petroleum engineering.

Volkman hopes to shoot well enough in regional and national competitions this year to earn a trip to the International Shooting Sports Competition in the Czech Republic this summer.

The travel is expensive, and Volkman is seeking interested sponsors. They can contact him directly at 406-260-7900.