ROBERTSDALE, Ala. (WKRG) — Students from around the southeast were taking aim in Central Baldwin County. They gathered in Robertsdale for an annual air rifle tournament. As Chad Petri reports it’s a competition of skill with safety first.

Several students line the floor of the Robertsdale High School gym for this annual competition. They all aim for tiny targets on the opposite side of the room.

“This is what they’re trying to shoot. Just a dot,” said Robertsdale High School NJROTC’s Frank Starr holding up a target. “That dot in the center, not the whole bullseye, not the whole black, but the dot.” Dealing with any firearm, even when it comes to an air rifle, can have some degree of danger. That’s why instructors here say one of the most important things to teach these students is safety first.

“We are teaching kids how to shoot. We’re also teaching, or more importantly, how to be safe with guns. We’re not. It’s not about how to hurt things or do bad things with them,” said Starr.

This is a competition among Junior ROTC programs around the region. Teams from Robertsdale and Daphne took part as well as groups from Florida, Mississippi, and Louisana. Members of the military are here too–improving skills, especially when it comes to standing shooting.

“It’s the most unstable shooting position and they just don’t know how to do it better because it’s something everyone struggles with,” said US Army Staff Sergeant Verne Conant. The students I spoke with say air rifle marksmanship can be meditative.

“It kind of just like zones you out from everything else. And it’s just like helps me focus on like one thing at a time. It’s just like me in my rifle,” said Elberta High School Junior Haley Wheeles. Others say it’s a good way to focus.

“Personally, it helps me focus on myself. It gives me something to channel all of my extra energy into,” said Robertsdale High Sophomore Taylor Sherrin.

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