Islander shoots his way to the top

Published 9:44 am Wednesday, July 18, 2012

Islander Mikie Hoffmann, who has been shooting since he was 9 years old, blew away the competition at the recent Washington State Sporting Clays Championship. In sporting clays events, competitors must shoot at a variety of flying clay disks that simulate actual field shooting.

Hoffmann, 20, competed as a junior in the state championship for the last time and won the main event. Shooting hundreds of rounds with small-caliber shotguns, he also placed first in the preliminary event and the five stand, 20 gauge, 28 gauge and 410 gauge events.

Hoffmann also competed in the masters event, a class based on skill rather than age. Competing against more than 30 other master shooters, he earned an M3 ranking, or third place.

Hoffman said he expected to place well in the junior events, but was pleasantly surprised to place at the masters level.

“When they said I got M3 out of everybody, it shocked me that I was doing that well,” he said. “I was pretty happy with myself.”

Next month Hoffmann will compete at Western US Open in Mount Vernon. In October he’ll go on to the national championships in San Antonio, Texas, where more than 1,500 competitive shooters of all ages will compete. He went to Nationals last year as well.

“Its a week of nonstop shooting, and pretty much the best of everybody goes down there,” Hoffmann said.

Hoffman said he plans to keep shooting competitively, and will do so in open category next year.

“I’ve got to step up my game,” he said.