Senior Olympics offers air gun competition

Belen 

It may be one of the least physically demanding of the 13 sports offered by Valencia County Senior Olympics during its spring games, but the air gun competition is certainly taken seriously.    

That was easy to see from the start of the 20-minute rifle supported, sitting-position contest held in the 4-H building at the Valencia County Fairgrounds. 

“For a few minutes, it can be very tense,” said Juanita Flores Hull, of Los Chavez, who is taking part in her first tournament. “For me, it’s intense in the sense that I’m not completely educated on everything yet.”  

It was happenstance that brought the sport to Flores Hull, who heard some odd noises coming from the nearby residence of Bob Peterson.  

“He (Peterson) was doing it and I thought, this is interesting because I could hear things. It was him practicing,” Flores Hull recalled. “My dogs were barking. I thought, Hmm?” 

With her curiosity peaked, Flores Hull asked Peterson if she could try it.  

“He let me use his equipment. I did two shots,” and was hooked. “I said, ‘I’m going to be back,’ and here I am.”   

Ironically, it was another neighbor several years ago who inspired Peterson to take up an air gun.  

“It’s a good time,” Peterson said. “I can get trigger time and it doesn’t cost much.”  

At the far end of the shooting line was 83-year-old Gale Sumner, who had never picked up a gun before she moved to Los Lunas in 2016. Sumner was encouraged to try it by, wait for it. 

“A neighbor asked me in 2017 if I was interested. I said, ‘Sure, why not?’ I just thought it might be fun.”  

It has been.  

This recurring theme of “neighbor” explains some of the sport’s popularity locally.  

“It’s a good experience,” Peterson explained. “People get out, meet somebody, have some fun.”  

“These people, they share,” Flores Hull said of her fellow enthusiasts, who gladly give pointers. “They are just great educators and I’m so pleased to be with the group. I really am.”  

The Senior Olympics competition is divided into different age groups, featuring several events for both rifle and pistol. Most air guns use compressed air or carbon dioxide to discharge metallic pellets.  

For the most part, the only noise during the event was the firing of the projectile followed by the nearly instantaneous collision with the target. Then, shooters take a quick glimpse at the result. 

“I have to make sure that when I pull the trigger, I don’t push it to the side. It’s a lot about the trigger finger,” Sumner explains.   

There’s little doubt that patience is a virtue. 

“Sometimes you get rushed,” according to Peterson.  “I can look at my targets and see I was rushing there, or rushing there. Push it, pull it.”  

On the other hand, there can be a calming effect.  

“It’s quite relaxing,” Flores Hull believes. “Once you spot (aim) and relax in your breathing and everything, and you pop it, it’s like, OK.”  

When asked what the most difficult part is, Sumner gives a straight answer.  

“Hitting the target,” Sumner said. “You try to get better every time.  

“It doesn’t always happen,” she said with a laugh. “I never heard of Senior Olympics until I moved down here. I think it’s great.”   

The Valencia County Senior Olympics spring games conclude Saturday at Valencia High School with dance.