We welcome Becky Yackley, competition shooter and a busy woman who admits she’s “not a soccer mom.” Becky and her husband are raising a family of boys together. Thanks to Jagemann Sporting Group for sponsoring this new column, that will take us around the country – but not in a minivan. ~BB
Not a Soccer Mom
Moms don’t always have to do “mom” things. Some moms forego the typical sports and dive right into ones that just scream “America,” and that’s OK!
I might drive a minivan and have 3 boys, but we don’t play soccer. Our family competes in a different sport – one that’s very safe, very fast-paced and family-friendly. It involves running, thinking on your feet, physical and mental agility, and also, guns.
You do what?
People will sometimes stare with blank looks when we are out in our jerseys and get asked if we are bikers or at fishing competition. Obviously, they’re not shooters, or they’d recognize the logos from Leupold, Winchester, etc.We explain that we shoot competitions with rifles, pistols and shotguns. And they often say, “You do what?!” Some can’t believe that I take my boys alone, because my husband might be at work in his squad car or working his other job – not reloading ammo, but the Marine Corps.
My Family History
Growing up, I was exposed to competition shooting and hunting from as far back as I can remember. My dad still works as a gunsmith for one of the best rifle barrel makers, Krieger Barrels, and I started competing in High Power Rifle and summer biathlon and Smallbore Rifle at age 14. I kept at it with a scholarship for NCAA Air Rifle and Smallbore in college, and then when our boys were young, we did a bit of plinking and shooting at home: hunting, launching clays up on our hill and just enjoying guns when we had spare time between deployments and military moves. As our boys got older and we got back to shooting with the United States Practical Shooting Association, aka USPSA, in pistol and 3-gun. Our first year, 2012, we attended a few big matches and now, we have to figure out which matches to cut.
Family Time
Most kids compete in some sport. Our boys have been on on swim teams and wrestling, and we spent a lot of time at those events without really enjoying it. We couldn’t justify being up at 5 a.m., standing under a tent organizing heats for swim meets, but not actually spending the day with OUR kids. It seemed silly. As we started participating in more shooting matches, it felt like home to me. The sort of people I grew up around – folks you will let your kids shoot guns with, share stories with and learn from – and people who value the freedoms we have as Americans and want to spend time with each other. You could even get all philosophical about it and say it’s fellowship with like-minded people.
