Outdoors: Curtice youth Schnee a national champion marksman
Oct. 15—PORT CLINTON — Luke Schnee, a home-schooled 14-year-old from Curtice, will soon find out that following a great performance, the encores always get tougher.
In his first national competition, young Schnee finished at the top in a field of 50 competitors in the National Rimfire Sporter Match held at Camp Perry.
First match — 4-H national champion.
The teen, a high school freshman, was in just his second competition overall. His coach, Chris Henderson, was surprised, but not shocked that young Schnee stood alone atop the field.
"Luke has talent, and he has a focus and a cadence for shooting that you don't see in a lot of kids his age," said Mr. Henderson, who leads the Lucas County Sharpshooters 4-H shooting club. "We don't set out to make competitive shooters, but every once in a while you come across a kid who is just a natural marksman. And with kids like Luke who are naturally gifted, we'll help them along the way."
The teen and the other competitors fired at targets from 50 and 25 yards away in prone, sitting, and standing positions. They fired in Open Sight, Telescope Sight, and Tactical classes.
"You can teach a kid to shoot, and you can even teach a kid to shoot well, but you come across one every once in a while where this comes to them naturally," Mr. Henderson said. "I've been doing this for 12 years, and I've only seen one other like him come through our program. He's got that natural gift."
The Schnee youth got his first taste of any kind of competition this past May in the monthly local matches held at the Gary Anderson Competition Center air rifle range at Camp Perry. His father Derik said an early start gave indication that Luke was destined to be a marksman.
"When he was old enough and began to show some interest in it, his grandpa and I introduced him to BB guns, then pellet guns and he just progressed from there," the elder Schnee said. "He took to it, he had fun with it, and he did really well. We started with the basics and since he didn't have any bad habits, he developed good fundamentals."
Derik Schnee provided his son with guidance and an emphasis on safety and the importance of the proper handling of firearms of any kind. He steps back from taking any credit for his son's accomplishments.
"He listened well, but I think the talent was there from the start. I'm no coach so his success is not due to me. He's just a natural."
After that introduction at age 6 with a BB gun, Luke was shooting a .22 rifle by age 8, and then advanced to shooting muzzleloaders. He even fired an M16 military-style rifle at a Small Arms Firing School which he attended with his parents.
When it was time for the teen's baptism into competition, the monthly match at Camp Perry seemed like a good choice to give him the experience of shooting in a strict format. Mr. Schnee said the air rifle Luke used in that event was a rented gun, and they would quickly learn about the world of competitive shooting.
"There were kids showing up with thousands of dollars in guns and equipment, so it was a bit of a surprise," Mr. Schnee said. "We had been practicing two or three times a month when we could get out, so it was different."
After Mr. Henderson recommended the national event at Camp Perry as a way for young Schnee to gain some more experience before next year's 4-H competitions, Luke and his dad practiced the course just once.
"We went through it one time, so we were thinking let's just go, get the nerves out, and then be ready for next year's nationals," Mr. Schnee said. "I think it surprised him to win, but he's at an age where he's not overly emotional so it's hard to get a read on him. But I definitely think this will be a confidence builder as he moves on to future competitions."
Mr. Henderson has high expectations for the youth, who was competing against shooters up to 18 years of age in the recent national event.
"There were people there from all over the country and kids three or four years older than him," Mr. Henderson said. "You see kids who want to shoot the target as fast as they can, but Luke has not been like that from the start. He has his cadence, he takes his time and uses it well in competition. While other kids are rushed, he slows down and powers through it.
"I can't wait to see where he is going to go in the years ahead," Mr. Henderson said. "I think he has the talent to go as far as he wants to go in shooting sports. If he decides he wants to shoot in college, has the talent to do something like that."
First Published October 15, 2021, 12:46pm
