Youth shooting sports team is second best in nation
Here are the participants from the MT 10X rifle team. Back row, from left, are Howie Adison, Decker Milender, Heath Adison and Bailey Milender. Front row, from left, are Mackenzie Chapman and Madeline Drey. (Monte Turner/Mineral Independent)
When asking Rich Milender, coach of the MT 10x Rifle Team, how the name originated, he smiled and said “10x is the best range of scores you can shoot and MT 10.9, which is the absolute best score, didn’t have the same ring to it.”
It makes sense as the group from Mineral County recently took second place in the nation in the American Legion Competition. But these kids have been placing in the nationals for several years with Jonna Warnken earning a scholarship to the University of Texas/El Paso last year.
“We are still considered a 4-H shooting sports team but wanted to give ourselves more of a presence on the national level,” Milender said.
He explained that they are working in conjunction with Mineral County Shooting Sports Association, a 501(c)3 organization.
The team shoots in many different associations: 4-H, CMP (Civilian Marksmanship Program), Junior Olympics, American Legion, NRA and U.S. Army.
Fourteen marksmen from Mineral County, ages 9-19, commit to shooting together a few evenings a week in the 4-H building on the Mineral County Fairgrounds September through July and participate in fundraising year-round with help from several local sponsors and a big hand from the county association.
Competing in the Sporter category, each member shoots a .17 Crossman Challenger air rifle that runs north of $600 (Warnken shot in the Precision category and her rifle was worth more than $4,000) with tournament trips as much as $3,000 per competitor.
On Monday, Aug. 3, the Ray Welch American Legion Post 13 in St. Regis awarded this year’s top-shooters plaques and medals for representing Mineral County and the American Legion with superb sportsmanship and dead-eye piercing of targets at 10 meters.
170 teams and over 800 shooters competed before the pandemic ended the season early with Howie Edison placing first place in Montana. The remainder of the MT 10x Rifle Team consisted of Bailey Milender, Heath Edison, Decker Milender, Madeline Drey and Mackenzie Chapman.
The annual dinner and auction that the shooting association holds each fall is a huge help and selling Christmas wreaths in December adds to the coffers.
But Coach Milender and some of the parents and community helpers decided to try something new last year and believe they have a winner. At 10 a.m. Saturday, Aug. 22, rain or shine at Eva Horning Park, the Second Annual Corn Hole Bean Bag Toss fires up.
Everything is American Cornhole Association approved from weather resistant bean bags to official board specifications and placement to the scoring.
Teams of two ($50 entry per team) will have 10 lanes this year. They anticipate 40 teams with the day going until 5 or 6 p.m.
The public is encouraged to come and watch as there will be music along with food and beverages which are also part of the fundraising effort.
First place will win up to $500 (depending on number of teams competing) along with a custom-built ACA regulation corn hole boards built by Rich Milender.
Cash and trophies will be awarded for second and third place. The MT X10 Rifle Team consistently ranks in the top 10 in the nation as well as holding several national and state Records.
For more information and registration, go to www.buildmt.com.