Joe Ellison will shoot for NSW in the 2020 clay target nationals after a successful State titles.
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At just 13, Joe has qualified for the NSW junior team, one of just six shooters aged up to 18 years to gain selection.
It follows his success at the State titles in Wagga Wagga on the long weekend, where he also picked up his first break badge for hitting 50 clays in a row.
The young Forbes shooter competed with the three-man Central Zone team, selected from a region stretching from West Wyalong to Condobolin, Parkes and Boorowa, which placed second overall.
Joe then competed in three 50-target shoots in the State elimination title for selection in the six-member State team.
Joe is fairly new to competition, you can only start at 12, but he comes from a long line of successful sportsmen and his family is right with him.
His success at the Central Zone carnival in Condobolin saw him qualified for the representative team, and then he took out the NSW Junior Masters championships and high gun title at Cobar.
Wagga presented some challenging conditions, the 325 competitors battling the same gusty dust storm conditions Forbes has been seeing - particularly on the Sunday.
Those winds can send the clay flying anywhere - up, down or sideways - but it didn't distract Joe.
"You just look at it and the gun will go with it," he explained.
He achieved his first 50 break - 50 of the fast-flying targets in a row - by doing just that, one target at a time.
Dad Luke, however, could "tell he was on" within the first few shots by his stance and his focus.
The nationals will also be in Wagga Wagga in March 2020 and Joe will be following in the footsteps of his dad Luke and Pop Digger competing at that level.
They are his coaches and mentors, and can't speak highly enough of the nature of the sport community.
With 16 traps and hundreds of competitors, the championships are very busy but the Ellisons reckon you'd go a long way to find a more respectful environment.
It also an extremely equalising sport: men and women of all ages compete, and the course is wheelchair accessible.
"We all camp there, you're mixing with world champions and Olympians in the dining hall," Luke said. "That's where you learn."
