Our friend, trick-shot ace Kirsten Joy Weiss, will be featured on the NRA All-Access TV show next week. As a performance shooter (and modern-day Annie Oakley) Weiss has focused her efforts to “bring the fun, challenge, and joy of shooting to a mainstream audience” via social media.
Watch Preview of NRA All Access with Kirsten Joy Weiss
Kirsten wants to be a good ambassador for the shooting sports, “spreading the positive reality of shooting”. Kirsten explains: “The fun challenge and joy of shooting is important to me because I really wanted to be a positive example. So when the media says the ‘guns are a bad thing and nobody does anything good with guns’, they can say ‘Well, what about her [Kirsten]’?”
A gifted “natural” shooter, Kirsten started shooting fairly late — at age 16. Despite her relatively late start, she learned very quickly, and managed to earn a place on the University of Nebraska shooting team. That literally opened up a new world for Kirsten: “During the course of my career, I’ve had a lot of success. I’ve gone to World Cups… in Zagreb, Croatia, in Munich, Germany. I’ve won National Championships, and got on to the U.S. Olympic short list, so it’s been a good career.”
In 2012, Kirsten was the top USA athlete-shooter at the Munich World Cup. She won the 2012 NRA Three-Position Women’s Smallbore Championship and also won the Standing Position, while finishing as the National Overall Woman Champion.
Kirsten tells us: “A lot of people don’t think of shooting as a sport, but it absolutely is, and I would even go so far as to say that it is an art form.” We don’t know if this is art, sport, or magic, but very few shooters have the skill or flexibility to make this upside-down shot…
This animated GIF shows Kirsten cutting a card in half with a .22 LR bullet. Impressive!
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Sharpshooter (and competitive smallbore shooter) Kirsten Joy Weiss tried a special New Year’s trick shot for 2015. In keeping with the festive New Year’s spirit, Kirsten attempted to shoot the cork off a champagne bottle. After a few unsuccessful tries, she managed to hit the cork with at least two shots. But alas the cork did not fly. She actually hit the cork, but it did not release. That was surprising…
Undaunted, Kirsten changed her strategy, aiming for the neck of the bottle. This duplicates the process of “sabering” a champagne bottle — a method of liberating the bubbly by slashing off the end of the neck with a blade. Aiming for the neck of the bottle, Kirsten successfully blew off the top of the bottle. (Apparently, when “sabering” it is actually the pressure within the champagne bottle which does most of the work).
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Ok, here’s the deal. Get yourself to the Austin, Texas area this weekend, and you can shoot a bunch of new guns from numerous major manufacturers. At the first annual Texas International Firearms Festival, avid shooters can try and buy the latest guns and gear. With more than 30 dedicated gun bays and dozens of ammo and accessory retailers, the Texas International Firearms Festival proves the old adage that everything is bigger and better in Texas.
This isn’t your run-of-the-mill gunshow where you can only look at a bunch of guns indoors. At the Texas Firearms Festival this weekend you can actually “test drive” dozens of new firearms. Here are some of the big-name gun-makers offering firearms at the Festival: Barrett, Beretta, Cabot Guns, FN Herstal, Henry Repeating Arms, Sig Sauer, Tracking Point, Walther, Winchester.
The Festival isn’t free — but the price is more than reasonable considering the hours of fun you can have. A one-day pass, which includes the cost of ammo, is $59.00. A weekend pass for two full days of shooting is just $95.00 (ammo included). Purchase tickets at TexasGunFest.com.
Festival Location and Directions
The Festival will be held at the Best of the West Shooting Range in Liberty Hill, Texas. The address is 19500 W. SH 29, Liberty Hill, TX 78642. For driving directions, use this interactive Google map:
Our friend (and ace sharp-shooter) Kirsten Weiss will be at the Festival this weekend acting as a spokesperson. Maybe you can meet Kirsten and learn how she makes those amazing trick shots featured on her popular YouTube Channel.
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Kirsten Joy Weiss is a phenomenal off-hand rifle shooter. In this video, Kirsten performs a classic Annie Oakley trick shot, cutting a playing card in half with a bullet. Splitting a playing card would be hard enough with a scoped rifle shot from the bench. But Kirsten makes this amazing shot from standing position, shooting over iron sights, with an inexpensive rimfire lever gun. Trust us, that’s not easy. It did take Kirsten three tries, but we’re still impressed.
To accomplish this trick shot, Kirsten’s horizontal aim had to be ultra-precise. A playing card is only 0.25mm thick (about 1/100th of an inch). That leaves almost no room for error.
GIF Animation Shows Bullet Slicing Card in Half:
We know top benchresters can put five shots in one ragged hole at 100 yards, used a scoped rifle sitting on a stable rest. But make those folks stand on their hind legs, hold the rifle, and aim over primitive iron sights, and some of those benchrest aces would be lucky to hit a dinner plate at 100 yards. Kudos to Kirsten for making this great shot.
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Valentine’s Day is almost here. To celebrate this romantic holiday, Kirsten Joy Weiss has devised a very special trick shot with her .22LR Volquartsen semi-auto rifle.
Braving winter weather, Kirsten manages to drill three shots into a heart shape on her target. This trick shot is performed, Kirsten adds, “for the love of shooting”. See more cool trick shots on Kirsten’s website, KirstenJoyWeiss.com.
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Kirsten Joy Weiss is one of America’s top smallbore shooters. Her many titles include the 2012 NRA National Women’s Smallbore 3P Championship. Using her Anschütz target rifle and Lapua ammunition, she has competed at top-level national and international events. To help demonstrate the fun of shooting, Kirsten has started her own YouTube Channel, Facebook Page, and her own website, www.KirstenJoyWeiss.com. There you’ll find shooting tips, gear reviews, and videos. Each week Kirsten does a new trick shot video. Here are three of our favorites.
Here Kirsten Drills the Center of Two Apples with One Shot:
In this Video, Kirsten Shoots from Pilates Position with Rifle Held Upside-Down (Wow!):
For this Trick Shot, Kirsten Shoots the Lead Tip off a Pencil without Breaking the Wood:
Kirsten Joy Weiss Competition Highlights
Kirsten is from Pennsylvania. A 3-time All-American in smallbore, Kirsten led the Univ. of Nebraska Cornhuskers to a 4th-place finish at the NCAA Championships. Weiss was an NRA Second-Team All-American and was named to the CRCA All-Collegiate Team twice. In 2012, Kirsten was the top USA athlete-shooter at the Munich World Cup. She won the 2012 NRA Three-Position Women’s Smallbore Championship and also won the Standing Position, while finishing as the National Overall Woman Champion.
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Article based on story by Kyle Jillson for NRABlog
Kirsten Weiss was the 2012 NRA Women’s Smallbore Three Position (3-P) Champion. In this video, Kirsten condenses ten years of competitive shooting experience into an easy-to-understand segment about the fundamentals of aiming, head position, and proper cheek placement. Kirsten explains, “proper aiming is a relationship between the eye, the sights, and the target. Head position on the stock is the basic prerequisite to good aiming. And the cheek placement must be consistent every single time.” Kirsten also has a tip for scope fitting: “Once your cheek placement is comfortably achieved… make sure the scope comes to you — don’t move your head to the scope, [which requires] changing head/neck position. Adjust your scope to your eye in a comfortable way.”
So why are the fundamentals so important? Kirsten explains: “Even elite snipers and top-level competition shooters go back to basics to review and refresh their knowledge every once in a while. This reinforces knowledge, ingrains proper technique, and polishes out developmental flaws.”
Kirsten Weiss of Cornwall, PA was the 2012 NRA Women’s National Champion at the NRA Smallbore 3-P Championships held at Camp Perry, OH. She won the 2012 3-P smallbore championship in only her second trip to Camp Perry. Her first came nine years ago.
Back then she was still learning what it takes to be a top competitive shooter. Her skills still raw, she placed second in the Sharpshooter Category. Not good enough. She resolved to get better — and she did.
Weiss would go on to earn a spot on the Nebraska Cornhuskers rifle team. Her tenacity and techniques would garner recognition from USA Shooting and a sponsorship from Lapua Ammunition after a top eight finish at the Olympic Trials. She also has a been involved in hunting since age twelve. In fact, it was in the field that the foundation of her shooting skills began.
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A gifted “natural” shooter, Kirsten started shooting fairly late — at age 16. Despite her relatively late start, she learned very quickly, and managed to earn a place on the University of Nebraska shooting team. That literally opened up a new world for Kirsten: “During the course of my career, I’ve had a lot of success. I’ve gone to World Cups… in Zagreb, Croatia, in Munich, Germany. I’ve won National Championships, and got on to the U.S. Olympic short list, so it’s been a good career.”
Sharpshooter (and competitive smallbore shooter) Kirsten Joy Weiss tried a special New Year’s trick shot for 2015. In keeping with the festive New Year’s spirit, Kirsten attempted to shoot the cork off a champagne bottle. After a few unsuccessful tries, she managed to hit the cork with at least two shots. But alas the cork did not fly. She actually hit the cork, but it did not release. That was surprising…
Kirsten Weiss of Cornwall, PA was the 2012 NRA Women’s National Champion at the NRA Smallbore 3-P Championships held at Camp Perry, OH. She won the 2012 3-P smallbore championship in only her second trip to Camp Perry. Her first came nine years ago.
