New Blogger: Meet our Jr. Gun Nut, Jon Michael McGrath II

Alongside our Junior Pro Staff, Jon Michael McGrath, II will be a regular contributor to the Generation Wild blog. At just 18 years old, McGrath is already an old pro with a shotgun and he’ll be offering tips and advice for young shooters. But for now, we’ll let him tell you a bit about himself:

I have been active in all types of outdoor activities: springboard diving, Little League baseball, school sports, and, of course, fishing and hunting. I’ve also been active in Cub Scouts and Boy Scouts. In 2009, I achieved the rank of Eagle Scout. It was at my first Boy Scout summer camp that I was first introduced to shooting clay targets. I wanted to try something new. It was a lot of fun and I enjoyed shooting a shotgun. I was 11-years-old at the time and on that day, I hit almost all the clay targets. I took some shooting lessons and continued to improve my shooting skills. I never dreamed that the outdoors had so much to offer.

When I was 14, I started shooting International Skeet, the same type they shoot at the Olympic Games. The following year, I was invited to train at the United States Olympic Training Center, in Colorado Springs, where I have trained for the past 3 summers.

In 2008, I was fortunate to have won the United States National Championship in International Skeet. In 2009, I won the NSSA World Championship and established a new World Record with a score of 224 targets hit out of 225.

For the past three years, I have been a member of the United States Shotgun Team. I will represent the United States overseas in competition again this year.

I have been active with the 4H shooting program, the Oklahoma Department Wildlife and Conservation, Shotgun Training and Education Program (STEP) and the Scholastic Clay Target Program (SCTP) and the NRA Shooting Sports programs. I enjoy hunting, fishing, golf, travel, camping and having fun in the outdoors. And I’m looking forward to being a part of the Generation Wild blog.