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Teen is shooting star after nationals effort By Tim Trower James Fox continues to excel in shooting competitions, but he�ll be hard pressed to match his achievements of this past summer. Fox, 15, of White City, became the first junior in the long history of the National Rifle Association national championships to win the Erdman Trophy at Camp Perry, Ohio, in August. To lend perspective, the national championships have been waged since 1871, says Ted Brown, program director for the high-powered rifle program at the Medford Rifle and Pistol Club. So it was understandable when Fox, who competed at nationals with his brother, Ben, 17, and two other juniors from the Medford club � Daniel and Jeremiah Wann � received a rousing reception at the awards ceremony. "When James was asked his age," says his mother, Linda, "the audience stood to their feet and gave him an ovation. You know that Marine sound they make, �Ooooh Yaaah!� Besides that sound and clapping, there were cheers. It was a very memorable evening." It served notice as to the magnitude of James Fox�s performance over the two-week event. He also won the Crescent Cup, another award that historically goes to older, veteran shooters; was the intermediate junior champ, the subjunior champ, set three Camp Perry records and placed 33rd among all the shooters, from high masters on down. "Phenomenal," says Brown, 57. "I�ve been involved in shooting sports all my life, and I�ve coached and trained juniors in Carson City (Nev.) and here for 25 years, and this is the first time I�ve had any kid I�ve worked with attain such a high level of success in competition." Competitors at nationals are in part drawn from the from the military, police agencies and professional sportsman groups. "There were a lot of military teams looking at them (Medford shooters) saying, �Boy, we�d like to get our hands on them,�" says Brown. Though James Fox won a plethora of matches and titles, the Erdman was the big prize. Aggregate scores from three standing matches are taken to determine its winner. The top score possible in each match is 200 and is accompanied by the number of bull�s-eyes (x) to help break ties. In the three matches to determine the Erdman, Fox had scores of 194-6x, 195-6x and 199-7x for a total of 588-19x. And he did so in lousy weather. The shooting is done either rapid or slow fire, either sitting or prone, and from varying distances, starting at 200 yards and advancing to 600 yards. At those distances, it doesn�t take much of a breeze to alter trajectory. "It rained for 1� weeks and there were crawdads on the range," says Fox, noting that the wind was also foreboding. "The impact area (where the bullets land) is Lake Erie, and you could see it when they pulled the targets." Fox was surprised at his success. His goals were lofty enough: win a standing stage, earn his high-master card and capture the intermediate junior category. He met them and then some. "To be a good shooter, you have to have dedication and concentration," says Fox, who began shooting six years ago when his father, Richard, took he and Ben to a gun show, where they were handed a flyer for the shooting club. The Foxes, Wanns and other junior club members shoot high-powered rifles every week from April through October, either in practice or in matches. They just recently switched to small-bore pistol shooting for the winter. While James Fox turned heads at nationals, Ben Fox has an impressive trophy collection of his own. Although he struggled through much of the 2000 season, he did achieve a highlight at nationals when he earned the Distinguished Rifleman Badge. The badge was founded in 1891, and Ben Fox�s is No. 1460 among all civilian honorees. To earn it, points are gleaned from select competitions involving elite shooters. Brown, who earned the Air Force�s version of the badge as a member of the that military branch�s team, says only 2 percent of those who attempt to earn the badge do so. "It�s very prestigious and a very difficult competition," he says. Ben Fox, who won four straight state junior championships until his brother beat him out this year, says this has been a "rebuilding year" for him because he�s had problems with rifles. "Unfortunately, I went back to nationals with a rifle that was not suitable," he says. "I had a problem with one of my rifles and had to shoot a rifle with 10,000 rounds through it. I kind of had the mental attitude that I couldn�t do it because the rifle was shot out. I was extremely disappointed with that." His brother got the best of him in their friendly rivalry, but Ben doesn�t begrudge James his success. "We compete, but it�s not like we�re beating each other up," says Ben. "We give each other pointers, and if he shoots well, it forces me to shoot well, and vice versa." They went at it again recently in the California regional championships 1� weeks ago, and this time Ben prevailed in the high junior category, edging out runner-up James. James, however, won the elite leg match and earned his final 10 points for the Distinguished Rifleman�s Badge. The Wanns, meanwhile, enjoyed success at nationals as well. Jeremiah won the Clarke Trophy in the Expert Class, beating out both adult and junior shooters with a score of 769-33x. Daniel Wann was close behind and finished second at 767-20x. Reach sports editor Tim Trower at 776-4479, or e-mail [email protected] Mail Tribune Home | Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. | Dow Jones & Co., Inc. | Privacy | Contact Us Copyright � 2000 Mail Tribune, Inc.