Fifteen-year-old Sabrina Smith has earned her Distinguished Rifleman’s Badge, a spot on the National Junior Team and the Ohio Governor’s Trophy — all before she can legally drive a car.
Those who shoot with her expect nothing less but top tier performances in Sabrina’s typical unassuming style. Humble, but excited, she is just as at home loading magazines as she is joking around on the ready line. It’s likely this nonchalance contributes to her ability to put up big scores in major matches, seemingly unaffected by the pressure.
Sabrina’s primary discipline is high power service rifle, though she has been investing considerable time in air rifle and smallbore with the goal of shooting on a college team. She started shooting BB guns when she was little; her first real firearm was a Crickett .22LR. Her interest in competitive shooting arose from watching her dad, an avid and accomplished high power competitor, out of curiosity. 
“I remember when my dad got his first jacket. At the time I didn’t really know what it was, and I thought it looked silly, but it also made me really start to wonder about shooting and what it was like,” Sabrina recalled. “My dad was actually the one who got me interested in shooting, but I really started shooting and going with him to matches because I didn’t want him going alone and I wanted to keep him company.” Sabrina shot her first high power match at 11 years old. “I didn’t really know what I had gotten into,” she said, “The terrible heat and long matches were definitely an experience for 11-year-old me!”
A year later, Sabrina joined Gem City X-Men’s junior program at the age of 12. She started out shooting high power first, transitioning to smallbore when the weather turned cold. After joining the junior team, Sabrina said “shooting just really clicked” with her. It was the first sport she ever participated in that she truly enjoyed, largely due to the community.
“Everyone is always willing to help you, and everyone is generally very kind and has a lot of great advice,” Sabrina said. “I definitely couldn’t have made it very far if I didn’t have so many people supporting me, and cheering me on, so for that I’m very grateful.”
She’s listened and learned well, regularly shooting almost clean scores offhand. 2024 has been a fantastic year for Sabrina, who started it by claiming 14 excellence-in-competition (EIC) points over the two-day Buckeye Blossom at Alliance Rifle Club. She kept this momentum in June, winning the Ohio Governor’s Match and legging out at Camp Perry. She also claimed high junior and high woman in the Camp Perry Warm-Up 1600 Aggregate as well as the Ohio Rifle and Pistol Association Service Rifle State Championship. Not content with only category titles, Sabrina took second overall in the aggregate.
When it comes to gear, Sabrina’s happy as long as it works and performs well. She uses a variety of equipment from Nosler, Sierra Bullets, Creedmoor Sports, Leupold, White Oak, Sightron, Sitka and Rock River.
Sabrina and her teammate Ashley Castle took fifth place in the National Freedom’s Fire 2-Man Junior Team Match at the 2024 National Trophy Rifle Matches. Sabrina’s performance in the P100, NTI, and Freedom’s Fire put her in fourth place for the junior aggregate, earning her a spot on the National Junior Highpower Rifle Team.
Making the national junior team was high on Sabrina’s list of goals, as well as earning her Distinguished Rifleman’s Badge and walking the Hough Theater stage. She’s also proud of her Ohio Governor’s 20 tab, NRA Smallbore Distinguished Expert award and 4.0+ GPA.
In approximately three years, Sabrina has stacked up a list of accomplishments many spend their whole lives working towards, but it didn’t come without hard work.
“Marksmanship taught me a lot of discipline and patience,” she said. “It helped me realize how important practicing and failure is when trying to learn and succeed in new areas, as well as how to ask questions and listen to advice. It taught me that everyone can do well at something if they put in enough effort and time, and that it’s okay to have bad days, that you’re not always going to do well and that that’s okay. It really helped me trust in myself as well.”
This is sound advice any shooter can benefit from!
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