Those were the words that came out of a 15-year-old Xavier Russell’s mouth when asked by his parents why he was so invested into the sport of clay shooting.
Two years later, he did exactly that, and the now 23-year-old is continuing on track to repeat that feat again, and this time go guns blazing for all the glory.
Venturing north to the sunny coasts of Queensland, Russell completed a week of killer accuracy with the shotgun this month, collecting back-to-back podium finishes at the English Sporting Nationals and SCA National Championship.
English Sporting is one of two disciplines in the world of sporting clay target shooting, with the targets thrown as pairs, and therefore only one shot can be spared per target, meaning Russell had to be on his A-game for aim if he was to come back to the Goulburn Valley with silverware.
The event finished as tight as it could, with Russell initially tying for first place with opponent Paul Adams, with the pair breaking 188 out of 200 targets each.
A shootoff was hence called upon, and it was Russell who stood up when it mattered most, hitting 28 out of the 30 shootoff targets, while Adams fell closely behind with 26, seeing the Shepparton product win gold.
Two days later, and Russell had his trigger finger twitching again, this time at the Sporting Clays Australia Sporting National Championships.
In the sporting discipline, targets are thrown both singly and in pairs.
On the single targets Russell is given two shots with which to break the one target, while the pairs are likewise to the English Sporting discipline where only one shot is taken at each target.
However, Russell had a “fairly ordinary” first two days of the championships.
About halfway through the competition, he sat in 18th place.
But like his clutch shootoff display only days earlier, Russell proved he can step up to the challenge when the pressure heats up, and over the final two days he missed just two targets, shooting 98 of the final 100 to finish third.
As an ambitious young shooter, Russell’s ability to hold his nerve is a telling sign he’s ready to represent Australia again.
"I like the competitive aspect of the sport - and there’s two parts to that,“ Russell said.
“Although you’re competing against everyone else, you’re also competing against yourself - always looking for that perfect score.
“It’s not an easy thing to achieve, and whenever it happens it’s always a bit of a thrill.
"There’s also the satisfaction of breaking targets, of working out where a target is going to be and timing my shot correctly so that I get the result.”
And Russell’s dreams are high - while enjoyment of the sport is paramount, the Goulburn Valley export aspires to be the best in his field.
At 15, he dreamt of representing Australia.
At 23, his focus has turned to further greatness.
“My goal is to win a world championship,” Russell said.
“I’ve managed a few podium finishes as a junior (under-21) at world level, so we’ll see what happens.
“The great thing with this sport is that you can continue competing at a high level for many years, if you choose to, so I’ve got plenty of time.”
While the SCA championships have wrapped up, there are plenty more events on the horizon for the emerging talent.
Two further competitions in Clunes and Wagga in November are next, but a January tournament in NSW has Australian selection status up for grabs in the second half of its fixture.
Should Russell prove his worth, he’ll earn a spot into the green and gold team headed to Portugal for the FITASC Sporting World Championships in 2026.
And it is there where his world champion dreams could become reality.
It’s why Russell won’t rest to ensure he has the runs on the board behind him to give him the self belief needed, should he be firing shots in the European country next year.
“The more experience I have at different locations and with different target presentations (the better),” he said.
“I think it is the way to be as confident as I can be, that I can tackle whatever scenario is presented on the range.”
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