Episode 2: Karen and Sports Shooting

In this episode of Wait, You Do What?, host Mel Loy explores a hobby that is definitely a far cry from the corporate world. 

Meet Karen (or Kaz), an executive assistant and mother of three who recently discovered that she is a total natural with a rifle.  

What started as a mission to ensure firearm safety in her home turned into an "exhilarating and thrilling" obsession. Karen breaks down the stereotypes of the shooting range, revealing it’s less about "action movie" chaos and more about "yoga-like" focus and OCD-friendly precision. 

In this episode, we’re talking:

• The Accidental Sharpshooter: How a 50-year-old "lady with no real interests" found her jam.  
• Safety First (Always): Why Karen, a self-proclaimed stickler for rules, feels this is the safest sport out there.  
• The "Zen" of the Range: Forget the noise—Karen explains the breathing, the rhythm, and the "disconnecting" from the daily grind.  
• Chickens vs. Turkeys: A look at "Silhouettes" and why those tiny metal turkeys are the ultimate nemesis.  
• Blinging Out the Scope: How Karen and her friends are bringing inclusion, community, and even a little bit of "bling" to the regional Queensland shooting scene.

Mel Loy is a storyteller, community enthusiast, and host of this insightful exploration into the power of individual passions. She’s dedicated to highlighting stories that connect people and inspire action.

You can connect with Mel on LinkedIn and Instagram.

Do you have a weird or wonderful hobby, or do you know someone who does? Then get in touch! Email hello@cuttlefish.group.

Transcript

SPEAKER_01 0:01

Welcome to Wait, you do what? The show where we unearth some of the weird and wonderful hobbies of the people in our communities. I'm your host, Mel Lloyd. I'm recording this on the lands of the other and terrible people here in the Engine Brisbane. And I love sharing stories. So sit back, relax, enjoy, and laugh, and maybe be a bit inspired by some of the hobbies our guests share with us on this show. Let's get into it. Hi Ken. Hey Mel, how are you going? I am so much better now that you're here. Aww, thank you. Before we get into the crux of today's discussion, can you tell our audience a bit about you? Who are you?

SPEAKER_00 0:45

Okay, well, I am Karen. Um I uh am a mum of three girls, a wife of one, and a mother of two third babies. Um I am an executive assistant, and that's my day job. And then I have fun on the weekends.

SPEAKER_01 1:03

Yes, so that's what we're here to talk about is your fun on the weekends. Tell us a little bit about your weird and wonderful hobby.

SPEAKER_00 1:12

Well, I go shooting, and that's probably the best way to say it. I got myself into sporting shooters a couple of years ago and have not looked back. It's been my jam, and I could never thought I would say that five years ago.

SPEAKER_01 1:33

So tell me about this. Why, how, how did this all happen?

SPEAKER_00 1:37

Um, I think basically it it came down to safety, and my husband had um decided he wanted to start getting back into shooting, and we didn't know what that looked like at that stage, and I was very nervous about the fact that there potentially could be weapons in our house. So I said, Well, I'd like to do a safety course. So I said I was doing the safety course, and then my three daughters also said they'd like to do this safety course. So we all became very safe, and we held this license for quite a while, and some things went down with a job that I was in, and I really then realized I didn't have a hobby, and that I was a 50-year-old lady with no real interests apart from work and being a mother and all that sort of thing. So my husband said, Well, why don't we go and have a look at the the range? So we did that, we were a little holiday house, and so we went locally to our little club up there, and I we went just to have a look. Well, no, that was not a thing. You you don't have a look, you have a go. And so I literally had a rifle thrown into my hands. I knew how most of them worked because I'd done the safety course, but I hadn't actually ever used one. So, and then it then from there it just became oh exhilarating, thrilling. Um, and I really enjoyed it. So, and I never thought I would. So, yes, that's so what do you enjoy about it? Well, bizarrely, it's a very relaxing sport. So, you when I'm at the range, obviously safety is a big priority, and it's it is probably one of the safest sports out there. So there's lots of rules and regulations, which I'm a bit of a stickler for. I like that kind of environment. I know, strange. Um, I also am probably a little bit OCD, so I like to see things on on paper and like to like create patterns. So I was like, oh, this is something I can do down a range and you know, work with my little scope to get the little dots happening in the little places they should be on the on the paper. Um, but more importantly, I actually found it was probably more the breathing and the disconnecting from every single thing else that I'm doing, um, and the 100% focus and the commitment I have, like literally being at one with the gun. So put that on the t-shirt.

SPEAKER_01 4:20

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 4:21

So and there's a process. So that whole thing for me, it's like a lot of people get a lot of joy out of doing yoga and the downward dog and the salutation to the sun, or whatever it is. I'm sorry, to the yoga people who because I don't really clearly know what I'm doing, but there's a process, and they run the competitions in a particular way, and everybody in it, so it's just that the rhythm, and um, and then of course it's the end where you get your score and you go, Oh, I could do so much better than that, and then next week, you know, have another go, sort of thing. So, yes, it's so it's that competition with yourself, it's a competition with myself. It has become a bit of a family competition because the girls all do like to like have a go when they can, and they are all very good little shooters. Um and also it's something that Michael and I can do together into our later years and have a little bit of a competition, but yeah, and and also it's I'm I'm meeting new friends and like-minded people, so it's it's great. Feel like sense of community.

SPEAKER_01 5:31

It's awesome. So, I mean, tell me a little bit more about what it is you're shooting because look, growing up in Australia, most of us have lived in a very gun-controlled environment. So look, I've never I don't think I've ever even held a gun. What are we talking about here? Are we talking about big pupe's or little pupews?

SPEAKER_00 5:50

Well, I always thought that I would probably be more of a pistol shooter, like I thought the little gun would be little pew-pew. Yep. Um, but I'm into the 22 rifles, 22 caliber rifle. So I I shoot those and air rifles, which is run on like diving tank gas or air, or you know, air, not gas. Um, so so you fill your your rifle with the air, and then you it shoots out the the little pellets, and then rifles, the 22 rifles are 22 caliber bullets, so that they're going down the range. So now what we do from there is um two different things. Field target for 22s is a different competition, mostly standing, and but air rifle field target is mostly seated, so you're sitting on the ground, you're kind of in the bush, shooting into like a metal object that kind of flings down. Um, so that's one style. And then I do silhouettes, which is tiny little silhouette characters along at certain ranges, so they start at you know, they go up to a hundred meters further than that, and then hundred meters, fifty meters. I can't even remember all the the actual meter edges. Um but and then the key is obviously to get them down, and you have a certain amount of time that you can do that. So the field target um 22 rifles, I that's probably what I'm better at. So I've perfected a bit better because my rifle's much better, and I've taken the time to get it set up properly. So and that's probably where I get most of my enjoyment. Air rifles is slowly getting in there, so yeah.

SPEAKER_01 7:38

Okay. So yeah, and that's what one question I had was how competitions are run. Do you is it about how many you can how many of those targets you can shoot within a certain time, or is it more about the accuracy, or is it both?

SPEAKER_00 7:53

It's accuracy for sure. So if we talk about the 22 field target competitions, they are there's four parts of those. The first one is rapid fire, so you get uh 15 seconds to get them down. Um three, so you load three, and then you and then you have to try and aim for the bullse bullseye. So the bullseye gives you 10.1 points. So that's where I've obviously and in 15 seconds. So that's really that's for really, really good and that's free at offhand. So you are completely standing without any support whatsoever, just the process. So, and then so that's the that's rapid fire. Then you get 15 minutes to do 10 shots in offhand, which is again standing free hand like um without any support, and just putting five down the range on the left and five on the right. So you get little like this all paper um targets. Then third part of that competition is standing post, where you are standing supported against a post, so you're kind of leaning into the post to get it down, and that's where accuracy is, but that's also 50 metres, so it's a bit harder. The first two are at 25 metres, so it's a little bit closer. Then the fourth part of that is the seated position, and so we're sitting on the ground, shooting down the range at 50 meters, and again, 15 minutes for each. So a lot of people take their all of their time, the 15 minutes. I'm sort of wham bam, thank you, ma'am, get them down and get them down there. Um, so yeah, so that's and that so that's that. And then the silhouettes is just like you have to get 10 down at 10 chickens down, these tiny little chickens, and I was hoping they were people you didn't like. Well, no, no, no, just a little bit.

SPEAKER_01 9:46

Chickens, it is good against chickens.

SPEAKER_00 9:48

Well, the turmoys actually surprisingly are the hardest thing, more so than the chickens, because they're like long and and skinny. Good to know.

SPEAKER_01 9:57

I'm going to interrupt Karen here for a minute to share some of the numbers. While Karen's hobby might seem unusual, she's definitely not alone. As of 2025, an estimated 180,000 to 200,000 people participated in sports shooting events of different kinds. And like Kaz said, it's an extremely safe sport, contradicting what we might assume when it comes to guns. Shooting consistently receives the highest possible marks in sports for safety and fair play. Karen's still among the minority in terms of gender, however. It's a traditionally male-dominated sport. But there has been a recent increase in women in Australia and across the world joining in. At the elite level, however, that ratio has flipped. In fact, a 2020 report found that at the elite level, participation rates for women are now 50.4%. There's also a lot of competitions in the sport. An estimated 15,000 plus local club matches occur in Australia every year. There's more than 100 Australian national and state championships, and at the global elite level for the International Sports Shooting Federation, you'll find about 50 events. Okay, back to Cavs. When you tell people, you know, your corporate job or the mums at school or about, oh yeah, I'm just going shooting this weekend. What's the kind of response you get?

SPEAKER_00 11:20

Well, it's not something I really talk about. Um because I think I do get a little bit nervous about people's responses. Um I have only just started telling people, and I was pretty proud of the fact that I had just recently picked up gold for my grade in the air rifles. Yeah, sure. Um I did. But again, like there might it just to me I'm not I'm not great at talking about myself anyway, but I like that was probably one of the first medals I've ever really won in my life, and I was pretty proud of it. Um so have started to say, Oh, I did do this or I got that. Their response is I didn't expect you were gonna say that. And I think when I told you, Mel, I think you were like, What? What that's so cool. It is really cool, and yeah, because I you know, I think I said to someone I swap my lipstick and high heels during the week for uh boots and my rifle on the weekends.

SPEAKER_01 12:20

I love it. Kaz in the bush, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 12:22

It is, it is, yeah. It's in the bush, it's really nice.

SPEAKER_01 12:25

Go wild. Well, I remember you telling me some time ago that um when you were in your younger years, you did you lived in was it uh South America or something for a while? Or you were or summer you were doing a lot of skiing. Oh, Andora. Andora, sorry, yes, yeah, Andora. Um, and you got fairly badly injured doing that, but you're a very good skier. Yes. Is do you think there's that sort of element of wanting to perfect a sport, like that sort of is something that's part of you?

SPEAKER_00 12:56

Maybe, maybe perfect a skill, maybe or maybe I've always felt that I wasn't very good at anything. And and as you get older, I think we we we put a lot of pressure on ourselves as kids. And I remember doing lots of swimming, lots of tennis, and mum and dad were really good at getting us into all of the things. Um I did calisthenics, which was like a little dance thing when you we lived in Canberra, and but I don't remember really being super passionate about them and wanting to just keep going. Then we went I went skiing, I lived in Andorra. Um, but that was only for six months I was living there, but I was skiing every day, and obviously it's not something I could just come back to Australia and pursue and continue on anyway, and and my knees were not great. So I think I probably just didn't think I was good at any physical activity. So to find something now, as I said, at the age of 50, that I'm really enjoying, that my family enjoy, that I can do with my husband when we retire, um, I think that's really that's been a big thing. And I think as you become an empty nester or you start to get live that whole, oh, kids are nearly all grown up. What's the next thing? I want to make sure that I have that thing, and it's not just a jigsaw puzzle that I'm sitting at home by myself doing and which I love doing too, but um, I think we all need something outdoorsy, and I'm not a runner.

SPEAKER_01 14:32

Definitely, yep, I force myself to do it. Um, yeah, that's I think that's really lovely, and it is that outdoor time, isn't it? I think it can be very easy to be to become insula and go into our little bubbles, um, especially when life is changing around you and and the world is just a let's be honest, it's a bit of a shit show. So to have that outlet and to be in nature and do those things um that bring you together with the community, I think that's great. What do you enjoy most about it? What's the one thing that really keeps you coming back?

SPEAKER_00 15:04

Oh, I think it's the addiction. And honestly, like I really can't explain it. But every so we're off tomorrow, um, and my thinking is like, I want to beat my my score last week, which was so close to my PB, but we're not quite so I've had a PB, haven't quite hit the next PB, so I want to hit that PB. And then what do I need to do to do that? So it's that's it's that to me is probably what is driving me just to get just that little bit better every time. Um, and it's not an easy sport, like and it's not a cheap sport, but um, I will say that too. And I thought when I first started I could get just a like really cheap, inexpensive rifle and just to give it a go. Because I actually didn't really believe that I was gonna love it as much as I did, and so now I've had to invest in a bit better equipment. I think it's like anything that you do, so um, so now yes, it's like making slight adjustments to make myself where am I gonna be fit shooting this weekend and I have to tweak this and I have to do that, so yeah.

SPEAKER_01 16:09

And the camaraderie. Well, yeah, uh, that's two questions I'm curious about. Here is one is the economics of it as a sport. So can you talk us through? You don't have to give exact numbers, but like what are sort of the if somebody was listening to us going, oh I'm interested to to try it at least, what would be some of the fees and things they could expect?

SPEAKER_00 16:29

Uh well, you need to have your safety course first. I can't remember how much a course costs, but then you need to apply for your license. Uh after you've done the safety course, you have to apply through um weapons licensing to get your license. Um, and then that's basically it. Anyone can then put a rifle in your hand and have a go, which is what I would probably recommend if that's what you're really wanting to do, have it a go. Give it a try. Um, we do ladies on the line um where we shoot, and we do it once a month and trying to get some lady shooters in. So if anyone is interested, please let me know. Um and it's very low-key. It's basically you don't have to have a license, you just come along and you fill in a form, and then you can have a to see if that's what you want to do. From there, you could then like I my the first rifle I think I spent$200 plus a scope, which was ridiculous. It's it's cheap. But then you can go and spend. And I think one of the girls shot with one of the ladies who had like a$5,000 rifle. So the money, yeah, it and the professional guys have got they put a lot of money into it.

SPEAKER_01 17:33

I can imagine.

SPEAKER_00 17:34

Mine's pretty, like run of the mill, but it's good, and I like it, and I'm shooting well with it, so that's fine for the moment. Have a name. Have you named it? No, but one of the ladies has actually decorated some of her like bl um scopes and things with a little bit of bling. And we do have a bit of fun. We actually now put some like little stickers onto people's targets when we're out when they're out shooting, and little like strings of or like um plants, or it might just be a little bit of weed in the way, and we'll just uh put people off and have a bit of it's it's it is good fun. Really good fun.

SPEAKER_01 18:10

Tell me about the community. What kind of people are getting into shooting that you're seeing?

SPEAKER_00 18:16

Um well our club's small, it's it's regional Queensland. Uh it is there's maybe only ten shooters at a time on a on a weekend. Uh, but I think they've been incredibly welcoming. So for when I first came, I think there was one female, the rest were all blokes, and they're all sort of country old bloke, blokey blokes, but incredibly welcoming, wanted to give us as much help as they could. Uh, salt of the earth kind of guys, who I think that has been one of the things. Um, unfortunately, um one of our original, or one of my original mentors, he passed away not long after I had been shooting. And uh now we're just building his legacy to make sure that we can continue what he had wanted, which was inclusion and um everyone to feel welcome, and juniors and women, and um to keep the spirit alive. So that's one thing we've enjoyed. I've also enjoyed one of one of the guys I started shooting with. Um his wife is like, oh no, she doesn't want to, she won't shoot. And I was like, why not? Oh no, she just doesn't like she's a bit worried. And I said, Well, she should come down. So we built a friendship, and then anyway, I've encouraged her to come. So she and I now like go down, she's on the puts a bling on the on the scope and and the rifle, and um, and we have a great time, and now we've not just got like shooting in common, but we're catching up with them often, and yeah, so it's yes, it's really it's nice, really nice.

SPEAKER_01 19:55

That's awesome. So, what skills have you learned from shooting that you think you've been able to apply to other areas of your life?

SPEAKER_00 20:05

I had a I that was a good question, and I had a thought, like had a bit of a think about that. I think patience for me, I'm I'm sorry I can be a bit impatient. Um timing is very important. I actually wrote down that I realize that there are so very few things in life that you can control. So when you're behind the rifle, that's one thing that I do have an element of control on. So um everything else, well, no, you can't control things in life. So that's true. It is so yes, when and again, like the things that everyone thinks the most unsafe are usually like for example, there's so much safety around shooting, and so many things that you have to do that it makes it one of the the safest things to do. So don't be scared to try new things, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 21:04

Yeah, and I really like what you said there about the control piece. I think we live in a world now that there's so much uncertainty, like anything could happen at work, anything could happen at home. Uh the world is who knows what's gonna happen next week, let alone in three months, four months. Um, and some other sports you you know, again, there's a very lack of certainty. If you play a team sport, you don't know who's gonna win. You can't control how other players play. Um even like individual sports like tennis, you you can't control how the other person responds or plays, but I can imagine when it's just you and the rifle aiming at something, that's it. There's there's nothing else. No, correct. Very freeing.

SPEAKER_00 21:42

There is. And then there's just that whole thing of how you handle it and and all of the yeah. So it's it's very empowering.

SPEAKER_01 21:51

So what's the goal? Are we gonna see you at the next Olympics? Brisbane twenty thirty.

SPEAKER_00 21:57

Look, you know, when I first started, I thought, oh Move over world. Here's Kaz, and she's out, and she's gonna be at those Olympics, and everyone's gonna be watching me in Brisbane. Um, no, I think probably I really want to get better at this. Um, and I'm doing it for enjoyment. I think the more you start thinking about, oh, I I want to do this and I want to do this, and you start to lose a little bit of why you started doing something in the first place. So I definitely am keen to just just keep going with what I'm doing. Might might get myself a bit better at my fishing and um as well. Um and doing all the things that I think my mother was like, oh my gosh, I can't believe you do that.

SPEAKER_01 22:46

Well, that's the name of the podcast. Wait, you do what?

SPEAKER_00 22:50

I know. You should have seen her mum's face when she found out I was doing this.

SPEAKER_01 22:54

She was like, What for? Why? To spread the good word of shooting. Now, speaking of which, last question. If somebody said they've listened to this episode and they're like, I'm curious, what's one piece of advice you'd give them about getting started?

SPEAKER_00 23:11

Just do it. You might actually be pleasantly surprised. I mean, I think about how long it took me to do my safety course and go through the process of just having a piece of paper just for having a piece of paper's sake, and then to actually doing it and go, Oh, I should have done it years ago. I and I but I didn't know what I knew, what I know now, and how much I'd love it. So if you've got any questions about anything in life, just give it a go.

unknown 23:39

Love it.

SPEAKER_00 23:40

Give it a red hot crack. Yep. You might be surprised.

SPEAKER_01 23:43

Well, that's exactly it. Yeah. Well, I played pickleball for the first time a week or two ago. I didn't know if I was gonna enjoy it. It was so much fun. And then I did that whole ADHD thing where the second I got home, I went online and ordered pickleball bats and balls. Have I used them again since? No. But I the thought is there.

SPEAKER_00 24:04

And that's exactly what happened with me. I went to the range and we went straight to a rifle shop or a gun shop, and I bought myself a rifle because you've just got to do it while you've got this inspiration. Just do it.

SPEAKER_01 24:15

Yeah, good on your mouth. And I still think it needs a name. I still think it needs a name.

SPEAKER_00 24:19

My rifle?

SPEAKER_01 24:20

Yeah. Maybe we can ask our listeners what they think it should be called. Ronda.

SPEAKER_00 24:28

No, no, it's gotta be no Roxy. No, see that was a dog. Foxy Roxy. Foxy Roxy. Um, yeah, no, I haven't actually. No, I might work at on that one with on the weekend and talk to my my friend and might come up with some great ideas.

SPEAKER_01 24:48

Oh, that's awesome. Well, Kaz, let us know where you get to with the name. But in the meantime, thank you so much for jumping on the call today.

SPEAKER_00 24:54

Thank you, Mel, for having me. I really feel honoured. It's a privilege. Thank you.