Texas woman wins gold in World Skeet Shooting competition

If there’s something people know about Texas, it’s that everything’s bigger in the Lone Star State, and that its residents love their guns. Well, one Texas Hill Country woman didn’t start out with that passion, but she is now recognized as one of the world’s best skeet shooters.

Melissa Barringer grew up in Victoria, Texas. She and her identical twin sister were both outdoorsy, enjoying sports like cheerleading, volleyball, and dance and thinking of shooting as a “boy’s sport.” However, when Barringer entered seventh grade she joined her local 4-H program, sparking her love of for skeet shooting.

“Over time, I realized that this was more than just a sport. It was a discipline that demanded years of dedication before one could be deemed skilled,” Barringer told MySA. “With each passing day, my time on the field grew longer, the frequency of my practice sessions increased, and my scores improved. My passion for the sport deepened tremendously the next 15 years to bring me where I am today.”

Barringer’s skeet career continued through high school, college, and even to this day. She traverses the country, picking up accolades, awards, and sponsors like Blaser USA and Federal Ammunition along the way, making time for the sport alongside her job as the director of communications for the Boerne Greater Chamber of Commerce.

One point she wants people to understand: Skeet shooting isn’t just clay targets thrown in the air, but includes several shotgun sports under the broad term, including American skeet, American trap, sporting clays, whizbang, 5-stand, international skeet, helice, and many more. In her years of bursting clay pigeons, she’s shot in just about every kind of skeet.

While she may have accumulated lots of awards over the years, her most recent shootout was a highlight of her sporting career. She took home several awards during the 2023 Mini World and World Skeet Championship – the competition which concludes the skeet shooting season that runs from March to October.

According to the National Skeet Shooting Association, which hosts the world championship each year, the competition began in 1926 just six years after skeet — which is Scandinavian for the word ‘shoot’ — was invented by a dog kennel owner and avid shooter.

This year, Barringer was named the Mini World’s Ladies Highest Overall Champion, hitting 392 of the 400 clays fired; Mini World’s Ladies 12-gauge champion; Mini World’s Doubles runner up; and Mini World’s Ladies 20 gauge third place winner.

The biggest win: Barringer took the gold for the World Skeet Ladies High Overall Championship, hitting 445 of the 500 targets fired. She also took home three other titles during the World Skeet Championship.