Written by Join the ladies of the CUSF Women’s program, Project Mapleseed and LadyGuns for this episode of “She Shoots.”
This month, we talked to Jessica Tischler (14 years old) and Allison Zane (17 years old); two competitive PRS shooters who have both earned several big wins and are sponsored by some of the biggest names in the industry.
Guest Speaker:
Jessica Tischler
Jessica Tischler is 14 years old from Southwestern Ontario. She discovered her love for shooting at a very young age when her dad exposed her to hunting and target shooting as early as 2 years old when he bought her ‘her’ first gun; a single shot cricket.
In May of 2018, she had her first go at the ‘Maple Seed’ Clinic. Being so young, it helped to develop vital fundamentals like rifleman’s cadence, how to properly use and support yourself with a sling, and just general knowledge and safety of a gun on her side.
About a year later in she began her PRS journey. It all began with the ‘Outlaw Rimfire Precision Series’ that her dad hosted at Warren Field. She won 1st in production, which gave her the motivation to continue with that PRS series and others like it.
From there she improved her skills and in September of 2019 she attended her first ‘Canadian Rimfire Precision Series’ season finale match. In the few months getting the hang of shooting and with her previous background, she knew she had a knack for the sport so she stuck with it.
Now, she is nearing the end of the 2022 season and she has partaken in many different PRS series competitions and she has won some cool medals and trophies!
Jess has the full support of amazing businesses such as Go Big Tactical, US Optics and Grey Birch Solutions which has helped set her up to succeed. She is grateful for the support from her sponsors as well as the many people who have helped greatly towards her success and the opportunities she has had and the experiences that are yet to come!
Allison Zane
Allison is a 17 year old Precision Rifle Competitor who hails from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and has 7 years of experience shooting.
Born into a law enforcement family, Allison and her sister learned the importance of firearm safety early on in life. She learned the fundamentals of shooting with a .22 LR rifle and took to shooting right away.
At age 11, Allison signed up for the Winchester/National Rifle Association Marksmanship Qualification Program at her local club and began learning positional shooting. During 2019, Allison’s first season as a precision rifle rimfire competitor, she qualified to shoot the 2019 NRL 22 Nationals in Las Vegas.
At age 13 she earned the Top Junior award and claimed third place overall. In 2020, the finished the season in the PRS Pro-Series taking first place in the Ladies, Junior and Amateur categories, and claimed first place open in the PRS Northwest Regional Series. PRS competitors also voted her Rookie of the Year for 2020. Some of her most notable finishes include winning 4 national level PRS Pro-Series matches since 2020 and finishing 8th in open for the PRS Pro-Series in 2021.
This year, Allison was selected to represent the US Precision Rifle team at the inaugural Precision Rifle World Championships on August 6th in France where she and her teammates reached the podium with a first-place finish.
Allison balances a hectic high school schedule, taking honors/college-level math and science courses as a senior, with thoughts of becoming an engineer.
Allison has discovered that long range precision rifle shooting serves as an outlet for continuing education, especially in math and science. In addition to all of this, she also values the quality time she has spent shooting with her dad and meeting new friends.
Allison has been featured in several magazines and can be found on Instagram, Facebook and Youtube. And she is sponsored by several businesses including : Defiance Machine, MDT, Short Action Customs, Lapua, Vortex Optics, Armageddon Gear, and Hawkhill Customs.
About SHE SHOOTS PODCAST
SHE SHOOTS is a podcast for women in the shooting community and for those interested in learning more about it. It is hosted by women who shoot, hunt, and instruct and most importantly share a passion for introducing new ladies to the sport.
Coming to you on the second Tuesday of every month, the objective of SHE SHOOTS is to showcase various activities in the shooting sports and highlight the people who participate. We hope this will help you find something you are interested in learning more about and various ways to get involved.
Did you know the shooting community proudly boasts over 250,000 licensed women who participate across Canada? This sport has something for everyone and it’s easy to get out and give it a try.
Join us every month when we host SHE SHOOTS on a variety of social media platforms. This exciting collaboration is brought to you by the Canadian University Shooting Federation, Project Mapleseed and LadyGuns.
