Owner of JC Steel Targets Inc., Jake Vibbert is a strong competitor in the Precision Rifle Series and the National Rifle League.

In just four years, he has earned an impressive shooting résumé with consistent top finishes at national level events. In fact, Jake has compiled more wins than any other shooter in the United States at national level Precision Rifle Series and National Rifle League events during that span.

Jake, tell us a bit about yourself.

I live in Cheney Washington and I’m married to my lovely wife, Devon and we have two daughters, Melanie who is 13-years old and Leah, who’s 10. As a family, we all love spending time together outdoors. I’ve also started teaching my daughters how to shoot and have introduced them to precision rifle shooting. Away from competitive shooting, my hobbies include hunting, playing golf, hanging out with my family and camping.

What age were you when you started shooting, and who taught you?

I started shooting when I was very young, shooting 22LR and BB guns, I was self-taught, and practiced a lot to learn how I could become better. Around 2011, as my interest grew, I started shooting precision rifle. With matches all over the country, I began taking some local matches and found that I was doing very well at those and winning some, so from there progressed onto the national scene and achieved the most national level wins of all time!

What is the most valuable lesson you’ve learned from shooting?

To go smooth, slow and consistent — these are my three best techniques.

Who has been your biggest influence in shooting, and why?

My competitors have been my biggest influence — guys like John Pinch have really pushed me to up my game. A lot of it really comes down to moral support and that team aspect. They have encouraged me to practice, to become more consistent and really helped and supported me along the way.

Why did you choose to specialize in precision rifle shooting?

I like how it’s an individual sport and how competitive it is. Within the industry there are so many good people that truly want to help you out and see you succeed, whether that be a sponsor or another competitor. It seems like everyone wants to help you out and help grow the sport. As the saying goes ‘a rising tide raises all boats’ and that’s just how our industry goes.

How do you prepare for a competition?

I’ll typically go to the range on my Tuesday and Wednesday practice days. I always want to perform my best and focus on shooting as well as possible, so I’ll lay off things that make me jittery like caffeine and sugar a couple of days beforehand, so I’m in the right state of mind for competition. I don’t want to have a bunch of energy drinks before the match and start shaking, so I’ll focus on my diet. Plus, I always try to arrive at the match early to get acclimated to the surroundings.

Tell us about your competition set up.

My rifle is made up from a Curtis Custom action, Benchmark Barrel in 6mm Dasher, built by Alamo Precision Rifles, with a US Optics Foundation 25X, an XLR ENVY Pro chassis, TriggerTech trigger and my muzzle break is an ATA Gen 3. For ammunition, I reload using Hodgdon powder, Hornady’s 110gr A-Tips, all housed in Alpha brass and to the range I always bring my Armageddon gear.

What has been your greatest achievement?

Last year winning the AG Cup, which was touted as the biggest, most famous precision rifle shooting match of all time and I was fortunate to win that. It was a very cool experience, because they had invited 20 of the best shooters in the world to shoot at that match, so it was great to be able to go out and perform well.

What are your goals for the future?

I’ve already accomplished a lot and my goals now are to remain consistent and to shoot well. Out with this I want to continue to help young shooters to get better, whether its training or coaching them, personal coaching or classes, I really want to help cultivate the new up-and-coming shooters of the country.

How long have you been a Hornady shooter?

I’ve been a Hornady sponsored shooter going on three years and I’ve shot and used a lot of their products. My favorite bullet has to be their 110gr 6mm A-Tip bullet, as its really consistent.

I understand you teach precision rifle classes — can you tell us a bit more about this?

The precision rifle classes I teach are mainly competition based. The goal of my classes is to provide the shooters with some strong fundamentals, to perform well in precision rifle matches. This can be some of the metal aspects of the sport, which some have and others don’t, but because I’m really strong mentally when I shoot, it allows me to coach them well when the clock is going. People tend to be very scatter-brained when the clock is ticking, so it’s something I can help talk them through.

Tell us a little about the company you run.

I own JC Steel Targets, selling steel targets all over the country and all over the world. It helps keep me engaged with the sport, both in my personal life and working career.