Q&A with Hornady-sponsored shooter Caylen Wojcik
Tell me a little bit about yourself.
I grew up in rural Western New York on the Niagara River fishing and hunting and doing as many outdoor activities as I could. I started on my journey with a Pumpmaster 760 in the backyard at about 11-years old and all I wanted to do was have someone take me hunting and fishing. My family wasn’t involved in those sports so I was largely self-taught. I did however have a lot of military history in my family, and I think that drove me to pursue the world of firearms, shooting and hunting. I didn’t waste much time as I joined the Marines right out of high school with the intention of becoming a Marine Scout/Sniper and that goal set me on the trajectory that I’m still on today. That achievement led me on a wild path of ups and downs with a lot of self-discovery and opportunities to learn. I’ve been shooting scoped rifles since the age of 14 and it’s been one of the most rewarding experiences of my life so far.
What age were you when you first started shooting?
I started shooting BB guns and pellet rifles at about 11, but after I picked up the book “Marine Sniper: 93 Confirmed Kills’’ I was completely hooked on the centerfire rifle and pursued it relentlessly. At 14 I had saved enough money to buy a Remington 700 ADL in 30–06 and I topped it with a Tasco 3–9x40. Along with that came an RCBS Rockchucker reloading kit, some bullets, powder and primers and I set off to conquer the notorious 1,000 yard goal. I shot at pie plates stapled to apple bins along the rows of the orchards that I worked on as a kid. I’d move 100 yards back every time I hit the pie plate a few times consecutively and wrote everything down so I could know what to dial for the next time. I still reload on that same press today too.
Who introduced you to shooting?
My introduction to shooting came in large part from listening to my grandfathers’ stories of their experiences as soldiers. My father’s father was a paratrooper with the 82nd Airborne in the European theater of WWII and my mother’s father was a combat engineer in Korea. I was always riveted by their stories and how they spoke of their rifles; “you had to hit what you aimed at” was the overall trend, so I set out to become a master of the rifle as an infantryman.
What’s been the most valuable lesson you have learned from shooting?
As a shooter we have a lot of ups and downs. Being a teacher of shooting takes that curve up a notch, and then as a competitor the curve goes up even more steeply. If anything, shooting has brought me closer to some great humans who are chasing that same thing; to find the zero point of focus where everything goes away and things happen with ease. Shooting has definitely taught me a lot about myself as a person, through all the emotional states we experience on that path and I’d have to say for that, I’m grateful for the opportunity to be a shooter and then to be able to relate to others on the same path.
Why did you choose to specialize in your discipline?
Long range shooting is a blend of right brain and left brain thinking. It’s both an art form and a science and in order to be successful in this discipline there has to be first an understanding of those two very different aspects of thinking, and then you’ve got to master them. Not many people do that; they’re going to pick one side of the brain that they’re most comfortable with and roll with it. Being successful in the long range game requires us to be proficient at both. Besides, being able to send a tiny object into the air and predict with intention where it will be within fractions of an inch in time and space is pretty cool.
What advice would you give to anyone interested in shooting competitively?
My first level of advice is to sit with yourself and identify your intentions. Be honest with yourself because the path to the desired outcome will be super muddy and messy if your only focus is the outcome. I’ve been there, and it can be a wild ride. It’s necessary to have goals for what we do, but make sure those goals are in line with what’s really driving you. In doing that you’ll be more focused on the process and not the outcome. The learning comes from finding beauty in the process and not having an attachment to the outcome.
Tell us about your competition set up.
My primary competition setup has changed for this coming season. I’ve got several rifles for the multitude of different competition styles out there. My PRS style rifle is a 6mm BRA sending Hornady 110gr A-TIPs at 2860fps, chambered in a 24” Proof Research competition contour barrel with an American Precision Arms Little Bastard muzzle brake, threaded into an American Rifle Co Archimedes receiver. That barreled action lives in Kinetic Research Group’s new C4 competition chassis. I top it all off with a Kahles DLR525i riflescope with a SKMR4 reticle set in American Rifle Co M10 rings. I’ve got a couple rifles specifically set up for the NRL Hunter series and another PRS style setup identical to the one above but chambered in 6.5 Creedmoor for team matches.
How do you prepare for competitions in terms of training and practice?
I don’t necessarily hang my hat on being a competitive shooter. I’m a teacher in this space, and I compete to learn more about different shooting environments with regards to terrain and wind patterns, and to be able to subject myself to the mind of the match director to solve their problems with the tools I have. With that said, I’m always shooting, working on new drills and methods to teach. I do a lot of work at the 100-yard line on paper to keep my fundamentals in check, and I focus a lot on the cognitive processes of interpreting visual cues and turning those cues into actionable information to make fast and accurate corrections.
Pre-match rituals? I focus on breath work. After I’ve run the scenario as many times in my head as possible, I do my best to find my center by taking some time to myself and breathing as I visualize what I’m about to do. I’ll try to step into the moment by starting the process of my pre-stage rifle and personal gear checks. Once that happens, I’m in it until I’m done. Well, hopefully! It doesn’t always work, which is the allure of the sport to me.
What has been your greatest achievement in your shooting career?
My greatest achievement in my shooting career has by far been our launch of Modern Day Rifleman. That gave us a professional level outlet to disseminate the information we’ve learned to other shooters. We wouldn’t be here, none of us in this industry would be here, if it weren’t for the shooters and I think a lot of people lose sight of that as they pursue their goals. I’ve attained titles, done really well at matches, not done really well at matches, and I’ve been successful in the application of my skills with the rifle in combat and in the mountains. It’s a total package and I don’t really identify with one specific accomplishment.
What goals do you have for the future?
My future goals in competition are to find the ability to drop into the moment on demand and execute my mental plan with as little hiccups as possible. I’m really focusing on how my headspace will dictate how I navigate the process, and how well it allows me to stay in that moment. For me it’s about shooting for myself and learning as much as possible.
What one person dead or alive, would you love to meet and why?
I just want to sit down with the handful of general officers and acquisition folks from both the Marine Corps and the Army that are responsible for implementing sniper doctrine and have a real conversation with them about the future of that community.
How long have you been a Hornady-sponsored shooter?
I’ve been a Hornady sponsored shooter, officially, for just a year. I’ve shot Hornady products for a long time and I’ve always found them to be reliable and consistent. The Hornady 4 DOF ballistic solver is hands down the most accurate prediction software available today, and the best part about it is that it’s free.
