Kennewick optometrist has an eye for trap shooting

By Rocky Morrow | Tri-City Herald • Published November 16, 2008

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National-caliber shooter Laura Winkel took her sharpshooting eye on the road frequently this past summer.

She even tested her mettle while visiting Disneyland with her family in early September.

“I went into Frontierland and shot at one of the arcade things,” said Winkel, of Kennewick. “There weren’t any prizes.”

“I’d probably rather have a teddy bear than some of the stuff I get (at Amateur Trapshooting Association competitions),” Winkel joked. “No, they have nice things.”

Winkel, a competitive shooter for nearly 30 years, doesn’t believe that the fact that she is a practicing optometrist gives her an unfair advantage in competition.

“I wish it did, but I have a pretty good understanding of my eyes and how they work,” she said.

As an optometrist who is an active participant in trap shooting, Winkel is in demand by other athletes.

“I understand what their eyes need to do for shooting,” she said. “I have them go outside and look through the new prescription.

“If we’re at the gun club, I’ll bring a trial lens kit and have them look at the target.”

And news of such consideration travels far.

“I have people come and see me from quite a way,” said Winkel, who practices optometry at Twin Rivers Optical in Kennewick. “Up to three hours to have an eye examination.”

Winkel explained that she takes her time to focus and size up her situation on the firing range.

“With trap shooting, it’s not the same as rifle or pistol, so you don’t get to sit and aim and line it up,” she said. “It’s more like birds’ shooting ... you’re going to have to keep moving with the bird to get it set up.”

Winkel and her son Bradley, 11, logged thousands of miles to participate in the Grand American National Championship on Aug. 6-17 in Sparta, Ill.

“We traveled 4,752 miles all around and back again,” Winkel said of the road trip. “Doing some sightseeing. “I just knew that with that many days and that far from home I needed a companion,” she said.

“I had fun,” said Bradley, who added that he is proud of his mother’s accomplishments.

Winkel earned High All Around Ladies and High Lady in the Budweiser Handicap at nationals with a score of 98 and placed seventh overall.

Winkel’s long 2008 schedule began in February with her selection to the Amateur Trapshooting Association’s All-American team for the eighth straight year.

It concluded Sept. 3-7 at the Spokane Gun Club in Greenacres.

Winkel walked away from Greenacres with championships in the 16-yard Lady and High All Around Lady divisions — performances which may yet net Winkel her ninth All-American nod.

But she’s modest about her performance and relieved that she can take a break from traveling the circuit until March 2009.

“I did well,” Winkel said. “I’m finally done.”