On Target Tim Manges Found His Niche When He Picked Up Air Rifle; Now He’S In Contention For Olympics

Tim Manges is a long way from his hunting grounds in North Idaho, and his prey is not nearly as good eating.

The former Coeur d’Alene High School graduate no longer hunts for the horned wildlife in the hills of Kootenai County. Instead he is in the Army, one of the top marksmen in the world and an Olympic hopeful.

“When I was 12, Dad took us plinking,” said Manges. “We’d go out target practicing or shooting bottles we hung to a tree branch. Later, we joined the Coeur d’Alene rifle range. While we were there we heard about competitions and entered.”

He discovered early on he was a dead-eye. Once or twice a year, the club held an air-rifle event and after a couple of rounds with the 12-pound rifle, he found his niche. He favored the precision the shooting required.

“It’s lighter and there is no recoil,” said Manges. “I’m not one of those people you see on ESPN late at night picking up a different rifle and being able to shoot with it. Not every rifle is the same. I felt more comfortable with the air rifle.”

The air rifle is a single pump, .177-caliber gun which is powered by air or carbon dioxide. It fires lead pellets about the size of a BB at a target 10 meters away.

Manges has 60 shots to hit the target as many times as possible in the allotted time, which usually is about one hour and 45 minutes. That may seem like a lot of time to hit a target so near, but consider the target, or 10 ring, is only a millimeter wide, about the size of the period at the end of this sentence. He can’t take anything for granted, like wind, light or target setting. He discovered last month while competing in Germany in an international invitational match, that the targets were set differently and it took him a few shots to adjust.

“You try to get a groove going, he said. “`I can usually get through my round in about an hour. They set their targets a little lower, and I wasn’t prepared for that. So I will take what I learned there for the next match.”

To make it even more challenging is that the shooter can use only a regular sight. No scopes, just a steady hand and nerves.

“We aren’t allowed any optical help,” he said. “You are just standing there holding the rifle and squeezing the trigger.”

But there are signs that let him know he is on target.

“The crowd moves around quite a bit,” he said. “It can be quite distracting. But generally if they start to gather behind you, you know you are doing well.”

Manges joined the Army in 1995 after a four-year stint at the West Virginia University on a marksmanship scholarship. He was first team All-American and an NCAA champion team member. In 1992, he qualified for the USA World Cup team and was the NCAA individual Free Rifle Champion. After two more successful years, he joined the Army because of its marksmanship program and to fulfill a childhood vision.

“I always knew I was going to be a soldier,” he said. “There was something about it that just seemed natural to me.”

Now a sergeant, Manges continues to compete and be in serious contention for the Olympic team.

“Representing the U.S. in the Summer Olympics would be a huge honor,” he said. “Not many people realize that shooting is the third largest field in the games after track and field and swimming.”

In the mean time, Manges’ mission for the Army is to help recruiting and training on the rifle range.

“My wartime mission is to get them ready for combat,” he said. “I also go around the country informing people what the Army has to offer.”

Stationed in Fort Benning, Ga., Manges enjoys the warmer climate and the hunting.

“There is great hunting down here,” he said. “I wouldn’t hunt in Idaho any more. There are too many hunters out there who don’t know what they are doing, and it isn’t very safe.”

Although he still likes to go after deer, he has found a new passion in prey - wild pig.

“I really enjoy that game,” he said. “They are quick and it takes a great shot and they can be aggressive.”

However, does the thrill of the hunt pay off with such an exquisite delicacy of wild pig?

“Nah,” he said, laughing. “It tastes like pork.

WHERE ARE THEY NOW? Are you curious about whatever happened to former Kootenai County athletes? Tell us who you’re interested in hearing about, and we’ll try to track them down. Send your queries to The Idaho Spokesman-Review at 608 Northwest Blvd. Suite 200, Coeur d’Alene, ID 83814, or by fax to 765-7149 or by e-mail to kens@spokesman.com.