Preparing For The Podium

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Derrick Mein aiming a shotgun

This summer, for the second time in his career, Team Federal trap shooter Derrick Mein is headed to the Olympic Games. He was in Tokyo during 2020, where he finished fifteenth, and he’s looking for another shot at gold.

“In Tokyo, I tried to make the competition something it wasn’t, and I feel like that distracted me from my process of competing and breaking targets,” he says. “I will definitely be training more; I also will not have the restrictions that Covid presented. My family will be there with me, and I am going to spend some time with my coaches ahead of the games helping fine-tune my game.”

A New Beginning

Mein had a busy spring 2024 season in the sporting clay realm as well as qualifying to be a member of the Men’s Trap Team representing the USA. The Kansas native has experience at the Chateauroux Shooting Centre in France. He expects better shooting conditions based on the timing of the games.

“I was able to compete at Chateauroux last year. We shot early in the year, and it was cold and rainy with some wind making visibility difficult and not very pleasant. I’m looking forward to the Olympics as it should be the exact opposite, with high temperatures and a lot of sunshine, which will make the range feel like something completely new,” Mein says.

Ready To Compete

Mein trains and competes with the same ammunition, Federal’s Gold Medal Paper with the international load of 24 grams of 7.5 shot at 1335 fps.

shooting loading HOA into a shotgun

“No ammo that I have ever used has the consistency that Federal can offer. I never have a misfire, and when I do my job nothing hits the targets harder,” he says. “The reliability of Federal ammo is not equaled by anyone.”

Mein will have his wife and daughter in attendance this year along with parents and brother to cheer him and his USA teammates on during the competition.

“After the games, I plan on relaxing some and stepping away from competition for a short while to go hunting and spend much needed time with my family,” he says. “I won’t step away very long—I love being involved and competing in the shooting sports.”