Maci Jacobs, a hurricane dressed in pink, is anything but a typical elementary school girl. When other girls her age were playing with dolls and makeup, Maci was out back at target practice with her Veteran U.S. Air Force father and shooting instructor learning about weapon safety and firearms mechanics. Maci is a 12 year old competitive three gun shooter, which involves using a pistol, a shotgun, and a rifle to engage targets at various ranges in a controlled course. The scores at these competitions are calculated by the time taken as well as the level of difficulty of each target so the amount of rigorous training that one has to go through to become a competitive shooter is extensive and time consuming given that the shooter has to be both accurate and quick.

Despite her age, Maci is no beginner and has been shooting ever since she could hold a gun. At age 5 she picked up bb guns, pellet guns, and anything else she could get her hands on and practiced for hours upon end out back and at ranges with her dad. With her natural skill and determination, it didn’t take her long to transition to the real thing; at 9 Maci started shooting a .22 rifle on the range working on improving her positioning, footing, grip, posture, situational awareness, targeting, and range etiquette. When training a young shooter it’s important that you take the time to demystify and break down the physical components and mechanics of a firearm.

Her father, John Jacobs, was prior law enforcement and an Air Force competitive shooter who began teaching gun safety to Maci and her brother when they were around five years old. Maci helped create a gun safety sheet with strict range safety guidelines before ever touching a firearm. She then taught and reviewed the rules with her little brother for further mastery of all the precautions. Before she even stated shooting, she drilled the fundamentals of loading, clearing and safe handling using snap caps and dry fired a pistol 10,000 times to train on how to grip and aim a weapon.

The education that surrounds becoming a competition shooter especially at such a young age is so vast and extensive that it isn’t really a surprise that so few people do it. But when someone, especially a child, understands the importance of gun safety and is taught to understand the immense responsibility that comes with handling a firearm like an AR-15 or a pistol, they are far less likely to be involved in a firearm related accident.

Once ready to fire live rounds she took to shooting like a fish to water and adapted to recoil and percussion quickly, gaining confidence that often takes people her age many years to develop in only a couple months. Shortly after becoming proficient with a .22 long rifle she transitioned over to an AR-15 and began learning to move and shoot with the weapon, then sling and transition to a holstered sidearm. Maci entered her first pistol competition at 10 years old and then rifle and handgun competitions in an open class against all adults. Her handgun of choice for competitions is a Smith and Wesson M&P 9mm with low profile sights and an adjustable backstrap and one of Maci’s favorite shooters is Julie Golob. Once she started competing in three gun competitions her father decided it was time to get her a customized rifle that she could help create.

Maci wanted a rifle that reflected who she is and that would be light and easy to move with during a competition so her dad contacted KaiserUS and took Maci to see Mike Bietsch who  worked one on one with her to develop a personalized AR-15 that fit her needs and reflected her personality. To no surprise to anyone who knew her, Maci chose a rich raspberry color for her new Kaiser US rifle to match her determined and vibrant personality. The color was created for Maci using a proprietary polymer to construct the ultralight upper and lower receiver set and matches an anodized aluminum handguard and buffer tube. Mike installed a CNC competition flat trigger and a titanium bolt carrier for reduced reciprocal mass, and a special buffer system that further reduces recoil. For a little extra flair Maci even found matching nail polish and painted her hexmags to match her Raspberry KSP! The Kaiser rifle that Maci uses weighs in at just 4.5 lbs with an ACOG optic.

Like all Kaiser Shooting Products’ rifles, the upper and lower receivers are made from a durable proprietary polymer with short and long fiber inserts and impact modifiers. Now there are quite a few options for the competitive shooter out there but nothing that holds up to stress and torture quite like the X-7 receiver set.  Most shooters and sportsman will tell you just how much they dislike cleaning their weapon after every trip to the range. With the X-7 receiver set and a titanium bolt carrier with NP3 coating Maci does not oil or clean the BCG or upper receiver nearly ever! In fact KaiserUS has several test weapons that have been run over, shot by multiple 5.56mm rounds, and test fired 60,000+ times and are still functioning safely without cleaning. The barrel on this competition rifle will wear out and require replacing much earlier than the bolt carrier or receivers.

Maci’s competition Raspberry KSP is equipped with a 14.5″ Gunner, 5.56 NATO, Mid-Length, 4150 Faxon firearms Gunner barrel that shoots sub MOA accuracy. For Maci and any small frame competitive shooters the lightweight yet forgiving characteristics of the KaiserUS AR-15 platforms level the playing field. Kaiser US wanted to create the custom rifle for Maci for several reasons. First of all, young competition shooters like Maci Jacobs and Dakota Overland are the future of gun safety and responsibility.

Mike Beisch, owner of KaierUS and a tooling engineer had a mission when he entered the firearms manufacturing market, to create a weapon that was so light and easy to use that anyone could use it. There is a stigma when it comes to shooting that it is primarily for men but Mike and his wife Veronica wanted to change that and create a better firearm that could be agile enough for any frame shooter yet be tougher than any aluminum AR-15 on the market.

Maci’s partnership with Kaiser US paves the way for other young competition shooters like her. Maci empowers other young women to resolve to do whatever they please and not concern themselves with what the world thinks women should do.

Maci’s Kaiser US Raspberry AR-15

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