NATE Palubiski is making waves in the clay target shooting arena.

The 17-year-old recently completed a six-week trip to America where he competed in some of the top events in the world.

His first event was the Beretta Cup which was a warm up for the World Championships where he placed fourth in the World Cup, sixth in the team event and 26th in the Individual.

Palubsiki then turned his attention to the US Open Juniors where he made it into the top 25 overall.

He came 11th in the FITASC event, 10th in five stand and seventh in the American Field Sporting.

Palubiski said it was an enjoyable trip.

“It was an awesome trip,” Palubiski said.

“The (shooting) clubs over there are out of this world, they’re so well run and everyone involved are really encouraging even if they don’t know you.

“Shooting’s such a big sport over there, their clubs are run like a business and every worked gets paid – the biggest club I was at over there was worth $1 million.

“It was such an enjoyable time and I can’t wait to get back over there.”

Competing against some of the best young shooters in the world, Palubiski said he learned plenty.

“I learnt too much, it’s almost hard to recall everything I learned,” he said.

“I think the biggest thing for me was that the best shooters just never give up, I learnt that you’re never out of it until the last target.

“You just have to get fighting, so many of the better guys fight and fight and their results speak for themselves.”

While over in the states, Palubiski had a session with elite American shooter Todd Hitch where he picked up a number of tips and tricks.

“I had a coaching lesson with one of the best shooters in America while I was over there which was really cool,” he said.

“A lot of the things he taught me were mental tips because the top shooters in the world are a fair way ahead in that area.

“He was saying that Australia is a fair way behind America in shooting so everything he told me I took on board.”

Palubiski now turns his attention to Australian Nationals where he will be looking to be selected in the Australian junior team which will tour Canada.

“I’ve got a few national events coming up and the goal is to be selected in the Australian junior team that will tour Canada,” he said.

“There’s three events so I’ll be doing plenty of training over the coming months while still trying to keep up with my school work.

“It can be tough balancing school work with shooting but I feel like I’m doing okay with it at the moment.