(Right: Frank Estes, center, Alabama Chapter president of the National Wild Turkey Federation, presents Interim Extension Director Gaines Smith with a $5,000 check to support 4-H Shooting Sports Program.  Also pictured is Emily Kling, 4-H environmental specialist.)

Alabama Chapter President Frank Estes, who personally presented Interim Extension Director Gaines Smith with the $5,000 check, says the donation reaffirms the Federation’s longstanding support of the program.

"Shortly after coming in as president, we voted to become a five-star member of the 4-H Shooting Sports program, which meant that we would support the program with a $5,000 donation each year," Estes says. "We’re entering our fourth year and are more committed to the program than ever."

Funding provided by the Federation’s Alabama chapter in previous years also has made it possible to hold state competition at the Brierfield Ironworks Historic State Park in Bibb County, a place ideally suited to this activity.

Roughly 3,500 Alabama youth are enrolled in one or more 4-H Shooting Sports disciplines – archery, air rifle, muzzle-loading or shotgun. All agent and volunteer instructors taking part in shooting sport activities are trained and certified by a nationally recognized 4-H curriculum for teaching youth safe and responsible firearm use.

Each year, roughly 200 youths participate in the family oriented instructional Shooting Sports Rendezvous or one of the other championship events. In addition, several Alabama 4-H youth have qualified to compete in the Shooting Sports National Invitational, held in New Mexico in July.

Estes, whose organization has supported similar shooting sports-related activities throughout Alabama, believes programs such as 4-H Shooting Sports are important because they reach a generation of young people who otherwise would never be exposed to the responsible use of firearms.

Like many Alabamians, Estes spent his childhood growing up in the woods and credits his parents with instilling him with a healthy appreciation for firearm safety at a young age.

"I was raised in an era when teaching firearm safety was an integral part of a parent’s responsibility," he says. "Unfortunately, as more and more parents give up this responsibility, we’re losing an inherent family value."

"Today, largely because of urbanization, kids are being raised by people who have never had any firearm in their hands," Estes says. "So we have to have some kind of program that teaches the ethics of sportsmanship in the hunting arena and that instills kids with an appreciation for the proper and responsible handling of firearms."

"And equally important, we must do it within a family atmosphere."

Like many conservationists, Estes also believes that shooting sports, in addition to helping young people develop skills in firearm safety, also instills them with an appreciation for the environment. In fact, he believes shooting sports is as much a matter of teaching kids about the environment and related issues, such as game and habitat management, as it is instructing them in the responsible use of firearms.

"Some people say we can just leave animals alone and let them grow by themselves," Estes says. "But from a wildlife management standpoint, this just isn’t practical."

"They need to know from an early age that there is a certain percentage of a herd that needs to be harvested to protect the bloodline and to prevent overgrazing and disease."

The National Wild Turkey Federation has donated more than $23 million in the past decade to support similar national, state and community projects within the past decade.

(Source: Frank Estes, Alabama Chapter President, National Wild Turkey Federation)

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