Shooting Sports

4-H Shooting Sports Events & Results

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  • Winston County 4-H Shoot-Out PICASA

    This was a practice session, with a little friendly competition thrown in for fun. The Senior Division placings were Marion County 1st, Cullman County 2nd, and Winston County 3rd. In the Junior Division, Cullman was 1st, and Winston was 2nd.

    Special thanks to the Winston County 4-H Shooting Sports Volunteers for hosting the event at their new range.

Alabama 's forests are home to 1.4 million of the nation's 18 million white-tailed deer and 350,000 of its four million wild turkeys. Hunting and fishing by 360,000 in-state and 30,000 out-of-state hunters generate over $600,000 annually in taxes, license fees, hunting rights and sales of equipment and supplies. Approximately 12,000 Alabama youth take the Hunter Education Course annually. But this course is classroom-based and does not focus on the practical skills involved in handling firearms safely.

4-H Shooting Sports offers air rifle, archery, BB gun, .22 rifle, and shotgun. All Extension employees and volunteer instructors associated with 4-H shooting Sports are trained and certified in a nationally-recognized 4-H curriculum for teaching youth safe and responsible use of firearms. Each year youth participate in the family-oriented instructional Rendezvous or one of the state discipline championships. State discipline winning teams represent Alabama at the national 4-H invitational and the national Jaycees BB competition.

The 4-H Shooting Sports Program is a youth development education program that uses a prevention education model that strongly emphasizes positive youth-adult interaction and peer leadership. It uses skills and disciplines of safe shooting to assist young people and their leaders in attaining knowledge and developing essential life skills. The program can enhance family communication and quality time together. It creates an environment for a caring relationship between a young person and a positive role volunteer. These activities provide the opportunity for immediate gratification to the youth and satisfaction and self-worth to the adult/teen volunteer who acts as teacher and role model for younger 4-H youth members.

The National 4-H Shooting Sports Program and Curriculum was developed, drafted, and tested by the National 4-H Shooting Sports Committee over a period of years and has been offered to states since the mid 1980s. The curriculum is scrutinized continually and revisions made as appropriate. Writers of the curriculum included National Rifle Association Instructors and training counselors, hunter education instructors, National Bowhunter Education Instructors, National Archery Association Instructors, National Muzzleloading Rifle Association Instructors, and Extension Specialists.

The program relies on National and State 4-H trained and certified instructors to conduct classes/programs in the various disciplines (air rifle, archery, muzzle-loading, .22 rifle, shotgun and program coordinators) using the National 4-H Shooting Sports Curriculum. Shooting Sports has the potential of being a high liability activity. Therefore, to adhere to the safety rules and regulations as dictated by the program to decrease the liability of such an educational experience.

The materials and training programs emphasize young people and their life skills while using tested technique and positive reinforcement to develop fundamentally sound shooters. Continuing recruitment of volunteers, intensive volunteer training and management, minimal commitment of professional staff and time and attractiveness to males and females, older teens, and families will continue to be key elements in successful 4-H Shooting Sports Programs.