| 4-H Shooting Sports
The 4-H Shooting Sports division is the largest organized association dedicated to youth shooting sports. I would wager that we 4-H leaders attract and train more youth in the various shooting sports - rifle, pistol, shotgun, muzzleloading, and archery - than any other formal activity.
We are especially trained to teach beginning youths and to continue their development as far as they wish to go, often into national and international elite class.
The clubs come under the county extension agent system, wherein the clubs - as do other disciplines in 4-H - organize as a formal 501c(3) activity dedicated to youth development primarily through their stated discipline.
A county may have more than one 4-H club involved in shooting sports; for instance, here in Ft. Bend County, Texas we have three - the 4-H Shooting Sports Club (primarily interested in rifle bullseye competition), the 4-H Outdoor Sports Club (also interested in rifle bullseye competition, but extending to pistol and archery competition), and the 4-H Field & Stream Club (primarily interested in rifle, shotgun, archery and muzzleloading for hunting, with a lessor emphasis on shotgun competition)
We usually bring in these kids as beginning shooters, and once spending a day or two at the range, they are generally hooked for life.
I heartily encourage all of you to look into your local county agent system to see if there is a 4-H shooting sports activity. If there is, think about joining to help perpetuate our hunting and gun ownership tradition. If there is not, see about starting one. Jim Haynes, !!!'t Manager & Rifle/Muzzleloading Project Leader, 4-H Field & Stream Club, Ft. Bend County, Texas |