A Great Piece on Our 4-H Shooting Sports Course

[Splitear]

Last night we kicked off our fall 4-H Shooting Sports Course. Every spring and fall we offer this 5 week course to kids 12 and older. They get a chance to try 5 shooting sports disciplines: Archery, Rifle, Shotgun, Air Pistol and Muzzleloader. I also do a lesson on home firearm safety at the first night of each season. We cover the responsibility that comes with owning and using firearms and shooting equipment. We do a demonstration of the power of general hunting firearms by shooting a .22lr and 12 gauge slug at a false wall to show that a standard homes wall will not stop projectile, regardless of what film and video games teach us. We aslo explode a cabbage with 12 gauge shotshell. The highlight is shooting the tomato can with a quarter underneath it with a rifle, or in last nights case, a 12 gauge slug. The concussion will flip the coin and leave a clear imprint of the coin on the bottom of the can. The kids enjoy it, and it's a good demonstration. 

This year we are being more intentional about letting our youth Junior Instructors have a bigger role in teaching. Last night I had teens from my "Artful Archers" archery club teach the archery discipline under the supervison of certified adult instructors. They did a fantastic job, a little bit of stage fright at first, but where they really shine is the 1-1 instruction. I'm so proud of these kids. Not only do they have a bright future for themselves, but they provide a bright future for shooting sports. 

https://www.news10.com/news/shooting-sports-course-promotes-gun-safety-to-youth/?fbclid=IwAR1SnIdXno_-4F1zjYO8_58DVdX6KvtbrCATgO29uqFAL4sHnICFZptZ45w

[nywaw]

Awesome!  Great writeup and hats off to you and all who help get these kids engaged and involved in shooting sports!

One of the most memorable experiences of my youth relative to shooting was taking my hunter education course for rifle/muzzleloader and the instructor did something similar to what you described.  He had a bunch of jugs of liquid (water with food coloring) and shot different bullets at them to show the differences in impact and expansion of bullets and the outcome.  Was a really cool presentation and learned a lot being able see the result first hand versus just from text and visualizing!

[grampy]

You have a wonderful program up there!! Getting the young people involved in the shooting sports is paramount to the future of what we love. Letting the older youths take the instructor role, is a great idea! You should be so proud of them!!