Winn Parish 4-H members in the fourth through 12th grades who are 9 years old and older may enroll in the Winn Parish Outdoor Skills trainings. Enrollment begins at the Winn Parish Sheriff's Range on September 8, and one adult must attend with each 4-H'er. Cost is $20, which covers ammunition, arrows and equipment repairs. There is a $5 fee for eye protection and ear protection, which are required to shoot. Enrollment ends OCTOBER 6.
2009-10 OUTDOOR SKILLS DATES AND TOPICS and SHOOTING RANGE SAFETY
TRAININGS START AT 3:30 p.m. at the Winn Parish Sheriff’s Range. Programs will last for one and one-half hours (1-1/2) hours. Equipment will be provided. A rainy day schedule will be in place in case of bad weather.
ONE ADULT MUST ATTEND WITH EACH 4-H’ER AT THE SEPTEMBER 8 MEETING
FINAL SIGN-UP DATE FOR OUTDOOR SKILLS IS OCTOBER 6. ALL ENROLLMENT CARDS AND FEES MUST BE IN THE 4-H OFFICE BY 4:30 p.m. OCTOBER 6. Call the 4-H office at 318-628-4528 for information, or come by the office in the Winn Parish Courthouse at 119 West Main, Room 108, in Winnfield.
September 8 Get Acquainted (shotgun, rifle, archery, black powder and hunting)
October 13 Archery and Rifle
November 10 Black Powder and Shotgun
December 8 Hunting and Archery
January 12 Rifle and Shotgun
February 9 Hunting and Black Powder
March/April/May Practice in disciplines for state contests. Times and locations will be announced.
**Shooters will have to provide their own ammunitions for these state contest practices.
Coaches for each discipline will set up extra practices during these months to prepare contestants for these competitions.
Shooters selected for state competition will have extra practices. (These must be attended to participate in competition.)
ALL 4-H Outdoor Skills participants must complete a hunter safety course to compete in regional and state competitions.
SHOOTING RANGE SAFETY
Be a safe, courteous and common-sense shooter. If you aren’t sure about something, ask the range officer. The officer will appreciate it and so will the other shooters.
Don’t shoot tracers, incendiaries or armor-piercing ammunition. They can cause fires and damage property.
Don’t shoot at someone else’s target, especially if by doing so the angle will make your bullet impact somewhere besides the bullet trap or backstop.
Don’t break the 180-degree plane; keep guns pointed downrange.
Don’t put your finger on the trigger before your sights are on target and you are ready to fire.
Don’t leave a loaded firearm unattended on the bench.
Don’t uncase a gun behind the firing line. Instead, take the cased gun to the bench and then take it out of the case, making sure the muzzle is always pointed downrange.
Don’t assume because you watched someone do something that you can do it, too. Some shooting techniques and gun-handling skills employ subtleties that can result in accidents if you don’t correctly employ them.
Don’t refuse to admit, especially to yourself, that you don’t know what you’re doing.
Tips from Doug Larson, Guns & Ammo Magazine