4H Shooting Sports

[JBrockman]

Have you been looking for a group you can get the young ones into to learn responsible safe gun handling? If so think 4H Shooting Sports. We are the only 4H club that requires all of the instructors to be certified which is done at Ross camp. Here at Johnson County on a normal saturday shoot we will go through about 1000 rounds of shotgun ammo and probably 2000 to 2500 .22s and it does not cost the youth a dime to be a member or to shoot. And this is not just for the boys,we had about 85 members this year and nearly half of these were girls and some of them are really good!
So remember 4H is not just for cows and pigs no more check out your counties 4H Shooting Sports program and get involved!

 

[obijohn]

The 4h program is an excellent way to intro kids to guns. i usually work with the boys scouts, but have friends that coach 4H. well structured program, definite goals to reach. the meetings i've observe were all very positive and safely run.

 

[slow1911s]

Does the Marion County 4H club have a Shooting Sports Program?

 

[JBrockman]

Yes I believe that they do but as I understand it they do not allow for the youth members to fire the firearms at any time. They strictly do the class room safety classes. I spoke with a director of marion county recently at a Friends of NRA banquet and he could not believe that we allow our members to handle and fire the firearms. We have had some of our membership come from marion county for this reason!

 

[Scutter01]

Yes I believe that they do but as I understand it they do not allow for the youth members to fire the firearms at any time. They strictly do the class room safety classes. I spoke with a director of marion county recently at a Friends of NRA banquet and he could not believe that we allow our members to handle and fire the firearms. We have had some of our membership come from marion county for this reason!

What's the point of attending a 4H Shooting Sports club if you aren't allowed to touch a firearm, let alone shoot one? I'm not saying you should be giving a Serbu to a 9-year old, but there's nothing wrong with letting them shoot a single-shot bolt action .22.

 

[JBrockman]

Thats right! here in Johnson County we have multiple stations set up when the youth arrive. They are put into a group and stay with that group unless OKed by an instructor. The stations include Shotgun where they shoot from a shooting house with 10 stations of clay throwers ran by a automated switch, they shoot .20 ga. only here. Rifle/Pistol range is a 50 yard range and they shoot at paper targets and reactioary targets and shoot Ruger semi-auto 22s and bolt action 22 rifles. We also have archery where they shoot at stationary targets or shoot flu-flus at ground targets. We also have access to a 40 station 3-D target range that goes through the woods and a creek (not easy at all) only the senior members are allowed to go through this as it takes time! We do not charge the members or their families any membership or ammo dues and they are allowed to shoot to their hearts desire. We can do this only with the help of a very special group that we get money from each year. The " Friends of NRA'' raise money through banquets and all the money stays in the state it was raised in and all goes to groups like Boy Scouts and 4H Shooting Sports. Help out and attend a banquet it really helps!!!!!

 

[wolfman]

Does your club shoot ML? The one I used to work with did, and I am ML certified

Project Details

 

[96harley]

JBrockman....
I was most likely your rifle instructor at Ross Camp.

You are right it is a great organization for kids to learn the sport of shooting and doing it right.

We just finished up with a pitch-in on the 20th. One girl won a Savage .22 that was donated. What a way to wrap up the year.

 

[slow1911s]

Can someone get certified in the event they may be able to help? My work/travel schedule is very erratic, but this is something I'd LOVE to do when my schedule permits. I have a long background in clays, 3-D and Indoor 300/5-Spot archery, as well as competition handgun/shotgun/rifle.

Who does someone need to talk to in Marion County to get this situation corrected. Talk about miseducation!!! Hell, I shot a single shot .22 in High School Phys Ed in Indiana, not all that long ago. Have we lost our minds as well as our spines?

 

[Coach]

Can someone get certified in the event they may be able to help? My work/travel schedule is very erratic, but this is something I'd LOVE to do when my schedule permits. I have a long background in clays, 3-D and Indoor 300/5-Spot archery, as well as competition handgun/shotgun/rifle.

Who does someone need to talk to in Marion County to get this situation corrected. Talk about miseducation!!! Hell, I shot a single shot .22 in High School Phys Ed in Indiana, not all that long ago. Have we lost our minds as well as our spines?

High School was longer ago than you think.

Yes is the answer to your last question.

 

[slow1911s]

Yeah, it was longer ago, but it was in the 90's, for crying out loud.

I was afraid so, in response to your response to my last question in my previous post. (what the hell?)

 

[Coach]

Being tough has been going out of style for a long time, and most people have no idea about guts, gumption, spine, testicles or anything related. I think this is why so many people on the liberal side are afraid of Sarah Palin. She is tougher than many men I know.

 

[rhino]

We are the only 4H club that requires all of the instructors to be certified which is done at Ross camp.

What and where is Ross Camp?
Who does the certification?
What does it entail?
What is the time commitment?
How much does it cost?
When is it held?
For what and by whom are you certified after completing the process?

 

[JBrockman]

Hey Wolfman, right now we do not offer ML even though we do have one certifed instructor and we do own one ML rifle (we would need at least 3 more to offer this with the size of the club! It is something we have talked about and do want to offer in the next year or so.
To 96Harley: Great to hear from you! Believe me this project working with the youth has totally changed my life in good ways. When you have parents walk up to you and say THANK YOU! you have helped make a big differance in my child it gives you a special feeling! I am told that after being in the club the youth are more disciplined, trustworthy and more self confident.
To slow1911s: You need to contact the extension agent at the 4H office in your county to get involved with the program. As I said before shooting sports is the only 4H group the adult leaders have to be certified and tested to become instructors. All of our instructors are certified through the extension office at Purdue and are also NRA certified instructors!
And believe this or not we have been invited into a school system close to us and they asked that we bring in real firearms (no ammo except for the sidearms we carried at their request). To talk about firearn safety and the activities in the shooting sports field for both male and female.

 

[slow1911s]

What and where is Ross Camp?

Tippecanoe County Indiana : Ross Camp

 

[JBrockman]

Het Rhino! Glad to answer your questions because I believe in what this organization stands for and the goals it can reach if you are willing to work together and put time and effort into it. May need 96Harley to help a little here since he is an instructor there!
Ross camp is located in Lafayette at what was the training center for world war 2 aerial bomber photographers. The training is held twice per year once in the spring and once in the fall and starts on friday evening and you are done on sunday afternoon. They provide sleeping quarters and meals (which are normally fantastic) and believe me you will not have very much free time during this week end of training but it is a blast!
Unless it has changed cost of the class was $125.00 which I believe alot of this went towards the meals. You are certified through the 4H Extension office at Purdue University. After taking this class you can locate a tester and take the instructor test for NRA and become a NRA instructor.
As I said first you need to contact your extension agent at the county 4H office and they can hook you up with the info you need!
Maybe if we get some dedicated instructors in these counties we can get the programs changed where the youth will learn more and have alot more fun!

 

[96harley]

Rhino,

Go to inhea.com There is a lot of info there. Contact Tim Beck or Dirk Studebaker. Their contact info is on the site.
I do believe Marion County has a 4H shooting program. They can fill you in.

Training is from Friday night to Sunday Afternoon.
If you are in a club the fee is covered otherwise it is
$130.00. There is a spring and fall workshop. The next one will be in April of 09. It certifies you as an instructor in one of five disciplines:

archery
rifle
shotgun
pistol
muzzleloader

 

[Seancass]

I have to say 4-H is a GREAT way to get into firearms. In my county, you first had to pass (take?) an instructional class, then you could shoot. First year members shoot everything, rotating by choice each week through the disiplines listed above me. After the first year, you get to choose which two you'd like. I started at muzzle and shotty, then pistol and shotty. The pistols where air pistols for practice and competition, and the instructors regularly brought in larger pistols for the older members to try. You could also bring your own shotgun as long as you shared. Also, they start you out on .410 and then you can progressively move to 12 if you choose.

I am CERTAIN i would not be as capable with a firearm as i am without this course. I might not even own one. I think i took it for 7 or 8 years and they where all great. Thinking about it now makes me really want to get into competition again.

 

[rhino]

Does having existing certification as an NRA instructor have any bearing on certification for 4-H?

 

[JBrockman]

Good Evening Rhino! To answer your question the NRA certification does not certify you as an instructor in 4H. You need to attend Ross camp and test out to be certifed to instruct with the 4H. After testing you must apply to your counties extension office to become a adult leader and you go from there!