Post Rock District 4-H Sharp Shooters Attend Matches.
by Julie Nichols, 4-H Program Coordinator, Mitchell County
“Ready on the right, ready on the left, begin firing” is a common command heard at 4-H BB and Air Rifle trainings. Congratulations to area Post Rock District 4-H Sharp Shooter BB and Air Rifle competitors who have been attending shoots over the last few months. 4-Hers from Lincoln, Mitchell and Osborne Counties attended trainings in late winter to early spring to learn about gun safety and to practice the different shooting positions. They then attended competitions in March and April to use these skills to compete with other 4-Hers across the state.
In BB, there are four different shooting positions: Prone or laying down, Standing, Kneeling, and Sitting. Ten shots are fired at a target at a distance of 5 meters. Each shot is scored with a 10X shot being a perfectly centered bull’s-eye. A 10 and 10X shot are both worth 10 points, but if there should be a tie between shooters 10X shots break the tie and the shooter with the most 10X shots wins. For BB, the maximum score is 400 points with 325 points needed to qualify for the State 4-H Match. BB is for 4-Hers age 7-14 and an adult is allowed to be beside the shooter throughout the competition to help coach, load and pump the BB gun for the kids. 40 minutes is allowed to complete the shooting process.
Air Rifle is similar to BB, but differs in a few ways. The gun shoots a lead pellet instead of a BB. Air Rifle competitors only shoot in three positions: kneeling, prone, and standing; and they shoot 20 shots at each target rather than 10 as shot in BB. Scoring is the same; however, the maximum score is 600 with 400 points needed to qualify for the State 4-H Match. Air Rifle is for 4-Hers age 9-18 and is a little more challenging because the distance to the target of 10 meters is twice the distance of BB. Adults are not allowed remain beside the shooter to coach except at setup. 100 minutes is allowed to complete the shooting process.
The Bull Masters held in Holton, KS, February 22, was the first match district 4-Hers, Bryce and Kimberlyn Nichols of Beloit, attended. Bryce shot air rifle and qualified for State at this match. Kimberlyn shot in BB.
March 1 was the second match the Sharp Shooters attended and it was in Hays. Dereck George, Osborne; Brayson Young, Lincoln; and Kimberlyn Nichols competed in BB. Bryce Nichols competed in Air Rifle. They all had a great time. Dereck and Brayson said their favorite position was prone, which provides the most stable shot and usually scores are higher in this position. Kimberlyn liked the standing position, which is the hardest position to shoot, but interesting enough, is easier for girls to shoot than boys due to girls’ physical make-up.
A few weeks later, March 22-23, the Post Rock District Sharp Shooters had ten 4-Hers compete in either BB or Air Rifle in Manhattan at the Riley/Pottawatomie 4-H Straight Shooters Match. Of those, four competed in the preshot target event, which allowed them to shoot the targets at our training facility in Beloit and submit the targets for scoring. Preshooters in BB included: Erin and Lauren Schmitt, Beloit, and Steven Sporleder, Beloit. The preshooter in Air Rifle was Karsen Odle, Beloit. Their targets were scored and they competed for awards, but were not allowed to qualify for the State Shooting match due to margin of error.
Six Sharp Shooters attended the Manhattan match. They are as follows: Shooters in BB: Hadyn Graff, Beloit; Brayson Young, Lincoln; and Kimberlyn Nichols, Beloit. For Air Rifle: Kaleb Jones, Beloit; Sidney Odle, Beloit; and Bryce Nichols, Beloit. These 4-Hers learned a lot and had a good time. They all are excited about shooting and are looking forward to next year when BB and Air Rifle trainings will start again in the fall. Dirk Nichols, Beloit, was the BB and Air Rifle instructor for the kids this year.
Bryce Nichols competed in the State Air Rifle match, April 12, in Alma, KS, placing 10th out of 79 air rifle shooters with a score of 510 out of 600. We hope to have more shooters qualify next year and sounds like everyone is excited as four members purchased their own gun this year.
The District 4-H Fun Shoot was held April 27th which teaches the 4-Hers about the different disciplines offered, including BB, Air Rifle, Archery, Shotgun, Small Bore Rifle, and Hunting Skills. Trainings for shotgun, small bore rifle, and archery are to be offered over the next 6 months. The State Matches for these disciplines will be in September and October.
In October, the new 4-H year begins again with Archery and Hunting Skills offered in October and November. Air Rifle and BB will be offered again starting in late fall continuing into April. If you know of a youth age 7-18 who would like to be involved in 4-H Shooting Sports or any other 4-H project, please call one of the Post Rock District Extension Offices for more information: Beloit (785) 738-3597, Lincoln (785) 524-4432, Mankato (785) 378-3174, Osborne (785) 346- 5638, and Smith Center (785) 282-6823. You may also visit JoinKansas4-H.org to learn more about 4-H, see a list of project areas, and to find a club near you!
Please visit our Post Rock District 4-H Facebook page or our Post Rock Extension District website: http://www.postrock.ksu.edu/p.aspx?tabid=1
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| Brayson Young, standing position and his dad as his coach. |
In BB, there are four different shooting positions: Prone or laying down, Standing, Kneeling, and Sitting. Ten shots are fired at a target at a distance of 5 meters. Each shot is scored with a 10X shot being a perfectly centered bull’s-eye. A 10 and 10X shot are both worth 10 points, but if there should be a tie between shooters 10X shots break the tie and the shooter with the most 10X shots wins. For BB, the maximum score is 400 points with 325 points needed to qualify for the State 4-H Match. BB is for 4-Hers age 7-14 and an adult is allowed to be beside the shooter throughout the competition to help coach, load and pump the BB gun for the kids. 40 minutes is allowed to complete the shooting process.
Air Rifle is similar to BB, but differs in a few ways. The gun shoots a lead pellet instead of a BB. Air Rifle competitors only shoot in three positions: kneeling, prone, and standing; and they shoot 20 shots at each target rather than 10 as shot in BB. Scoring is the same; however, the maximum score is 600 with 400 points needed to qualify for the State 4-H Match. Air Rifle is for 4-Hers age 9-18 and is a little more challenging because the distance to the target of 10 meters is twice the distance of BB. Adults are not allowed remain beside the shooter to coach except at setup. 100 minutes is allowed to complete the shooting process.
The Bull Masters held in Holton, KS, February 22, was the first match district 4-Hers, Bryce and Kimberlyn Nichols of Beloit, attended. Bryce shot air rifle and qualified for State at this match. Kimberlyn shot in BB.
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| Derek George in the kneeling position with his mom, Carmen George. |
A few weeks later, March 22-23, the Post Rock District Sharp Shooters had ten 4-Hers compete in either BB or Air Rifle in Manhattan at the Riley/Pottawatomie 4-H Straight Shooters Match. Of those, four competed in the preshot target event, which allowed them to shoot the targets at our training facility in Beloit and submit the targets for scoring. Preshooters in BB included: Erin and Lauren Schmitt, Beloit, and Steven Sporleder, Beloit. The preshooter in Air Rifle was Karsen Odle, Beloit. Their targets were scored and they competed for awards, but were not allowed to qualify for the State Shooting match due to margin of error.
Six Sharp Shooters attended the Manhattan match. They are as follows: Shooters in BB: Hadyn Graff, Beloit; Brayson Young, Lincoln; and Kimberlyn Nichols, Beloit. For Air Rifle: Kaleb Jones, Beloit; Sidney Odle, Beloit; and Bryce Nichols, Beloit. These 4-Hers learned a lot and had a good time. They all are excited about shooting and are looking forward to next year when BB and Air Rifle trainings will start again in the fall. Dirk Nichols, Beloit, was the BB and Air Rifle instructor for the kids this year.
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| Bryce Nichols in prone position. |
The District 4-H Fun Shoot was held April 27th which teaches the 4-Hers about the different disciplines offered, including BB, Air Rifle, Archery, Shotgun, Small Bore Rifle, and Hunting Skills. Trainings for shotgun, small bore rifle, and archery are to be offered over the next 6 months. The State Matches for these disciplines will be in September and October.
In October, the new 4-H year begins again with Archery and Hunting Skills offered in October and November. Air Rifle and BB will be offered again starting in late fall continuing into April. If you know of a youth age 7-18 who would like to be involved in 4-H Shooting Sports or any other 4-H project, please call one of the Post Rock District Extension Offices for more information: Beloit (785) 738-3597, Lincoln (785) 524-4432, Mankato (785) 378-3174, Osborne (785) 346- 5638, and Smith Center (785) 282-6823. You may also visit JoinKansas4-H.org to learn more about 4-H, see a list of project areas, and to find a club near you!
Please visit our Post Rock District 4-H Facebook page or our Post Rock Extension District website: http://www.postrock.ksu.edu/p.aspx?tabid=1
