An excited group of 4-H students blasted clay pigeons out of the sky during the first meeting of the Santa Rosa 4-H Shooting Club at the Santa Rosa Shooting Center (SRSC) under the instruction of SRSC instructor, Barry Kelly. Santa RosaCounty’s 4-H Agent Prudence Caskey said though the club will work towards competitive levels, it’s an expensive sport, and so sponsorship would be greatly appreciated.
Caskey said nearly all of the 10 students had experience with some kind of firearm but “several had never shot a shotgun before, probably, say, 60 percent.” Their setup had the target, Caskey said, “flying not across the line of vision but it was flying away from them, so the longer they took the further away it got.”
For all the students, their ultimate goal was to hit the target, Caskey said. Regardless of the experience level, she said Kelly was determined to see the youngest succeed. “When a child would come up…he worked with them on their stance and he was right there with the shotgun shells in his hand and stuck with them until they hit it,” Caskey said. “I was very impressed with how he stuck with them until they succeeded.”
Note, Kelly is a recent SRC transplant from Arkansas where he coached All American shooters, national champions, Team USA members, and World Cup Olympians. As reported before, Kelly said when he and his associates started teaching youth in Arkansas, he started with 4-H as well as schools and other outdoor recreation programs.
No matter the success of the student, Caskey said each one was excited to go back. “I want to say six stayed after our meeting was over and shot. They really enjoyed it.”
One of the students, Katie Carmichael, took to the challenge eagerly. “Katie, she is just a girly girl so to see her with a shotgun and blasting stuff…once he showed her how to do it, she was knocking them out…She was thrilled.”
As is the case with many 4-H endeavors, the aim is for club members to be able to compete on the state level or beyond. However, Caskey noted the next competition, March 12, is too early.
In the meantime, the club plans to meet twice a month at the range starting in March on the teacher planning day, the 18th, and then the following Wednesday, the 23rd, during Spring Break meeting both days at 1 p.m.
Parents might find funding their children’s participation more difficult than others in 4-H, according to Caskey. With meeting twice a month, she said the cost works out to $40 a month, “a little more on the costly side.” Therefore, 4-H is looking for sponsorship to be able to practice and compete.
This article originally appeared on Santa Rosa Press Gazette: 4-H students get a bang out of new club