National 4-H Shooting Sports Invitational Results

I had the great privilege to escort the Florida 4-H Shooting Sports team to the National 4-H Invitational this year in San Antonio.  What a great event it was!  Florida had the best coaches and shooters we could ever hope for.  Below are the results, but I also wanted to include a few notes on "lessons learned".

Muzzle Loaders Joe and Jake Menendez

Lesson I learned:

• Make sure the youth are prepared with their equipment, skills and mind for the rigors of long distance shooting, all day.  It can be a grueling process and many times the shooters don't have equipment that will hold up, or meet the requirements of the tournament.
• Keep continuity of administrative staff and coaches.  Having new people attend this event every year can be disheartening.  Participants miss out on opportunities that new people are not aware of.  I propose having a head coach and an assistant.  The head coach will have attended Nationals at least one time before.
• Make sure all the participants know how much this event costs.  It is very possible an individual will have to invest up to $1600 for this event.  Some of that is reimbursed, but done so after we all return home.
• Continue to encourage the National Shooting Sports Committee to train the volunteers to run the match as written to the rules.  Many times the line officials did not run the match to the letter of the rules, and the shooters need to be held to a same consistent standard.

Again, I want to say what a great event this was!  It could have not been done without the tireless help of the parents, coaches, youth leaders, sponsors and the FL 4-H Shooting Sports Committee and the FL 4-H Foundation.

Day 1

Air Rifle – 2^nd place, Alexandria Mohs; 7^th place, Robin Dolliver

Archery, Compound – 5^th place, Kevin Dukes

Archery, Recurve – 6^th place, Stephen Gables; 5^th place team, Stephen Gables, Cody Ptachik, Ryan Metcalf, Kristel Stiegler

Muzzle Loading – 10^th place, Joe Menendez

Shotgun –

Small Bore –

Day 3

Air Rifle – 3^rd place, Robin Dolliver; 10^th place, Alexandria Mohs; 4^th place team, Alexandria Mohs, Robin Dolliver, Wayne Friesul

Archery, Compound – 5^th place, Kevin Dukes

Archery, Recurve –

Muzzle Loading –

Shotgun –

Small Bore –

Day 3

Air Rifle –

Archery, Compound – 4^th place, Kevin Dukes

Archery, Recurve –

Muzzle Loading –

Shotgun –

Small Bore –

Overall

Air Rifle - 4^th place, Kevin Dukes

Archery, Recurve – 5^th place team, Stephen Gables, Cody Ptachik, Ryan Metcalf, Kristel Stiegler

Fishing Knots...Part 5 of 6, The Blood Knot

The blood knot is a knot used for attaching two pieces of monofilament together, primarily for rebuilding tapered leaders. This is an extremely strong knot when formed properly and should be tied with monofilament close in diameter. Best use is for monofilament 10 lbs. and up.

Step 1. Lay both sections of monofilament across one another. Wrap one section 5-6 times around the other bringing the end back down through the loop formed by both.

Step 2. Wrap the other line 5-6 times around the remaining portion of the first line and pass it's free end up through the formed loop. (See illustration 2)

Step 3. Moisten the knot with your mouth, and while holding the long ends pull the knot tight. Clip the short ends close and the knot is complete.

Many thanks to The Fly Fishing Connection for their great resources!

Teaching Hunter Safety - Something Every 4-H Agent (& Parent!) Should Do!

As an Extension Agent for the University of Florida and Brevard County, it is not my responsibility to teach the Florida Hunter Education course as put forth by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC).  I do it as a volunteer, and gladly so because of all of the benefits it has to me and my programs.

Here are just a few...
I get to meet some of the best people in the world at the gun range where it's taught.  All of my colleagues in Hunter Education are there because they want to be.  None of us get paid.  Their one and only concern is making sure those who take the class will leave and carry the message of safety and wise outdoor stewardship by word and deed, into the woods.


Sidebar - Did you know that unlike a drivers license, a Hunter Safety Certification card never expires?  That is a point I bring up to my students, that once they leave the classroom, they are free to carry a firearm in the woods for the rest of their life!  What a privilege and a responsibility!


Out of all of these people I meet, a bunch of them are kids and their parents.  I've found about equal amounts of Moms and Dads in the class.  As agreed upon by my Supervisor, one of the benefits I have as a 4-H Agent teaching this class is I get to "plug" the 4-H program.  I have recruited some of the best families in the FWC Hunter Safety Program in to 4-H.


Lastly I'll mention how Hunter Safety helps me hone my skills, and gets my name out there in the community to gain credibility.  People care how much you know, and this allows them to get to know me.  My safety, shooting  and teaching skills are reinforced.  In firearms training, the skills we learn are perishable and they need to be practiced and hopefully constantly improved.


I'm grateful for this opportunity to teach, and recommend it to all of my professional and volunteer colleagues.

Fishing Knots...Part 4 of 6, The Nail Knot

Step 1. Place a nail between the fly line and leader. Wrap the leader back towards the end of your fly line about 6 times.

Nail Knot (Leader to Fly Line)

The Nail knot is one of the most important knots that every fly fisherman should learn. There are a few variations in the way this knot is tied. The angler can use a tube or a needle in replacement of the nail. With a little practice, this knot can be tied very quickly. Most common area for use is attaching the leader to the fly line. It can also be used to attach the fly line to the backing.

Step 2. Pass the end of your leader back through the loops you just made. After the leader is through, pull on both ends of the fly line and leader trying not to have the loops cross each other. Holding with fingers, remove nail.

Step 3. Moisten and snug down by pulling both ends away from each other. Clip excess line and leader close to the formed knot.

National Shooting Sports Invitational 2011, San Antonio Texas

I decided to put up this page to help myself, family members and colleagues by building a one-stop-shop for information we may need for the big trip.


Organization 

• National 4-H Shooting Sports Home
• National Shooting Complex, San Antonio - Our range for the week.

Documents

• Event "Howdy Packet"
• 2011 National 4-H Shooting Sports Invitational  - Event Synopsis
• 2011 National 4-H Shooting Sports Invitational - General Rules

The Group Hotel

Days Inn San Antonio Northwest/SeaWorld

6010 NW Loop 410

San Antonio, TX 78238

Phone: 210-522-1995

Fax: 210-522-1106

Hotel Link

Springtime A Flurry of Shooting Competions

Brevard County Fair FITA Match

My writing has been kind of slow this spring because of my involvement in all of the shooting matches our local kids have been involved with.  But man, was it fun!


The State 4-H Matches - Locally we had about 50 kids participating in the Florida 4-H State Matches giving kids the opportunity to show their skills in archery, trap, skeet, rifle and black powder.  The state riffle match was held first, and Francis D. came in 6th place state wide in three-position air rifle, Intermediate Division.  Next was the state archery match at the new Easton-Newberry Sports Complex near Gainesville.  20 of our top archers competed in FITA, Field and 3-D competitions with most of our club placing or doing extremely well.  Our club is especially proud of Paul T., a 4-H Senior, who qualified for the National 4-H Invitational in June in the Sighted Compound Bow Division.  Our shotgunners did well in trap and skeet over in Bartow, Florida.  In this match, a child does not even place with a score less than 90 usually (of 100) broken clay targets!

Christina learning to
break both targets with one ball! 

I almost forgot to mention our muzzleloaders!  The season's local shooting culminated in the 4th Annual Brevard County Fair Archery Match.  63 shooters, shoulder to shoulder, competing against their peers for big, beautiful rosettes.  Our local club the Sharp-Eye Shooters took most of the awards, but all of the kids representing 11 different Florida counties did very well.

Noah and his Dad shooting together at
the state muzzle loading match.

What pleased me most with all of these events, was the level of safety, volunteer participation and sportsmanship displayed.  It was amazing.


Thanks to all who participated and to our commercial sponsors as well such as, but not limited to Brevard Archers, Action Gun and Archery, Hodgdon Powder, our local gun clubs in Mims and Palm Bay and the Florida 4-H Shooting Sports Program.