4-H and muzzleloading

[eggwelder]

my son has been shooting since he was 7. he is 11 now, and I can`t tell him how to shoot either. lol. I sincerely wish that any such group as 4-H around here had even a slingshot program. he is 12 next spring, and will be enrolled into army cadets. they at least still shoot once in a while.

 

[Smokey Plainsman]

I remember shooting a BB gun when I was in the boy scouts. A muzzleloader would have been a lot more interesting.

 

[robinsroost]

I remember shooting a BB gun when I was in the boy scouts. A muzzleloader would have been a lot more interesting.

In the Boy Scouts, at camp, we shot a .22 caliber shot shell, in a smooth bore rifle, at hand thrown clays. I don't remember ever hitting any, LOL. robin :hmm:

 

[pondoro]

One Boy Scout camp I went to shot 22's into a berm. The other one shot 22 shot shells at wooden disks sliced out of a 3-4" diameter tree. They were thrown like a clay target and jumped if you hit one. There were purpose built smoothbore 22 guns sold.

My daughter works at a gun store and is instructed to watch for a smooth bore 22. If one comes through I want it.

Many 4-H clubs have a good selection of shotguns and muzzle loaders these days, several outdoor groups are very generous helping them buy equipment.

 

[WyomingWhitetail]

I actively participated in the 4-H shooting sports program when I was a kid. I got to start at 8 and we shot air rifle, air pistol, 22 LR pistol, 22 LR rifle, shotgun trap, muzzleloader, and archery. The muzzleloader portion was fairly limited, we normally only shot one or two nights every spring, mostly just to get the exposure to it. Our main focus was shooting air pistol/rifle and small bore pistol/rifle, we shot twice a week from November to May. Your local program may be different though. The program was a huge part of my childhood and I highly recommend it as long as the local leaders are knowledgeable.

 

[Tom Compton]

Why does there need to be some type of affiliation?
Bundling is much loathed from the consumer perspective....I prefer things ... A la carte

Several good reasons for an affiliation such as 4H.

1. Most kids have a need to belong to a group. It helps keep interest up. If a kid isn’t athletic or musically inclined they still need a group and IMO shooting is better than video games, skateboarding, etc.
2. Parents are, or at least should be, concerned about the safety as well as leadership and instruction their child will receive. I’ve seen parent volunteers in many activities ruin the fun for kids or even create unsafe situations. We’ve had single mothers bring boys and girls to give them exposure to things the absent fathers weren’t.
3. We live in a very litigious society. Even good volunteers need self protection such as insurance coverage available under large groups.
4. Advertising. Kids talk at school and in community in general and will attract more interest/participation. I won’t put an ad on Craig’s List as an individual saying I’ll teach kids how to shoot though I’ve worked w individuals when I knew the parents and was asked to help. I’m on the BoD at Tx MLRA and have seen the drop in participation over the last 30-40 years. Youth shooting programs in 4H especially seem to be our best source for new shooters.

I’ve volunteered with Texas Youth Hunting Program, the Youth Hunter Education Challenge (even took a senior team to international competition and won MLing), assisted w baseball programs and taught hunters ed. In all of these I’ve seen good and bad instructors but at least in more organized settings there were others to correct errors.

TC

 

[coloradoclyde]

I still think a muzzleloading group should be it's own entity....
Affiliations have to be delicately balanced and carefully spelled out with precise detail, otherwise one group ends up feeding off the other.

A 4-H affiliation could potentially harm the sport of muzzleloading.

 

[Kansas Jake]

I disagree. With the limited number of young people involved in any shooting sport and especially muzzleloading any program encouraging young people to shoot needs to be supported.

4-H provides an introduction to muzzleloading for a number of kids who might not get the chance to shoot a muzzleloader. Who knows which one will get that spark to set them off, puns intended, on a lifetime journey to the dark side.

 

[Tom Compton]

Nope.

At least w groups like4H more will be exposed to ML and some will stick. If not exposed at all ... well. And there is still the comraderie and talking about it a little all week vs being a loner. I’m 70 and been shooting MLs almost 50 years and I still like being part of a group - like this one or w like minded who live closer - tho I still go out on my own.
TC

 

[WyomingWhitetail]

Speaking from my own experience and the experience of kids I shot with, the 4-h program was the only exposure to muzzleloading there was. Most of the parents didn't own muzzleloaders and the kids knew nothing about it. Luckily the local 4-h club partnered with the local muzzleloading club to put on the shoots. The focus was always on safe practices, proper procedure, and teaching the kids about the sport. The 4-h club has several of its own rifles and the local shooters would bring others so the kids could shoot. A lot of these were rifles that had been built or cut down for there own kids or grandkids. Sure enough a few every year would like it so much that the next year they would show up with there own rifles.