Plains 4-H club shooters get ready for tournament

Members of the Southside Sparks 4-H are setting their sights and taking aim at two upcoming shooting tournaments.

On Sunday, eight Southside Sparks traveled to Doug Mitch's garage about five miles north of Plains to practice for the Kalispell Invitational Tournament Feb. 16. The young shooters spent about an hour and a half shooting the Daisy Avanti .17 caliber air rifles from the prone, kneeling and standing stance and also took some practice shots with a Daisy Avanti air pistol.

Mitch, who in his second year as shooting sports leader for the 4-H, said they are also planning to take some members to the statewide tournament in Bozeman at the start of March. He said that this was the first time that he knew of that the Southside Sparks will travel to shooting tournaments.

Mitch said they decided to go to the tournaments because of the rising number of people in the 4-H shooting sports and the rising skill level of the shooters. "They're better shooters and need the challenge," Mitch said. "This will expose the shooters to more competition," he added.

The rising popularity in shooting sports isn't unique to Plains, said Mitch. "This is the most popular 4-H project right now and the fastest growing nationally," Mitch said. He said the shooting sports attract children to the 4-H who aren't involved in the animal projects and also attracts those that are.

Besides the fact that people just like to shoot guns, Mitch said the personal competition element of the sport also attracts people. "It's something you can work at as an individual and master," Mitch said. "This is a personal growth type sport and it's something you can do until you're an old man or an old woman."

Mitch, who along with the rifle shooting sports leader Jolene Dryden practice with the children each week, said that the shooters improve almost on a weekly basis and are able to see their progress. To help the shooters see their progress, they are scored weekly after about an hour and a half shooting session.

The scores are sent to Kalispell for a 4-H Postal Shooting Match. Mitch said the tournament spans over an eight-week period and 4-H clubs from across Montana are competing in it.

The competition is nearly two-thirds over and finishes Feb. 9, according to Mitch.

After finishing shooting Sunday, 14-year-old Ben French from Paradise, said this was his third year participating in shooting sports and he has improved a lot, but wasn't sure of his exact scores.

"I get a lot more bull's-eyes now. I know that much," French said. Mitch was sure of French's scores. In his first week, he scored 111 points shooting the air rifle from the prone, kneeling and prone positions and now has scored as high as 209 points. "It's the kind of sport, where the more you shoot, the better you get," Mitch said. "Practice, practice, practice," he added.

Mitch said that besides having fun, shootings sports also teach children safety, responsibility, discipline and concentration. He said they need to learn how to focus and not be bothered by what the people next to them are doing. "It's just you and the pellet," he said.

The 4-H shooting sports were helped by a nearly $5,000 grant the club received from the National Rifle Association last July. Mitch said the funds helped them purchase the six Daisy rifles, the four Daisy pistols and a backstop for their targets. Mitch said the air rifles use a rechargable compressed carbon dioxide cartridge and don't have to be hand pumped like their old ones. "This is a much better rifle," he said.