Ever since the fall of 2005, Texas County’s Big Piney Sportsman’s Club (BPSC) has been home to a program designed to give area youth the chance to become familiar with – and even good at – using firearms: The Texas County Shooting Sports Program.
When the program was founded, National Rifle Association grant money and various donations allowed for the acquisition of several guns and scopes, and other equipment like shooting mats and ammunition. The program now supports youth participants from both 4-H and FFA, and offers a variety of ways in which they can be involved in various shooting disciplines.
The six-year-plus history of the BPSC’s youth program includes several memorable individual and team competitive performances, highlighted by the showing turned in by Willow Springs resident Zachary Collins at the 2010 4-H national Championships in Kerrville, Texas.
At the age of 16, Collins shot in three small-bore (.22 caliber rim fire rifle) events, and took the silver medal in overall aggregate score. He placed second in both the silhouette event (firing off-handed at metal animal figures at a distance of 25 to 100 yards) and CMP event (telescopic sight at bulls-eye targets ranging from 25 to 100 yards), and fourth in the three-position event (bulls-eye targets using iron peep sights at 50 yards).
On the way to the runner-up finish, Collins amassed eight more points than the previous year’s top score.
The BPSC also supports FFA trap shooting teams from Houston, Licking, Cabool and Summersville, and hosts regional trap competitions each September that also include squads from Mountain View, Willow Springs, Koshkonong, and Dora.
Registration for the club’s 4-H Shooting Sports Program begins in December for youth ages 8-to-18, followed by a mandatory safety class in late January or early February. The program usually gets under way in March, when adequate light is available at the end of school days.
For more information, call Amber Dailing at the University of Missouri Extension office in Houston at 417-967-4545. A list of upcoming 4-H shooting events can be viewed online at http://4h.missouri.edu/go/projects/shootingsports/contests.htm.