Youth shooting enthusiasts in Texas County got a shot in the arm last week, so to speak.
The Piney River Covey of Quail Forever presented a check for $2,000 to the Big Piney Sportsman’s Club’s 4-H youth program, called the Texas County Shooting Sports Program.
Quail Forever is a sister organization of Pheasants Forever (based in St. Paul, Minn.) and is dedicated to improving bobwhite quail habitat.
“Another objective of ours is passing on gun safety and shooting and hunting heritage to the next generation,” Piney River Covey president Bill Yoder said. “That’s what we’re trying to do here, is encourage these youngsters in that way.
“In a lot of places, when you say ‘gun’ and ‘kid’ in the same sentence, you’re immediately ostracized.”
The money given to the youth program was raised at the Piney River Covey’s biggest annual fundraiser, a banquet that takes place each fall in Licking. Covey member and former treasurer Harvey Schulte said turning the funds over to the club helps insure that more kids can participate in shooting activities.
“Many of these things are expensive for the kids and their parents, so any kind of help we can give them is good,” Schulte said.
Yoder said one of the best aspects of the way Quail Forever is organized is that all money raised by a local covey stays in that covey’s control.
“All the money we bring gets used in the communities it’s raised in,” he said.
About a dozen 4-H shooters were involved in various forms of practice during Yoder’s Tuesday evening visit to the Sportsman’s Club. He took a few moments to speak to them about the importance of their awareness of quail habitat improvement.
Currently having 35 members, the Piney River Covey is planning a fundraising “shoot-out” event for Aug. 11 at the Sportsman’s Club. All the details are yet to be ironed out, but the event figures to feature several categories and is expected to include significant cash prizes for “top guns.”
For information, call 573-674-2166.