April News & Views
2nd Quarter 2006 April - July, 2006
Dr. Ron Howard

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Help Charlie Wilson Get the Right Gun – Exchange Needed
Once in a while we have an accidental gun exchange at a match or some other event. I know of at least three of them at the matches in San Antonio over the past few years. Usually it is due to having more than one of the same model on the rack and someone picking up the wrong gun. We believe that is what happened here, since Charlie Wilson has the right model shotgun - not his - and does not have one that is his. The missing shotgun is a Remington 1100 LT 20 with the serial number R018443K. That gun is on his inventory, but he has the same model with the serial number R045721K. Since his is owned by Texas Parks and Wildlife, he needs to have it for his inventory to be correct. Both of us feel that what has happened is that someone simply picked up the wrong shotgun off a rack at one of his shoots, leaving their own identical shotgun in its place. He needs the right shotgun to bring his inventory into compliance. If you have a LT 20 please check the serial number. If it is R018443K he has your gun and you have his. In that case, give Charlie a call at either 361-275-2178 or 512-413-0194. The two of you can arrange an exchange to get the two guns back in the right places. Please note that there is NO question of deliberate exchange here, only a case of mistaken identity. Please help Charlie get his gun back and get yours back in your hands.

Texas 4-H Indoor 3-Position Rifle Match Firing Order
Thus far we have had no word on either those who have qualified or on those who may have elected not to participate in the matches in Rosenberg on Roundup week. Watch the web page for changes if any occur. If a qualifying team does not intend to participate, please contact us immediately so we can fill in the empty spaces in the match and finish earlier. Remember this is NOT a Roundup Match this year, BUT winners may walk the stage on Thursday. If you are participating in the Rifle Match only (not any other contests), do NOT pay the Roundup entry fee . Entry formswill be up soon, and they should be sent directly to the state 4-H Office to the attention of Ms. Janice Mohr as soon as possible after your district matches are completed. This is the coach’s responsibility with and agent signature required. Teams should be on site at least 45 minutes to an hour ahead of schedule in order to finish their orientation prior to their shooting time.

Tuesday, June 6
0800 -1000 - D6 - 3rd D8 - 3rd D9 - 3rd D12- 3rd
1000 -1200 - D1 - 3rd D4 - 3rd D5 - 3rd D7 - 3rd
1200 -1400 - D2 - 3rd D10- 3rd D11- 3rd D3 - 3rd
1400 -1600 - D1 - 2nd D2 - 2nd D10- 2nd D12- 2nd
1600 -1800 - D4 - 2nd D7 - 2nd D9 - 2nd D11- 2nd
1800 -2000 - D3 - 2nd D5 - 2nd D6 - 2nd D8 - 2nd
Wednesday, June 7
0800 -1000 - D4 - 1st D5 - 1st D1l - 1st D12- 1st
1000 -1200 - D2 - 1st D3 - 1st D8 - 1st D9 - 1st
1200 -1400 - D1 - 1st D6 - 1st D7 - 1st D10- 1st
1400 -1600 - High individuals if needed*
1700 - Finals Round (top 10 individuals)
1800 - Awards Ceremony
* High individuals will be worked into any 3 member team rotations as space permits

Shotgun Invitational Matches
Although we have nearly all of the Whiz Bang related shotgun events and many others as well listed in the calendar, we may not have yours. If you are hosting an invitational match and would like to have folks from other places attend, the newsletter is an excellent way to make sure that someone knows the vital data: where, what, when and who to contact (phone and e-mail are both helpful). You can do that as simply as dropping us an e-mail with the pertinent information on it. We will be happy to post that to the Texas 4-H Shooting Sports calendar and to give it a plug in the newsletters that precede it. As changes are being made in our web site, it will become much easier for us to make modifications at any time, so even late information can be posted. It may not be as good as being on the list early, but it is certainly better than simple word of mouth.

Awards in 4-H Shooting Sports
For the sake of peace and harmony, let’s simply say this has been an “interesting’ topic for a year or two. I have studied award systems in 4-H for approximately 29 of my 33 years as an Extension Specialist. Here I share some insights into my observations.

There are multiple award systems in 4-H, both within and across major disciplines. The vast majority of them place all of the awards at the top. Others are based on standards of excellence, awarding levels of achievement in a discipline without a numerical or competitive context. Many of them have inherent bias. Many others do not. Some have built-in artificial barriers – stated or unstated. Some are artifacts of earlier times or archaic structural or mechanical elements left unchanged for decades in spite of program changes. Some are clearly detrimental to continued participation in programs. Some are actually antithetical to objectives of promoting of youth and character development. Some awards are based upon archaic or artificial standards that made sense some time past, but are not current with the state of the art in their disciplines. Some are even awarded contrary to posted rules or to identified best practices. Shooting Sports awards are not among those negative awards. Our awards are based upon “pure” standards. Purity, to a sports psychologist, means that the process of determining award placement is unbiased and based upon absolute standards that apply evenly across the array of participants. For example, we do not care if you are shooting an Anschutz or a old sporter.22 rifle because we only score the placement of the hole in the target. It does not matter if the shooter has a custom shop shotgun or one that was bought off the shelf in WalMart. We simply score whether a visible chip came off the target. Everybody plays by that standard.

It is abundantly clear that differences in skill level and other factors impact the distribution of awards. In addition, it is plain that some young people benefit from participation in programs and have a great time while developing into responsible adults; but it is also clear that they do not have either the physical attributes or the higher order skills required to contest for the top honors in a given discipline. These things should be clear to anyone who works with kids on a daily basis. In spite of that, those kids continue to participate because they find the games interesting, challenging and worth their investment of time.

Many of you, citing practices in other programs or other 4-H disciplines and personal opinions, have voiced arguments (nearly always politely) about our awards structure – both pro and con. Any observer of the shooting sports will note that the common practice is to classify shooters in some fashion, thereby permitting them to compete with others of similar skill or ability. That practice and youth development considerations form the foundation of our introduction of class awards. The selection of Lewis classing is based upon the mechanics of forming those classes along with simple recognition that differences in skill, talent and equipment exist. At its center is the well-documented relationship between personally defined success and retention in a program. By extension of the notion, it recognizes that retention is required for continuing impacts on youth development.

Since I do not yet have the capability of running a forum or similar interactive site, the best I can do is to provide a personal interpretations of the rationale behind those extra awards. If my concept of your motivations is sound, these should address most of the concerns that have been voiced opposing the Lewis class structure.

1. Nearly all shooting sports involving a broad public rather than only elite shooters use some classification or handicapping process. Most of those systems are based on established records of match results. The primary reason for those classes is to have shooters of like ability shooting against one another. They have different names or processes, but they use a classing system.
2. Keeping records for classification purposes is a huge job – one that we have neither the staff nor the time to manage.
3. Efforts at cheating are common enough in classification systems to have earned it a name, “sandbagging.” The practice became enough of a problem to force the creation of an additional clause in most governing body rule books – inclusion of a “known ability” clause in classification rules.
4. No one can credibly argue that shooters do not differ in many areas of capabilities within and across age classes.
5. Elite shooters, regardless of discipline, know that they are in the pool contending for top honors and that their performance on that day or days will determine where they rank. They need support and coaching, but they are able to take their finishing placement in stride and “wait ‘til the next match.” Shooters in the middle and lower ranges of the field in skill development are the ones who need the most support and encouragement to continue.
6. Growth and development of intermediate and lower level shooters is, and should be, a priority in this program that emphasizes life skills, reasoning skills and social development using shooting skills as the base.
7. Our research gives dramatic evidence that social development is more important across the board to kids (and coaches and parents) than are physical skills or mental skills. This is stable over age groups and years.
8. Shooters atop the score distribution have an excellent grasp of the nature of competition and earning their place. In other words, “scratch shooters” know that they should be contending for top awards consistently.
9. Scratch shooters generally have the most experience and the highest motivations to compete.
10. Scratch shooters have the most emotional protection against associating scores with self-worth and can handle finishing out of the awards better than do mid and lower level kids. They also have a higher probability of continuing in the program in spite of “having a bad day” or missing out on an award.
11. Entry level shooters, even if intermediate in skill level, often are more fragile and success-dependent regarding continued participation in matches or programs where they “also ran.”.
12. Providing awards to those lower level shooters encourages continued growth and participation in the program.
13. Losing a participant ends our ability to influence his/her development both as individuals and as shooters.
14. Providing additional awards for participants through breaking the array of final scores into classes can provide encouragement for continued participation and striving for higher achievement.
15. Providing additional awards has NOT and does NOT reduce the number of awards given to top shooters. They are additional awards with a specified and positive purpose.
16. From a youth development perspective, it is extremely difficult to justify any awards system that places all the awards at the top of the distribution. I question the notion that awarding an 11th place to an advanced shooter who had a bad day has higher value than does an unexpected 1st first place to a C class shooter.
17. Sandbagging is nearly impossible because no breaks are defined until the last score in an event is recorded.
18. Evidence in several disciplines (shotgun has the longest record) indicates that Lewis Class breaks approximate official classification breaks without the need to keep extensive records or the risk of sandbagging.
19. Allowing participants to opt out of the Lewis classes provides the opportunity for those who feel anything but the top level awards is demeaning or below their competency to decline being considered.
20. Placing all the awards at the top is a form of elitism, a focus on a minority. If forced to choose between elitism and a more egalitarian approach with a diverse youth audience, I would opt for the latter almost every time. The elite are always there and recognized. Our society (in my opinion) is already overly elitist, often for all the wrong reasons. If you have doubts, look at nearly every other form of youth competitive events and watch the adult manipulations that are rampant in them.
21. Those who have been through any of our workshops should recognize the source for this reasoning. It is from Coaching Young Athletes or Successful Coaching and from the materials covered in the general sessions of all of our workshops. This program is about KIDS and their development both corporately and individually. I tend to take umbrage at statements containing “my son, my daughter, my kid, etc.”. Every child, teen and young adult in this program is regarded as MY KID. So that is yours and all those who are not yours. If that were not the case, I would get out of youth development game for something less demanding and more lucrative.
22. We include a long list of character traits in our objectives for this program. Sportsmanship, honesty, personal integrity, honor, acceptance, willingness to help others, selflessness, and much more are modeled every day by kids in the program. Those demonstrated traits give me great pride in our kids. They value “fair”, “just”, “right”, and “honorable”, and they do so even when it costs them or their team. They value those things and do them because you, coaches and parents, have taught them. Provided with the reasoning behind the extra awards, I believe that most kids would voice approval. We will see when those who wish to comment take the opportunity to do so.

Smallbore Silhouette and Light Rifle Postal League Scores Posted
Final results from both of these postal leagues have been posted with this newsletter. Awards will be sent to the individual responsible for the county team as soon as they are completed and sent to us. Both leagues suffered unusually high attrition rates this year. Normally we have about two-thirds to three-quarters of the folks who sign up posting a score. This year both leagues suffered an attrition rate of nearly 50 percent. Since award rates are based upon enrollment, not completion, a relatively high number of participating shooters will receive awards . Congratulations to those who were able to finish the courses of fire and post scores before the deadline. With your continuing cooperation we can complete the tabulations and get the league awards out quickly. If your shooters are not listed, it is simply because we have not received them. (Link to results)

Frio County Whiz Bang Shoot
In addition to their usual trap, skeet and 5-Stand events, Frio County will be adding a 100 target walk-through sporting clays event this year. Note that the calendar has changed to reflect the fact that the Frio County shoot is a two day event spanning July 1 and 2, not a one day shoot on July 1. An application form is attached for your convenience. Thanks to Tommy Allmand for making us aware of the changes. (Link to Forms)

Shotgun PTO
Once again this year, we will be hosting a PTO prior to the start of the Advanced Texas 4-H Junior Olympic Shotgun Camp. The match will take place on Sunday June 11. Those attending the Advanced Camp may register by simply checking the appropriated box on their application form. Others may register at the range prior to the start of shooting or by contacting Charlie Coble at 979-693-5216 or by e-mail at: c-coble@tcox.net. As was the case last year, shooters must decide if they wish to compete in either international trap or international skeet. Time will not permit a shooter to compete in both events in this match. Each event will consist of 125 targets with a finals round for the top six shooters in each event. For questions, advanced entry and fees, contact Charlie Coble.

Registration for the Junior and Senior Shotgun Camps
Registration forms for the Junior and Advanced Texas 4-H Shotgun Camps are attached.. Registration for the Advanced JOSC will take place immediately after the PTO on Sunday, 11 June. The camp will run from the morning of June 12 through the morning of June 14. The Junior JOSC will begin with check-in at the Traditions Dorms at 4 PM on June 14 and end after the morning session on June 17. Registration forms, fee structures, medical and liability releases, and much a more complete description of the events are in the accompanying forms (Link to Forms). Note that the coach or participant waivers are common to both events. They are required for participation. Note, too, that coaches who are accepted to the program will not be required to pay registration fees.

Registration for the 2006 State Outdoor Archery Match
This is the second year that the leaders in Graham will host the 2006 4-H Outdoor Archery Match (June 16-18). In 2007 and 2008, the match will be held in conjunction with the Texas 4-H Shooting Sports Games with a revised format for both archery and shotgun events. Entry forms for the 2006 match are due in the Texas 4-H Foundation Office on or before May 26. Any entry form with a postmark after that date should include a late registration fee of $10 (ten dollars) per shooter in addition to the $25 per shooter entry fee. If a registration must be late for some legitimate reason (not acting in a timely fashion is not considered a legitimate reasons) the fee may be waived by prior arrangement with our office. Early booking of motels is also strongly encouraged as is making reservations for camp sites at Possum Kingdom, since they are in heavy demand. Parking on the actual contest sites is not a problem, and access is easy. Note that all applications must go through the Texas 4-H Foundation Office BEFORE we see them and that we must get them to the event managers before schedules can be set up. Please help us help you. Entry forms and both adult and youth waivers are attached (Link to Forms). Note that there is a column on the entry form permitting those archers who wish to compete for only the top tier of awards to opt out of the Lewis Classes. To do so, all they need to do is to check the A box on the entry form. Based on a committee decision , Lewis classes will continue for those who do not opt out of them. Awards at the top of each class will be determined by a formula devised in the state office based upon overall enrollment. NOTE: The committee approved the offer by the event managers to permit those archers who wished to shoot the FITA with both recurve and compound bows to shoot one FITA on June 15 prior to the official start of the games on June 16. Note that this will require being there early on that day to be able to complete the course of fire. Shooting with both types of equipment is NOT required, but is at shooter option.

Motels or Camping for the 2006 State Outdoor Archery Match
The situation with motels in Graham is better this year, but making your reservations early is still wise. This is a high volume time of year in the area and competition for rooms is serious. Match sites will be similar to last year, but the conditions may alter the landscape some. While the same motels continue to be available, Roger Smith has stated that the Best Western in Graham has been extremely cooperative, but that rates are up almost across the board because of the hurricane influence on housing. Some of the area motels are listed below.
A map to the sight, redrawn and “better” will be posted to the web site as soon as we have it available.
Best Western Graham Inn - 800-521-0190
Gateway Inn - 940-459-0222
Best Value Inn - 940-549-8320
The Cliffs is at Possum Kingdom Lake - condos and hotel rooms (888-843-2543)
Some additional lodging in bed and breakfast sites follow:
Hollyhock Hill Guesthouse - 549-8473 (Graham)
Double HH Guesthouse - 940-362-4535 (South Bend)
Elm Street B&B - 940-362-4535 (Graham)
The Rim Rock Ranch - 940-549-6969 (Graham)
Paradise on the Brazos - 549-7682 (Graham)
Roses & Lace Guest House - 549-2294 (Graham)
Andrews House B&B - 940-362-4243 (Eliasville)
Cove Cabin at Lake Graham - 549-6792 (Graham)
The Hen House - 940-549-2023 - (Graham)
Hockaday Ranch Guesthouse - 940-549-4449 (Graham)
If you want to camp at Possum Kingdom, you need to reserve the site and facility type. You may want to explore other options. The Graham Chamber of Commerce links with Mineral Wells, Breckenridge and Possum Kingdom Chambers of Commerce and you can reach them for information through the web at (www.grahamtexas.net/cvb).

2007 and 2008 Indoor and Outdoor Archery Match Site
During our post-Extravaganza meeting in Brownwood, the archery committee recommended and the state committee accepted returning the Texas Outdoor Archery Match to the Texas 4-H Shooting Sports Games for 2007 and 2008. Those two years will serve as a test case to determine whether holding the united outdoor match is viable. It will require some revision of match schedules in both shotgun and archery disciplines to offer a broader array of shooting times. We are accepting bids for the Indoor Matches in those years.

Proposed Format Changes for Shotgun and Archery in 2007
We have almost a year to make the format changes, particularly in archery and shotgun where expansion is needed, to reformat the Texas 4-H Shooting Sports Games to permit participants to have more flexibility in scheduling their matches. The state committee or designated representatives from each of the disciplines will be working on this project. Details must still be worked out, but the state committee has agreed in principle to modified formats, particularly in shotgun and archery to reduce scheduling conflicts and to provide more opportunities for those attending the games to try multiple disciplines. Black powder, hunting, pistol and rifle events are currently operating on a six day schedule, although some events are on a single day because of their nature and the numbers of participants. The primary expansions will need to be in the archery and shotgun venues. While this will make the squadding process more complex, it does provide more flexibility for the participants while expanding the interaction among participants with a primary focus in a single discipline. It seems clear that this will require a much more disciplined effort on the part of both participants and coaches to review the schedules and to avoid overlapping time frames. We should have a much better picture of all of this after the fall meeting and some serious preparatory work by the discipline subcommittees.

Registration for the 2006 Texas 4-H Shooting Sports Games
The 2006 Texas 4-H Shooting Sports Games are scheduled at the National Shooting Complex in San Antonio for 17-22 July , 2006. While we do not foresee the same level of confusion in the shotgun games as we encountered last year since we have exclusive use of the facility, early receipt of the registration materials is critical to our being able to provide you with workable shooting schedules. All entries are due in the Texas 4-H Office on or before 12 June 2006. Entries bearing postmarks after that date must include a late registration fee of $15 per shooter in order to be processed. Pre-paid tee-shirts will be offered again this year. Order forms are due with the registration fees, and that gives us sufficient time to get the shirts made. They will be ready for pick-up on the first day of the match.

Basic entry fees for all shooters not entering any shotgun events (except for the shotgun portion of hunting’s live fire and muzzle loading trap) are $40 per shooter. For shooters firing in one or more shotgun events, the entry fee is $60. The difference between the fees charged is directly related to the added cost of the paid referees for the shotgun events. Round fees are NOT included in this registration fee. Each shooter or county is responsible for purchasing their targets through the National Shooting Complex. The limited target costs for non-shotgun events and for the muzzle loading trap and hunting live fire events are adequately covered by their entry fees.

Entry forms for 4-H members can be found at the following link. (Link to State Forms). The liability release and medical treatment forms for both adults and youth are also there. This is required of ALL youth and adults on the grounds during this event. Entry forms for the adult fun shoot, which continues to permit youth participation, is there plus the waiver above. NOTE: Please fill out two (2) waiver forms (at least the signatures must be originals) on each individual attending the Games. Keep one with the county group for off site use if needed. Turn in the other copy at the office for our use in case we need to act without benefit of the county leadership.

A tentative structure for the single projectile, hunting and muzzle loading trap games is also at the above link. The tentative shotgun match schedule will be up shortly. Please be sure to take the competing events into consideration when planning your shoot registrations. We will make every attempt to minimize conflicts for those firing multiple events, but scheduling and range constraints may not permit us to do so. Note that participants in the shotgun games may NOT schedule more than two shotgun events in any given day. We may permit some exception on International day for those who are finished early enough to compete in 5-Stand or Sporting Clays, but coaches should be cautious about overloading a shooter in any given day, particularly younger shooters where fatigue could become a safety consideration.

Review the match announcement carefully. There is a great deal of information there to help you help us in running a great shoot. Note that the safety briefings are REQUIRED EVERY DAY. None of us have any leeway on this. We are required to do them by our Risk Management Office, and we must require all shooters to attend them! Shooters failing to have and display a valid name badge with the appropriate endorsement will be disqualified from that day’s events. Nobody will be permitted to circumvent this rule knowingly. Anyone using false certification will be disqualified from the entire match, not just the single day’s events. While there is much that will be common in each one, there are also event- or condition-specific items covered every day. Most of these are related to safety or procedural information or changes. Enforcing this rule is an essential part of the safe and responsible operation of a match. Either briefing (shotgun or rifle-pistol) is adequate for the day.

Funding Challenges
Starting in Fiscal 2006 (September 1, 2005), all travel and other expenses for the our office are being charged to our Texas 4-H Foundation accounts. The reasons are many and entirely external to the program. The most significant one is related to state funding for Extension. While overall funding increased, several unfunded mandates were attached to that increase. Coupling that to a mandatory salary adjustment, the overall result was a cut in some programming funds, with some of them cut severely. Those of us with outside funding, like Texas 4-H Foundation funds, have NO state funds for travel in this biennium. The second impact is the continued inability to use the funds generated for us by TSRA through their designated license plate sales. The total available amount from the first two years was transferred to the Texas A&M Foundation to support the Tubb Scholarships. This amounted to something in excess of $21,000 and included the share (about $10,500) designated by TSRA for 4-H Shooting Sports support. Although the original word was that the funds would be divided between the programs, that apparently was not permitted. As a result, the comptroller would not release any of the funds except for the scholarship fund.

The next issue is relates to the funds raised in this biennium. Noone at TSRA or here on the campus knew that these funds were being considered as taxes and that they needed to be re-authorized biennially. We were informed of that by the Comptroller’s office three (3) days before the end of the legislative session. That was too late for even our best friends in the legislature to get anything done. Thus the funds are accruing, but we have no authorization to use these funds unless the special session of the legislature addresses that issue. The chance of that, with the issues on the table for the special session, is extremely low.

TSRA will provide support this year at their former level, but that still leaves us with a deficit of nearly $28,000 over the four year period. TSRA and Texas 4-H are working to fix the problems, but plenty of challenges remain. The loss of state formula funding also impacts our support on campus. We partially support three students who are providing essential support for us. All of them are hard working former 4-H shooting sports members. All of them must draw some of their funding through our Foundation accounts. Without these two young women and one young man we could not keep up, and we certainly could not do anything new. We will not get into the impacts of fuel prices on travel costs.

These things combined to force a choice. Either we back off in program intensity or we need to find means of maintaining the staff and travel requirements to maintain and grow the program. I believe the former to be unwise and counterproductive both in the short and long terms. The latter may require that we increase fees to cover the real costs of maintaining the program. The shortfalls we have absorbed through grant funds and other resources must be made up by fees. Workshops that are under-subscribed (we generally plan to break even at about 40 people), may need to be cancelled. I wish none of this were true, but this is the reality we have been facing since September and, I believe, for some time to come.

Hotels for 2006 4-H Shooting Sports Games
After analysis of the processes we have used for years we have found that you tend to get better rates than we are able to get by pre-blocking rooms. As a result, we have decided not to waste the time spent trying to develop those over-priced lists. Should it appear that conditions have changed and we can provide you with an advantage, we will attempt to block rooms. Right now, it is not worth the effort involved for either you or us. The good shoppers among you are beating us, often by a substantial amount. I believe that the primary reason is that you deal with the local management and all blocks are forced into the corporate offices, who are much less cooperative. If you need a set of contact numbers for San Antonio hotels, please give Janice Mohr a call at 979-845-1214 or send an e-mail to either Janice at j-mohr@tamu.edu or to Tammy Gebert at TAGebert@ag.tamu.edu . They will be happy to give you the contact information they have. Act early. San Antonio is busy in the summer.

Helping Out the Program
For the past few years we have been holding a banquet to benefit the 4-H Shooting Sports Committee, Inc., a non-member, tax-exempt foundation dedicated to supporting the Texas 4-H Shooting Sports Program at all levels. Nearly $50,000 has gone to local and statewide programs through the funds raised at this dinner. Those funds are under the control of the foundation’s trustees, composed of the officers and lead instructors for each discipline on the Texas 4-H Shooting Sports Committee. David Williamson (Crockett) has been the fund-raising coordinator since it was started, putting together the fund-raising dinner held at the Texas 4-H Shooting Sports Games in San Antonio every year. David does yeoman service in rounding up items for both the auction and the raffles. He encourages and welcomes your help. While there is an obvious focus is on shooters, those who participate in other outdoor activities and folks simply looking for something to display or use purchase items every year. Donations can include anything of value. You can claim either the actual value of the item or the price paid in the auction if the item is auctioned. For example, I have donated working flies, mounted fly sets, and early American wooden toys to the auction and raffle over the years. Other donations have included guided hunts, custom gun cabinets, firearms, a quilt faced with Shooting Sports tee-shirts, and lots of other items a shooter, hunter, angler or camper might need. If it is an item you might purchase in an auction or try to win in a raffle, it is probably worth including. Cash donations are also welcome, and will be acknowledged with a receipt indicating that it is a tax-deductible donation. To contribute in any way, contact David Williamson, PO Box 846, Crockett, TX 75835, e-mail 44magdave@intrastar.net or call 936-544-5356. David needs to have the items in hand or have a complete descriptions of them before the end of June in order to list them in the event program and to place them most advantageously.

For those who may wonder about fund management, note that distribution of funds is in the control of the Foundation Board, who undergo audits and file IRS reports. Neither David nor I are involved in fund distribution. Grants in the past have assisted with dirt work on a range, provided silhouettes used in state, regional and local events, supported development of a shotgun range, supported the start up needs of a county program, and many other items. The board considered 4 grant requests early this week as well. The funds benefit the 4-H shooting sports program at all levels through your generosity.

Reminder on Changing Shotgun Registration
A few years ago the statistical office for shotgun at the Texas 4-H Shooting Sports Games was overwhelmed by changes in team structures after we arrived at San Antonio. The nearly crippling situation was solved by initiating a $20 charge per change that was not forced by circumstances beyond the control of the county or club, e.g. sickness, injury, loss of a team member, or similar conditions. That reduced multiple, elective changes tremendously and generated a much higher level of peace and satisfaction in the stats office, eliminating chaos. Therefore, all elective changes after the registration deadline will require that fee. Do not plan on lax enforcement at the match. It will not happen. Last year’s mess required massive changes. We are back to our own process this year and do not anticipate any repetition of last year. Changes prior to the registration deadline may be made without charge, as will those necessary changes cited above. Please plan ahead and minimize the challenge for folks who are working diligently to generate results quickly and correctly.

Comments - Shotgun Scoring Program and Shotgun Procedure Changes
In several meetings over the past few months I have heard people express the notion that delays in shotgun awards were the result of identified individuals or slow and unreliable execution of the shotgun scoring program. Neither of those notions is true. The shotgun program manages a number of complex operations quickly and effectively. It was designed for exactly what we do, and it does it very well. Reality is that three things contributed last year. First, hundreds of changes forced by errors in externally provided pre-squadding took place. Second, problems in getting information from the fields to the statistical office in a timely fashion were frequent. Finally, waiting to hold shoot-offs to the end of the program needlessly delayed match results that could have been completed hours earlier.

The shotgun sub-committee has addressed these issues and identified changes that are required to improve our overall operations and to speed delivery of final content. First, ALL practice will be squadded and under the control of a single volunteer with full authority to act. Second, practices will be handled in an organized fashion with any given squad being able to sign up for one practice round at a time. Third, one field will remain open for shoot-offs, and we will conduct them as soon as their need has been identified and those shooters are called. Shooters who fail to report for a shoot-off will be listed last in that shoot-off as stated in our 4-H Rules. There is no recourse provided. Fourth, as has always been the case, squad leaders (the first name on each squad sheet) are responsible for returning their score sheets IMMEDIATELY after the completion of their rounds – no lunch break, trip to the vehicle, visit to the bathroom, or other action and no substitute delivery person (exception - the match director MAY deliver the score sheet at his or her discretion). Since the squad leader has full responsibility for the score card and its contents, we expect them to exercise that duty. (One of the delays last year resulted from a squad leader leaving the grounds with the scores of five shooters in his back pocket.)

Let’s simply state that the program is fine, the office staff does a tremendous job quickly while exercising checks and balances to make sure that everything is right before awards are presented. The statistical office staff knows what they are doing, how to do it, what the criteria are for every award, and how to get that information assembled in useable form. They do all of that without even having a horse in the race – because they care about the program and the kids in it. And they do it while getting everything ready for the next day so the squadding crew does not need to stay up until 3 AM preparing for the next day’s events. If I seem a bit personal about this, it is because I have been the person behind the computer several times. That is why I know the program and its capabilities well. Before a critic convinces me that they have a “new and improved program that is better than what we are using” I want to see it perform in parallel with the one we are using and enter, squad, cross check, rank, form teams, and calculate all the overalls successfully. Remember, problems beyond the doors of the stats office cannot be fixed by a program, regardless of its source or its elegance. They have to be fixed on the field or at the score sheet review desk – before it crosses the threshold of the stats office. Until those of you who wish to be vocal about all of this have walked that mile with a shoot including individuals, teams, overall awards and six major events superimposed, give the folks who are doing all this for you the benefit of the doubt and find something else as a vent for your frustrations. All of us will have a more pleasant experience.

Overall Awards in Shotgun
Awards in the shotgun program have been the object of review for over two years. Most of them are straight forward and generally understood. Others, particularly the Top Gun and Gunsmoke awards, seem to be constant targets for forcefully stated opinion. Each of those awards has a well-defined set of criteria. The Top Gun award was donated by Elrey and Olivia Ash many years ago. It requires that the individual post scores in all of the shotgun events. Except for the shots fired in the sudden death American or sporting clays shoot-offs, it is computed by taking all hits made and dividing them by all shots fired. It specifically includes puff rounds in the international games. Arguments cannot change the intent and purpose of the donors. We will continue to operate by the criteria set up by the Ash’s when the award was created.

The Gun Smoke awards have been essentially a skeet, trap, five-stand overall. Since each age class - Junior, Intermediate and Senior and both sexes have defined awards, there is no need to divide the total score by the shots attempted. The award was sponsored by its originator for the first three years, and it included a unique award cut from an oil sand core. Since that time, it has been sponsored by the Texas 4-H Shooting Sports Program. As the sponsor, the Texas 4-H Shooting Sports Program has both the right and the responsibility to define the criteria for these awards. We have, we have been consistent, and the awards go to the right person. Note that changes in our courses of fire will result in their being changes in the award calculation. It will now include both sporting clays scores as well as the two American events. Let us not generate any more heat over these awards. There are no conspiracies in the stats office. We simply run the calculations and place the kids.

I believe the other HOAs are transparent enough for anyone with a pencil and a Big Chief tablet to calculate. Some of them may be dropped or altered once the shotgun awards committee finishes its review of the awards structure. That committee has been charged with reviewing all shotgun awards and reporting recommendations back to the Shotgun Committee and through them to the full committee for action. No major changes came up in the April meetings, so these award definitions still pertain for this year’s events. If late changes take place, we will post them to the web. .

More Team Events in Hunting, Muzzle Loading Rifle, Pistol, and Rifle
This year we will be offering team events in eight events, two each in rifle (light rifle, smallbore rifle silhouette), pistol (air pistol, smallbore hunter’s pistol silhouette), muzzleloading rifle (25 yard Haffner/Bottle, 50 meter bullseye), and hunting (wildlife ID and management, hunting skills). Like the shotgun teams, each team is made up of three members (the fourth slot is for an alternate if needed) and all three members must post scores for the team to be considered. All scores will count. Since this is a paper match, team members need not fire on the same relay. Team entry forms are attached to the newsletter. We do permit “shooting up” in order to form a team, but the individuals must compete at the higher age level in the event to be a member of a team. All three team members’ scores will be included in the team score.

Reminder on Shotgun Rules
We will continue to use governing body rules in shotgun with two exceptions. First, the “no muzzle pointed toward any body part” rule remains in effect. Second, in keeping with USA Shooting rules on matches that do not advance to national level events, we will not enforce the 24 gram shot charge rule in the international games (although the kids will do better if they shoot them or something very close). You may download ATA, NSSA and NSCA rules from their respective web sites. For those who enjoy argument, 4-H Rules take precedence in ANY and ALL residual conflicts among sets of rules, e.g. safety, challenge or protest rules.

The two primary changes for 2006 are: 1) the mount in sporting clays is now free, i.e. the shooter may mount, partially mount or use a low gun in the sporting clays disciplines, and 2) the course of fire in International Skeet has been changed to the currently approved course of fire defined by international governing bodies, i.e. Low 3 and High 5 have been dropped from the course of fire and a second set of doubles has been added at Station 4, with the first pair being taken High -Low and the second being taken Low-High.

After last year’s experiment with sporting clays (which got us back to our roots for those of you who were not with us back then), we will offer both 5-stand and (walking) sporting clays as venues in 2006. Participants should remember that to qualify for Top Gun consideration all 6 (six) events must be fired: international skeet, modified trap, skeet, trap, 5-Stand and sporting clays. Gunsmoke awards will now require four disciplines, not considering international skeet or modified trap.

Courses of Fire in Shotgun
While some interest was expressed in reducing the number of rounds in our shotgun games, the committee has affirmed that the basic courses of fire we have used will continue to apply. Juniors will shoot 50 targets. Intermediates will shoot 75 targets, and Seniors will shoot 100 targets. The Senior group will be divided into two groups: Senior 1 (14-15)and Senior 2 (16-18). Please observe your shooters carefully and ask their opinions on this issue. We want to avoid entering the myth of adult wisdom. We have two objectives that must be considered in any changes: 1) what bounds in terms of safety and fatigue factors are imposed on these kids (evidence comes in many ways, but a good coach will see it) and 2) shooting enough to let the kids sort themselves out in the original event with minimal shoot-offs. Those of you in the middle of your touring season may have opinions you would like to voice already. Coach opinions on the two points above are likely more valuable than youth opinions. Youth opinions on whether or not a change is “worth it” are more valuable to the decision makers than are coach opinions. Simply identify the source and send them in to me on e-mail or as a hard copy. We will get them into the right hands.

Appropriate Dress for 4-H Shooting Sports Events
Like other 4-H programs, Shooting Sports has a dress code. It may seem nebulous to those who like hard black lines on white paper or those who like to test limits, but it is simple and plain. Participants (and spectators) must be dressed modestly and appropriately for a public event. The intent is plain, but feel free to ask for an opinion if the following items are not adequate to clarify the statement.
1. For many years we have required that shirts with sleeves be worn even under shotgun vests. That rule
remains in force.
2. We are not going to get into measuring the height of a pair of shorts above the knee, but “modest” requires
discretion. If we feel that discretion is inadequate, we have the right to require that the shooter change prior to being permitted to fire.
3. Clothing that distracts other shooters is a form of interference.
4. Clothing bearing advertisements for alcohol or tobacco products, or bearing suggestive, lewd, or foul phrases, or similar items is not appropriate for Texas 4-H Shooting Sports events.
5. Clothing that depicts disgusting emblems related to of shooting, like “happiness is a large gut pile”, or
exploding prairie dogs may be seen as a joke by some of us, but they are NOT appropriate.
6. Shoes, like athletic shoes, must cover the feet. Walking around the ranges bare footed or in sandals or flip
flops is asking for a foot injury. The shoes are part of your protective gear, and open toed shoes are a safety hazard.
7. Remember, each of you, individually, represents all of 4-H. Dress like our worst enemy watching.

Finally, we are not a fashion show, rock concert, day at the beach or similar venue. We are a 4-H program using the disciplines of shooting sports to develop the best qualities of youth and to prepare them for adulthood while having fun. That is our core. Our dress, demeanor and behavior should reflect our program objectives. These are not new rules. They have been with us for years. If you have any question about it, don’t wear it. If we have any question about it, you will be required to change before competing.

Sportsmanship Challenges
4-H shooting sports promotes and relies upon high standards of sportsmanship. That means that we do our utmost to behave as both gracious winners and supportive and positive also-rans (we have no “losers”). Last year two instances of members from one county booing those from another county during an awards programs were reported to me. I found that deeply disturbing. It gives evidence that someone is teaching lousy (poor is too gentle a word here) sportsmanship. Such behavior has NO place in our program. Similarly, displays of disgust or confrontational argument with officials are signs that winning is more important than sportsmanship. We have mechanisms to redress errors. There are even ways to confront poor sportsmanship. Just to be clear, displays of poor sportsmanship will be considered serious behavioral breaches. They will be treated as such with appropriate actions from verbal reprimands up to and including disqualification from an event or the match. Texas 4-H Shooting Sports is the showcase for competitive shooting nationally. The rest of the country looks at us, and we need to look inward even harder. Let’s live up to what we claim to believe, that our character is more important than our placing and that how we play the game is more important than where we place. Coaches should teach and model those principles of sportsmanship along with skills and techniques. How we behave toward one another is a huge part of the game and an excellent measure of sportsmanship.

Sportsmanship Awards
Several years ago, two shotgun leaders (Charlie Wilson and Billy Snow) asked for permission to offer a sportsmanship award for women at the Games. A couple years later, David and Annette Williamson requested permission to add age class sportsmanship awards each year to be presented at the Texas 4-H Shooting Sports Games. The Williamson trophies have become traditional, and those awards have been judged by an anonymous panel through last year. They have expanded beyond the shotgun events to include kids in any part of the program. Along with that expansion in the scope of the awards and recognition as state awards, comes the need for some rule and procedure guidelines to govern the Texas 4-H Shooting Sports Sportsmanship Awards. Criteria are listed below, along with the procedures for entering a person for a sportsmanship award.

1. The awards are for consistent, positive sportsmanship shown throughout the year or the shooting career, not
for a single selfless act or for simply doing what should be considered shooter duty or responsibility.
2. Award nominations should come from a coach, club manager or another shooter with the endorsement of the nominee’s club OR from those outside the nominee’s club who have observed exemplary sportsmanship. The latter includes other shooters from different or the same clubs. Note: Parent nominations for their own children are not appropriate and will not be considered.
3. Shooting skill, national prominence, or like elements are not germane to the structure of these awards,
although most of our kids who are at the top of the game are likely to be demonstrating good sportsmanship.
4. The award nomination form should be used, but additional documentation or extra page(s) to more fully
explain the reasons for the nomination are permitted. We will not simply weight them, however.
5. The entry deadline for 2006 is 16 June 2006 for archery, pistol, rifle, hunting, muzzle loading or shotgun
participants. Awards will be available in all of these disciplines if suitable candidates are identified.
6. All nominations must be sent to the Texas 4-H Office, attention Ms. Janice Mohr.
7. A committee selected by the Texas 4-H Shooting Sports Coordinator will review all applications and make recommendations on the award or awards to be made.
8. Awardees will be recognized at the State Games for their record of outstanding sportsmanship exhibited in
the program.
The award nomination form will be up shortly.

Adult Matches at the State Shoot
The adult pistol, rifle and shotgun matches will be held again this year taking place on Tuesday and Wednesday afternoons with awards presented at the banquet on Thursday evening. Pistol and rifle registration fees are $20 per individual per event or $150 for a 4 or 5 member team with the top four scores counting. Shotgun teams may register for $150 with teams of four or five members. Again, only the top four scores will be included in the team score. Teams may be constructed from multiple counties if that is required fo team formation, but we would discourage forming all-star teams. The additional cost of team entries is to cover both individual and team awards, and to enrich the Texas 4-H Shooting Sports Committee, Inc., our foundation, i.e. fees are donations to the foundation. Please note that shotgun fees DO NOT INCLUDE round fees charged by the club. Upon critical review of the “Milton Kolb Rule” which prohibits his shooting from a duck boat, the committee has concluded that the rule was discriminatory, and he may be permitted to do so, provided he can get it onto and off the shooting pads without undue delay of the match or interference with other shooters. Women’s and open teams are encouraged to participate. If sufficient women’s teams are registered we will consider adding an additional division to protect male egos. So – sign up early and y’all come. See the announcement and registration forms attached (Link to Forms). Send registration forms for both individuals and teams to: Dr. Matt Roberts, Houston County 4-H Shooting Sports, P.O. Box 846, Crockett, Texas 75835. Make checks payable to: Texas 4-H Shooting Sports Committee, Inc.

Fall Workshops
While it was our intent that all workshops for next fall would be listed here, it appears that we may need to wait until the July newsletter for some of them. Two fall workshops are currently scheduled: Kingsville (September 8-10) and Monahans (October 5-7). Note that the Monahans workshop is a Thursday through Saturday workshop to accommodate those who have other and higher callings for Sunday. We are working on others in the Daingerfield, San Antonio, Beaumont, Waco, Brownwood or Brady, Amarillo, and perhaps Wichita Falls areas, but none of those dates or locations are cast in concrete yet. Watch the web site for changes. (Link to Workshops)

Hunting Workshop
A full scale hunting workshop was held under a grant from the National Wild Turkey Federation - Texas Chapter near Mountain Home west of Kerrville in mid March. Seven participants spent five days in classroom, field, and working sessions that spanned the breadth of this massive program and allowed them to sample some of the activities they could do with kids. We will be working with other such workshops as time permits. If your kids are more interested in the application of their shooting sports skills to hunting than they are to the formal shooting games, perhaps you need to have someone plan on spending a few days with us exploring the manual, the additional materials, hunting issues and literature, outdoor cookery (when the burn ban is lifted), and the “hows” of writing good questions for hunting exams. Learn to navigate with map and compass. Learn to extract the information from a topographic map. Learn to hunt the elusive Carmelita and the enigmatic Pseudocarmelita spp. while gathering data on their habits and habitat. If you have a great place to hold one of these, please let us know. We would love to bring one to your back yard if the facilities permit. If interest indicates, we would love to hold two of these annually. Don’t let my biased voice speak to the value of the workshop, ask someone who was there if it was worth the time and effort.

What to Look for in a Shooting Sports Leader
We have done this before, but it seems to be time to run these things again. The 4-H Shooting Sports Program is a demanding one. It requires dedication and training both in the general objectives of the program and teaching skills and in the specifics of training and coaching young people in one or more selected disciplines. Every 4-H Shooting Sports leader who goes through a state training course has exceeded the requirements to become a master volunteer (workshops run 30 to 35 hours of intensive, often hands-on training) once their give-back time is reached. Our average volunteer is giving back approximately 450 hours annually with groups of kids ranging from 5 or 6 up to as many as 150 in a club. So, here is what we are looking for.
1. Desire to help young people develop life skills, safe practices and shooting skills
2. Commitment to a very demanding role as a volunteer
3. Willingness to recruit and share the glory with others who can have a similar impact on kids
4. Dedication to continuing education in the multiple areas required to become a better coach and instructor
5. Willingness to make a personal investment and to stay the course
6. Understanding that excellence is defined by each individual, not by some artificial standard
7. Dedication to the highest standards of sportsmanship
8. Willingness to work with the county, district and state staff for a better program
9. Willingness to be a positive role model ALL the time
10. A huge heart for kids and their needs.
If we can get all that, success in the program is assured!

Getting on the Workshop Schedule
We continue to work on a pattern of hosting two workshops in each of the four Extension Regions annually. As you can see by taking a look at the attached calendar, some of those are set up as much as two years in advance. With District and Regional 4-H staff, we determine sites in each region on the basis of several factors, including distribution of workshops over the region, availability of facilities, demand, and our ability to staff the workshops. Staffing is a challenge at some times of the year, since most of our folks like to get into the field during hunting seasons, we have a full schedule of events and activities, and other limitations on staff members. Site issues center on teaching space, ranges, adequate motel or camp facilities, and appropriate range space.
Site requirements include:
1) a classroom or other space large enough to hold the entire group (up to 130 people)
2) breakout space for six simultaneous classes
3) ranges suitable for archery (safe open area, preferred on or very close to site), pistol (we can use air and be in
an area about 40 feet long), rifle (as with pistol), shotgun (formal range or site where target chips and lead deposition are not a problem and there is at least a 400 yard safe zone, and muzzle loading (need both a site where we can stop a high power bullet [bank or berm or formal range] and an area similar to the shotgun range
4) if reloading is taught we need a room where the reloading class can set up a minimum of 6 portable
“benches” about 2.5 x 4 feet in size and we can easily clean up if we spill shot, etc. on the floor
5) a quiet space for coordinators to meet, plan and discuss;
6) both adequate housing and food at affordable prices for the volunteers and staff attending.
Once those needs have been addressed in cooperation with your local Cooperative Extension Agents, contact your Regional 4-H Program Director to get on the schedule. Since they have only two slots per year, early contact and a good sales pitch are advised. For the North Region (Districts 1, 2 and 3), Brad Davis Bdavis@ag.tamu.edu is your contact, For the East Region (Districts 4, 5 and 8) your contact is Faith Ballard Fballard@ag.tamu.edu in Stephenville. For the South Region (Districts 9, 11 and 12), your contact is Luis Saldana Lsaldana@ag.tamu.edu in Weslaco, and for the West Region (Districts 6, 7 and 10) your contact is Charla Bading Cbading@ag.tamu.edu in San Angelo. Note:ALL workshops remain open to anyone in the state.
If you are interested in hosting a hunting workshop, contact us at the State Office( Ron - ra-howard@tamu.edu , Janice - j-mohr@tamu.edu , Tammy - TAGebert@ag..tamu.edu . Plan well ahead. These take a while to set up and recruit participants.

Texas Teams for the 2006 National Matches
The Texas 4-H Shooting Sports Committee has finalized the membership on our 2006 Texas 4-H Shooting Sports Team for the National 4-H Shooting Sports Invitational in Rapid City, South Dakota. Because of the loss of two kids from the hunting team and a lack of available alternates, we have space for one additional member if you have a qualified and willing individual. Contact us directly on that issue. Team members are:

Recurve Archery
Russell Deck, coach
Sean Grant
Tyson Deck
Simone Petrosky
Kelsie Harlow

Compound Archery
Harvey Dean, coach
Dillon Dean
Logan Laughman
Melissa Huston
Matt Willlis

Air Pistol
Dwayne Richardson, Coach
Jared Welch
Takota Richardson
Clayton Leopold
Emily Green

Smallbore Pistol
Wayne Rother, Coach
Franklin Hargrove
Justin Rother
Baze Gierisch
Kendal Kusak

Air Rifle
Ed Kubos. Coach
Ben Port
Olivia Hogan
Greg Donham
Karen Kubos

Smallbore Rifle
Michael Zimmerer, Coach
Johnathan Zimmerer
Holly Humphreys
Matthew Dean
Tawnya Rother

Hunting
Charles Leopold, Coach
Jodie Kristynik
Andrew Matej
Stephen Dybala
Chris Page

Muzzle Loading Rifle
Danny Rother, Coach
Amy Wing
Lee Kusak
Brandon Rother

Shotgun
Bill Massey, Coach
Mack Wayne Davis Jr.
Caleb Bargfrede
Trevor Stubblefield
Justin Price

Designated alternates are not listed, but will be contacted if one of the team members must drop out for any reason. Some of you who check on us may note that Jodie Kristynik is leading the hunting group, as she did last year. The ban on competing more than once in a discipline is still in effect (it is a national 4-H rule). She is back because she got sick and had to return home last year before the competition began. We are pleased that she had her eligibility left and that she can be with us this time around.

Texas Team Applications for the 2007 National Match
The best time to apply for membership on the Texas team for the National Games is when you are thinking about it and have a bit of time to complete the application. The 2007 applications are posted now. We have also posted some of the old questions used on the application with answers so you can see the approaches to those nasty questions. In the event of ties this year, we will use postmarks to resolve those ties as an initial tie breaker. Thus there is something you can do directly to increase your chances - get the application in early! Applicants must be a minimum of 14 years of age by January 1, 2007 to comply with the age limits for national 4-H contests. Contestants may not be over the age of 18 on 31 August 2006 for the 2007 Games.

Judges in these things are looking for scores and thoughtful responses to questions they know are tough. So spend some time thinking and studying the questions before you reply to them. Do not simply shoot from the hip. We want great representatives of the program in case a reporter looking for a negative story catches someone for an interview. Unlike many states, we do not select an all-star team on the basis of shooting skills alone. We are also looking at character and ability to represent the state to others. The 2007 event will be the last year in South Dakota, and I do not know where we will be in 2008 and 2009. We will announce that after the National Committee does its voting.

To apply, you must be a member of either the shooting sports or the field and stream projects, and have competed in the events that will be fired by the selected team(s) in the national matches. Since we will be including rapid fire air pistol in our matches this year, that exemption will stop with this application. We will accept applications for the 2007 Texas teams immediately and until the December 1, 2006 deadline. That gives us enough time to make up blind copies that are used in the first two levels of review in each discipline. If more than one is indicated (we would prefer that you indicate choice priorities), the application goes to all of those indicated.

Note that an individual may compete only once in any given discipline, but that there are currently nine disciplines (recurve archery, compound archery, air pistol, air rifle, hunting, muzzle loading rifle, smallbore pistol, smallbore rifle, shotgun), and we are trying to add a couple more. That means that someone who does it all would run out of years before running out of options to represent us.

In the past couple of years we have had several disciplines where we did not have enough applicants to field a team, and we have had to find people to fill them. When that took place in one discipline this year, we got twice as many applications for the team in trying to fill those spots than we had received initially. We are done with that. If we do not have sufficient applicants to fill a team, we will forfeit that discipline and give someone else the national trophy that we donated and have won every year thus far. This is not my program. It is your program. If you want to be part of the showcase group who represents us in the national events, you need to get an application completed and sent to us. Download the form, fill it out, and send it in. Do it now, so you are not trying to do something that takes a few hours while you are busy with fall sports and other activities. We need 36 great kids who are quality shooters and at least 9 alternates (we needed three in one discipline a couple years ago because of injuries and other challenges). We should have over 100 applications in the office and make the committees fret over how to place them. The ONLY way to represent your state is to apply. The surest way to stay home is to fail to apply. I will be looking for that application.

2006 Texas 4-H Shooting Sports Camp
Information and applications for the Texas 4-H Shooting Sports Camp held annually in Monahans are attached to this newsletter (Link to Form). Applications are due in the Ward County Office by May 16. Applicants will be notified of their status by May 30, and the $135 fee is due at that time. The camp will be held in Monahans at the Bentley Center June 14-17. This year, those participants who would like to get certified in hunter education may do so during the camp program. Apply early, this one tends to fill up.

Federal Cartridge Ammunition Offer
As of this writing, the Federal offer made earlier in the year is still valid. Ammo can be shipped directly to clubs at reduced costs. If we get further offers to ship directly to San Antonio for you on a pre-paid basis, I will post that as soon as possible. Watch for a flash on the web site with a short fuse if we get the job done.

Smallbore Hunters Pistol Postal League
We are giving the smallbore hunter’s pistol silhouette postal league one more chance. If participation levels do not show marked improvement we will conclude that there is insufficient interest to sustain the effort. League shooting rules will remain the same. Smallbore (.22 rimfire) pistols up to and including the TC Contender or Encore pistols, but excluding bolt action pistols, firing .22 rimfire short, long or long rifle cartridges with either metallic or telescopic sights are permitted. Hyper velocity loads, like Stingers, are NOT allowed due to target damage. Three matches must be fired between 15 May and 31 August 2006. Registrations are due in the state office by June 1. If there are sufficient entries we will divide the event into metallic and any sight classes. If not, only a single class will be fired. If desired shooters may fire both ways at no additional fee. Targets must be standard ½ scale smallbore hunters pistol targets. Each registered shooter must fire three matches during the time period of the league, but they may not fire more than one match (unless shooting in both divisions) on any given day. For the convenience of the local clubs, timing of the matches is left up to the shoot management. Practice shooting is allowed on the day of each match, but the record match must be declared before the first record shot is fired. Scores may not be improved by either selecting from several courses of fire on a given day or by re-firing the record course. Juniors will shoot 10 shots each at pigs and rams at 40 and 50 yards respectively. Intermediates will shoot 10 shots each at pigs, turkeys and rams at 40, 50 and 75 yards respectively. Seniors will fire 40 shots per record score, 10 each on chickens, pigs, turkeys and rams at 40, 50, 75, and 100 yards respectively. Results are due in the State Office on or before September 15, 2005. Registration forms are appended to this newsletter (sbhpsihl06).

Air Rifle Silhouette Postal League
Air Rifle Silhouette Postal League registrations are due in the state office by May 1, 2006 for a match spanning the months of May through August. The standard 4-H courses of fire will be fired, Air rifles .25 caliber or less using either metallic sights or any sights that do not project an image on the target or operate the trigger will be fired. At the shooters’ option, they may double enter and fire in both matches at no additional cost. Shooters must complete three matches during the league, with no more than one match in each division fired on the same day. Practice is permitted on the day of the shoot, but the league matches must be declared before the first shot for record is fired and may not be re-fired to enhance the scores or selected from several courses of fire. Targets will be standard 1/10 scale silhouettes. Juniors will shoot 10 pigs at 15 yards and 10 rams at 25 yards. Intermediates will shoot 10 pigs at 15 yards, 10 turkeys at 25 yards, and 10 rams at 30 yards. Seniors will shoot 10 each - chickens at 15 yards, pigs at 25 yards, turkeys at 30 yards and rams at 40 yards. Scores are due in the State Office on or before September 15, 2006.

Trap and Skeet Postal League
The Trap and Skeet Postal League will run from June 1 through August 31, 2006. Registration materials will be up shortly. Please note that the shooters may register for trap, skeet or both events. Juniors will shoot 25 targets (one round) per month, intermediates will shoot 50 targets (two rounds) per month and seniors must shoot 75 targets (three rounds) per month. Unless interrupted by events beyond their control, the entire series of shots for each age class should be fired on the same day and in successive rounds if possible. Different events may be shot on different dates or times. Practice on the day of the record shooting is allowed, but postal rounds must be declared before being shot. They may not be repeated to improve the score. Scores shot in other state 4-H events may not be used for the league scores. IT IS ESSENTIAL TO REPORT BOTH long runs from the front (first shot fired to the first miss) and from the back (last shot fired back the first encountered miss) for each shooter! These are our only tie breakers! Every year, shooters lose tie breakers because the long runs are not recorded. You have the score sheets, we only have the scores. Please help us here and let your kids do as well as they can. Registration is due in the State Office on or before 15 May 2006 and all record scores are due in the state office on or before September 15. We will allow a grace period of two weeks to be sure all mailed scores have had time to clear the postal system. No scores will be accepted after 1 October.

Help Us Help All of You
We are getting better at communication, but we still too many stealth or insider events going on (or getting cancelled) because the potential audience does not know they exist. We try to put out newsletters in January, April, July and October each year. That means they have to be written in December (before the break), March, June and September to meet deadlines. It has not worked that way this year, but that is the plan. Conflicts and poor attendance are usually linked to failure to get the word out or the event on the calendar. To avoid those situations, and maybe to get more people to attend, let us help you publicize them. Any time you put an event together that is not restricted to your county or district, PLEASE send us an announcement immediately so we can get it calendared. We do not want to be the central scheduling office (neither desire nor time permit), but we do be a central information center to expand the grapevines. Let us help you open your events up to more participants. Let our office know as soon as possible and keep us in the loop.

EXPO Help
I know this is really for the July newsletter, but it does not hurt to put it in front of you early. EXPO is coming. Texas 4-H, through the Travis and Williamson County programs under the leadership of Wayne Harlow (wayne@harlows.us) will be leading the action at the air rifle booth, but your help would be most welcome. We can use kids, coaches, parents and anyone with enough dexterity to load pellets into a magazine with the proper side up. If we get enough people, you can even have a chance to see the rest of EXPO! There are also other venues where your help would be deeply appreciated.

Hot box Match 2005
The Brown County 4-H Shooting Sports Hot Box Match is scheduled for May 6 in Brownwood. Applications and information are attached. Because of the short fuse, direct e-mail or telephone contact with David or Carla Williams at 325-643-5463 or by e-mail at dctd@web-access.net is strongly advised. Forms are attached as (Link to Form). Cost for the first two events is $20 with $5 per event in addition up to a maximum of 4 events. This year the match will feature air pistol, sporter air rifle, air pistol silhouette, air rifle silhouette, 3-position smallbore rifle (2 prone targets for subs), a paper smallbore silhouette match, and an as yet to be disclosed adult event. Housing and meals are on your own. This is one of our traditional matches and one many folks enjoy as a state match warm up. Thanks to the Williams and other Brown County folks for putting this on for the rest of us.

Bass Brigade and Brigades in General
If you are looking for a leadership development program or you are interested in wildlife or fisheries, the Brigades are a great way to 1) wear yourself out, 2) learn a great deal about a wildlife species and habitat, 3) make some great friends, 4) develop speaking and presentation skills, and 5) have a great time! It all started with “Gentleman Bob” and the Bobwhite Brigade, but we now include Buckskin Brigades, Feathered Forces (turkeys), and Bass. I have NEVER heard a negative comment on these programs, and my experience with them and similar programs is that they can be life-changing for kids in the most positive of language. Contact information is attached to the announcement, but you can also contact Dr. Dale Rollins in San Angelo or Tamara Trail through the Texas Wildlife Association. Do it now.

Silhouette Invitational Match in Brady
The Silhouette Invitational in Brady is scheduled for Saturday and Sunday, June 3 and 4 in Brady. Entry forms are attached as BradySilh06. While this is primarily a 4-H match, David is once again attempting to schedule adults who want to be embarrassed by the kids. The introductory letter and registration forms are attached. Note that there are two reasons to be early. First, this event may fill up prior to the registration deadline of 26 May. Second, that weekend is the same one as the boat races on the lake, so motel space may be a challenge unless you strike quickly. (Link to Form)

Handloading Forms
Anyone shooting handloaded ammunition at the Texas 4-H Shooting Sports Games is required to produce all data pertinent to the loading of that ammo. (See January newsletter for explanations and requirements) Data forms for both metallic and shotgun cartridges are attached for your convenience. You may copy them as needed and use them to document your handloads for shotgun, rifle or pistol matches. We are quite serious about this process, so do not get caught short!

CMP Rimfire Sporter Rifle Match Synopsis
Rifles - maximum 7.5 pounds with sights and sling if a sling is used, stock may have a fixed sling swivel, no thumbhole stocks, adjustable butt plates or cheek pieces or rails - any safe action, but should hold 5 rounds - 3 pound trigger
Target: CMP B-19 or NLU049 or 50 meter free pistol target reduced for 50 yards
Course of Fire: This is a 60 shot match fired in one sighting stage and 6 record stages as follows:
Stage 1 - 50 yards, up to 10 sighting shots in 10 minutes - a rest or support may be used during this period
Stage 2 - 50 yards - 10 shots prone in 10 minutes
Stage 3 - 50 yards - 2 series of 5 shots standing to prone rapid fire - 25 seconds for autoloading rifles, 35 seconds for manually operated rifles
Stage 4 - 50 yards, 10 shots sitting or kneeling in 10 minutes
Stage 5 - 50 yards, 2 series of 5 shots standing to sitting or kneeling - 25 seconds for autoloaders, 35 seconds for manually operated rifles
Stage 6 - 25 yards - 10 shots standing in 10 minutes
Stage 7 - 25 yards - 2 series of 5 shots standing (starting with rifle butt on the hip) - 25 seconds for autos, 35 seconds manual
Divisions:
O Class - open sights including V, U or square notch rear, bead or flat post front sights
T Class - receiver sights or target type sights, or scopes up to 6X (variable scopes must be taped to no more than 6X
Equipment: No specialized shooting gear (boots, jackets, etc.) may be used, but the shooter may wear work or hunting type boots, and two sweatshirts.

Rule Changes in Rifle and Pistol
Several rule changes were adopted in the rifle and pistol disciplines at the meeting in Brownwood. These changes will apply to the Texas 4-H Shooting Sports Games and all events taking place after the publication of this newsletter:
Pistol Rule Changes
Metallic Sights - metallic sights are defined as a system of sights with a square, rounded or beaded blade front sight (with or without a ramp) and a rear sight featuring a V, U or square notch. Pistols with peep sights or any optical sight with or without magnification as well as AimPoints or similar devices will be fired in the Any Sight class where classes are defined.
Silhouette Classes - In pistol events, metallic sights for silhouette are limited to those listed above. Aperture sights will be permitted only in the Any Sight class, which includes all optical sights.
Supported Position for Junior Shooters - Junior shooters are permitted to rest their hands on the sandbag with the butt of the pistol touching or resting upon the sandbag when firing from the supported position.
Rifle Rule Changes
Air Rifle Silhouette - Aside from honing for smoother operation, the air rifle must contain any and all parts intended by the manufacturer. No modifications aside from those listed in the rules are permitted (e.g. tape or paint to cut glare, roughening the grip or butt for better control. The rifle may weigh up to 11 pounds (new NRA rule) and the trigger must hold a weight of 1.5 pounds.
Smallbore Sporting Rifle - In light rifle, CMP, Sporter Air Rifle and High Power Sporting Rifle, the following apply:
1. The barrel must be tapered in keeping with the sporter design. Rifles with target profile barrels, regardless of
their weight, are not acceptable in these events.
2. Sporter rifles must have a stock of conventional design. Thumbhole stocks, stocks with high combs or
excessively aggressive Monte Carlo combs and similar stock shapes providing extra support are not permitted.
3. Trigger pull regulations vary with the event. Setting up for the most stringent of them reduces tinkering.
4. Scopes, if used, are limited to 6X or less. Variable scopes may be used but they must be taped at a
magnification of 6X or less.

Other Committee Recommendations
1. Coordinators and Muzzle Loading discipline groups proposed following the hunting discipline in having
dedicated workshops. Those proposals have been approved. Locations for those workshops are open to invitations now. Contact the State Office.
2. Archery proposed returning to long bow and bare bow recurve divisions. That proposal was accepted.
3. The Shotgun committee affirmed the 50, 75, 100 target courses of fire in trap and skeet for Juniors,
Intermediates and Seniors, respectively.
4. Rules in each discipline will be examined and revised by each of the committees and returned to the state
office for general distribution as soon as possible.

Level 2 Archery Class Scheduled
Tim Acuff will be offering a Level 2 NAA Archery course in Port Lavaca on June 9, 10 and perhaps 11. Current archery instructors who want to go the second mile in learning the latest techniques and means of assisting shooters may want to consider it. You can contact time directly at tlacuff@swbell.net or by telephone at 979-244-8099. I am sure that space is limited, so folks need to get in touch with him by June 2 if they want to participate.

A Huge THANKS
At the committee meeting following Extravaganza, Stanley and Janelle Baumbach, Chair and Secretary of the Texas 4-H Shooting Sports Committee resigned. They are not leaving the program, but looking for more freedom to enjoy retirement. Roy Green, long time match director for the Extravaganza, also resigned from that role. We have extended our personal thanks to each of them, but perhaps you would like to do so as well. Bob Robinson, vice chair will take over until the fall meeting, and Evelyn Capps will take over the secretarial duties. Craig Sullivan stepped up to fill Roy’s large shoes with Extravaganza.

Parting Shots
Having already covered way too much ground, including an editorial approach to the whole awards issue, I will try to keep this one short. Becoming a Grandpa for the 7th time early this month has me thinking about what we are doing and why we are doing it. The conclusion is the same. It is about the kids, the future, the heritages of our nation, the costs of citizenship, and a sense of personal responsibility. As I did, many of you grew up in times and places where learning to shoot and to be responsible was a right of passage, perhaps a very early right of passage. My dad often said, “when you put a gun in a boy’s hands, the boy becomes a man.” He is still right. When we place a youngster behind a firearm, we cede adult responsibilities to that youngster while providing support to learn those responsibilities safely and in passing. Most of the time, we do not tell them all they are learning. Sometimes we do not know all they are learning. It is taking place because we did or did not do it, because we are being observed as well as heard.

This old educator continues to be convinced that the process of teaching by stealth is one of the best ones we have to inculcate critically important information in the next generation. If they happen to think they are having fun while they are learning, that is both to our credit and to our advantage. Learning is easier when there is a reason to learn and a context that permits it to go at one’s own pace and by one’s own styles. The Pythagorean Theorem will have meaning if they used it to plot a straight course home from a triangular walk. Understanding arcs and angles is easy for someone who uses minutes of angle to correct sights. Calculating error induced by the misalignment of magnetic and grid north can be illustrated by a map and compass walk. When the youngster picks up a map and compass to try navigating, that lessons of shooting contribute. When a youngster has cleaned squirrels, rabbits, raccoons and deer, the internal anatomy of mammals is much less a mystery than it is to those whose meat came from heaven on a plastic tray, neatly arranged to hide the largest bone. When he or she cuts, splits, stacks and carries in fire wood, the concept of energy transfer in their physics classes is not an abstraction, but a simple verification. Science applied is science with handles that allow the learner to grasp.

We could go much deeper in mathematics, literature, and more; but I think you have the point. Most of what we learned was learned before we started kindergarten. Some say as much as 80 percent. Most of that was taught in passing by people who care. Keep u p the good work! The country and the world need you and your kids.
See you in San Antonio.