The annual 4-H State Shooting Sports Finals were held at the Clark County Shooting Park in North Las Vegas on Saturday. Six shooters from the 4-H shooting club in Pahrump made the trip and of the six, three qualified for the Nationals in June in Nebraska.
The six club members who attended the event were, Madison Smith, Colt Scronce, Tyler Veazey, Sebastian Jensen, Nathan Wabbel and Tim Boeck. Scronce, Jensen and Veazey qualified for nationals in shotgun. Scronce also qualified for nationals in .22 rifle and Jensen qualified for archery.
Shooting Coach Jim Gatling said he has volunteered for 4-H for the past four years. He said he likes helping out the kids in Pahrump and started because there just was not much out here for the kids to do. The shooting club shoots archery, shotgun and .22 rifles.
“I like to teach 4-H because it has the flexibility to do a lot of things. It used to be just about agriculture, but now we have shooting sports, anime club, creative writing club, and hiking club to name a few,” Gatling said.
One interesting aspect about 4-H is the cost to join is only $1 for the whole year.
For Gatling the interests go beyond just growing plants and raising animals to win ribbons at the state fair. He said it’s a chance to share a part of your life with these kids.
“There is a science club and we are hoping to start a robotic club, but we are short a leader. There is a lot of opportunity for people to get involved. There might be something for you to do. If you have a passion for something, you can get involved with the kids. I am involved with shooting sports and the hiking club,” he said.
The only female shooter was Smith and she said the chance to shoot was exciting for her. She has only been shooting archery for two months.
“I did pretty good. I like the archery and the instructors are cool. Shooting is fun and you get to meet new friends,” she said. Smith is a seventh grader at Rosemary Clarke Middle School.
For Jensen, this was his second time at this tourney, and the first time he entered the competition with a shotgun. Jensen is 16, and attends the high school in Pahrump.
“It was a lot of fun. I had some disappointing shots in archery because my bow was misaligned. I could not hit my target. The grouping was good, but just in the wrong spot. I did pretty good in shotgun considering I only started in July. I was shooting trap and I shot 34 out of 50. I want to go to Nationals this year,” Jensen said.