For five days in late June, young shooters from across the country descend on the quiet town of Grand Island, Nebraska for the 4-H Shooting Sports National Championships. The event concluded last Friday with national champion individuals and teams from nine different disciplines being awarded at the Heartland Events Center. This year was the largest competition in the event’s 23 year history with 42 states (last year’s high was 39) and 718 athletes.

Teams from the 42 states competing in the 4-H Shooting Sports National Championships parade into the Heartland Events Center during the Opening Ceremony.

The 718 participants from 42 states that compete in the 4-H Shooting Sports National Championships taking the competitors pledge.
According to the National 4-H Shooting Sports website, “The focus of all 4-H programs is the development of youth as individuals and as responsible and productive citizens. The National 4-H Shooting Sports Program stands out as an example. Youth learn marksmanship, the safe and responsible use of firearms, the principles of hunting and archery, and much more. The activities of the program and the support of caring adult leaders provide young people with opportunities to develop life skills, self-worth, and conservation ethics.”
As kids progress through the 4-H Shooting Sports they have the opportunity to compete, first at the county level to qualify for the state contest where the top individuals aged 14-18 in the nine disciplines (air pistol, air rifle, small bore rifle, small bore pistol, shotgun, muzzleloading, compound archery, recurve archery, and hunting skills) qualify to compete at nationals. Unlike other competitions, a youth can only qualify once in each discipline—if you make it to nationals for shotgun, you can’t go back in that discipline, however you can go back in any of the others. Many kids plot out their path to try to compete each of the years they’re eligible, but others are happy to make it once in their career.
The competition is a grueling nearly week long event. Equipment check in starts on Sunday evening with inspections to ensure all firearms and bows meet rules for draw or trigger pull weight, scope settings, and more. Monday is slated for final practice and confirming that all equipment is still sighted in after the trip—teams travel from around the country with many driving long hours in order to tote all the necessary gear.

Competitors drove from across the company to compete at the 4-H Shooting Sports National Championships.
On Monday evening during the opening ceremony, state teams parade in together—similar to an Olympic grand entrance—waving state flags and wearing matching gear for the opening ceremonies. Leaders from the outdoor industry welcome the competitors and their families. Companies like Federal Premium Ammunition, Crosman, Midway USA, and Grand Island-based Hornady recognize the importance of supporting these young people who are the future of the shooting sports. The companies sponsor the event and participate on the National 4-H Shooting Sports Committee to help guide future events. Supporting young shooters is important enough that Jason Hornady announced during his speech that his company will be increasing his sponsorship by an additional $10,000 for a total of $30,000 for next year’s championships.

Jason Hornady, whose company is based in Grand Island and is a corporate sponsor of the 4-H Shooting Sports National Championships, welcomes the participants to the event.
For the next three days, the kids compete in their disciplines at the Heartland Public Shooting Center. It can be a challenge for some who excel in specific parts of the discipline but not in others. In shotgun competition, shooters must compete in sporting clays, skeet, and trap. Archers must be able to do FITA, field, and 3D archery. Rifle, muzzleloading, and pistol will shoot their discipline’s version of silhouettes, CMP Sporter, NRA 3-position, Slow Fire Bullseye, or a modified Camp Perry Round. For specialists, it can be humbling but what better way to learn the full breadth of each discipline.

Competitors in the shotgun competition during the skeet round support each other after shooting.
And although each of these disciplines are broad, the real generalists are those competing in the Hunting Skills event. Read more