4-H members qualify for national competition

WAITSBURG-Three senior-level members of Home Grown Go Wild 4-H competed at the 2019 Washington State 4-H Shooting Sports Championships in Eatonville, Wash. on May 17-19, earning the right to represent the Walla Walla Valley and Washington State as delegates at the at 4-H Shooting Sports Nationals next summer.

Waitsburg High School junior Timothy Daves, Walla Walla High School freshman Nathanael Bennett, and WWCC Running Start senior Quinn Perry will make up three-fourths of the Washington State team. Brock Bower, of Kittitas, earned a spot as the fourth team member.

4-Hers from across the state competed in a variety of disciplines including: .22 rifle, .22 pistol, air rifle, air pistol, shotgun, recurve archery, compound archery, muzzle loading and hunting skills.

 Home Grown Go Wild members competed in the .22 pistol competition which includes three skill areas. The NRA Camp Perry round required the youth to shoot 10 shots slow-fire, 15 timed-fire and 15 rapid-fire, recording 40 shots all with a distance of 25 yards. The NRA Slow-Fire Bullseye included 4-10 shot strings per 10-minute time span, once again with the range of 25 yards.  The final stage of the competition, Smallbore Hunter Pistol Silhouette, required the youth to shoot banks of five targets; 10 chickens at 40 yards, 10 pigs at 60 yards, 10 turkeys at 77 yards and 10 rams at 100 yards, recording a total of 40 shots.

In competition, Perry placed first, Bennett placed second and Daves placed third individually with Home Grown Go Wild 4-H taking the first-place team award in Target Shooting Sports. Kittitas County placed second and Spokane County 4-H Shooting Stars placed third.

All three 4-H members are active in more than just shooting sports. Perry Quinn has raised livestock including cattle, swine, and goats and has participated in leadership, Know Your Government and market turkeys projects. He was a delegate for Washington State Shooting Sports in the 2018 National Shooting Sports Competition in Compound Archery. 

Daves is currently a Washington State 4-H Ambassador as well as a Walla Walla County Ambassador and is raising cattle and goats to be sold at local fairs this fall.  He has also participated in leadership projects, photography, food nutrition/ preservation, woodworking, swine, Know Your Government and public speaking.  Daves was a delegate for Washington State Shooting Sports in the 2018 National Shooting Sports Competition in Shotgun.  

Bennett is involved in livestock projects including goats (meat, novelty and utility), leadership, health and poultry and rabbits.

The team members will be practicing, fundraising and seeking additional sponsorships as they prepare for Nationals next summer.

 After more practice, fundraising and seeking additional sponsorships, the team members will represent Home Grown Go Wild 4-H, the Walla Walla Valley and Washington State 4-H Shooting Sports as delegates at 4-H Shooting Sports Nationals in Grand Island Nebraska, June 2020.

 "We couldn't do what we have done without community support so far.  This year we were fortunate to receive a grant from the Friends of the NRA, allowing us to get new pistols and rifles.  We were also blessed to receive funding from the Waitsburg Lions Club which allowed us to get paper and silhouette targets as well and from Sportsman Warehouse in Walla Walla which has allowed us to host fundraisers," said club leader Cindy Daves.

"As we do not collect additional fees for youth to learn and participate, we rely on fundraisers, community supporters and sponsors.  We are very excited about supporting and educating youth in these disciplines. We are pleased these organizations are making an investment in our community and future generations," she added.

 To learn more about Home Grown Go Wild 4-H Shooting Sports, contact Cindy Daves at (509)520-9952 or visit the club page on Facebook.