Submitted

The South Carolina Department of Natural Resources hosted the Dillon County 4-H Shooting Sports club at the new shooting range located on the Marsh Wildlife Management Area in Marion County on Saturday, November 2, 2013. The DNR offered the skeet and trap fields to any youth teams that wanted to attend. The Dillon County 4-H team took 15 members who came from Dillon, Marion, and Marlboro Counties. While at the range the team shot 35 rounds of trap and skeet, at 25 targets per round, for a total of 875 targets.

The new range is a skeet range overlaid on a trap field. This allows participants to shoot skeet or trap on the same field. The field is located on the Marsh Wildlife Management Area (WMA) in Marion County near the confluence of Catfish Creek and the Great Pee Dee River. Of the 8,000+ acre WMA, the shotgun range is located on the 1,000 acres specifically reserved for youth activities. The DNR provided use of the range, targets, and staff from 9:00 a.m. till 5:00 p.m. Saturday.

The youth participants ranged from 1st time beginning shooters to registered competitive shooters. One participant, Samuel Coleman, an eighth grader from Dillon, shot a perfect round of 25 skeet without missing. The shooters were under the supervision of five adults who have attended either NSSA, NSCA, 4-H, or SCYSF coaches training. Along with the coaches there were many adults to help supervise and observe.

The Dillon County 4-H Shooting Sports has just begun training for the 2013-2014 season which they began on October 13, 2013. The 4-H club has been financially supported through grants received from the Friends of the NRA which host events in Marion and Dillon Counties. Anyone interested in joining the club may contact their local Clemson Extension Office. The Clemson University Cooperative Extension Service offers its programs to people of all ages, regardless of race, color, gender, religion, national origin, disability, political beliefs, sexual orientation, marital or family status and is an equal opportunity employer.

The Dillon County team will participate in the 4-H and South Carolina Youth Shooting Foundation (SCYSF) shooting series this coming year which have a total of 14 scheduled shooting events planned all around the State of South Carolina. Other local teams which compete in the SCYSF events are Pee Dee Academy from Marion County and Kings Academy from Florence.