After months of practices, ten local 4-H’ers are now preparing to head to the state shooting competition.

The 2017 Alabama State 4-H Shotgun Championship is set for April 14-15 at Red Eagle Trap Range in Sylacauga and Selwood Farms in Childersburg. Students in Franklin and Colbert 4-H will compete in trap, skeet and sporting clays over the two-day period.

Junior 4-H shooting team members are Walsh Nelson, Davis Lindsey, Jackson Mitchell, Levi Baker and Sully Hall (pictured singly below).

Sully Hall

Junior 4-H shooting team members are Walsh Nelson, Davis Lindsey, Jackson Mitchell, Levi Baker and Sully Hall. Senior 4-H shooting team members are Kolton Robinson, Trey McWilliams, Ben Fennel, Robby Ahlstrom and Turner Collum.

To be skilled at shooting sports, “99 percent of it is mental, getting the mindset right,” said coach Wade Willingham, who has worked with the competitors for many weeks of Tuesdays and Saturdays to help them prepare for the challenge. “I think we’re going to go all the way.”

Coach Wade Willingham.

Several of the participants are shooting sports veterans, with several of the competing at state last year and bringing home a number of medals. Others, like, Sully, are newcomers.

“It’s fun because you have to really practice to do it, and you have to really focus,” said Sully, who just got into shooting this year. He’s said he’s excited for his first chance at a competition.

Each team member will compete in each of three events, which all pose slightly different challenges. “Friday we’ll shoot trap and skeet at Red Eagle Trap Range, and then we’ll go over to Selwood Farms and shoot sporting clays on Saturday,” Willingham explained. “Then will go back over to Red Eagle Trap Range and do the trophies.”

Trap, Collum explained, requires the shooter to shoot five targets and each of five stands. The hardest part, he said, is staying focused. “You can get distracted, and then it’s hard getting your focus back.” Collum, 17, a veteran on the senior team, has been involved in shooting sports for four years. “It’s just a fun thing to do,” he said. “It’s challenging.”

Sporting clays, in contrast to trap, challenges the shooter with smaller targets. “The machines don’t shoot out straight. Some of the targets bounce off trampolines, and some roll on the ground,” explained Mitchell, 13.

Skeet is Ahlstrom’s favorite of three. “It’s way more fun,” he said. “You don’t just go out there and shoot – it takes a little more thought.”

The participants will be scored individually and as teams.

4-H Agent Jennifer Pickens expressed her pride in these ten boys. “They have been committed and have worked very hard,” Pickens said. “They have dedicated their free Saturdays to work toward achieving this goal.”