It’s shortly past noon on Tuesday when the first vehicle arrives on site, and the crackle of gravel underneath rubber tires breaks the silence long before it comes into view. Soon after the first arrival, the stream of vehicles increases. Some carry guns and ammunition. Most harbor excited children ready for an afternoon of trap shooting.
A year ago this clearing, four miles from Harrisburg on the eastern side of Crowley’s Ridge, was just another field. Now its a shooting range where dozens of kids from Northeast Arkansas hone their skills as part of the Arkansas Youth Shooting Sports Program (AYSSP), sponsored by the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission.
Five at a time the kids line up, each to take a turn waiting for the trap machine to unfurl an orange target. Most of the time, the target doesn’t return to earth in one piece. As the exercise wore on, the smell of gunpowder wafted through the air, and the pile of expended cartridges littering the shooting stations was matched in bulk only by the target debris on the range.
Guns and children can be a hot-button topic, but on this mild afternoon, parents relaxed and chatted while the kids unloaded their weapons under the watchful eye of coaches and AGFC Shooting Sports Coordinator Chuck Woodson.
“Our purpose is to teach gun safety,” Woodson said of the program. “Our hunter education numbers were down and we were looking for an avenue to bring the hunter education numbers up.
“Any time you have 2,400 kids show up at five regional tournaments and a state tournament and have no accidents, it’s a safe sport.”
The Youth Shooting Sports Program can trace its inception to the 2006 National Wild Turkey Federation Convention in Nashville, Tenn. During a presentation on youth programs, the Arkansas contingent hatched the idea of starting a youth program of its own. “
Up on the wall they had a big map on a PowerPoint that showed all the states that had a youth shooting program,” Woodson said. “It was very few, but Arkansas wasn’t on there. Our commissioner said we’re not having that.”
In the months to follow, Woodson started talking with other coordinators around the country for advice. He was told a successful first year would involve 200 kids and 20 coaches. Instead the program attracted 918 kids and 125 coaches in its inaugural campaign. Those numbers ballooned to 2,403 kids and 265 coaches this year.
In just over 18 months, Woodson said the program has become the largest youth program of its kind in the United States. The $250,000 program is funded by revenue generated from a 1/8 cent sales tax earmarked for the Game and Fish Commission and the sale of conservation license plates. Registered teams who agree to practice at least six times receive a grant providing targets, ammunition, shell pouches, protective eye wear and ear plugs. It also affords participants the opportunity to qualify for a state tournament from one of five regional competitions.
The combination of financial support, grassroots interest and a structured competition format has helped vault the AYSSP into a position of tremendous growth. Pat Turnage, who coaches the Harrisburg HORNETs shooting teams, was one of the first on board when the AYSSP launched and can attest to the program’s success. It took a matter of hours.
“I’m a trap shooter and we’d go all over the United States shooting trap,” Turnage said. “We’d see these other states have lots of kids shooting and we didn’t have any. Lo and behold the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission started the Youth Shooting Program.
“We had (almost 40 kids) before I got back from (AYSSP) training in Little Rock. Before I got back to Harrisburg we had that many kids interested. We got on the telephone and said, ‘Hey would you all like to start shooting trap?’ And boy, there it went.”
Harrisburg’s shooters have made the most of their opportunity. The AAA junior team of Brett Long, Corey Traynom, Haden Zirbel, Garrett Grubbs and Jordan Harper won a state title last Saturday in Lonoke. It was the second straight title for Harrisburg.
Five Rivers out of Pocahontas finished fourth at state in the junior division, while Rector’s senior high squad took third in the North Regional and earned a state appearance in its first year of competition. Harrisburg’s junior AA program placed second in the East regional behind the AAA team and also made the state competition.
Other communities in Northeast Arkansas have caught on as well. Kids from Corning, Piggott, Marion, Marmaduke and Cross County also participate in the program. Word of the program continues to reach people who want to get involved.
“We heard about it through the grapevine,” Rector coach Jason Murray said. “Up in Clay County there are three schools and all three had a team. That’s how I heard about it. I got online, got to investigating it and contacted Chuck.”
For Murray, the program offers multiple benefits from safety to camaraderie.“We’ve had hunting accidents around where I’m from,” said Murray, who is a licensed hunting instructor. “Especially being from a rural area like I am from, all the kids like to be able to shoot. If they can shoot at something, they’re excited. To me it’s and opportunity to educate the kids on gun safety ... It’s just an opportunity for these kids to have some good clean fun and compete. Getting to bring home a trophy to the school doesn’t hurt either.”
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