General Information

The competition will be held outdoors rain or shine. Concessions will be available. Please provide your own outdoor seating. Ranges will not run late for shooters who could not complete the events registered. You will not be refunded for those missed events.

 

Program Rules

  1. No Alcohol or Smoking or Vaping will be allowed during the event.
  2. The event directors reserve the right to alter the event as weather, terrain, or registration dictates. Directors and Range Commanders may modify matches in the interest of safety and/or to make the event run more smoothly. Directors and Range Commanders will have final say on issues involving safety and range protocol.
  3. Participants who require physical accommodations must be requested at the time of registration. Accommodations will be reviewed, approved, modified, and/or recommended to alternative reasonable accommodations by the event directors.
  4. To be eligible to participate, all contestants must be enrolled in the 4-H Shooting Sports Program and meet the requirements of the contestant’s county for each event entered in.
  5. There will be three classes recognized. You must compete in your age group.
    1. Junior – ages 8-11 and in 3rd grade or above
    2. Intermediate – ages 12-14
    3. Senior – ages 15-19
  6. All participants must demonstrate that they are able to effectively compete in a safe manner. Participants must provide eye protection for all rifle, pistol, and shotgun matches. Hearing protection must also be provided for .22 small bore rifles and shotgun matches. Neither is required for archery, but eye protection is recommended.
  7. Clear Barrel Indicators (CBIs) are required for rifles and pistols during non-firing times.
  8. Directors and Range Commanders have the right to deny unsafe equipment on range.
  9. Participants are required to provide their own equipment.
  10. All firearms must be unloaded, cased, action opened, CBI in place, and safety is On when preparing for use on the range.
  11. All participants and spectators must always use proper sportsmanship with other participants and spectators.
  12. Coaching on the line is only allowed in the junior division or silhouettes. Range Commanders can be referred to for assistance. Parents may help repair equipment within reasonable time but may not help tune equipment.
  13. Any rule infraction(s) may disqualify a participant at any time during the event as determined by Range Commanders and Event Directors.
  14. Scoring for all shooting events will be done indoors by official score keepers on the day of the shoot. All decisions of scorekeepers are final. Scorecards and targets will be returned. Only authorized personnel will be allowed at the scorer’s tables.
  15. Challenges may only be made by the shooter. If there is a challenge on the line the Range Commander must be notified, and the target will be marked. If the challenge takes place after the target is removed, it will be made at the scoring tables. There is a $3 fee that will only be returned if the challenge is successful. The challenge judges will not be the original scorer but rather the shoot directors.

 

300 Round Archery Rules

  1. 60 Arrows:
    1. Junior participants will shoot at 10 yards.
    2. Intermediate participants will shoot at 15 yards (20 Yards for National Qualifying)
    3. Senior participants will shoot at 20 yards.
  1. Two 5 arrow practice ends will be shot.
  1. Only target or field points are to be used. No hunting points.
  1. All types of bows (except foot-bows and crossbows) are permitted, i.e. longbows, recurves and
    1. RECURVE/LONGBOW
      1. Any accessories acceptable
    2. COMPOUND BAREBOW
      1. No sights (no string peep sights)
      2. Finger shooters only
      3. No stabilizers
      4. No tape or marks on bow
    3. COMPOUND LIMITED
      1. Any sights
      2. Any type of stabilizers
      3. Finger Shooting Only
      4. All accessories acceptable
    4. COMPOUND BOWHUNTER
      1. Fixed Sights – Must be fixed and non-movable after practice rounds finish.
      2. String Peep Permitted
      3. Mechanical Release Permitted
      4. Stabilizers 12” or less Permitted
      5. No Sliding Sights
      6. No Magnified Sights
    5. COMPOUND UNLIMITED
      1. Any sights
      2. Any type of stabilizers
      3. Any release
      4. All accessories acceptable
  1. Bounce outs or pass through will be scored only if the judge can unquestionably determine the point of impact, otherwise, these will be re-shot at the end of the round.
  1. Time limit is ten minutes per end (5 arrows).
  1. NAA whistle commands will be used.
  1. On a 5-spot target, the shooter may shoot the spots in any order and as many arrows into any spot as the archer desires. Not to exceed 5 arrows per end.
  1. NFAA single spots or 5 spot targets will be used. Shooters must choose single or 5 spots at check-in time. No changes allowed after shooting has begun.
  1. The animal round will consist of 3-D targets that will be shot from a shooting line. There will be two shots per animal.
  1. Coaches will be allowed to assist in repairing equipment, (15 minutes time limit will be allowed for repairs if needed) but are not allowed to make tuning adjustments during the competition. Coaches can consult youth at the youth’s discretion, not the coaches.
  1. Participants who require physical accommodations must be requested at registration and approved by the Archery Match / Range Commander.
  1. Tiebreakers will be the greatest number of X’s. 2nd tiebreaker will be number of ends with 5 X’s. Scorecards will be rechecked for mathematical errors and corrected.

 

 

Archery Whistle Commands

Whistle: Two Blasts

Verbal Command: “Archers to the shooting line.”

Meaning: Archers pick up their bow and take their position on the shooting line. Arrows must be kept in the quiver.

Whistle: One Blast

Verbal Command: “Begin shooting!”

Meaning: Archers may now take their arrows out of their quivers and begin shooting.

Whistle: Three Blasts

Verbal Command: “Walk forward and get your arrows.”

Meaning: Archers have completed shooting. All archers have set their bows down and are behind the waiting line. They may now go forward to pull their arrows.

 

Whistle: Four or More Blasts (a series of blasts)

Verbal Command: “STOP, STOP, STOP, STOP!” or “CEASE FIRE!”

Meaning: Archers immediately let down and put their arrows back into the quiver. There is an emergency on the range.

 

3-D Archery Rules

  1. Shoot at your own risk. There are no backstops, and we are not responsible for lost or broken arrows.
  1. No Range Finders are allowed.
  1. You have the area between the posts to take your shot.
  1. Two shots at each animal.
  1. Scoring will be as follows:
    1. 0 – Missed Animal
    2. 1 – On animal but outside all rings
    3. 5 – Inside first ring
    4. 8 – Inside second ring
    5. 10 – Inside center ring
  1. Tie Breaker will be decided by:
    1. 1st – Number of 10’s
    2. 2nd – Number of 8’s
    3. 3rd – Number of 5’s
    4. 4th – Number of 1’s
  1. The distances are all inside 20 Yards.
  1. All age groups will shoot the same distance.
  1. All other applicable archery rules apply.
  1. The shoot directors and range commander reserve the right to alter the event to accommodate terrain and weather.

 

Air Rifle 3 Position Match Rules

  1.  Three Classes:
    1. Plinker Class (Not for senior’s)
    2. Sporter Class
    3. Unlimited Class
  1. Each shooter will fire from 3 positions. Prone, Standing, and Kneeling, in that order, at 10 meters (33 feet).
  1. All Classes will shoot 10 shots at each position for a total of 30 shots. These will be counted out prior to start of shooting each round.
  1. Targets are the standard NRA AR-5/10 for all classes.
  1. Firing Time is limited to 10 minutes for position (1 minute per shot).
  1. Sighting in is limited to 5 minutes with unlimited shots from the prone position only.
  1. Air rifle and ammunition shall be .177 caliber only. Only Iron, Aperture, peep, and fiber optic open sights are allowed. No scopes or magnified sights.
  1. Rifles must be loaded and fired in a single shot fashion only. Clear Barrel Indicators (CBIs) must be used throughout the competition.
  1. Slings are allowed in the prone and kneeling position only; slings are not allowed in the standing position. Shooting jackets and other shooting aids attached to shooter or rifle except as stated above, are not allowed.
  1. Kneeling rolls are allowed.
  1. Coaches can consult youth at the youth’s discretion, not the coaches.
  1. Participants who require physical accommodations must be requested at registration and approved by the rifle director.
  1. Tiebreakers: ties will be broken with the greatest number of “tens”, the greatest number of “nines”, the greatest number of “eights” etc.; 2nd tiebreakers: the first “ten” hit in sequence until the tie is broken.
  1. The Match Director reserves the right to alter the event as weather, terrain, or enrollment dictates.
  1. Scoring – If there are two holes in a bull’s eye, both will be scored as long as there are only a maximum of 10 shots total in the whole target. If 11 or more shots are present, the smaller score will be taken and the other will be a zero.

 

Air Rifle Silhouette Match Rules

  1. Three Classes:
    1. Plinker Class (Not for senior’s)
    2. Sporter Class
    3. Unlimited Class
  1. The Match Director reserves the right to alter the event as weather, terrain, or enrollment dictates.
  1. NRA silhouette rules are used as guidelines; however, they are adapted toward 4-H goals and philosophies.
  1. All competition shots are from the off-hand position.
  1. Iron sights only (no scopes) no slings. No Red Dot Sights.
  1. 40 shots; 2 relays of five at each of the four distances.
  1. Distances:
    1. Chicken-------10 yards.
    2. Pig ------------15 yards.
    3. Turkey --------20 yards.
    4. Ram ----------25 yards.
  1. Target size - Standard Air Rifle (one tenth high power rifle size)
    1. Chicken-------1 1/2” high.
    2. Pig ------------1 5/8” high.
    3. Turkey --------2 5/8” high.
    4. Ram ----------3” high.
  1. Time - 5 minutes allowed per bank of five (1 min./shot).
  1. Targets must be fired in sequence (first shot, first target, etc.) left to right.
  1. Each shooter should bring an adult scorer to the firing line. Coaches can consult youth at the youth’s discretion, not the coaches.
  1. Score: one point for each target knocked down. The target must be knocked down, not spun, to receive points. Zero points for targets shot out of sequence.
  1. Ties will be broken by:
    1. number of rams.
    2. number of turkeys.
    3. number of pigs.
    4. first hit ram left to right.
    5. first hit turkey left to right.
    6. first hit pig left to right.
    7. first hit chicken left to right.
  1. Participants who require physical accommodations must be requested at registration and approved by the Rifle Director.

 

Air Pistol Match Rules

  1. The air pistol competition will be held at 10 meters.
  2. Shooting will be from standing position and all shots will be shot one-handed. Juniors are allowed to shoot with both hands. Two hands are allowed for rapid fire. Must be unsupported.
  3. Pistol may be CO2, air, spring, or pump for slow fire.
  4. Pistols must be open sighted for slow fire. Rapid/Timed fire allows any sights that do not project an image on the target.
  5. Caliber must be .177.
  6. Slow fire shooting will be done single shot.
  7. Targets to be used are NRA licensed B40.
  8. Shooters may confer with their coach at their own discretion, NOT the coach’s.
  9. Course of fire:
    1. Slow Fire
      1. 5 minutes for unlimited sighters
      2. 30 minutes to fire 20 shots on 4 bulls
      3. 5 shots on each bull
    2. Timed/Rapid Fire
      1. Total of 20 record shots; 4 series of 5 shots; 5 shots per bull.
      2. 4 series of 5 shots with each shot fired in 3 second intervals.
  10. Current National 4-H Shooting Sports Championship rules govern anything not covered.
  11. Tiebreakers: ties will be broken with the greatest number of “tens,” the greatest number of “nines,” the greatest number of “eights,” etc. The second tiebreaker will be the first “ten” hit in sequence until the tie is broken.
  12. The Match Director reserves the right to alter the event as weather, terrain or enrollment dictates.

 

Rapid-Fire Course of Fire - NATIONAL STANDARD as of 2016

POSITIONS

Firing Position – The participant must stand free, without support, completely within the firing point. The complete firearm must be held and fired with one hand only. The wrist must be visibly free of support. Bracelets, wrist watches, wrist bands or similar items which might provide support are prohibited on the hand and arm which hold the firearm. 

Ready Position – (Note: see the representation of the ready position in this (5.3) section of the NRA rule book). The participant brings the pistol to a position where the arm points forward and down at an angle of not greater than 45 degrees from the vertical.

RULES

The participant must stand free, without support, completely within the firing point. The pistol must be held and fired with one hand only. The wrist must be visibly free of support.

Before and during the series, including while chambering a pellet, or checking or cocking a pistol, or while waiting for a range officer to verify a malfunction, the pistol must always be kept pointing down range before returning to the READY position for the next shot, or while awaiting the command to LOAD.

In the “READY” position, the participant’s arm must point downward at an angle of not greater than 45 degrees from the vertical but must not be pointed at the ground within the forward edge of the firing point. The participant’s arm must be stationary in this position while waiting 7 seconds for the appearance of the target or, when electronic scoring targets are used, for the green lights to come on, or for the range command to fire.

Ready Position Violations: If the participant raises their arm too soon or does not lower it sufficiently, they must be warned by a Jury Member, and the shot must be recorded and repeated. The participant must then be credited with the five (5) lowest value hits in the series.

If the fault is repeated in the same stage of five (5) shots in the Dual Fire Pistol Event, the same procedure must be applied, and the participant must be penalized by a deduction of two (2) points from their score. If a third infraction of this rule occurs the participant must be disqualified.

COURSE OF FIRE

Dual Fire Course: 40 shots at the International Air Pistol target. The course consists of 8 series, each of 5 shots. During each series the shooter fires one shot at a time, each shot is fired within the time of 3 seconds.

Preparation Time: Three (3) minutes. During this preparation period, the participant may dry fire and practice the shot sequence, but no pellet may be discharged.

Sighting Series: Before the program of 40 shots begins, the participants may shoot a sighting series of Five (5) shots in the dual fire course.

RANGE COMMANDS AND PROCEDURES

The Range Officer must conduct competition firing by using the commands and procedures that can be found on page 17 of this rule book.

PROCEDURE IN CASE OF DEFECTIVE CARTRIDGE, DISABLED PISTOL OR MALFUNCTION

If a shot has not been fired due to a malfunction and if the participant wishes to claim a malfunction, the participant must lower the firearm immediately, hold it in the “READY” position or keep it pointing towards the targets and inform the Range Officer of the problem by raising the free hand or by another safe signal without disturbing the other participants.

When determining the cause of a malfunction, if the external appearance of the firearm does not show an obvious reason for the malfunction, and the participant does not claim there is a bullet stuck in the barrel, the Range Officer must pick up the pistol without interfering or touching the mechanism, point the pistol in a safe direction and pull the trigger one time only to determine whether the trigger mechanism has been released. If the pistol does not discharge, the Range Officer must complete the examination of the pistol to determine the cause of the malfunction and to decide whether the malfunction is allowable.

If a malfunction occurs in the sighting series, it will not be counted in the competition as a malfunction. The sighting series may not be repeated. The participant: however, may complete the sighting series by shooting at a stationary target or targets, which will be faced for this purpose for a maximum of two (2) minutes.

If the Range Officer decides, after inspection of the firearm, that the participant has an “allowable malfunction”. The number of successful shots is recorded, and the series will be completed. Shots to complete the series must be fired immediately following the completion of this 5 shot series. The five-shot series will be scored in the normal manner.

If the Range Officer decides, after inspection of the firearm, that the participant has a “non-allowable malfunction,” the same procedure as for an allowable malfunction will be followed, but the shot that was not fired due to the “non-allowable malfunction” will be scored as zero. The number of shots will be recorded, the shot where the “non-allowable malfunction” occurred will be recorded as a miss and the remaining shots in the series will be completed.

 

 

RANGE COMMANDS for Air Rifle – Air Pistol – Silhouettes

  1. Shooters to the Line (5-10 minutes)
    1. This is the time the shooters use to get their equipment to the shooting line.
    2. Firearms are uncased at the shooting line.
    3. Firearms are pointed down range, muzzle down range.
    4. Firearms are not handled.
  1. Preparation Time Has Started (5-10 minutes)
    1. Shooters may prepare the equipment for their shooting position.
    2. May handle firearm with no ammunition.
    3. Fingers outside of trigger guard.
  1. Is The Line Ready?
    1. Ready on the Left - If the answer is no, please give more time; if yes, continue.
    2. Ready on the Right - If the answer is no, please give more time; if yes, continue.
    3. The Line is Ready.
  1. Shooters Load Your Firearm
    1. Single load only.
    2. DO NOT FIRE.
  1. Commence to Fire
    1. Fire designated rounds.
    2. When finished shooting, lay firearm down with action open and muzzle down range.
  1. Cease Fire
    1. Muzzle down range, action open and lay firearms down.
    2. It may mean:
      1. Problem on the line.
      2. That round is over.
      3. A new set of targets.
      4. Examine your targets down range.
      5. Range is unsafe.
  1. Is The Line Clear?
    1. If you hear a “no,” see what the problem is.
  1. Range is Closed
    1. Shooter cases the firearm, picks up his/her equipment and paraphernalia and removes it from the firing line.
    2. Absolutely no handling of uncased firearm.