Our hunter education completion course has been rescheduled for June 20–21. On June 20, the class will be at the McKee Building from 10:00 a.m.–3:30 p.m. On June 21, the live shooting portion will be at Front Range Gun Club beginning at 7:00 a.m.

Registration is now available online at the Colorado Parks and Wildlife website for the class on June 20–21. Click here to register. The cost for this four-hour class and the live shooting is $10.

Get started now on the online portion by going to hunter-ed.com and completing the online course. And be sure to print out the certificate of completion and other required forms when you are finished.

Hunter education is not required to compete at the county shoots. However, to be eligible to compete at the state competition, participants must submit their hunter education card on 4HOnline before the July 1 deadline. If you don’t have your hunter safety, we’re offering this opportunity to get it!

Please contact Cindy Buckardt via email or phone (970-481-7993) if you have any questions.

Dear Larimer County 4-H Members, Leaders, and Families,

I wanted to update you about some changes to the Larimer County 4-H program in the upcoming months due to the Coronavirus (COVID-19). We have been getting communications from Larimer County as well as Colorado State University that will have a significant impact on the Larimer County 4-H program this spring. We are following the recommendations from both Larimer County and CSU in an effort to keep our 4-H members, families, leaders and 4-H staff safe from the continued elevated spread of COVID-19. Please note that the recommendations are constantly evolving, and we will do our best to communicate with everyone any changes moving forward. Please be patient with us as we continue to receive information and figure out how to continue to provide the great 4-H educational opportunities in Larimer County.

Effective March 13, 2020, all face-to-face Larimer County 4-H events, meetings, and activities are suspended (canceled) until May 15, 2020. Please note, this may be extended beyond this timeframe as more information is received. 

What does this mean for Larimer County 4-H?

• All face to face 4-H meetings, both club and county, are suspended. This includes those held at The Ranch, the Extension office, and those that are offsite.

• All face to face 4-H club activities (service projects, fundraisers, etc.) are suspended. This includes those held at The Ranch, the Extension office, and those that are offsite.

• All face to face 4-H practices (teams, shooting sports, horse open rides, dog practices, etc.) are suspended. This includes those held at The Ranch, the Extension office, and those that are offsite.

• All face to face 4-H workshops and other 4-H sponsored activities are suspended. This includes those held at The Ranch, the Extension office, and those that are offsite.

• All 4-H members and volunteers are expected to abide by these directives.

We appreciate your patience and understanding as we navigate this together. This is uncharted territory and 4-H will definitely look a little different this year. We understand that this can be difficult. We have a strong 4-H program with wonderful 4-H families and incredibly generous leaders. We do recognize that you all may have a lot of questions about orientations, event cancellations, project completion, and other programmatic questions. We assure you that our county 4-H office staff is working fervently to gather answers to these questions. Please bear with us as we try to navigate this and explore potential alternatives.

Please feel free to reach out to the 4-H staff if you have any questions.  At this time, the Extension Office is maintaining normal business hours (7:30 a.m.–4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday). 

Best,

Larimer County Extension

From Colorado State 4-H:

The presence of Covid-19 in Colorado has impacted many of our communities and areas, resulting in many program restrictions and cancellations. These restrictions and cancellations are in accordance with CSU, State, and local government public health and safety protocols. Upcoming Colorado State 4-H events and programs that are impacted by these restrictions and cancellations include but are not limited to State 4-H leader trainings and events.

All state 4-H Shooting Sports Leader trainings have been canceled until further notice. (This includes upcoming certification trainings in Weld, Pueblo, Garfield, and Arapahoe counties.)

Please be patient and positive as we do our part to be proactive in limiting the spread of Covid-19. Moving forward it is important to keep in mind that as a 4-H community we must do our part to help keep people healthy. We will keep your County 4-H Agents informed as to the status of the current Covid-19 restrictions that impact our 4-H community.

Refunds for registration fees will be issued for registered participants of these canceled trainings. Thank you for your patience and understanding as we focus on doing our part in our communities.

There are several revisions for Archery and Shotgun at the State Competition this summer, as well as a clarification for .22 Pistol eligibility. Other discussion topics brought to the State 4-H Shooting Sports Advisory Committee for proposed rule book changes in other disciplines are still under consideration.

The current Colorado State 4-H Rule Book will still be in effect for the 2020 4-H year with exception of these minor adjustments. The Colorado State 4-H Shooting Sports Championships Rule Book will be revised over the next several months and the updated version will be effective for the 2021 4-H year beginning in October 2020.

A PDF of the addendum is available here.

The addendum items listed will be in effect for the 2020 Colorado State 4-H Shooting Sports Championships on a trial basis for the Colorado State 4-H Championships to be held August 22–23, 2020 and September 5–6, 2020.

Revisions

Archery

Scorecards:

• A new simplified Orion scorecard template will be used for the archery contest. Please follow this link for a printable example.

Poundage Checks:

• Bow poundage checks will be conducted prior to the participants beginning the contest.

• Adjustments to bow poundage may not be made after the bow poundage has been verified by range officials.

• Random bow poundage checks of squadded groups will be conducted after participants start the contest.

Binoculars & Range Finding Equipment:

• Binoculars will be allowed for participant and spectator use on both FITA and 3D ranges.

• Absolutely NO range finders or modified range-finding equipment (mechanical or electronic) of any kind are allowed on the FITA and 3D ranges. This applies to both participants and spectators.

• Use of monocular optics by participants or spectators is not allowed.

• Random binocular checks of squadded groups will be conducted after participants start the contest.

• Participants may not glass targets from the firing line after taking their final shot for that stage.

• In consideration of time limitations per station, participants will move through their courses of fire expeditiously to avoid delays.

Equipment Malfunctions:

• Equipment malfunctions must be addressed at the time of the incident. It is the participant’s responsibility to notify the range officer of the malfunction.

• In the event of an equipment malfunction, step back from the shooting line and raise your hand above your head. A line official will come to your assistance. The archer will have a maximum of 15 minutes of repair time without holding up the shoot. One practice end will be allowed if malfunction deems necessary. The archer shall be allowed to shoot any remaining arrows left in the end that elapsed during the 15 minutes of repair time. This is a one-time option. All make-up arrows will be shot at the end of the round or at officials’ discretion. There will be no allowance for equipment failure given for arrows shot before or after said malfunction (arrows shot are arrows scored).

3D:

• Juniors will shoot at 4 (four) 3D targets. Junior participants will shoot 2 arrows at each 3D target for a total of 8 shots in the 3D portion of the contest.

Shotgun

Trap Scheduling: (The following information is for Trap only)

• You will register teams in 4HOnline as you have in the past. All members of a County team must be entered in the same time slot. Shoot management may adjust registered participant time slots as needed.

• Counties cannot squad both Junior and Senior teams on the same field at the same time. You can do back-to-back on the same field or the same time on different fields.

Trap Contest:

• Teams will report to the scheduled trap field no less than one hour before registered time. Times are an estimation not an appointment and teams not ready when fields are open within 1 hour of their start time will be skipped with no time guarantee of time the rest of day.

• There will be two teams per field per time slot. Team A and Team B.

• Shooting order is as follows; Team A will shoot one round of 25. Immediately following Team B will shoot their round. Immediately following that Team A will finish their second round of 25, and Team B will wrap up after that.

• Teams A and B will supply their own puller and a Certified 4-H leader to score the other team.

  • There is to be no downtime between rounds.

  • Field clean-up happens after Team B shoots their last shot of the second round.

  • The signing of scorecards is to happen at the end of clean-up. Team A’s scorecard will be held until clean-up and signing of cards is complete.

.22 Pistol

Member Eligibility:

Please note the following addendum item and update to the Colorado 4-H Youth Development Policies and State 4-H Shooting Sports Championships Rulebook regarding .22 Pistol eligibility.

• Members must have completed at least one project year of 4-H Shooting Sports that includes live-fire range experience with a firearm or air gun.

Benefits

Benefits of these adjustments to the Archery contest

• Scorecards will be easier for participants to use.

• Youth will have an opportunity to verify and adjust bow poundage prior to starting the contest.

• Participants will have the benefit of seeing the target through optics if desired.

• A pre-determined protocol for addressing equipment malfunctions will result in more consistency throughout the contest.

• Juniors shooting 2 shots at 4 (four) 3D targets will allow youth to make aiming adjustments after the first arrow. This will also allow for fewer trips down range to retrieve arrows and thus save time.

Benefits of these adjustments to the Trap contest

• Every team will get a qualified scorekeeper (Certified) and puller (team coach).

• The process should be more streamlined by having coaches on the line.

• The hassle and delay of finding teams, shooters & range officials will be kept to a minimum.

• With a quick turnaround between squads we have fewer delays as well as one field cleaning time resulting in less time lost.

Reminder about Violation of Contest Rules

Violations of contest rules including 2020 addendum items may result in forfeiture of scorecards and disqualification of the competitor from the event. Leaders, coaches, and spectators who violate the contest rules may be asked to leave the event. All determinations regarding rule violations will be addressed by designated contest superintendents.

The Hunter Education class scheduled for May 9–10, 2020 has been canceled. Watch for news about rescheduling soon.

Hunters education is not required to compete at the county shoots. However, to be eligible to compete at the state competition, participants must submit their hunter education card on 4HOnline before the July 1 deadline. If you don’t have your hunter safety, we’re offering this opportunity to get it!

Our hunter education completion course will be offered on May 9–10. On May 9, the class will be at the McKee Building from 8:00 a.m.–12:00 p.m. On May 10, the live shooting portion will be at Front Range Gun Club beginning at 7:00 a.m.

Register online at the Colorado Parks and Wildlife website for the class on May 9–10. (Click here to pull up this class directly.) The cost for this four-hour class and the live shooting is $10.

Then visit hunter-ed.com and complete the online course. The cost is $24.50. Go ahead and get started on this course! And be sure to print out the certificate of completion and other required forms when you are finished.

Please contact Cindy Buckardt at 970-481-7993 if you have any questions.

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Adams County 4-H is hosting a Shotgun Invitational Sporting Clays Shoot on March 21 at Colorado Clays in Brighton.

Register here.

Please note on your calendar that Archery practice has been canceled on March 24 due to a scheduling conflict at the McKee Building.

The Shooting Sports leaders in Larimer County 4-H will meet on Thursday, February 13 at 6:30 p.m. at the McKee Building.

Our main agenda item will be reviewing our first two orientations while they are still fresh in our minds and discussing the orientation on March 28. Please make notes of the positives and challenges, and bring suggestions of what we can improve upon.

A reminder that the inventory for each discipline is due to Brittani by next Friday, February 7, 2020.