If you have not yet attended Shooting Sports orientation this year, you can now complete the safety portion online.

Click this link to go to the Larimer County 4-H Safety Quiz, watch the videos, and complete the quiz questions. Please make sure that at least one adult in your household is viewing the videos with the 4-H member. Check your answers and make note of any questions you answered incorrectly so you know ALL the right answers!

Orientation is required for all Shooting Sports members. If you have not yet attended, you must complete this Safety Course. The rest of your orientation will take place at the first practice for each discipline.

This year, there is a new class for Shooting Sports projects: the Decorative Items class.

This class is for items that are used to decorate a room or building. Decorative item projects could include a board with antlers, using feathers to make a picture, a coat rack with an arrow, jewelry, etc.

“Decorative items are items that are made from materials from the different Shooting Sports disciplines but are for aesthetic value in decorating a room. All items from all the disciplines that are decorative will be included in these classes.”

In the past there have been two classes available for Shooting Sports projects: Display Boards and Stand-Alone Exhibits. Following are the project exhibit rules and requirements based on the 2019 Fair Premium Book. Read through the information to help you begin thinking about this year’s Shooting Sports project.

Project Exhibit Rules/Requirements

1. A member may only exhibit in one skill area/discipline of the shooting sports project. Therefore, youth enrolled in multiple shooting sports disciplines should choose only one skill area to complete a display board/stand-alone item and record book in. The display board’s topic should stay in close relationship with the discipline chosen. Please do not use topics outside the scope of your 4-H project. (Example; .22 Rifle Project – should not use the topic of different types of military machine guns.)

2. Completed e-Record that contains the inventory sheet and the discipline log record for all disciplines. Be sure to include the log for the discipline that you are exhibiting in a sturdy binder/notebook.

3. Your display may be a display board or a stand-alone display. The standardized display board size of 4’ x 3’ is to be used. No additional items may be included on or in front of the display board.

4. All stand-alone exhibits must attach a page explaining:

   1. What is the project?

   2. How is it used?

   3. How was it made?

5. Please use a large enough font or handwriting large enough that an audience can read it from a distance when displayed.

6. No live ammo, tipped arrows, (including field points, broadheads), knives, functional or nonfunctional firearms, or bows will be allowed as an exhibit. Cardboard, paper cutouts, or décor resembling firearms or bows are allowed for display purposes in the display or stand-alone classes.

7. Exhibits showing safety violations will result in a lower placing ribbon level. Do not use the word weapon when creating your display. Make sure that there are no safety violations in your display. (Example: no earplugs visible, member not wearing safety glasses on a photo of a youth firing his/her gun.) Do not use pictures of firearms that are primarily tactical in design in your display, (example: AR platform or military-type firearms.

8. In order to represent Larimer County on a Shooting Sports Team at State Fair, the 4-H member MUST exhibit a display board or stand-alone item and record book at the Larimer County Fair and earn at least a red ribbon placing.

9. Display items illustrating something learned in the project this year. Exhibits may be a display board, a stand-alone item, or a decorative item such as gun stocks, decoys, etc. Display items are to be entered in specific discipline that the exhibit relates to (i.e. .22 rifle, air rifle, shotgun, etc.).

10. Stand-alone exhibits chosen for State Fair: There is a maximum size of 3’ in width and depth and 7’ in height. The item must be stable when standing in order to be displayed. Stand-Alone Exhibits chosen for State Fair that are larger than 35 lbs will be the responsibility of the family to take to the State Fair.

This year's Record Book and Project Workshops will start with a Zoom presentation to help walk you through the e-Record book and begin your project for the County Fair. It will be on Wednesday, April 22 at 6:30 p.m.

Check your email for the links and information to the Zoom meeting.

Before the meeting be sure to download your e-record book here.

It will be helpful to have an adult to help our younger or new members as we walk through the book.

If you have any questions before the workshop feel free to call Sam Webb at 970-214-5646 for more information.

We look forward to seeing you all at our virtual workshop!

(For more information about joining and navigating Zoom meetings, grab this information sheet!)

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

We hope you and your loved ones are all staying safe and healthy during this time. We miss seeing you all, but we are very thankful that 4-H has so many great youth, leaders, and families who are still persevering through this unexpected struggle. Thank you for your resiliency and your flexibility as we have begun navigating a different look for this 4-H year. 

We have some updated information to provide on the Coronavirus (COVID-19) impacts on the Larimer County 4-H program in the upcoming months. In an effort to keep our 4-H members, families, leaders and 4-H staff safe, we continue to follow the recommendations from both Larimer County and Colorado State University. At this time, the suspension of all face-to-face Larimer County 4-H events, meetings and activities has been extended through June 30, 2020. Please note, this may be extended beyond this timeframe as more information is received. 

Just as a reminder what this means: 

• 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 v 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 know that with this information you all may have a lot of questions regarding the Larimer County Fair, Junior Livestock Sale, County Shoots, and other large events we have scheduled in July and August. Discussions around these events are currently occurring, but no definite decisions have been made at this time. There are a lot of things to consider when making these decisions such as partners, logistics, and safety. We will provide you with more details as we have them. We plan to have some specific answers about these events by May 1. 

We appreciate your patience as we continue to identify educational opportunities for our 4-H members during this time. If you have any questions, please feel free to email or call us. Thank you all for your support and understanding through this time. 

Best, 

Larimer County 4-H Team

Ian Webb was recognized as the Ball Corporation’s volunteer of the week. We’re so happy he donates his valuable time to the Larimer County 4-H Shooting Sports program!

The 4-H Shooting Sports National Championships scheduled for June 2020 have been canceled.

We all understand the decision but feel for the 4-H members who have worked so hard to qualify to go, including our county’s own Charlie Mick and Nick Freeland.

I hope you all are doing well and staying safe throughout this time. I appreciate your patience as the shooting sports superintendents and I have worked to identify areas where adjustments may be made for the 2020 4-H year due to the impacts of COVID-19 cancellations.

.—Brittany Kirkland

At this time, the following adjustments have been made: 

• Shooting Sports Orientation—If you have not yet attended a shooting sports orientation for the 2020 year:

  • You will have the opportunity to watch the safety portion of the orientation online. This is coming soon and you will be notified when it’s available. The safety video must be watched. How that will be tracked will be provided in future correspondence. 

  • The first practice date scheduled for each discipline AFTER May 15 will be an orientation for that discipline. Members will be required to attend in order to complete orientation. More specifics will be provided later.

• County Practice Requirements (page 7 of the Larimer County 4-H Shooting Sports Handbook) 

  • For 2020, the minimum county practice requirements will be adjusted. At this time, members will be required to attend a minimum of three (3) county practices for each discipline in which they wish to participate in the county shoots. 

Any updates or changes to the above alterations will be sent out as information is received.

The 2020 National 4-H Western Heritage Conference and Invitational Shoot will be August 3–7, 2020 in Marshall, Missouri. Registration opens May 15th.