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Acadia 4-H Shooting Sports Program

Shooting Sports is 4-H's fastest-growing program area. The mission of the Louisiana 4-H Shooting Sports Program is to assist youth in acquiring knowledge, developing life skills, and forming attitudes so that they may become self-directing, productive, and contributing members of society.

The Acadia Parish 4-H Shooting Sports Club is very excited to begin this year’s activities. An informational meeting will be held on Wednesday, September 30th beginning at 5:30 p.m. at the Acadia Parish LSU AgCenter Office (157 Cherokee Drive, Crowley, LA). All guardians and members are encouraged to attend. All participants must be a member of an Acadia Parish 4-H school club or join as a Member at Large.

Joining shooting sports is as easy as it is to join online. To join this community club, you must first be enrolled as a 4-H member through 4H Online. Once the 4-H Office has approved your online 4-H enrollment, you can register to join a Community Club through your 4H Online account. These clubs can be easily located under the events tab on your 4HOnline account by selecting register for a new event.

Fees: Fees must be submitted at the same time with registration and will be used to purchase awards, targets, ammunition, arrows for archery, and range fees. All registration fees are non-refundable.

  • Donations-If you know someone who would be interested in making a donation, please contact the 4-H Office at 337-788-8821 or (khaydel@agcenter.lsu.edu).
  • We have a supply fee of $5 per student and each discipline assesses its own fee separately. Both registration and fees are due by October 5th

Disciplines Offered

Disciplines offered in Acadia Parish are pistol, rifle (.22), archery, shotgun and western heritage at the following locations:

    • Archery—Rice Arena in Crowley 159 Cherokee Drive Crowley, LA 70526
    • Shotgun—Wilderness Gun Club 7 Teurlings Drive Lafayette, LA 70501 and Lafayette Skeet Academy 19212 Gladu Rd, Kaplan, LA 70548
      • Shotgun participants will be required to attend at least 4 practices in order to compete at regionals in modified shotgun and for advanced shotgun members, they will be required to attend at least 2 practices.
      • Shotgun has a limited supply of ammunition for this year. Shotgun participants may need to purchase their own ammunition should we run out of our supply before the end of the year.
    • Rifle—Iota PD Shooting Range in Iota, Apple Rd.
      • Participants are required to bring their own eye protection to practices.
    • Pistol- Iota PD Shooting Range in Iota, Apple Rd.
      • ONLY YOUTH AGES 14-19 as of January 1st of the current year
      • Participants are required to bring their own eye protection to practices.
      • The Youth Safety Handgun Act as included in the Gun Control Act of 1968 puts restrictions on the use and possession of handguns by youth under 18 years of age. Youth participating in Louisiana 4-H Shooting Sports must, at all times, follow all provisions of this act. Therefore, event officials will require “the prior written consent of the juvenile’s parent or guardian who is not prohibited by Federal, State, or local law from possessing a firearm.” This written permission must be in possession of the youth – even if a parent/guardian is present. We suggest a simple statement, reduced to wallet size with the name of the youth, a parent’s name, address, as well as their signature, and that of a witness and dates. The participant can laminate this card and keep it with the shooting kit or on their person.
      • The pistol may be any .22 rimfire pistol, either semi-automatic or revolver
        • Barrel length, including cylinder, not more than 10 inches.
        • Open sights only. Rear sight may be adjustable, but sight radius no more than 10 inches.
        • .22 caliber rimfire – long rifle
        • Trigger pull not less than 2 pounds.
    • Western Heritage-4-H Office and Iota PD Shooting Range in Iota, Apple Rd
      • ONLY YOUTH AGES 11 and older who have completed at least one year in the 4-H shooting sports program.

    Fees

    Fees must be submitted at the same time with registration and will be used to purchase awards, targets, ammunition, arrows for archery, and range fees. All registration fees are non-refundable.

    • We have a supply fee of $5 per student and each discipline assesses its own fee separately.
    • Archery (Recurve, Compound): $40
    • Rifle (.22): $25
    • Shotgun: $60
    • Pistol: $40

    Practices

    In order to compete at Shooting Sports Matches, 4-H members must complete at least 8 hours of training/practice in their respective discipline. If a child is participating in more than one discipline, understand the 4-H'er must complete 8 hours of practice for each discipline. Please see the attachment below for this years practice schedule.


    Communication

    All shooting sports members/parents are Required to join the shooting sports remind text. Sign up for Remind Texts


    Parent Involvement

    Parents must assist at all practices, so please come prepared. Parents are required to enroll as a volunteer for Acadia Parish through the online enrollment system. This is something that the state office is requiring for all shooting sports parents.


    Hunter Education Requirements

    A copy of each youth's hunter safety card is required to be turned in with the registration. It is very important that your child receives Hunter Safety Education Training. Members who do not obtain hunter safety certification by December 31, 2025, will no longer be allowed to practice/ compete until certification is obtained.

    New this year!!

    Western Heritage

    The 4-H Western Heritage Project is a unique combination of Shooting Sports and a living history study of the American frontier from 1860-1900. The program blends hands-on shooting activities with historical learning, allowing youth to experience and appreciate the traditions, values, and culture of the Old West while developing firearm safety and marksmanship skills. Participants will explore topics such as frontier life, historical firearms, cowboy action shooting concepts, western traditions, and the contributions of diverse cultures that helped shape the American West. The project encourages youth to develop an appreciation for history while building responsibility, leadership, sportsmanship, and safe firearm handling skills. Western Heritage aims to connect today's youth with the values and traditions of the past while preserving an appreciation for Old West heritage and encouraging an interest in American frontier history.

    • Western Heritage-practices at the 4-H Office and Iota PD Shooting Range in Iota, Apple Rd
      • ONLY YOUTH AGES 11 and older who have completed at least one year in the 4-H shooting sports program.
      • This discipline will require two practices per month. One practice (held at the 4-H office) each month will focus on classroom instruction, including firearm safety, Western Heritage history, competition rules, firearm maintenance, period dress, and other educational topics. The other practice (held at the Iota PD shooting range) each month will be a live-fire shooting practice where members will apply the skills and knowledge learned during classroom sessions. Participation in Western Heritage requires a commitment to attend both monthly practices. The classroom instruction and live-fire shooting practices work together to build the knowledge, safety skills, and marksmanship necessary for success in this discipline. Because each practice serves a different purpose, attendance at both is expected. Families who are unable to commit to both monthly practices should carefully consider whether this discipline is the best fit, as consistent participation is essential for members to gain the full benefit of the program and be successful.
      • Families interested in learning more about the Western Heritage discipline are encouraged to watch the introductory videos available through the National 4-H Western Heritage Project. These videos provide an excellent overview of the events, competition format, historical aspects of the project, and what participants can expect as members of the program. View the videos here:
        http://www.4-hwesternheritageproject.org/introductory-videos.html


    Upcoming Events/Matches

    Southern Regional Match- March 12- 21, 2027

    State Match -April 16-25, 2027

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