4-H SAFETY
4-H S.A.F.E.T.Y.
Safe Archery & Firearms Education & Training for Youth
4-H Shooting Sports is a national program with 428,020 young people taking part, making it one of the largest shooting education programs in the United States. Here in Mississippi, 4-H S.A.F.E.T.Y. involves thousands of kids and continues to grow annually. An established core of over 700 adult volunteer instructors and 4-H agents provide training and leadership for our program throughout the state. So you want to join 4-H?
Select a discipline below to learn more, and be sure to ask your local Extension agent for the most recent copy of the 4-H S.A.F.E.T.Y. Event Handbook (Extension Publication 2752).
Archery
The bow and arrow have helped shape the history of the world, and the challenge and fun of archery continue today. This competitive sport teaches patience, skill, repetition, and attention to detail.
Muzzleloading
Smokepole and frontstuffer are just a couple of the names used to describe this fun and exciting discipline. You will learn how to use this firearm as well as how to clean and care for it.
Pistol
Through the 4-H S.A.F.E.T.Y. Program, you will learn the safe and correct way to use handguns. Steady hands and a keen eye will help you “keep on target.”
Rifle
Keep your eye on the target, control your breathing, and squeeze the trigger. In the rifle discipline, you’ll learn to use your body to steady your shooting form and improve marksmanship.
Shotgun
Pull! Few things can compare to the feeling of watching a clay target flying through the air to be broken by a well-placed shot. The shotgun discipline helps develop hand-eye coordination.
Hunting
Do you want to learn to identify wildlife, call to game, select camo, and plan for a camping trip? These are just a few of the things you’ll learn as you “travel the trails” in this discipline!
Publications
News
LOUISVILLE, Miss. -- The Mississippi State University Extension Service will hold the North Mississippi 4-H Summer Camp Explore July 23-26 in Winston County.
The camp will be at Lake Tiak O’Khata, located at 1290 Smyth Lake Road in Louisville.
Participants will enjoy the outdoors, expressive arts, and STEM and S.A.F.E.T.Y. activities. Archery, canoeing, drama, air rifle, survival skills, first aid, robotics and a service project are among the camp’s offerings. The Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians will conduct a heritage activity with the campers.
RAYMOND, Miss. -- Brandy Barnes’ excitement is building, but she keeps a cool head at the firing range.
In the summer of 2015, the 17-year-old Hinds County 4-H member scored among the top five .22-caliber rifle participants at the state shooting sports competition. The accomplishment earned her a spot at the National 4-H Shooting Sports Championship set for June 26 to July1, 2016, in Grand Island, Nebraska.
“It’s really starting to hit me now,” said Barnes. “I’m very excited.”
By Mary Grace Eppes
MSU Ag Communications
MISSISSIPPI STATE – Many Mississippi bow hunters eagerly await the first hunt of the season and each year, more of those hunters are women.
Katie Pepper of Canton, a former Mississippi State University student and an ardent hunter, is proof that bow hunting is no longer just a male sport.
MISSISSIPPI STATE -- When Labor Day rolls around each year, friends and family throughout Mississippi head to the fields early in the morning to get the first flights of doves over the fields they planted in the spring.
John Long, 4-H youth development specialist and shooting sports state program leader with the Mississippi State University Extension Service, said opening day of dove season is the big kick-off to hunting season and is considered a Southern tradition.
By Karen Templeton
MSU Office of Ag Communications
MISSISSIPPI STATE – Focusing on safety, developing life skills and teaching good sportsmanship have made Mississippi’s 4-H Shooting Sports program popular with youth.
Success Stories
Born in Biloxi, Ashley Ward shines as manager of event promotion for Ducks Unlimited and cohost for Ducks Unlimited TV.
After working all day, Deidra Rollins knew the last thing she wanted to do was spend every evening and weekend at the ball field. But she wanted something she and her daughter, Tory, could do together. So she stopped by the local Mississippi State University Extension Service office.
Until recently, the Clover Dawgs 4-H Robotics team in Oktibbeha County needed a bigger robot. Club volunteer leader Robert Rice secured the first donation toward purchasing the machine from his employer.
Watch
