Program proves kids with guns can set good example

On any given evening, thousands of kids across the country load up their shotguns and hit the road. They look forward to hanging out with friends, having a good time and getting a chance to shoot. But what they don't look for is trouble.

Instead, these young people prove themselves by shooting as many clay targets out of 100 as they can under the watchful eyes of trained coaches in a controlled environment, such as the one that soon will be available at the Clark County Shooting Park. These gun-toting kids are participants in organized shooting events like those provided through the Scholastic Clay Target Program (SCTP).

Just 7 years old, the SCTP has grown since its inception in 2001. Participants now number more than 8,300 nationwide, compared with 700 in the program's first year. And believe it or not, 25 percent are involved through their schools. For 11 percent, the program is offered as a varsity sport.

Natalie Hornbeck, a senior at Shadow Ridge High School, and Dylan Mitchell, a sophomore at Centennial, started their shooting careers before they were 10. Neither has the luxury of participating in a school-sponsored program, but both are active members of the SilverState-ClayBreakers, Southern Nevada's local Scholastic Clay shooting team. They shoot at least once a week.

Both enjoy the competitive challenge offered by the shotgun shooting sports, but their reasons for getting involved reach far beyond the thrill of seeing a clay pigeon explode into powder. Hornbeck liked the fact that shotgun shooting was anything but a typical teenage activity.

"It was not your typical sport. It wasn't baseball. It was something different and nothing I ever really tried before,'' Hornbeck said. ''It's a mental focus, not so much if you can hit a baseball. It's pretty different."

She competes in a local league as a member of an all-girls team called Trap Lovin' Chicks.

For Mitchell, the attraction is people.

"There are a lot better people out there. You go to school, and many of the kids aren't good people. And you get out there, and every one of them are hunters and fishermen," he said. "Whenever you get hunters and fishermen, they're always good people. So I think it's just being around good people that keeps you there."

He also said the scholastic program helps keep him focused on things that are truly important.

Cody Newberry, 10, has been shooting for two years and said he usually bests his father, Hoss Newberry, at the shooting line, regularly breaking 25 out of 25. The youthful shooter said one of his favorite events is the "Buddy Shoot" because he gets to shoot with his dad.

"Out there, it is very disciplined. They look like little men,'' Hoss Newberry said of the young shooters. ''Their guns are pointed down, the breech is open. It's all about safety and good sportsmanship. When they shoot 25 clay birds, it's a big deal."

Discipline and self-confidence are common traits of kids who participate.

"It's all about self-discipline. As they become more disciplined and their self-confidence grows, their self-esteem grows,'' said Brian Fisher, Mitchell's father and an SCTP shooting coach. ''It seems to carry over into their school and their daily activities, their daily lives. It lets them know that they can accomplish what they set out to do with just some perseverance, some practice and some hard work."

The cost to participate in the Scholastic Clay Target Program is $25 a month, which pays for four boxes of shot shells and 100 clay targets. Loaner shotguns are available for those who want to give the sport a try before investing in a gun.

More information is available at www.silverstate-claybreakers.com.

Doug Nielsen is an award-winning freelance writer and a conservation educator for the Nevada Department of Wildlife. His "In the Outdoors" column is published Thursday. He can be reached at doug@takinitoutside.com.