Club Chronicles:
Cheshire County Fish and Game Club, Inc.

Club Chronicles – October, 2008

   Initiation into the shooting sports almost always occurs within the context of family. 
   Hunters and shooters come from hunting and shooting families.  The presence of other family members who shoot or hunt, the exposure to the shooting sports, and the presence of a supportive shooting and hunting culture are of utmost importance in recruiting and retaining new shooters and hunters.
   Gun clubs across the nation can make a vital contribution to the future of our shooting sports by ensuring a positive shooting atmosphere exists to enhance the beginner shooter experience and enjoyment of the club.  When the beginning shooter is a kid, the club needs to provide pathways for their family’s involvement in club shooting sports programs and activities.
   The Cheshire County Fish & Game Club’s partnership with the YSSA is aimed at helping to recruit and retain new shooters by improving gateways for youth and family participation in club shooting sports activities.  The club is certainly no stranger to this philosophy as evidenced by the myriad of activities that are currently offered by this organization.
   The Ferry Brook Junior Shooters are sponsored by Cheshire County Fish & Game Club, Inc.  This Junior shooting team is open to girls and boys ages 10 to 19 years old.  The club provides all equipment needed such as:  target rifles, ammunition, eye and ear protection, coats, gloves, shooting mats and spotting scopes.  If anyone has their own equipment, they’re welcome to bring it.
   The Ferry Brook Junior Rifle program runs from September through May each year.  The program consists of weekly practices and 10-15 matches during the season.  The young athletes regularly compete against other junior teams from New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts and Connecticut.  Each summer, the program sends their qualifying athletes to Camp Perry, Ohio to compete in the National Matches against other junior shooters from across the country.  The club received generous donations from businesses and individuals in their community in support of their young shooters at the National Matches.
   The junior shooters also participate in the NRA/Winchester Marksmanship Qualification Program to provide constant goals and recognition of advancements in improved shooting skills.  In addition, many individuals compete on their own through camps or events during the summer.
   The program is always in need of new athletes along with parents to keep the program going.  The team has been most competitive over the past few years due to its depth of participants.  Any juniors (age 12-20) interested in checking this out need only contact any club director for information.
   The CCF&G Club also participates in the JAKES (Juniors Acquiring Knowledge, Ethics and Sportsmanship) program.  The JAKES program, administered by the National Wild Turkey Federation, was started as a way to give kids the chance to explore their outdoor world through fun events.  Educational activities are available throughout the day, ranging from fishing and archery to rifle shooting and turkey-calling classes.  A total of 71 youngsters attended this year’s event – almost double the year before – making it the best turn out in the three years the club held it.  An almost equal number of adults were present to spend some quality time with their kids and maybe learn a little along with them.
   As part of its comprehensive review, the YSSA requested the club to include the following objectives in their master plan affecting all gun clubs today: 

   During their October Board of Directors’ meeting, the Board revisited a proposal presented by the YSSA in June for the club to conduct a pilot Family Introductory Shooting Sports Program as a means of contributing to those objectives.  The July Club Chronicles reported on this pilot proposal in some depth.
   During their review of the proposal, Board members shared their concern over the sufficiency of certified instructors within the club to administer the program and the community response to promotional efforts to recruit families to participate in the program.  The YSSA offered assistance in paying any fees levied by Training Counselors in the certification of new instructors in the shooting disciplines offered in the program.  After sharing individual opinions about how many families would be expected to participate, the Board decided that community response is one of the variables to be tested in the pilot effort.  The club will promote the opportunity for families to share the joy of shooting in the same way that other club activities are promoted in Cheshire County.
   Following a spirited discussion, The Board approved a motion for the club to appoint a committee to utilize the draft program outline offered by the YSSA in developing a program curriculum for implementation in early spring of 2009.  The Club Chronicles will report on the results of those program development deliberations and subsequent actions to activate the program in late winter.