a Shotgun Start to the summer shooting series
How do you end a two-month spring drought, wrought with bluebird skies and mild temperatures? Host an outdoor youth shooting event. Proven fact.
May 22nd, Blue Mountain Pheasants Forever hosted a shotgun clinic at the Walla Walla gun Club. The first shoot of the Chapter’s 2021 youth event season. Barely an inch of rainfall graced the parched wheat fields since March, but as volunteers, special guests, and youth shooters worked through the morning, a cold rain fell across the Walla Walla Valley.
Rollin Carpenter, one of the Chapter’s active youth members, opened the morning with some inspiration on the influence and opportunity Pheasants Forever provides him.
Tom Schirm with the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife rounded out our special guests discussing the importance of habitat and wildlife management on wildlife populations and hunter opportunity.
Richard Mason was welcomed to assist with firearms instruction.
As the presentations concluded, it was time to burn powder and dust clays. Chapter Advisory Board member and shooting instructor Dean Wass rounded up the first-timers for some one-on-one instruction on firearms handling and shooting technique, guiding those new to the world of firearms through the process of tracking, aiming, and firing on the clay targets. Meanwhile, more experienced members enjoyed a round of five-stand, which mixes sporting clays and trap shooting into an action-packed variety of shooting challenges.
Our good friends at Ranch and Home provided hats and cut us a deal on shotgun shells for participants, while the US Army Corps of Engineers provided information and goodies on water recreation safety and hunting public lands.
Despite the much-needed rain, the morning was a great success with 22 youth participants undeterred by the storm. Special thanks to George Endicott, Blue Mountain Pheasants Forever’s Youth Committee Chair, for organizing the event, as well as members Tami Wass, Bernard Ma, Mike Davis, Ethan and Annie Carpenter for setup assistance. Finally, the event would not have been possible without the cooperation of the Chapter’s long-time supporter, the Walla Walla Gun Club.
