4-H shooting team receives NRA check for equipment

Nikki Caffey draws for door prizes.Will Miller won the rifle.

The Jasper Community 4-H shooting club received a check for $5,370 from the Pineywoods chapter of the National Rifle Association (NRA).

"We'll use it for equipment like shooting mats, ammunition, and tuition to get more of our adult leaders certified as instructors," said Dru Miller, shooting sports coordinator.

Seven students from Jasper helped serve at the 12th annual NRA Banquet last month: Will Miller, Shelby Griffin, Nikki Caffey, Burt Caffey, Sterling Hood, Zack Kline and Caty Shanks. Will Miller won the drawing for the rifle, a Ruger 10/22.

Dru Miller said the group also attended an informal workshop at the District 5 shooting sports competition to learn what other shooting clubs were doing to improve their scores. She took a picture of an Angelina County student in full gear and said, "That's our goal."

The boy was outfitted in a shooting jacket that costs more than $300, "but it's not about looking sharp," Dru Miller explained. The specially designed jackets are rubberized at key points to reduce movement and help maintain a steady shooting position. Shooting mats cost more than $150 but perform a similar function.

Courtesy photos THE SHOOTING TEAM will use their check to buy special equipment like this unidentified Angelina shooting has. Below: 4-H leader Jimmy Miller,Will Miller, and Shelby Griffin show off their check.

"Craig Blanchard and Jimmy Miller are the only two adult leaders who are certified instructors," Dru Miller said. "We have 12 more adults who have volunteered to take the training in September."

The stated goal of the Friends of the NRA in presenting Jasper with a check is "the preservation of safe and legal firearm ownership and the continuation of the shooting sports."

Jimmy Miller, adult shooting instructor, said a lot of Olympic shooters got their start in a 4-H shooting club.