FERNDALE - Hempstead County dominated the 13th annual Arkansas Youth Hunter Education Challenge on June 11 and 12 at the C.A. Vines 4-H Center in Ferndale, Arkansas. Arkansas has the nation's largest YHEC participation, including nearly 400 teens and preteens, more than 45 counties and about 120 volunteers in 2010.
Twenty youth from Hempstead County competed in the event which consisted of two senior, five person teams and two junior, five person teams.
Senior Team I consisted of Cole Turner, Colton Capps, Cole Townsend, Layton Medlen and Justin Newton. Senior Team II consisted of Loan Webster, Carter Yocom, Jacob Ralph, Hunter Calhoon and Jacob Johnson. The Junior Teams I consisted of Hunter Howard, Clint Park, Kyle England, Hayden Lee and Derek Shultz. Junior Team II consisted of Ross Townsend, Bailey Yocom, Kory England, Benjamin Stroderd and Troy Bradford.
A 10-hour hunter education program is the core curriculum for YHEC, sponsored by the National Rifle Association and the Arkansas 4-H Shooting Sports Program, and it emphasizes safe gun handling, safe shooting, conservation and ethics. Students are taught how to safely shoot a rifle, shotgun, muzzleloader or bow. Other training includes wildlife identification, water safety, compass and orienteering, and how to hunt a deer, turkey or duck.
Arkansas' YHEC state competition consists of eight events, including shooting a .22-caliber rifle, shotgun, muzzleloader and bow. Nonshootung events are compass and orienteering skills, the safety trail, wildlife identification and a hunter safety exam. Awards are given for each category of competition as well as overall winners of all eight categories.
Shooters use scoped rifles to fire at metal silhouette targets at ranges of 25, 50, and 75 yards from standing, sitting and prone positions. The muzzleloader event is similar, but with bigger targets. Muzzleloader rifles are not scoped. The shotgun course is a sporting clays competition, and the archery course features three-dimensional targets at ranges of 5-40 yards. Participants fired about 22,000 rounds from their rifles, muzzleloaders and bows during the two-day competition.
The safety trail consists of shoot/don't shoot scenarios based on safety, ethics and knowledge of Arkansas hunting regulations. Compass and-orienteering challenges a participant's knowledge of how to use a compass and topographic map. They also use their knowledge for in the-field navigation.
Participants must also identify animals, birds and reptiles using skulls, hides, full mounts and other clues. The hunter safety exam tests knowledge of shooting, hunting and safety.
Senior Division Team Result: .22 Rifle - 1st place Senior team 1 and 3rd place Senior team II; Archery - 2nd place Senior Team II and 3rd place Senior Team I; Shotgun - 1st place Senior Team I and 9th place Senior team II; Muzzleloader - 1st place Senior Team I and 4th place Senior Team II; Orienteering - 1st place Senior Team I and 4th place Senior Team II; Wildlife ID - 1st place Senior Team II and 3rd Place Senior Team I; Safety Trail - 1st place Senior Team I and 9th place Senior Team II; Hunter Safety Exam - 3rd place Senior Team I and 6th place Senior Team II. Overall: Senior Team I placed 1st and Senior Team II placed 3rd.
This is the 4th year in a row that Hempstead County has won the overall senior team honors.
Senior individual Results:. 22 Rifle - 3rd place Hunter Calhoon, 8th place Logan Webster and 9th place Layton Medlen; Archery - 1st place Hunter Calhoon, 6th place Layton Medlen, and 10th place Jacob Johnson; Shotgun - 2nd place Cole Turner and 5th place Justin Newton; Muzzleloader - 1st place Justin Newton, 5th place Colton Capps, 6th place Cole Turner and 7th place Logen Webster; Orienteering - 3rd place Cole Townsend, 4th place Justin Newton, and 9th place Cole Turner; Wildlife ID - 2nd place Hunter Calhoon, 3rd place Justin Newton, 5th place Carter Yocom, 8th place Logan Webster, and 10th place Jacob Ralph; Safety Trial - 2nd place Colton Capps and 5th place Cole Turner; Hunter Safety Exam - 1st place Justin Newton. Overall: Justin Newton - 1st place winning an Oh Henry Bicentennial .22 Rifle; Cole Turner - 2nd place winning a guided hog hunt in Texas and Logan Webster - 5th place.
Junior Division Team Results:.22 Rifle - 2nd place Junior Team I and 4th place Junior Team II; Archery - 1st place Junior Team II and 4th place Junior Team I; Shotgun - 3rd place Junior Team II; Muzzleloader - 1st place Junior Team I and 2nd place Junior Team II; Orienteering - 1st place Junior Team I and 5th place Junior Team II; Wildlife ID - 1st place Junior Team I and 3rd place Junior Team II; Safety Trail - 1st place Junior Team I and 2nd place Junior Team II; Hunter Safety Exam - 2nd place Junior Team I and 10th Junior Team. Overall: Junior Team I placed first and Junior Team II placed second. This is the third year in a row that Hempstead County Junior Team won the overall junior team honors.
Junior Individual Results: .22 Rifle - 3rd place Hunter Howard and 8th Benjamin Stroderd; Archery - 1st place Hunter Howard, 2nd place Cory England, 4th place Clint Park, and 7th place Kyle England; Shotgun - 2nd place Hunter Howard; Muzzleloader - 1st place Hunter Howard, 4th place Derek Shultz, 6th place Clint Park, 9th place Kory England, and 10th place Ross Townsend; Wildlife ID - 2nd place Clint Park, 3rd place Hunter Howard, and 8th Troy Bradford; Safety Trail - 1st place Hunter Howard, 2nd place Ross Townsend, 3rd placed Clint Park, 4th place Hayden Lee, and 5th place Derek Shultz; Hunter Safety Exam - 1st place Kyle England. Overall: Hunter Howard - 1st place winning a Colt Ar 15. 22 Rifle; Kyle England - 3rd place winning a guided hog hunt in Texas, Clint Park - 4th place, and Derek Shultz - 9th place.
The top three junior and senior teams for the state of Arkansas have their registration paid in the International Youth Hunter Education Challenge in Mansfield, Pennsylvania the week of July 27 – July 31.
Anyone interested in helping with expenses for these youth to travel to Pennsylvania for the International Competition are encouraged to contact the 4-H Extension Office at 777-5771.
Hempstead County 4-H Shooting Sports Club will be having the following fund raisers: Four Man Skeet and Trap Tournament at Grandview on July 10 at 9 a.m. Grilled Chicken Dinner at Spring Hill Cafeteria on July 18 from 11 a.m. - 2 p.m.
For more information on these two fund raisers contact Steve Howard at 777-6742 or Chris Newton at 777-6560.
For more information about 4-H Clubs, please contact the 4-H Extension Office.
