For just about 10 years, the Adams County chapter of 4-H has offered training in a variety of shooting sports.

While the club for youth, ages 8-18, provides traditional lessons in sportsmanship by competing against others with arrows, pistols and rifles, county coordinator Jason Jones said it does much more than that.

“Some kids don’t know the proper way to handle a gun,” Jones said. “It’s important to teach kids they are not to be played with. Right now when they are young, we teach them step-by-step the safety of how to use the equipment.”

Jones said before any child is admitted into the shooting program, they are required to complete a safety class. He said the youth learn things such as why it is important to never point a firearm at another person.

“We teach them the do’s and don’ts,” Jones said. “Safety is one of the biggest things for us. A lot of injuries can be prevented, and they can help save their life or someone else’s life.”

The guidance of Adams County 4-H paid off in a contest on April 29 when 12 members of the club placed at the Mississippi Southwest District shooting contest in Pearl.

Finishers included Carrie Russell, Drake Breithaupt, Fletcher Mims, Will Ray, Allison Freeman, Natalie Russell, Hannah Russell, Kathryn Freeman, Emily Hootsell, Kyla Baskin, Hunter Taylor and Tate Breithaupt.

Among top participants, Allison Freeman posted a first-place finish in the senior II archery discipline, and Kathryn Freeman ended with a first-place finish in senior II .22 rifle and in senior II 10-meter air rifle competition.

Kathryn Freeman, Allison Freeman, Mims, Hootsell and Russell all qualified to compete in the Mississippi 4-H State Shooting Sports Invitational on July 28-29 in West Point.

“They start from the beginning and work their way up,” Jones said. “They practice for two to three hours once or twice a week. It is a sport, just another type that kids can experience. They get to meet kids you might not get to otherwise. It’s a time for them to interact with other youth.”