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Objectives:Competition Guidelines:Enhance youth development of self-concept, character and personal growth through safe, educational and socially acceptable involvement in shooting activities. To involve youth in a life skills program that teaches safe and responsible use of shooting sports equipment including sound decision-making, self-discipline and concentration. To promote the highest standards of safety, sportsmanship and ethical behavior. To expose participants to the broad array of vocational and life-long avocation activities related to shooting sports. To strengthen families through participation in life-long recreational activities. To complement and enhance the impact of existing safety, shooting and hunter education programs using experiential (hands on) educational methods and progressive development of skills and abilities. Area/District Qualification Event Guidelines:A county may enter any number of eligible Junior or Senior Division boys and/or girls in an area 4-H Shotgun match. 4-H'ers must post a minimum score (Juniors 16 hits and Seniors 20 hits) at a State approved match consisting of three counties or more to qualify for the state match.Qualification matches must follow the standards set forth in these guidelines. 4-H'ers can use only one opportunity per 4-H year at a qualification match to shoot the minimum score to qualify for state match participation. After 4-H'ers qualify for that year, counties can establish 5-7 member Junior or Senior teams for state competition at their discretion. If a county qualifies less than 5 shooters in either division, the shooters will compete as individuals. The contest will be a modified trap shoot. Twenty-five (25) single, orange domed, 108mm (standard) clay targets will be thrown, at random angles and elevation away from the shooter using an electric trap machine. The trap will be set to throw targets not greater than 45 degrees left or right of the center of the trap (oscillating) and vertically 0-35 degrees (wobble). The trap will be located to the right of the 4-H’er and a dividing screen will be used to separate the 4-H’er and the trap. Throwers angles and elevation will be set by event management so target presentation will be consistent as possible from station to station. Machine elevation and level will be set using a magnetic protractor to insure consistency. Target speed will be set by event management. Tampering with trap speed or elevation settings will be justification for county ejection from a match. In event that a trap becomes disabled or throws targets outside of the required zone of fire, it will be repaired or replaced by the event management as necessary. A coach of a 4-H’er involved during trap repair or replacement is responsible to confirm that traps throw targets at the proper angles and elevation. Targets thrown at the request of a 4-H’er can not be disputed over a field of fire issue. One point will be awarded per target broken. Each 4-H’er will be allowed two (2) optional practice targets or may view two (2) targets before their record singles round begins. The 4-H’er or coach is responsible to inform the scorekeeper if either one or two practice shots are desired prior to shooting. The option of shooting practice shots is permitted only once prior to shooting any targets. Ties in the singles event will be broken rounds by shooting at 5 pairs of targets.The first round of tiebreakers may be shot immediately following the 4-H'ers singles round. Subsequent sets of pairs will be shot as needed to determine placements of individuals and teams. A coach must select one representative to participate in tie breakers on behalf of the team. During tie breaker rounds participants will not be allowed any practice rounds. However, they will be allowed to view the target presentation before shooting for record score. Shoot management or their designee will serve as trap operators for doubles. In addition to the scorer/referee, two flankers will be used to confirm hit and missed targets. The scorekeeper/referee will observe each target's flight and record breaks and misses. In the event of a dispute, the trap operators opinion will be considered by the scorer/referee.
Doubles will be thrown using a manually operated Trius Trap by consistently placing targets back to back (not stacked) on the thrower arm at the same location for each pair. The angle will be so that one target is consistently at or near straight away and the other consistently at or near 45 degrees from the center of the field of fire. There is no out of bounds. For each subsequent set of doubles, the trap elevation will be lowered or raised until placing can be determined. In the event of a no-target, gun or ammunition malfunction during a tiebreaker niether target of a pair will be scored and another pair wil be thrown to score. No adult will be allowed to score/referee, operate a trap, or record scores for a 4-H’er from his or her county. Each county should have a minimum of two adults at the range with each team at all times. At least one of these adults must be a certified coach. These adults may be asked by the Range Officer to operate traps, be safety officers, scorers/referees, or any other task deemed necessary by the Range Officer. These extra adults are needed to ensure a safe match. If a county cannot bring two adults, their shooters will not be allowed to compete. Coaching will be allowed behind the firing line unless it holds up the match. If a coach, after one warning by the Range Officer or their assistant, continues to slow the match, then they will forfeit this privilege. At no time is a coach allowed to indicate the flight elevation or direction of any target. Violators will be required to leave the range. For modified Trap field set up click here. Safety ProceduresEach district will hold a minimum of one area/district modified trap match. All area/district events must be attended by three or more counties and approved by the State and District 4 H Office. District Matches must be conducted under the same guidelines as the state event including range set up, thrower settings, match procedures and scoring procedures. Counties that do not comply with state guidelines may not be permitted to host area/district events in future years. Area/district events may elect to use the either an electric machine or the manually operated Trius trap for their events. Counties attending must be notified in the official match letter to the type of trap that will be used prior to the event. If the host county elects to use the Trius Machine, they must be set up and used in the following manner: Throwing arms must be marked to throw targets not greater than 45 degrees left or right of the center of the trap when held to the far left and far right. Prior to the start of the match, Target minimum and maximum (0-35 degrees) elevation should be marked on the thrower. Elevation should be randomly changed every 3-5 targets so that the change in elevation does not move from one extreme to the other. Target angles should be randomly varied for each target. Target speed will be controlled by locking the spring at its maximum tension where there are no visible threads between the spring and the frame assembly. During the use of Trius traps, the trap operator must not be from the same could as the 4-H’er. The coach has the right to request that an operator be replaced if they feel they are throwing unfair targets. If a 4-H’er calls for a target and the trap operator fails to release it within one second, the trap operator, scorer/referee, or coach may call "no target." Equipment and AmmunitionAll 4-H'ers must have successfully completed the Georgia Hunter Education Program. All 4-H'ers, trap operators, coaches, scorekeepers/referees, and range safety officers will wear hearing and eye protection at all times while on the firing line. Closed toe shoes that are secured to the feet by use of a heel strap or formed heel must be worn at all times while on the range. Flip flops and sandals are not allowed. Shoes must be worn at the firing line. At no time may a gun muzzle be rested on the body part or a toe pad in 4-H competition. In addition no body part may be rested on the muzzle of the firearm All shotguns and ammunition will remain in a closed box and secured by a certified coach until ready to move to the firing range and after the match is over. The next shooter in rotation will be ‘on-deck’ waiting their turn and ready to go. Ammunition will be presented to the scorer/referre to be inspected for rule compliance and shall remain in a closed box until time for the 4-H'er to shoot. A coach will hand one shell at a time to the 4-H'er on the firing lane. The Range Officer will be in charge at all times during the match. Failure to heed the Range Officer's instructions immediately will be grounds for ejection from the match ad removal from the range. All shotguns will be placed at a designated place at the firing range and will remain there until the 4-H’er is told to approach the firing line. The 4-H’er is allowed to transfer a shotgun, with coaches approval, from the designated gun storage area to the firing line and back to the designated area. All guns must have the action open while being transferred to the firing line. A coach must be in control of ammunition at all times. All 4-H'ers, trap operators, coaches, scorekeepers/referees, and range safety officers will wear hearing and eye protection at all times while on the firing line. An adult coach will stand behind the 4-H'er and monitor safety. The coach will load the shotgun or hand shotshells (one shotshell only when shooting singles and two shotshells only when shooting doubles) to the shooter. The coach will serve as the trap operator when electric traps are used. Only one coach will be allowed at the firing line and an additional coach may not be used to operate the electric trap. In the event of a misfire, the 4-H'er can not move either hand from the firearm, must maintain muzzle control down range and follow the instruction of the referee. Only a referee can inspect the firearm to determine and declare an ammunition or gun malfunction or shooter error. Safety is the number one consideration in the 4-H SAFE proram. The Range officer or any safety officer may eject a 4-H'er, coach or spectator for unsafe actions or behavior at any time during the match with no warning or appeal upon event coordinators approval. Any 12 or smaller gauge shotgun will be allowed to be used in this match. 4-H’ers will supply their own shotgun and shotshells. Shotshells must meet the following specifications:
1 oz cannot exceed 1325 FPS 7/8 oz can not exceed 1350 FPS. Shot size must be 7 ½ or smaller and not exceed 1 oz.. Shells will be factory loads. NO RELOADS WILL BE ALLOWED. Shooters are responsible for bringing enough shells for practice shots, record fire and tie breakers if necessary. It is the coach’s responsibility to provide written proof from the manufacturer that the ammunition meets Georgia 4-H requirements if questioned by a Range Officer or scorer/referee. Written proof shall consist of a box labeled with FPS information or a manufacture’s literature with that information. Scoring
A scorekeeper/referee will observe each target's flight and record breaks or misses on the official score sheet. The scorekeeper/referee must see a visible piece of the target break off to be scored as a broken target. "Dusting" or moving a target does not count as a broken target. Two flankers will be used to the left and right of the field to confirm broken and missed targets. Disputes over broken or missed targets must be resolved prior to calling for the next target (or pair in doubles). Calling for the next target signifies agreement with the scorekeeper/referee and previous targets cannot be reviewed. The flankers opinion of broken or missed shall be used by the referee to resolve disputes over broken or missed targets. If the flankers are unable to or fails to make a judgment, the decision of the scorer/referee is final. Each 4-H’er gets a maximum of two failures to fire resulting in a “no target." In event of a “no target,” the 4-H’er will be allowed to shoot that target again for record score. A failure to fire may be caused by gun malfunction, ammunition malfunction or shooter error including failures to take off the safety, selecting the proper barrel, or loading of shell. Each failure to fire after the first two instances will be scored as a “lost target.” Failure to fire shall be noted on the score sheet as F1, F2, etc. in the space where the target is scored along with the score for that target If a target breaks when thrown from the trap, the trap operator or scorer/referee will call "no target" A no target will not be scored and must be re-shot. Broken targets/machine malfunctions: If 2 broken targets are thrown consecutively, fire should suspend and the trap machine cleared. If the machine continues to malfunction or break targets, a coach may pull a 4-H'er off the line and request that the machine be evaluated or repaired. The 4-H'er is allowed to view 1 legal target and will resume his round at the point where they stopped. The 4-H'er cannot start their round over and hits/misses on previous targets will remain as scored. If a coach allows a 4-H'er to complete thier round on a malfunctioning machine, they will not be allowed a second opportunity to post a score. It is the responsibility of th ecoach to make the scorekeeper/referee aware of a gun or ammunition malfunction so a judgement can be made.
At the conclusion of each 4-H'ers turn, each 4-H'er must initial his/her score at the scorer's table before returning to the ready line. Failure to initial score card indicates acceptance of scores as recorded. Score cards will be checked for accuracy by event management.
Certified Coaches / AdultsCounties are required to have a minimum of one 4-H certified coach in the shotgun discipline for each 5-7 person team. A 4-H certified coach in shotgun discipline must be present for a county practice or event to be recognized as a Georgia 4-H SAFE program. Additional adequate adult supervision should be present to serve as range safety officers and help facilitate all aspects of Project SAFE events and activities. Adults should be Certified Overnight Chaperone Trained or Screened Volunteers depending upon responsibilities and roles assigned.
Awards & Recognition
Awards are as outlined by the Project SAFE Development Committee The first place senior team and high individual will be eligible for Master 4-H'er status and to participate in the recognition of Special Events Winners at State 4-H Congress. The banquet meal and lodging expenses will be paid for the team and head coach; however, travel costs are not covered. Members of the State Winning (First Place) Team are ineligible to compete as team members in future years. Team members may compete as individuals in contests and may be recognized as State winning high individuals. This applies whether or not they compete in a national 4-H SAFE event. State Winning High Individuals who are not membres of the State Winning (first place) team are permitted to compete in future years as either individuals or team members.