The Stark/Billings County team took first place in the senior bare-bow 3-D archery competition at the North Dakota 4-H Shooting Sports spring match at the Western 4-H Camp near Washburn on May 7.

Two Ramsey County teams placed first in the senior freestyle 3-D archery and senior division air rifle events. Ramsey County also was named the state champion for the third consecutive time. The team’s award, an engraved plaque, will be placed in the Ramsey County Extension office.

Stark/Billings team members are David Brevik, Kylend Hondl, Nicholas Huizinga and Kelsey Hibl. Huizinga was the high scorer, with 160 points. He was followed by Hondl, with 99 points; Hibl, with 82 points; and Brevik with 78 points. Huizinga received a gold award and the other team members received silver awards.

Ramsey’s senior freestyle team members are Morgan Hanson, Cole Hanson and Michael Bischoff of Ramsey County and Mike Biewer of Richland County. Bischoff was the high scorer, with 228 points, followed by Cole Hanson, with 225 points; Morgan Hanson, with 199 points; and Biewer with 130 points. Morgan Hanson, Cole Hanson and Bischoff received gold awards. Biewer received a bronze award.

Ramsey’s senior air rifle team members are Bradley Pfeifer, Derek Melcer and Colton McAllister. Pfeifer was the high scorer, with 215 points, followed by Melcer, with 194 points; and McAllister, with 176 points. All three received gold awards.

The spring match consisted of 3-D archery and air rifle events for beginners (ages 8 to 10), juniors (ages 11 to 13) and seniors (ages 14 to 18).

The archery competition involved 30 3-D animal targets placed along a one-mile course. Competitors were required to take shots at various distances up to 50 yards. The shots mimicked common hunting situations such as blind hunting and stump sitting. Shooting distances were adjusted for the age of the competitors. The top possible score is 300 points.

The air rifle competition offered the most difficult challenge. It required competitors to complete 40 standing shots at a 10-spot target at a distance of 33 feet with sporter rifles and match pellets. Sporter rifles have a maximum speed of 500 feet per second and can have target sights. This competition is not adjusted for age. The maximum score possible is 400 points.

State champions are determined by considering the placing of the top three teams in the junior and senior divisions in the archery and air rifle events. The top three teams’ placings receive a power rating. The team with the highest power rating is named champion.

A record number of youth - 126 in archery and 37 in air rifle – participated in this spring’s competition. In addition to Stark, Billings and Ramsey, the competition attracted teams and individuals from Emmons, Foster, Golden Valley, Grant, McKenzie, Morton, Sheridan, Stutsman and Wells counties.

The competition is sponsored in part by the North Dakota 4-H Foundation. North Dakota Center for 4-H Youth Development specialists, state shooting sports coordinators, North Dakota State University Extension Service agents and support staff, certified 4-H shooting sports instructors and 4-H volunteers from throughout the state organize the competition.

NDSU Agriculture Communication - June 1, 2011