4-H Teens Shoot Nationals in Nebraska

Three Ashe County teenagers took their marksmanship to Grand Island, Nebraska last week for the 4-H Shooting Sports National Championships — the culmination of years of range work that started, for most of them, in their own backyards.

Driving the news: Emmaline Farmer shot with North Carolina's muzzleloader team, Alexander Edwards competed on the pistol team, and Leah Cox joined the air pistol squad. Together they were three of 36 North Carolina 4-H members facing 731 competitors from 42 states.

Catch up quick:

• Most club members learned the basics under parental instruction at home, then sharpened their skills at the Ashe County Wildlife Club in Laurel Springs, NC
• The club has sent shooters to nationals for at least 12 years under coach Charles Young
• At least one Ashe County shooter has previously taken a national first-place title

Zoom in: The muzzleloader discipline is where the format gets genuinely hard. Competitors shoot 50-yard bullseye targets, 25-yard novelty targets, and 11-inch silhouette plates at 40, 60, 77, and 100 yards — all standing, no prone, no rest.

"Imagine trying to shoot a ram at 100 yards, 11 inches high, while standing up." — Coach Charles Young

The intrigue: The national format doesn't let shooters stay in their lane. Once you've qualified through regionals and state, you're required to cross over into other disciplines — muzzleloader competitors have to demonstrate with a pistol or .22 rifle. Young's take on that: the fundamentals transfer. "A lot of the technique stays the same," he said. "All of the fundamentals are essentially the same."

Farmer is a returning national competitor, placing fourth in the silhouette event in 2025 with North Carolina's air rifle team before switching to muzzleloader this season. Edwards, 16, has been behind a trigger since he was nine. Cox, quieter on the line but steady, has put in four or five seasons at the club and ramped up her practice load this spring and summer specifically for nationals.

The big picture: Youth shooting sports programs like 4-H aren't just producing competitive marksmen. Young, one of six coaches at the Wildlife Club, is deliberate about what he's actually teaching: firearm safety, outdoor discipline, and without the kids always realizing it — math, physics, and environmental awareness built into every shot call. "They are getting a pretty interesting outdoor education," he said. "That's our main goal: have fun, do it safely, teach marksmanship."

The bottom line: Seven hundred thirty-one shooters, 42 states, one range. North Carolina showed up.