2025 4-H Shooting Sports State Championship Rulebook

2025 4-H Shooting Sports State Championship Special Notices

The following rules are for the 2025 4-H Shooting Sports State Championship. The State Championship will be held in the Jackson, Mississippi, area July 18–19. Shotgun events will be held at Capital Gun Club in Jackson. All other events will be held at the Mississippi Law Enforcement Training Academy in Pearl.

The State Championship is for senior 4-H members (only) who have qualified at a district event this year. This is a two-day event.

These rules do not apply to district events.

State matches may be altered due to range layout, weather conditions, or equipment availability.

Please note that participants in shotgun events should practice for all three events but understand that the number of events could be reduced due to range and equipment availability.

There will be a review period on all scores for this event. Scores will be posted at the end of the competition. A 30-minute review period will follow, during which event participants may request a formal review. Targets will be scored by a three-person committee and will not be returned to the competitors. The review fee is $50, which will be returned to the participant if a scoring error is found.

Once record shooting begins, no coaching is permitted unless initiated by the shooter through the range officer and with his or her permission. Time continues.

No cell phones will be allowed on the firing line during live fire. This includes use of cell phones by parents, coaches, and participants (excluding range officer).

Participants are required to have completed 8 hours of 4-H Shooting Sports training each year in each discipline in which they compete. This rule applies to all disciplines, including Hunting. This requirement is fulfilled prior to district events.

Participants in the State Championship must complete an additional 2 hours of safety and rules instruction in the discipline in which they are going to compete. A certified instructor in that discipline must sign off on these additional hours, and participants must present their documentation to the appropriate Extension agent when they turn in paperwork to register for the State Championship.

There will be a rules committee in place to handle any rule discrepancies, challenges, or protests that arise. This committee will consist of at least three of the following five:

1. Range officer in charge of range in question.
2. Event coordinator or state executive board member.
3. State 4-H staff member, state 4-H Shooting Sports coordinator, or other predetermined state staff on site.
4. Level II or Level III instructor for discipline in question.
5. Research and Extension center head or regional Extension coordinator on site.

The Extension agent with 4-H Shooting Sports responsibilities from the county in question may be present during the rules committee meeting in order to disseminate information to the 4-H member or family but may not have a voice or vote on the rules committee.

Safety Rules

Safety will be first and foremost at all times. A 4-H Shooting Sports committee will examine and inspect all ranges in accordance with NRA standards prior to live fire exercise.

1. Participants, instructors, and parents are responsible for reading and understanding the rules. While on the firing line, each team or individual must be accompanied by an adult or qualified Senior II. Participants must have a sponsoring adult responsible for them at all times. Each county must have a minimum of one adult per five youths at the contest.
2. Participants must provide their own firearms and ammunition, bows and arrows, eye and ear protection, and other personal shooting equipment. This includes kneeling rolls, shooting blocks, shooting rolls, slings, jackets, shooting mats, etc. Adults are responsible for handling and controlling all ammunition. Counties sharing firearms or other equipment must limit the sharing to three or fewer youths per piece of equipment.
3. All firearms—air pistols, air rifles, .22 caliber rifles, .22 pistols, and shotguns—must have a breech block safety flag inserted in the chamber; it must extend the length of the barrel and protrude out of the breach of the firearm. Breech block safety flags can easily be made from yellow or orange weed-eater type string and inserted into pistols, rifles, and shotguns of all kinds. Muzzleloader rifles must have a yellow safety flag attached to the barrel-inserted ramrod.
4. Arrows will not be nocked until the participant is on the firing line. The use of a hip or ground quiver is required. Absolutely no broadheads allowed.
5. Participants must obey all range commands. Arrive at the event at least 15 minutes prior to relay time to receive range orientation.
6. Rifles must be single loaded, except when range officer dictates otherwise. Parent or person assisting participant must certify when each firearm is clear.
7. Participants must wear adequate eye and ear protection while on the firing line.
8. Ammunition will be stored so as not to be readily accessible except on the firing line. Participants should never have control of ammunition and firearms at the same time during the event unless on the firing line. Arrows are not classified as ammunition and thus may be stored in the bow case.
9. All participants will check in equipment at the appropriate check-in station for their discipline. Equipment will be checked to ensure it is safe and in usable condition. Any loaded firearms will result in immediate disqualification!
10. All equipment, including firearms, will be the responsibility of the participant under the supervision of the certified 4-H instructor and MSU Extension agent.
11. A ready area behind the firing line will be designated for participants, instructors, and/or parents to gather in just before their relay is called to the line. There will also be a designated area for spectators and people not directly involved in the competition. Failure to remain in designated areas could result in removal of the participant from the competition.
12. Appropriate clothing to be worn while on the firing line is as follows: closed-toe shoes, fingertip-length shorts or longer, t-shirts or collared shirts. Participants and spectators are required to dress appropriately. Team shirts are encouraged but not required. Both young people and adults should wear attire appropriate for the weather while remaining modest and socially acceptable. Shooters must wear a shirt with sleeves. Clothing deemed immodest or distracting to other shooters will not be permitted. Fully enclosed shoes must be worn for safety reasons by all participants. No Croc-type soft-sole shoes, flip-flops, or other open-toe shoes are allowed. Dress code will be strictly enforced.
13. Participants, instructors, or parents violating any safety rules listed will be given one warning. A second infraction will disqualify him or her from further participation. If the safety violation is severe, the competitor may not be given a warning. Participants bringing loaded firearms, including BB guns and air rifles, or cartridges loose or stored in gun cases, to competition are automatically disqualified. Instructors and the MSU Extension agent will be notified, and the infraction documented.
14. Tactical firearms are not permitted in the 4-H Shooting Sports program.
15. Dogs are not allowed on the range. The exception to this rule is service animals.
16. Mississippi State University Extension provides educational opportunities to the public on an equal opportunity basis and will make every reasonable effort to accommodate individuals with disabilities that would interfere with their ability to receive the information being provided. If you have a disability or impairment, please advise district management before competing in any district-sanctioned event. We will work with you to make appropriate accommodations to participate in this event.
17. Once record shooting begins, no coaching is permitted unless initiated by the shooter through the range officer and with his or her permission. Time continues. Coaching is defined as giving guidance, whether verbal or non-verbal, to the competitor. (Example of spotting: Shot was low to the left. Example of coaching: Shot was low and to the left; aim higher and right.)

National 4-H Shooting Sports Rules

Download the PDF above for the full publication, including rules for Archery, Muzzleloader Rifle, .22 Rifle, Air Rifle, .22 Pistol Match, Air Pistol, Shotgun, and Hunting events, as well as target examples.

Publication 2751 (POD-02-25)

Distributed by Reid Nevins, 4-H Environmental Science and Education Specialist, Extension Center for 4-H Youth Development.