From the Illinois Department of Natural Resources - Wingshooting Clinics Scheduled at Jim Edgar Panther Creek State Fish and Wildlife Area and the Decatur Gun Club

Clinic sessions planned for April 13-14 at JEPC and May 4-5 at the Decatur Gun Club

SPRINGFIELD, IL – The Illinois Department of Natural Resources (IDNR) is sponsoring wingshooting clinics for hunters on Saturday and Sunday, April 13-14 at the Jim Edgar Panther Creek (JEPC) State Fish and Wildlife Area and at the Decatur Gun Club on Saturday and Sunday, May 4-5.

Two 4-hour wingshooting sessions are available on each day. Morning sessions run from 8 a.m. until 12 noon, and afternoon sessions run from 1 p.m. until 5 p.m. The clinic sessions will be taught by instructors certified by both the National Sporting Clays Association (NSCA) and the IDNR. The clinics are designed to improve the wingshooting skills of hunters. Hunters interested in improving their ability to hit moving targets with a shotgun are encouraged to attend. In addition, hunters will have a fun time shooting with friends or new acquaintances with similar shooting abilities.

More on Illinois Wingshooting Clinics...

Illinois Homeschoolers welcome NRA's air gun program for parents and students

Arlington Heights, Illinois - Recent studies suggest that almost three million children are currently enrolled in a homeschool program. Though criteria for such programs vary state to state, there as basics in the curriculum nationwide; English, Math, Science, etc... And, with a little luck, NRA's new Home Air Gun Program.

More on bringing NRA's new Home Air Gun Program to Chicago homeschoolers ...

Another look at last year's Youth Wildlife Art winner for Category I - 1st through 3rd grade students

Untitled, a Dall Sheep Ram by Yuwen Li of Illionios - 1st Place in Category 1 of 2011 Youth Wildlife Art Contest

During last year's George Montgomery/NRA Youth Wildlife Art Contest, it was Yuwen Li out of Palatine, Illinois who won Category One — students in first through third grades.

We'll start posting this year's winners soon, but for now, here's a look at the art that arrived from last year's batch of five through nine year-old winners.

More on the 2011 Youth Wildlife Art 1st -3rd grade contest winners ...

Recruits receive Thanksgiving thanks to Illinois Venturing Crew

Larry Quandahl of NRA's Youth Programs Department popped into my office this week with a handful of stories. All deserve to be heard, but one that jumped out at me centered on an Illinois Venturing Crew raising money for the local Naval training base. Thanks to Venture Crew 1220 for sharing their tale.

Itasca, Illinois - Venture Crew 1220 of the Itasca/Wood Dale neighborhoods of Illinois came to the rescue of Naval recruits at the Great Lakes Naval Training Center. The Venturers of Crew 1220 are experienced when it comes to using NRA Basic and Instructor Courses for fundraisers. They have offered both courses in the past to help pay for high adventure trips, like Philmont. In December 2011, Jim Appleby (an NRA Appointed Training Counselor) told the Crew about VFW Post 2801 of Villa Park. It set the stage for everything.

More on raising money for Illinois Naval cadets...

NRA 3-Gun Experience brought to AIM Championship

Sparta, Illinois - "Do you really think youth Trap shooters will be interested in a 3-Gun shooting experience?"

The NRA was asked this question and, after a huge turnout at the Academics Integrity Marksmanship (AIM) Championship, they can respond with a resounding "YES!"

3-Gun shooting competitions have gained a lot of popularity over the past few years and the NRA saw AIM as the perfect venue to introduce 3-Gun to young shooters. AIM is the youth program associated with the Amateur Trapshooting Association (ATA) and has some 5,000 members nationwide.

In a 3-Gun challenge shooters, shooters compete in timed rifle, shotgun and pistol stages and are penalized for each missed target.

More

NRA Day brings out thousands of shooters in Illinois

Bonfield, Illinois - On Saturday June 23rd, an incredible NRA Day Family Shoot took place in Illinois. In what was described by Illinois State Rifle Association President Richard Pearson as “The Big One,” the five-hour event saw approximately 2,409 people come out to shoot at the Association’s Headquarters Range. The direct objective was to get new people out to the range. With 40% of the people at the event having no experience shooting, that objective was certainly accomplished.

After a standard NRA safety briefing, participants stood in a line that at times stretched more than a hundred yards. Waiting for them at the firing line was a choice of rifles, pistols, shotguns, air guns, and even some bows provided by the nearly twenty sponsoring organizations. Receiving personalized training from an assigned instructor, novice and experienced shooters alike where allowed five to ten shots depending on the firearm.

More

Wheeling, Illinois - Refuse To Be A Victim® Program Coordinator Ruthann Sprague has been a busy woman this month. At the recent 141st NRA Annual Meetings and Exhibits, two Refuse To Be A Victim® Seminars were held, followed by an Instructor Development Workshop. The events were a huge success, and now many in the St. Louis area are better prepared to reduce their chances of victimization.

After all of her hard work coordinating the Refuse To Be A Victim® training at the Annual Meetings, Sprague left St. Louis to head directly to the International Law Enforcement Educators and Trainers Association (ILEETA) Conference and Expo in Wheeling, Illinois. Sprague is bringing the award-winning crime prevention program to the ILEETA Conference in hopes that more law enforcement agencies will incorporate the program into their crime prevention program.

More

Sandwich, Illinois - 2011 Y.E.S. alumnus Theodore Mikrut participated in the Boy Scouts Three Fires Council Camporall last weekend at the Sandwich Fairgrounds in Illinois. The three-day event was enticing enough to draw almost 4,000 people who gathered despite the high winds and brisk October temperatures.

Before being allowed onto the range that weekend, every Cub Scout at Camporall was taught about the Eddie Eagle GunSafe® Program by Mikrut to ensure any scout interested in shooting was introduced to proper safety information.

More

Chicago, Illinois - The life of an Executive Director is a busy one. That couldn't be any more true for Illinois State Rifle Association Executive Director Richard Pearson. While he originally planned to attending the opening of Chicago's NRA Club Leadership and Development Workshop, pressing issues on the local and state levels demanded his attention. But true to his pledge, Mr. Pearson was able to pull away in order to attend the afternoon session of the seminar.

"I don't want to take up too much of your time as the staff from NRA headquarters has so much to share," said Pearson. "But I'll be here to answer any questions you might have during the breaks and after the presentations."

And there he was, taking questions and delivering answers well after the day was done. Even those in attendance from out of state stepped forward for a chance to utilize Pearson's vast expertise in the firearms arena.

"It's important to have leadership from the state associations attend these workshops," said NRA Clubs and Associations Marketing Manager Son Nguyen. "Having Mr. Pearson here is a real benefit to us and everyone who attended the seminar today."