YouthFest 2002
300 Kids Enjoy Day of Rootin’ Tootin’ 
Shootin’ FUN

The beautiful spring day at Cherry Ridge Range was the perfect backdrop to celebrate the great American tradition of passing the shooting sports on to another generation. More than 75 volunteers came together to share their time, knowledge and enthusiasm for our firearms heritage with over 400 guests including parents and scout leaders.

After early morning registration and refreshments, our instructors taught everyone about firearms safety and the role firearms have played throughout American history. Then everyone headed out to do some actual shooting. At each range, the instructors worked one-on-one with their students to instill the basics of safe firearms handling. Then the kids tried all five disciplines under the watchful eye of our experienced instructors. Lunchtime consisted of good old American barbecue—and we fed the crowd of over 400 in record time!

After lunch, our guests returned to shooting for the rest of the afternoon; but of course it wasn’t enough! We invited the entire group to make shooting a family activity. Since we never send anyone home empty handed, all of the kids got a snack and the adults were given brochures about gun safety, opportunities for junior activities at clubs and competitions, NRA junior magazines and free memberships. We encourage parents and schools to take an active role in firearm safety education for our kids and to respect the role of the shooting sports in their lives.

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