Information Meeting - Registration for 2025

Annual 30 Gun Raffle

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BB Gun Signup for 2024

If you are interested in BB gun for 2024, please come to registration on November 5th, 6pm at Isaac Walton. 

Rushmore National Invitational

Shooting sports has looked different since the start of COVID, which included Daisy cancelling the National BB Gun Championships normally held in Rogers, Arkansas for two consecutive years. Faced with another year of kids losing the opportunity to compete on a national stage, a group of coaches from South Dakota, Georgia and Texas became the administrators of the National Competitive Youth BB group and put together a competition. The event was named the Rushmore National BB gun Invitational and held on July 1-3, in Fort Pierre, SD. Realizing that some kids had aged out the previous season and missed their final year due to the pandemic, the event staff opted to host a special match for those older kids who wanted to shoot one last time. This portion of the event was named the Out To Pasture (or OTP as it became known) match and open to anyone who aged out.

The match attracted over 200 shooters from nine states stretching from Pennsylvania to Texas and Georgia to Oregon. Although not an official national championship, many of the best teams and finest youth marksmen in the nation were present including the National Record setting team from Walton, GA, an undefeated team from Marshall County, SD, and perennial power Pierre Junior Shooters. By the start of the match there was a sense of victory for everyone that we were finally able to get together, not just as competitors, but as a shooting sports family.

Safety Safety Safety!

At the heart of the Daisy Program is the rules and safety test. The 50-question/100 point test is part of the competitors aggregate score and is the first stage of the match. Teams take great pride in the safety component of their programs, and that fact stood out with competitors answering safety questions correctly over 95% of the time. The event presented a high team test award which went to Marshall County, SD who scored a perfect 500 on the test. Outstanding achievement awards were presented to the following athletes for scoring perfect 100’s on the test:

Jodyn Bawek-Spink Counting Shooting Sports, Jayden Bender-Marshall County 4H Sharpshooters, Hunter Biel-Marshall County 4H Sharpshooters, Austin Crawford-Marshall County 4H Sharpshooters, Clay Crawford-Marshall County 4H Sharpshooters, Grant Cutler-Marshall County 4H Sharpshooters, Zoe Dissing-Humboldt Sharpshooters, Rachel Haines-Montgomery County 4-H Shooting Sports, Mason Harper-Walton County 4-H, Sydney Harper-Walton County 4-H, Mya Heinje-Roberts County 4-H, Evan Lubick-Gallatin Valley Sharp Shooters, Skyler Ruth-Pierre Junior Shooters, Maura Sharer-Penns Valley, Paige Sporrer-Pierre Junior Shooters, Mason Stoeser-Pierre Junior Shooters, Clayton Weber-Lake County Aces

PRONE

The highlight of the prone match was the perfect target shot by Anna Bressler of Penns Valley, PA. That target earned her the right to attempt a national record in the prone position. The current record is a perfect target plus an additional 19 shots in the 10 ring. Unfortunately, the attempt came up short but made for a memorable moment for coach and athlete. The remainder of the top 10 were within 2 points of Anna and were led by Addison Heinje of Roberts County 4H, SD. Addisons trip to the podium marks a first for Roberts County in a National BB gun match. Prone scores were incredibly high for the match with nearly half the athletes posting at least a 95.

In the OTP event, Daisy Teague of Walton County won the position with Skyler Ruth of Pierre and Allison Merritt of the Southern 7 taking second and third, respectively.

1 Anna Bressler Penns Valley 100 - 8
2 Addison Heinje Roberts County 4-H 99 - 8
3 Naya Talarico Gallatin Valley Sharp Shooters 99 - 8
4 Peyton Gewedik Buffalo Youth Shooting Sports 99 - 8
5 Emily Wert Penns Valley 99 - 7
6 Carly Stover Penns Valley 99 - 6
7 Hazel Russell Montana Yellowstone County 4-H 98 - 8
8 Lucky Myers Montgomery County 4-H Shooting Sports 98 - 8
9 Clay Crawford Marshall County 4H Sharpshooters 98 - 8
10 Anna Coleman Dead Eye Shooters 98 - 7

STANDING

The standing match was won by Ireland Templeton of the Pierre Junior Shooters. The score of 98-4 is impressive on its own, but the path she took to get it made her coaches smile. One of the most frequent messages and important life lessons taught and practiced in competitive shooting is moving on from a bad shot. Ireland suffered a gun malfunction in the prone position that resulted in a shot falling to the 2 ring. Ireland came into the event with a realistic expectation she would have a shot at the podium, dropping a 2 in prone created a big hole to dig out of. After a very brief pep talk, she shook it off and went to work in standing winning the position and keeping her teams hopes of a title alive. A great memory for this young ladies last BB gun match, Ireland ages out of BB gun after this season.

In the OTP event, Daisy Teague of Walton County won the position with Montana Marlow of Marshall County and Carter Halvorson of the Oregon Timber beasts taking second and third, respectively.

1 Ireland Templeton Pierre Junior Shooters 98 - 4
2 Madison Baines Walton County 4-H 96 - 4
3 Mason Dunlap Penns Valley 95 - 5
4 Mason Stoeser Pierre Junior Shooters 95 - 4
5 Sydney Harper Walton County 4-H 95 - 4
6 Sterling Powers Gallatin Valley Sharp Shooters 95 - 4
7 Clay Crawford Marshall County 4H Sharpshooters 95 - 2
8 Brookelynn Mallett Lake County Aces 94 - 4
9 Michaela Hampl Walton County 4-H 94 - 4
10 Julia Winstrom Dead Eye Shooters 94 – 4

SITTING

The highlight of the sitting match was Jayden Bender of Marshall County, SD shooting a perfect score. Similar to Anna Bressler, this earned her the right to attempt a national record in the sitting position. The current record is a 100 with 9 additional shots in the 10 ring. Unfortunately, her effort also fell short but provided a chance for her and her coach / dad to take one last trip to the line before her career ended. As a 15 year old, this was Jayden’s final match.

In the OTP event, Skyler Ruth of Pierre won the position with Daisy Teague of Walton County and Carter Halvorson of the Oregon Timber beasts taking second and third, respectively.

1 Jayden Bender Marshall County 4H Sharpshooters 100 - 8
2 Emmy Serock Montana Yellowstone County 4-H 99 - 7
3 Brookelynn Mallett Lake County Aces 99 - 7
4 Josiah Hays Pierre Junior Shooters 99 - 6
5 Paytyn Marlow Marshall County 4H Sharpshooters 98 - 8
6 Leah Lecarno Oregon Timber Beasts 98 - 7
7 Paige Sporrer Pierre Junior Shooters 98 - 6
8 Brayden Bartley Penns Valley 98 - 6
9 Evan Lubick Gallatin Valley Sharp Shooters 98 - 5
10 Skyler Plucker Humboldt Sharpshooters 98 – 4

KNEELING

The final match of the event was the kneeling position. Clay Crawford of Marshall County SD was on a roll and put the final punctuation mark on his career by winning the position and ultimately securing the top spot on the podium for aggregate score. In third place was Erika Symens who suffered the same challenges in prone as Ireland Templeton. A malfunctioning gun resulted in a single point on bull 4 greatly reducing her chances at taking the podium as an individual.

In the OTP event, Jasmine Hays of Pierre won the position with Daisy Teague of Walton County and Quinten VanDyke of the Oregon Timber beasts taking second and third, respectively.

1 Clay Crawford Marshall County 4H Sharpshooters 98 - 8
2 Ethan Bates Gallatin Valley Sharp Shooters 98 - 7
3 Erika Symens Marshall County 4H Sharpshooters 98 - 6
4 Bethany Shirley Walton County 4-H 97 - 5
5 Samuel Sterling Pierre Junior Shooters 97 - 3
6 Brookelynn Mallett Lake County Aces 97 - 2
7 Lucky Myers Montgomery County 4-H Shooting Sports 96 - 6
8 Cheyenne Braaten Roberts County 4-H 96 - 6
9 Caden Carter The Southern 7 96 - 5
10 Maura Sharer Penns Valley 96 – 4

AGGREGATE

The aggregate match was won by Clay Crawford of Marshall County, SD. Having already been to the podium for the test and every position except sitting (he missed it by 1 point), he put the final punction mark on his career by running away with the Rushmore Match with a final score of 488-23. In second place was Evan Lubick of Gallatin Valley Sharp Shooters, MT with a score of 481-16. Places second through twelfth were separated by 4 points and many of the placings were decided by center shots.

1 Clay Crawford Marshall County 4H Sharpshooters 488 - 23
2 Evan Lubick Gallatin Valley Sharp Shooters 481 - 16
3 Jayden Bender Marshall County 4H Sharpshooters 480 - 23
4 Brookelynn Mallett Lake County Aces 480 - 15
5 Josiah Hays Pierre Junior Shooters 480 - 15
6 Sterling Powers Gallatin Valley Sharp Shooters 479 - 17
7 Maura Sharer Penns Valley 478 - 19
8 Skyler Plucker Humboldt Sharpshooters 478 - 16
9 Sydney Harper Walton County 4-H 478 - 12
10 Caden Carter The Southern 7 477 – 18

OTP

In the OTP event, Daisy Teague of Walton County handily won the match with a 489-20. Coming in second and third were teammates from the Pierre Junior Shooters, Skyler Ruth and Jasmine Hays. After the match, Daisy recapped her experience by saying, “this last BB match was an amazing bonding experience with my team. I was able to come back from the cancelled season and win it all. Coming out to South Dakota for this last match was amazing and a great experience overall.”

TEAM TOTALS

Starting the match in first place with a perfect team test score of 500, Marshall County, SD never relinquished the lead and handily won the match with a score of 2388-92. Slipping into second place with their highest team score of the season at 2388-72 were the Pierre Junior Shooters of Pierre, SD. At only 3 points behind and rounding out the top three was Gallatin Valley Sharp Shooters Gold of Bozeman, MT with a score of 2377-77.

1 Mashall County Team 1 Britton SD 2388 - 92
2 Pierre 1 Pierre SD 2380 - 72
3 Gallatin Valley Sharp Shooters Gold Bozeman MT 2377 - 77
4 Walton County 4-H Walton GA 2367 - 64
5 Penns Valley Team 1 - Spring Mills PA 2362 - 80
6 Humboldt Sharpshooters Humboldt SD 2357 - 75
7 Aces Madison SD 2350 - 68
8 The Southern 7 Blackshear GA 2342 - 69
9 406 Marauders Billings MT 2313 - 69
10 Montgomery County 4-H Shooting Sports Montgomery TX 2306 – 67

IN THE END

With the close of the match came a realization to many. This was much more than a match. It was a great opportunity for these young kids to get a seat on the national stage. It was a chance for them to get to know and spend time with young shooters like them from across the country. It was also a great opportunity for the parents and coaches to meet people from other teams and come together as one big BB family. For those who organized the match and many others, it was different than the annual Daisy match because it was a coming together of people across the nation to pull something together for these kids. The organic nature of how all this came to be shows how strong the love for this sport and these young shooters is. One of the organizers, Jennifer Harper, said, “we had the opportunity to meet and work with some amazing people to put this together and we have built lifelong friendships in the process. The camaraderie at this match was unlike any other that I have been a part of and I am very thankful to have had this experience.” To those shooters who will be moving on, we wish you the best of luck on your next adventure. To the shooters that will be returning to BB next year, we look forward to seeing you at the Daisy match in Rogers, Arkansas in 2022.

[See photo gallery here]

Daisy National 2020 (cancelled)

Jr Shooters Bring Home the Gold at Nationals

The 54th Daisy National BB Gun Championship was held last week in Rogers, Arkansas. Sixty-four teams from across the nation participated in the four day competition. Over 427 shooters made up the 64 teams. Daisy National BB Gun Tournament requires qualification in State tournaments. Boys and girls age 8-15 compete by shooting a 5 meter target in prone, standing, sitting, and kneeling position. In addition to shooting skills, the team members take a 50 question written test on gun knowledge, safety, technical skills, and tournament rules.

South Dakota was well represented this year by bringing home three of the top four places in the team event. The Pierre Junior Shooters of Pierre SD brought home the Gold and title of National Champions edging out Walton County of Monroe, Ga who took home 2nd place and the silver medal. Marshall County of Britton, SD finished in 3rd place and the Humboldt Sharpshooters of Hartford, SD rounded out the top 4. The Pierre Junior Shooters have also brought home the National title in 2017, 2016, 2014, 2012, 2011, 2008, 2005, and 2004 – as well as placing in the top 10 in many other years.

Members of the Pierre Junior Shooters team were Rylie Stoeser, Griffin Gates, Jenna Kruger, Skyler Ruth, Sam Sterling, alternates Marlee Shorter, and Ireland Templeton, and Jasmine Hays competed in the Match of Champions. The team is coached by Jonathan Hays and Sean Kruger.

A very important part of the competition is the Safety Test. The test makes up one-fifth of the teams final score. At the competition the Paul Tiefer Memorial trophy is awarded to the team with the highest combined test score. This year history was made and for the first time 3 teams tied for this honor. The exciting part was the three teams where all from South Dakota. Scoring a 496 out of 500 possible points, the Pierre Jr Shooters, Marshall County and Humboldt Sharpshooters shared the stage for this honor. For the Pierre Jr Shooters; Rylie Stoeser, Jenna Kruger, Griffin Gates, and Ireland Templeton all had a perfect 100. Skyler Ruth, Sam Sterling, and Marlee Shorter scored a 98.

Rylie Stoeser led the way for the Pierre Junior Shooters with a 6th place finish, Griffin Gates 8th place, Jenna Kruger 11th place Skyler Ruth 31st place and Sam Sterling 48th place. In the Alternate division, Ireland Templeton placed 7th and Marlee Shorter 13th out of 107 shooters. Jasmine Hays finished 24th in the Champions division out of 53 returning Champion shooters.

The Pierre Junior Shooters are comprised of sixty to seventy 8-15 year olds and will begin practice and studying again in January.

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Image: Team with all of the individual coaches: Montee Shorter, Lisa Gates, Marlee Shorter, Jasmine Hays, Jenna Kruger, Ireland Templeton, LeeJay Templeton, Michelle Sterling, Griffin Gates, Sam Sterling, Skyler Ruth, Rylie Stoeser, Chad Stoeser, Levi Zilverberg, Jonathan Hays, and Sean Kruger

Ryckman places fourth at National Shooting Championships

Jul 18, 2018 — The 2018 4-H Shooting Sports National Championships were held in Grand Island, Neb., June 24-29. Cassandra Ryckman, daughter of Dennis and Carolyn Ryckman (Pierre SD), qualified for this national event in Air Rifle. Athletes who compete in air rifle competition shoot in three different categories: Three Position, Standing, and Silhouettes.

Ryckman place ninth in Three Position on the first day of competition. The second day saw Ryckman place 13th in Standing. Her team placed third in Standing. Ryckman shot 26 out of 40 silhouettes, and was in a four way tie for fifth place. She received eighth place through a tie-breaker. Ryckman placed fourth in overall competition.

“It is a huge honor because you are competing with the best shooters in the nation,” Ryckman said. “The competition was a good opportunity to learn from the other shooters. I had hoped to do better, but I was glad to finish in the top ten.”

Ryckman has been participating in shooting shorts, following in the footsteps of her older brother. She credits her success to her coaches and parents. Last year saw Ryckman place seventh in air pistol. Next year will be the last year Ryckman will be eligible to participate in 4H shooting competitions. She will try to qualify in the .22 pistol category.

Jr Shooters Bring Home 2nd at Daisy Nationals

2018 Team - Second place team (see BB Gun National Match Results). 

Ryckman shines at National 4-H Air Pistol Competition

Pierre’s Cassandra Ryckman finished in seventh place overall in the National 4-H Air Pistol Shooting Competition in Grand Island, NE, in June.

Ryckman, a senior at Pierre T.F. Riggs High School, finished the highest of the four athletes from South Dakota. Ryckman said that finishing as highly she did was something of which she was proud..

“It’s a big honor because you’re competing with the best shooters in the nation,” Ryckman said. “It was a good opportunity to learn from the more-experienced shooters. I had hoped to do better, but I was glad to finish in the top ten individually. I was particularly proud of how I did during the silhouette stage.”

In April, Ryckman finished first in both the State Air Rifle and State Air Pistol Competitions in Fort Pierre. However, an athlete can only participate in one national competition, meaning that Ryckman was unable to participate in the National Air Rifle Competition.

-Capital Journal

Pierre Jr. Shooters Win Daisy Nationals

2017 Team - First place team with a shooting score of 1,889 and a test score of 494 for an overall score of 2,383 (see BB Gun National Match Results).