OUTDOOR & HUNTING SKILLS cOMPETITIONS
NATIONAL OPPORTUNITIES
What is Hunting & Outdoor Skills?
Skill Development
Some valuable outdoor and hunting skills are not formally included in competition events but are strongly encouraged for personal growth, safety, and long-term success in outdoor recreation and conservation.
Outdoor and Hunting Skills Competitions
The outdoor and hunting skills competition is a National 4-H contest that challenges youth ages 8-18 to learn about North American Wildlife species, habitat management, hunting, and basic orienteering at the national level. Competing at the national level incorporates archery, shotgun, rifle, wildlife species and regulations from around the United States. Youth participating from Wyoming are in a team with up to 4 individuals.
National Shoot Competition
- Location: Grand Island, Nebraska
- Last Week of July
- Must be selected to attend
- Will be required to shoot .22 rifle, shotgun, and archery in hunting scenarios.
- Understand Orienteering and follow a compass course
Eligibility to Participate
The top 4 individual shooters in each discipline will qualify for the National Championships as long as they are age eligible, eligible to participate at nationals in the discipline, and agree to attend/participate. If any selected individual is ineligible, or chooses not to attend, the team will be filled by the next shooter in line based on their placing at state shoot.
Qualifying for the National Championships
Participants selected for the National Championships will be the top individual senior aged members based on placing at the Wyoming 4-H State Shoot. Given the timeframe the National championships are held (end of June), and the Wyoming State Shoot (early July), teams will be chosen at our state shoot a year in advance of the National Championships. Team members will be chosen based on their overall placing in the following disciplines/classes:
- Air Rifle – Air Rifle Heavy Target Class
- Air Pistol – Air Pistol
- Archery Compound – Archery Class D
- Shotgun -Shotgun
- Muzzleloader – Muzzleloader
- Small Bore Rifle – Small Bore Rifle Light Target/Precision Class
- Small Bore Pistol – Small Bore Pistol
- Hunting-Outdoor Skills
Suggested Resources: National Level
-
Book – Be Expert with Map and Compass by Bjorn Kjellstrom – 4-H State Office has copies available
Who can Help
- WY 4-H National Hunting Skills Coach
- County Shooting Sports Leaders
- WYGF Hunter Safety Instructors
Contact Us
Wyoming 4-H
College of Agriculture, Life Sciences & Natural Resources
Room 112
1000 E. University Ave
Laramie, WY 82071
Dept. 3354
Email: 4h@uwyo.edu
Phone: (307) 766-5170
The University of Wyoming has earned its Research Level 1 (R1) status from the Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education, placing Wyoming’s only four-year university in the rarefied air of the top research universities in the United States.
The University of Wyoming is an equal opportunity/affirmative action institution.
© July 2025