Because of the efforts of Clemson Extension agents James Sweeney , Michael McMannus and Vic Bethea and a grant from the National Wild Turkey Federation, the Dillon County 4-H Shooting sports program was revived in 2001. The program had been in Dillon County before but had become inactive for some time. An organizational meeting was held in Marlboro County to reactivate the program and Roddey Rappe and Bill Aston agreed to undertake the leadership of the program under the oversight of the Clemson extension agents and recruited Keith Dean and Archie Scott as additional coaches and instructors.
To become a volunteer instructor, the participant must attend a training session for one of six disciplines: rifle, shotgun, pistol, archery, muzzle loading, or hunting. The training sessions are mainly about working with youth, safety, and finally the discipline to be taught. The 4-H is a youth development program and dedicated to teaching life skills with the motto, “Learn by Doing”. Hands on skill helps in the learning process. Through these programs youth can development many life skills including personal responsibility, leadership, competitiveness, motor skills, and social development.
With the grant funds the club purchased three Crossman air guns and 2 Mossberg 22 rifles, ammo, and targets and began youth training. The Dillon County Rifle and Gun Club allowed the 4-H to have their events at the club range as it is a safe environment with landscape improvements for safety. The shotgun discipline soon became the favorite of the participants.
Because there was only a limited way to measure results, the club soon began to look for competitions to attend. After success with their first 4-H State shotgun event in Orangeburg at Mid Carolina Gun Club, some of the clubs members joined the Scholastic Clay Target Program (SCTP) and attended the National skeet shoot in Michigan. There they got to see Olympic Gold Medalist, Kim Rhode, and hold her Olympic medals. At that time she only had three Olympic medals but now has five. Later, other members also attended the National SCTP match in Sparta, Illinois. With the organization of the South Carolina Youth Shooting Foundation (SCYSF) the club now participates in about 12 shotgun competitions a year.
The Dillon County club has also had several team members to represent South Carolina at the 4-H National Invitational. This event changes location every 2 years and the club has had members to attend events in Grand Island Nebraska on 2 separate occasions, Rapid City South Dakota, and San Antonio, Texas.
The club is open to boys and girls from ages 7 to 19. The club has accepted members from neighboring counties of Marlboro and Marion and even North Carolina. Marlboro County started a 4-H club at the same time as Dillon County with Johnny Newton as club leader but due to health reasons he has not been able to continue and coaches and members from Marlboro County joined Dillon County. While they were participating Marlboro County also had several youth to attend the 4-H National Invitational.
The club continues to grow with 11 new members joining in 2013. The club has several trained volunteers as leaders including Allen Gasque, Carlton Carr, Billy Miller, Wayne Hamer, Rhett Coleman, Richard McFee and Bill Aston all of Dillon County as well as Arthur Hamer of Marlboro County and Mark Herring of Marion County. NSSA level 3 instructor, Sam Thomas, originally from Zion in Marion County but now of Tabor City, has been a tremendous help in training and education on the professional level to both coaches and club members.
The growth and continued performance would not have been possible without the help and support of several groups and individuals. The Clemson Extension service is the administrative organization and several of their employees are credited with keeping the club operating smoothly. Some of those are James Sweeney, A Vic Bethea, and Michael McManus, who have already been mentioned as well as Grady Sampson, Dillon County’s present agent, Susan McIntyre and recently Jessica Pitman. Rick Wiley, the coordinator of the 4-H shooting sports with the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences at Clemson University has been instrumental in conducting training and opportunities to compete with other clubs.
The Dillon County Rifle and Gun Club, a private club in Dillon County, has allowed the 4-H club use of their facility since inception for no gain. The National Wild Turkey Federation (NWTF) is credited with getting the program started through a grant to the State 4-H program. Without continued support of the Friends of the NRA the club could not have operated and acquired much of the equipment and supplies it uses. Federal ammunition has partnered with 4-H through a national program which provided ammunition and supplies to youth shooting programs and this made it possible for the club to stretch their resources to increase opportunities for the youth members. Recently, Schofield Hardware, in Florence, SC has provided this same benefit to the Dillon County club by again helping them with Federal Ammunition. Glasdrum Farms of Dillon and Marlboro County named the 4-H club as beneficiary to a Monsanto Grant that was awarded to them and Cullen Bryant of Dillon County has provided the club with services for convenience of the club members. The Dillon Lions Club, a local service group, has also made donations to support the club. The South Carolina Department of Natural Resources (SCDNR) has been one of the biggest supporters of youth shooting programs in the state. They have hosted several of the SCYSF shoots and provided shells and targets at many of these events. They have also provided their shooting range in Marion County for the Dillon County club to use on occasions and provided safety instruction and targets. The club is trying to insure continued operation by funding through the Midway USA Foundation and ask for community support in this endeavor.
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