posted March 03, 2010 05:42 PM
Hi Folks,
I'm on the board of directors for the local chapter of the NWTF. We just had a very successful banquet and are planning for next years. Heres where you come in. I'm looking for ideas that you have seen at your local banquets. Our chapter is VERY kid and Women oriented, and we are looking for ideas that help get these two groups involved. This spring we are sponsoring a 3 day youth turkey camp ,at no expense to the kids or families,and this year we are in the initial planning stages to try and take 1 or 2 wheel chair bound Veterans turkey hunting,this will probably happen in 2011,thats our plan of course. But what have you seen at your local banquets that would be fun and exciting( prizes ,games,etc) that would help us acceived these goals . Thanks for all your help ,and ideas--1Longbow

For the kids, there is nothing better than "HANDS ON" and "FRIENDLY COMPETITION"... I've only seen this once at a banquet but it was a huge success; "Youth BB Gun Turkey Shoot." A simple range is set up (this one was even INSIDE the building) were differing ranges could be achieved (IIRC is was 10 meters, 20 meters, 30 meters) and the targets were balloons. There were approx. 25 to 30 kids who signed up for the event and the way it was conducted was they each shot from the same range using similar BB guns (provided by banquet; had 3 best I recall) and those that hit their target move on to the next round, those who missed are given a very basic prize (a slate call striker). As the rounds progressed the prizes got a bit better. The final three competed for a Youth Model Pump Shotgun complete with a nice after market choke and a fiber optic sights. (I think this one was a Remington 870 camouflaged 20 ga. with a Indian Creek tube). The runner up got a nice slate call and nice box call, plus got one of the Air Rifles they used to compete with. The 3rd place winner also got one of the air rifles. The kids that had gotten beat out of the competition then got to draw numbers, and the one with the highest number won the remaining air rifle used in the competition. I heard the next year the banquet was held they had TONS of kids and their families showing up for the "BB gun shoot off!"

Dawn 2Dusk,
Thanks for the idea now thats what we are looking for!. Something new and exciting--Thanks 1Longbow

Congratulations to you & everyone involved. I'm an NRA Instructor & run a yearly turkey hunting seminar for SCI & run our local DC area SCI outdoor show. The idea of having kids use BB guns is a great idea. There are also kits that can be bought to make simple turkey calls. This works well for kids. I would also recommend checking with NRA to find a Eddie Eagle Instructor in your area. This is the highly successful kids gun safety program. There are lots of literature available for different age groups. My wife & I teach the EE program to scouts & I serve as a RSO at the BB range. Keep up the good work. Our future depends on today's youth.