ROGERS -- Some people view guns as instruments designed to kill, but Chad Livingston, a parent and shooting coach from Tifton, Ga., considers guns as sporting equipment when used properly, he said.
"Everybody is not shooting just to kill, whether it's an animal or using it improperly," Livingston said.
He wants his son to learn to use guns for the intended purpose of target shooting, he said. He helped him train with a Tift County 4-H shooting team and then traveled with him to Rogers for the 2018 annual Daisy National BB Gun Championship Match.
This year's competition, which ends today, has united more than 300 children from across the country to celebrate accomplishments in their sport, said Lawrence Taylor, public relations director for Daisy. Teams, individuals and returning champions gathered to compete for medals that indicate excellent marksmanship in four shooting positions -- prone, standing, sitting and kneeling -- and exceptional knowledge of gun safety.
Teams must place in the top three spots of a state championship match sanctioned by the National Rifle Association to qualify for nationals, Taylor said. Some of the youths, who range between ages 8-15, might also compete in other shooting sports back home, but many participate in the Daisy BB gun curriculum and competition as an introduction to shooting sports.
"This [competition] is really the front door," he said.
Livingston appreciates the Tift County 4-H coaches and Daisy curriculum for emphasizing gun safety and proper handling, he said.
"It's like any sport," Livingston said. "There's excitement in shooting well. There's excitement in basketball, making a basket. If you know how to properly use a gun and use it safely, it can be very enjoyable."
This is the Livingstons' second year at the national competition, and they hope to return as champions for their son's final year, Christie Livingston said.
Will McCranie, also a member of the Tift County 4-H shooting team, qualified for this year's national competition for the first time at age 13. Will had made a hobby out of shooting glass bottles in his backyard, but he never had formal training until he joined a shooting team, he said. He learned how to shoot in various positions and focus on smaller targets.
The Daisy BB gun curriculum requires 10 hours of classroom training, which prioritizes safety precautions and proper gun handling, Taylor said. Competitors take a safety exam at the beginning of the national competition worth 20 percent of their overall score. Each competitor uses the Daisy Model 499B gun, which is designed as the most accurate BB gun for the competition.
"Daisy is responsible for introducing more people to the pleasures of competition shooting and, you know, fun backyard plinking," Taylor said. "As everyone's first gun -- a Daisy BB gun -- it's in our best interest and it's in the world's best interest that we also make gun safety a major priority within the company."
Metro on 07/03/2018