Saturday, Oct. 11, was a busy day at the California Shooters Club. The Outdoor Youth Day event was a day full of variety. The outdoor activities, included fishing, archery, air rifle and firearms training and more, began at 9 a.m. and went on to 3 p.m. The event and its activities were sponsored by Moreau Valley Quail Forever, appropriate for an organization which has a motto of "No Child Left Indoors®".
The youth day was well attended, with participants arriving throughout the event to take part in many of the activities. Groups of the young people took part in activities offered at a number of session stations. At the shooters club lake, several young people tried their hand at an age old activity with modern equipment. Scott Williams, Missouri Conservation Department fisheries specialist, assisted those who needed his help and supervised those who didn't.
An archery station was one of the hunting activity sessions. At that station, the young people used light-pull bows (30 pounds or less) with blocks targets at various distances, as well as a foam turkey and deer target for those who thought they might consider taking part in turkey or deer seasons.
The rifle stations included an air rifle shoot and a .22 cal. rifle shoot, both well supervised. Each station had a variety of sizes available to accommodate youngsters of all sizes. For those needing a more basic introduction to the shooting sports, there was a Nerf Gun game at the club house.
Other activities included a Nature Scavenger Hunt, a Fish Pond Game, making a cereal bird feeder and a paper plate quail. There was also a display by the Missouri Trappers Association. In addition to showing the different methods of trapping and the different types of traps, the event participants were able to look at and touch a few tanned animal skins.