There won't be any turkeys or deer crossing the line of fire. But, there are guns and there is a group of youths waiting for their turn to shoot.

Every Wednesday evening, the Bull's Eye 4-H Shooting Club gathers at the Butler City Hunting and Fishing Club in East Butler for regular target practice.

“My daughter does archery and trap shooting with trap starting when she was 12,” said Tom Hornyak of Valencia, co-leader and instructor for the Bull's Eye Club. “Ever since she was a small child, she wanted to shoot.”

Hornyak's daughter, Sami, joined the 4-H club when she was eligible at 8 and started with archery. Sami is now 15.

The Bull's Eye club, the only 4-H shooting club in Butler County, is part of the National 4-H Shooting Sports program. The club, started in 2000, accepts members ages 8 to 18.

“When the club started it had six members,” said Denise Foertsch of Saxonburg, its co-leader. “As of today, we have 30 members.”

“We have as many girls as we do boys, and they are just as good as the boys,” said Hornyak. “Shooting sports are not about how big you are or how strong you are. The younger members, when fitted with the right equipment, can do as well as the older ones.”

“You can always get better,” said Tammy Mowry of Butler. She is the manager of the Scholastic Pistol Program of the Scholastic Shooting Sports Foundation which also has a clay target program.

Nationally it supports teams organized by high schools, colleges, the Boy Scouts, local gun clubs and 4-H. Four students, a certified coach and an online completed application packet are necessary to register a team. A sportsmanship contract is included. Safety is paramount in the programs.

“They are not handling the guns until it is time to practice,” says Mowry. “They are learning firearm safety,”

The same is true for 4-H and the Butler High School Rifle Team. “It's all about safety,” said Kathy McCurdy, Butler High School Rifle Team president. “If they are not safe, they are not on the team.”

In the SSSF programs, the gun is at the shooting table. The coach observes the student loading the gun when the student comes to the table to shoot.

Students have a controlled amount of ammunition. Everyone wears eye and ear protection, and they cannot leave the designated practice area with a gun unless there is an adult with them.

“They are not handling guns until it is time for practice,” says Mowry. Anyone not shooting safely is disqualified.

All of SSSF's programs are based on two crucial parts: safety and fun. Associating with the national programs allows clubs to work with SSSF's discount partners for lower prices on steel targets, timers and guns. The guns used belong to the club or to the families.

The programs also have a national championship that attracts more than 1,500 youths for clay target and pistol competition.

The Bull's Eye club is an instructional club and does not compete. However, some of its members do compete on Butler High School's rifle team. There are 17 girls and 27 boys on this year's team.

“The kids come from the town, the country and the subdivisions,” said McCurdy. “It's not just one type of kid. There are kids from all types of families.”

McCurdy has three children who have participated on the school's team.

“It's been a wonderful thing for the kids,” said McCurdy. “They've done soccer and track and field and rifle team. The one that they are most passionate about is rifle team.”

There has been a team at Butler High School since 1960 and there was a club before that. It is the only high school rifle team in the county, and it competes with eight teams in Western Pennsylvania.

“It requires an incredible amount of concentration,” said McCurdy. “You have to calm your breathing so you are very steady. It's precision, breathing and concentration.”

In addition to the sport, camaraderie and friends, they practice leading orderly meetings, become more confident with speaking in front of other people, do community service and enjoy field trips, according to Foertsch.

“All around, my girls learned responsibility,” she said.

She does not worry about student participants using the guns dangerously outside of the club.

“I've seen them in the club and at the range,” said Foertsch. “They are good kids. We've never had any problems.”