Wabbit Season Preparations
At last week’s troop meeting, the focus was on the upcoming shooting sports campout, so the skill session was focused around the Shotgun Shooting merit badge basics. Hosted by guest speaker Bob Sacco from 
troop 511, the scouts were led through Shotgun Basics 101 and reviewed the top three rules for using any kind of firearm: keep the gun pointed in a safe direction (away from people mainly), never put a finger on the trigger until ready to fire, and lastly never keep the gun loaded until ready to shoot (Although Mr. Ossman mentioned the unofficial “fourth” rule: Shoot first, ask questions later). Along with very important safety tips and equipment, Mr. Sacco also brought in some different types of shotguns, ranging from pump-action strategic shotguns to the classic Winchester double-side barrel type. All the kinds of shotguns that were shown at the meeting are reportedly going to be on the campout as well, since Mr. Sacco is in charge of the campout’s main event. Mr. Sacco also said that scouts are welcome to bring their own guns to shoot on the campout too, as long as the scout brings the ammo for that gun along with a responsible adult to the campout as well.
After the skill session, the scouts were given a short lesson on how to play the “stick” game
, which in short involves the players, holding the sticks in a circle pattern, dashing all at once to the stick on their left before it falls on the ground, then repeating the pattern in increasingly larger distances. The scouts were split up into separate groups (the younger scouts in a different group then the older scouts), and there was lots of yelling, running, and wooden sticks hitting the ground in various ways while the scouts played the deceivingly simple game. After the scouts had played a few rounds of the stick game, it was time to fall in and circle up. Scoutmaster Dr. Reynolds wisely chose to use his scoutmaster minute that night to talk about preventing another incident like last year’s first Color War, which got rained out due to the scouts not packing the right clothes. After he had some of the older scouts recite the ten scout essentials (and a round of applause afterwards), the troop ended the meeting with the traditional “all-at-once” clap
Ben Hallenbeck, Troop Historian
troop 511, the scouts were led through Shotgun Basics 101 and reviewed the top three rules for using any kind of firearm: keep the gun pointed in a safe direction (away from people mainly), never put a finger on the trigger until ready to fire, and lastly never keep the gun loaded until ready to shoot (Although Mr. Ossman mentioned the unofficial “fourth” rule: Shoot first, ask questions later). Along with very important safety tips and equipment, Mr. Sacco also brought in some different types of shotguns, ranging from pump-action strategic shotguns to the classic Winchester double-side barrel type. All the kinds of shotguns that were shown at the meeting are reportedly going to be on the campout as well, since Mr. Sacco is in charge of the campout’s main event. Mr. Sacco also said that scouts are welcome to bring their own guns to shoot on the campout too, as long as the scout brings the ammo for that gun along with a responsible adult to the campout as well.After the skill session, the scouts were given a short lesson on how to play the “stick” game
, which in short involves the players, holding the sticks in a circle pattern, dashing all at once to the stick on their left before it falls on the ground, then repeating the pattern in increasingly larger distances. The scouts were split up into separate groups (the younger scouts in a different group then the older scouts), and there was lots of yelling, running, and wooden sticks hitting the ground in various ways while the scouts played the deceivingly simple game. After the scouts had played a few rounds of the stick game, it was time to fall in and circle up. Scoutmaster Dr. Reynolds wisely chose to use his scoutmaster minute that night to talk about preventing another incident like last year’s first Color War, which got rained out due to the scouts not packing the right clothes. After he had some of the older scouts recite the ten scout essentials (and a round of applause afterwards), the troop ended the meeting with the traditional “all-at-once” clapBen Hallenbeck, Troop Historian
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