During the weekend of October 3 – 5, 2003, over 400 Boy Scouts, Webelos and their parents from the Alamo Area Council gathered at the National Shooting Complex in San Antonio, Texas for the first Alamo Area Council Fall Shooting Sports Weekend.

What started out as a Fall Camporee for the Eagle District of the Alamo Area Council quickly grew into a pilot program for the Council itself. The National Shooting Complex hosted the event.

At 600 acres, the National Shooting Complex is the largest shooting facility in America. This state-of-the-art location is the headquarters for both National Skeet Shooting Association and the National Sporting Clays Association. When not hosting Boy Scouts, the "Complex," as it is known, hosts numerous shooting events including the National Sporting Clays Championship and the World Skeet Shooting Championship.

The Scouts all participated in gun and hunting safety classes and then spent time on the range participating in BB Gun shooting and archery, while the older Scouts went on to enjoy .22 caliber rifle target shooting and skeet shooting–all under the watchful eyes of a full staff of NRA and Boy Scout-trained Safety Range Officers and Instructors.

In addition to all the field and shooting sports being offered, the Scouts had opportunities to take part in GPS land navigation demonstrations, hunting safety classes, and even join in on a HAM radio station broadcasting around the world from the complex, among many other activities.

The event brought in about 345 youth and 60 adults from 13 different troops in the area. Registration took place Friday night, and all were able to set up camp that night without any problems. The weather cooperated beautifully during the weekend, without a bit of rain, which is common in South Texas in October.

All Scouts who wished to step on the firing line that weekend had to participate in basic firearm safety classes, which began Friday night. Over 200 people participated Friday night, with the remainder taking classes Saturday morning. They learned proper gun handling, the parts of the gun, general range commands and overall firearm safety. In addition, safety commands were reinforced with every group on the range before shooting. On Friday night all the troop leaders and volunteers met at the Senior Patrol Leaders’ meeting to discuss the events of the weekend, to make sure everyone had everything they needed, and that everyone knew all the safety rules for the weekend.

Saturday began with the posting of the colors and then the fun started!

The Texas Youth Hunter Safety Program arrived Saturday morning with a simulated safety hunt. In one area of the large complex the Scouts had the opportunity to participate in a hunt with simulated deer hoof-prints and decoy animals. The boys had to determine whether the shot was clear to take during the course of the hunt and what to do when they encountered different or unsafe situations on a hunt.

The St. Mary’s University Reserve Officer Training Corps (ROTC) provided a land navigation course. The ROTC group laid out a series of landmarks in another area of the complex. The Scouts were given a compass and had to go point-to-point to get through the course while measuring their pace as well as keeping their direction.

The New England Role-Playing Organization (NERO) offered a series of role-playing and fantasy games and challenges for the boys, including the opportunity to joust (using pugil sticks, a type of soft foam rubber sword) while wearing a complete medieval costume!

The San Antonio HAM Radio Club set up a radio and had the boys talking to people in California for most of the day, and the local chapter of the Soapbox Derby Racers brought out several of their best cars to put on display. Whole Earth Provision Company, an outdoor specialty retailer, provided a backpacking demonstration while the 149^th Fighter Wing of the Texas Air National Guard arrived with a Delta Dart helicopter for the Scouts to tour.

Because this event was serving as a Council Pilot Program, the Council was brought in to make sure all National Safety Standards concerning Cub Scouts and shooting events were met in order to allow Webelos to participate. The Boy Scouts of America and the NRA certified all Range Masters, and the Council’s Certified Shooting Sports Officer was present during the course of the weekend. The Collegiate Firearms Safety Program, San Antonio Rifle and Pistol Club, the local chapter of the NRA, the 342nd Training Air Wing of Lackland Air Force Base, and six range officers from the National Shooting Complex were also present throughout the weekend to aid in staffing the ranges. All this volunteer help allowed us to have a 1:4 Ranger to Shooter ratio for most of the weekend (well above the national standard of 1:8).

Saturday evening we closed out the fun with a very special bonfire hosted by members of the Order of the Arrow. Everyone laughed and had fun while three troops put on skits for everyone’s enjoyment. At the end, everyone cheered as participation ribbons were passed out.

Planning for an event of this size took some major preparation. The team, headed up by Bill Kivela, Jim Garcia, Damaso Torres, and Jim Bartell had been working on it for months, and it couldn’t have been accomplished without the incredible donations of time and effort on the part of all our wonderful volunteers and several of San Antonio’s local corporations. Local gun stores, like Champions Outdoors and Dury Guns Shop, let us borrow the .22 rifles we needed and donated all of the .22 ammunition. Valero Petroleum donated all of the safety glasses and Winchester donated all the shotgun shells and earplugs. Two nurses from the local Methodist Hospital volunteered to be on site all weekend for our medical support. They set up a fully supplied first aid station in one of three Army tents donated by Company E of the Academy Battalion stationed at Camp Bullis. The hard work of these dedicated volunteers and supporters paid off when the Scouts arrived and saw what the event had to offer.

The event was a huge success, and we’re already being asked about what’s in store for next year!