Union Sportsmen’s Alliance Expands Youth Events With Tennessee Dove Hunt

The Union Sportsmen’s Alliance (USA) is a perennial supporter of community-based efforts to introduce youths to hunting, conservation and the great outdoors, and the organization was proud to add Tennessee’s 13th Annual Maury County-Steve Brown Memorial Youth Dove Hunt to its list of sponsored events. 

Held Saturday, Sept. 8 at the Middle Tennessee Research and Education Center outside Spring Hill, the hunt was organized by the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency, Tennessee Wildlife Officers Association and a coalition of local organizations and businesses.

More than 40 boys and girls ages 9-17 were treated to a full day of outdoor fun and education capped off by exciting wingshooting over well-managed fields. The event included registration, lunch, clay target shooting, door prizes, safety orientation and the dove hunt, which concluded at sunset. The USA provided backpacks, Plano Synergy game calls and a variety of door prizes.

“Activities like this are a great way to get youths started hunting,” said event organizer TWRA Wildlife Officer Ryne Goats. “Since wildlife agencies in Tennessee and elsewhere are funded primarily by hunting and fishing license sales and taxes on the sale of related equipment, getting youth involved in hunting and fishing also promotes the conservation of all types of fish and wildlife.”

“These types of youth mentored events are critical to the future of hunting, angling and recreational shooting in our nation,” said USA CEO and Executive Director Scott Vance, who was on hand at the hunt. “State agencies across the nation provide these opportunities for young people and their families to experience first-hand the fun, rewarding and unifying aspects of being outdoors with other like-minded people.   

“I encourage everyone to not only participate in these events, but also to find out how you can support and volunteer in your local area,” he added. “The USA is honored to sponsor and support events like this one in not only Tennessee, but many other states as well.”

“Funds and manpower for these kind of events are extremely limited,” Goats noted. “So assistance from the USA and other supporters is a tremendous help in making them a success.”

Saturday’s dove hunt was the latest in a series of USA-supported events in 2018. More than 700 youngsters were introduced to the joys of fishing in June during free, community-based Take Kids Fishing Day events orchestrated by the USA and teams of dedicated union volunteers.

The organization also organizes Get Youth Outdoor Day events, which educate attendees about hunting, firearms safety, recreational shooting, wildlife and conservation through hands-on activities and demonstrations. 

The USA also recently received a $30,000 grant from the National Shooting Sports Foundation (NSSF) to hold a series of pilot events through its Work Boots on the Ground program in which local union volunteers trained in firearms safety instruction introduce participants to shooting disciplines including trap, sporting clays, riflery and archery. The events are part of NSSF’s successful First Shots program, which teaches first-time shooters about firearms respect, safety and the shooting sports.

The first of these pilot events is set for this Sunday, Sept. 16, 2018 in concert with the USA’s 7th Annual Get Youth Outdoors Day. It will be held at Wild Marsh Sporting Clays Shooting Facility in Clear Lake, Minnesota. Additional events are planned for Tennessee and Texas in 2019.

In addition, the USA and NSSF launched a reward program to thank union members who mentor newcomers to hunting, target shooting and firearms safety in 2018. Working through the USA’s national grassroots support system, international union partners and their locals, the program has already identified more than 1,500 mentors and sent each a complimentary Buck 364 Rival I knife customized with both organization’s logos.