What is the Polk County Hunter Skills Team?

We are an organization with a history and legacy of training
young people in the practice of firearm safety and true marksmanship.

Our Mission

We are a part of the North Carolina Wildlife Hunter Safety Program. Our goal is to produce safe, responsible, knowledgeable and involved individuals who understand the importance of complying with laws. We also teach them how to conduct themselves in a safe and ethical manner. We strive to provide the young people on the team with a strong, disciplined foundation, while having as much fun as possible.

What are the requirements?

The team is comprised of middle and high school students from 6th to 12th grade. Team members must be in one of these grades, and be a student in the Polk County School system. They must also maintain satisfactory grades and complete the Hunter Education certification program. You can contact us for class times and locations.

What are the different disciplines?

Orienteering. Shotgun. Archery. Rifle.

Orienteering

Orienteering

The middle school and high school teams will each have an orienteering team with 5 members. Each team will compete on a course through the woods where they will use a compass and navigation skills to find a pre-determined point. The entire team from all disciplines must complete a written North Carolina Wildlife exam taken from the Hunter Education Manual provided to the students. However, only the scores from the 5 students on the orienteering team from both the middle school and high school teams will be counted in competition. The lone exception to this is if there is an overall tie at the competition.

Shotgun

Shotgun

The middle school and high school teams will each have a shotgun team with 5 members. Each team member will shoot on a trap range from 5 different stations. Four shots will be fired from each station for a total of 20 shots and a possible perfect score of 200. Students can shoot either 20 or 12 gauge shotguns with any action.

Rifle

Rifle

The middle school and high school teams will each have a rifle team with 5 members. The rifle can be any action of .22 caliber. Five shots are fired from each of four positions: standing, kneeling, sitting and prone. Please see the rule book or a coach for restrictions on the rifle's specfications.

Archery

Archery

The middle school and high school will each have an archery team with 5 members. Compound bows, recurve bows and longbows are all acceptable. Five arrows are shot from each of four different yardages: 10, 15, 20 and 25 yards. See the rule book or a coach for additional requirements.