Record Books
(e-Records)

Download the 2024 Shooting Sports e-Record Book:

• PDF format

• Fillable PDF format

• Word document

Record books are due at Interview Judging just before the county fair in August, but members should set goals for the year and start keeping records now!

Members complete and submit only ONE shooting sports record book for fair, regardless of the number of disciplines they participate in. 

Record books may be completed by hand or on the computer. If you choose to fill it out by hand, use your best handwriting.

Inventory Sheet

Keep one record for all shooting sports. Do not include ammunition or consumables. After fair, keep track of this page to make next year easier.

Shooting Records

Include scores from practices. (Members don’t have to list all scores from every practice.)

Notes on any particular skills worked on during practice.

Write thoughts about how each practice went, factors that might have affected scores, etc.

Expenses

Purchases to create your record book and project for the fair.

Equipment, ammunition, supplies, fees, mileage.

Photos

Take them early and often so you have a lot to choose from for books, boards, etc.

Back up your pictures to the cloud.

Projects

Display Board Exhibits

Must be done on a 36" x 48" trifold board. Click here for Display Board Guidelines.

Stand-Alone Exhibits

Must be no larger than 3' x 3' x 7’ to be displayed at State, otherwise a notebook illustrating how and what was made can be used.

Decorative Item Exhibits

This exhibit class is not specific to one discipline. A decorative item is a project created from Shooting Sports materials for aesthetic value in decorating a room or building. Examples include a board with antlers, using feathers to make a picture, a coat rack with an arrow, jewelry, etc.

Project Exhibit Rules/Requirements

1. A member may exhibit in only one skill area/discipline of the shooting sports project. Therefore, youth enrolled in multiple shooting sports disciplines should choose only one skill area for their project. The display board’s topic should stay in close relationship with the discipline chosen. Please do not use topics outside the scope of your 4-H project. (Example: A .22 Rifle project should not use the topic of different types of military machine guns.)

2. Completed e-Record Book that contains the inventory sheet and the discipline log record for all disciplines. Be sure to include the log for the discipline that you are exhibiting in a sturdy binder/notebook.

3. Your project may be a display board or a stand-alone display. The standardized display board size of 4’ wide x 3’ tall is required. No additional items may be included on or in front of display board. No display boards or decorative items are allowed in the stand-alone classes.

4. All stand-alone exhibits must attach a page explaining:

   1. What is the project?

   2. How is it used?

   3. How was it made?

5. Use a font or handwriting large enough that an audience can read it from a distance when displayed.

6. No live ammo, tipped arrows, (including field points, broadheads), knives, functional or nonfunctional firearms, or bows will be allowed as an exhibit. Cardboard, paper cutouts, or décor resembling firearms or bows are allowed for display purposes in the display or stand-alone classes.

7. Exhibits showing safety violations will result in a lower placing ribbon level. Do not use the word weapon when creating your display. Make sure that there are no safety violations in your display. (Example: no earplugs visible, member not wearing safety glasses on a photo of a youth firing his/her gun.) Do not use pictures of firearms that are primarily tactical in design in your display, (example: AR platform or military-type firearms.)

8. In order to represent Larimer County on a Shooting Sports Team at State Fair, the 4-H member MUST exhibit a display board or stand-alone item and e-Record book at the Larimer County Fair and earn at least a red ribbon placing.

9. Illustrate something learned in the project this year. Exhibits may be a display board, a stand-alone item, or a decorative item such as gun stocks, decoys, etc. Display boards and stand-alone projects are to be entered in the specific discipline that the exhibit relates to (i.e. .22 rifle, air rifle, shotgun, etc.).

10. Stand-alone exhibits chosen for State Fair: There is a maximum size of 3’ in width and depth and 7’ in height. The item must be stable when standing in order to be displayed. Stand-Alone Exhibits chosen for State Fair that are larger than 35 lb will be the responsibility of the family to take to the State Fair.

11. The decorative item class includes items that are used to decorate a room, building, etc. This item would be considered a decorative item (board with antlers, using feathers to make an item, jewelry, etc.)

Fair Entry

Registration is through Fair Entry at larimercountyfair.fairentry.com.

Scheduling for Interview Judging is also on Fair Entry at larimercountyfair.fairentry.com.

These Shooting Sports pages from the Fair Premium Book show the information about Display Board, Stand-Alone, and Decorative exhibits. (Please note, the classes for Display Boards and Stand Alone exhibits for each age group and discipline. Decorative items are NOT specific to one shooting sports discipline, and are class codes 1355, 1356, and 1357.)

Here’s an example:

Choose ONE discipline to feature for your project. — I participate in Archery and .22 Rifle. I have chosen to create a project for Archery.

Choose a Display Board, Stand Alone, or Decorative exhibit. — I would like to create a display board.

Find the class for your age group, discipline, and exhibit type. — I am a senior, so my class would be “1303 Sr.: Archery” for an Archery Display Board.

Record Book and Project Workshops

Workshops are offered to walk you through filling out the record book and creating your project. These are very helpful presentations. You can bring your project and record book and ask all of your questions.

Dates to be determined.

Here is a video recording of the 2021 Record Book Workshop Part 1, as well as a PDF of the presentation.

Project and Record Book Dos and Don’ts

Do choose one shooting discipline to feature for your Shooting Sports project.
Don’t create a project for each discipline you participate in.

Do include a minimum of four project-related photos with captions in your record book. Pictures of demonstrations and community service may be included as well.
Don’t include any photos that show violations of 4-H safety procedures.

Do spend a little time each week gathering ideas, photos, and materials for your fair project.
Don’t wait until the last week, or the last day, to complete your project and record book.

Do include inventory and expenses in your e-Records for all disciplines you take part in, as well as the log for each discipline’s activities.
Don’t include blank e-Record pages for the disciplines you do not participate in.

Do ensure that your record book information is legible and can easily be read by someone other than you.
Don’t bring dangerous items as part of your standalone projects (live ammunition, arrows with field tips or broadheads, sheet metal with jagged edges, etc.).

Do make sure that your display board is a non-overlapping, tri-fold, and is the proper size (36" x 48").
Don’t attach standalone projects to a display board. Generally display boards should consist of flat materials such as photos, paper, glue, or paint. Header panels across tri-fold boards are not allowed.

Do sign up for interview judging online and be prepared for your interview time.
Don’t be nervous during your interview. The judges are genuinely interested in your thoughts and experiences and want to hear your story.

Do remember to bring both your project and your e-Record book to interview judging.
Don’t forget signatures for you, your parent, and your leader on the front page of your e-Record book.

Project Ideas

(Updated April 23, 2020)

We’ve compiled this list of ideas for projects by discipline. Some ideas work better for display boards while some are better for stand-alone projects. Remember, your project must be based on what we do in 4-H. Feel free to pick from the list or be inspired by the subjects to create your own.

Remember, arrow tips cannot be on any exhibit. No live ammo, knives, functional firearms, or bows are allowed on an exhibit.

Our best advice is to choose a topic that you are interested in.

Pinterest is also a good resource for ideas.

Air Pistol or .22 Pistol

(Concentrate on Air or .22 Pistol, not both.)

• Parts of a pistol

• Silhouette course of fire (.22 Pistol only)

• Shooting positions (Senior or Junior)

• Differences in positions for juniors and seniors

• Line commands

• What is a CBI? Its purpose? How do we use it?

• Make a pellet box/trap

• What safety equipment does 4-H recommend?

• Make a case for your pistol

• Targets used

• History of the pistol

• How to clean your pistol

Air Rifle or .22 Rifle

(Concentrate on Air or .22 Rifle, not both.)

• Different types of sights

• How to clean your rifle

• Positions in rifle

• Equipment beyond the rifle

• Classes in rifle

• Parts of a rifle

• Bullet board

• What is a CBI? Its purpose? How do we use it?

• Safety equipment

• Make a case for rifle

• Competitions outside of 4-H

• How to recycle ammo

• How is ammo made?

• Make a backer/target

Archery

• Parts of a compound bow

• Parts of a recurve bow

• Differences between compound and recurve bows

• Differences in compound bow classes

• Make a bow case (Sew one or use a 3D Printer)

• Parts of an arrow

• How to crest an arrow

• Make an arrow cresting machine

• Differences between vanes and feathers

• Different arrow tips

• Make a paper tuner

• How to score targets

• Make a target

• Scoring a 3D target

• Show examples of 3D targets

• Make a 3D target

• Different types of sights

• Adjusting for distances

• Course of fire

• How to make a shooting range

• Whistle commands

• Make a bow stand - wood or PVC

• Make a Ground Quiver - PVC

• Make a Hip Quiver - Recycle Jeans or PVC

• Make an arm guard

• What is a stabilizer and how does it work?

• History of archery

• Evolution of bows

• Types of materials arrows are made of

• Archery outside of 4-H—types of competitions

• How does the compound bow work?

• Arrow Lube - different materials to use

• How does a cam in a compound bow work?

• String angles