Overton BB Gun Team Ready For Nationals

The Overton County School’s BB Gun Program will start July in Arkansas competing for a national title.

The program finished third at the state competition and qualified nationally. Overton County Deputy and School Resource Officer Allen Conatser is the program coach. Conatser said the competition is a great opportunity for students.

“I’d say it will be a whole lot of first for these kids,” Conatser said. “So I think it’s a very important thing to get them out and let them meet new people, make new friends, and compete in a big big way.”

The competition will test the shooting ability of students while also having them take a gun safety test. Conatser said he is proud and gives all the credit to the students.

“The kids have done it all I mean I coached them a little,” Conatser said. “You know told them their stances, their breathing, trigger control, and stuff like that, but the kids have worked so hard and practiced on their own along with the practices we have at school, and then they turned around and became a great team.”

Conatser said he started the program when he got inspiration from watching TV.

“I was watching air gun TV and it showed some kids competing in bb shooting,” Conatser said. “And I thought it would be neat to have something like that in the school.”

The program started two years ago. In the first year, the program just missed qualifying for nationals as they finished fourth place in the state last year. Conatser said the program raised enough money to cover expenses for the upcoming trip.

The competition is in Rogers, AR, and will start Monday.