Join in a Uintah Basin tradition with the 32nd annual Josie's Shoot

Vernal — If you want to try your hand at some short-range target shooting that involves connection, tradition and competition, it's time to bring your female friends and join in on the annual ladies' Josie Shoot on June 12.

History of the Josie Shoot

In 1988, Utah hunter education instructor Carole Jackson had a vision to encourage women of all ages in the Uintah Basin to use their newly acquired skills in a shooting competition. Along with the support of her family and the local community, she created the Josie Shoot. It was aptly named after a local pioneer woman that Jackson could relate to — Josie Bassett Morris.

Josie's name is well known around the Uintah Basin, and you can still visit her homestead cabin at Dinosaur National Monument in Jensen, where she resided until 1964 at the age of 91. Josie was known for her vivacious and independent spirit and this appealed to Jackson and empowered her to recruit more women to learn marksmanship and carry on the Josie legacy.

The Josie Shoot was created to give women a supportive, encouraging and comfortable atmosphere where they could learn and improve their firearm shooting skills, just like Josie did for survival. The female-only event provides the opportunity for women to socialize, make new friends with similar outdoor hobbies and to create memories.

Carole and her husband Carl Jackson are also well known in the Uintah Basin and served as long-time instructors for the Hunter Education Program. For over 30 years, the Jacksons worked hard to educate their local community on firearm safety and marksmanship, and they taught countless youth in hunter education and organized national shooting competitions for the Youth Hunter Education ChallengeYouth Hunter Education Challenge, along with founding the women's .22 Josie Shoot. Jackson's love of helping people — especially in increasing their outdoors skills — was one of her greatest passions.

When Jackson lost her battle to cancer in 2016, the family found it difficult to carry on the annual shoot without her. The Utah Division of Wildlife Resources recognized the value, the comradery and the tradition of the shoot and asked to step in as the hosts of the event.

32nd Annual .22 Josie Shoot

The 32nd annual .22 Josie Shoot will be held on June 12 at the Buckskin Hills Shooting Complex in Vernal from 8 a.m. to 12 p.m. For tiebreakers, a shootoff will occur at 11:15 a.m., followed by the awards ceremony at 1 p.m. at the Uintah Conference Center.

The event is free, though participants are asked to bring a $10 prize per participant, to exchange with each other at the awards ceremony. Participants are encouraged to pre-register on Eventbrite, although you may also register the day of the event, prior to 10 a.m.

"This event is one I look forward to every year," DWR Northeastern Region Outreach Manager Tonya Kieffer-Selby said. "Some of these women have been competing since the shoot began and are now bringing their granddaughters and great-granddaughters to be involved in the event. It's an honor to keep this wonderful tradition alive for women everywhereؘ knowing they are part of a legacy of women who believe in Carole's vision and want to carry on for the 'pioneer' in all of us."

Participants are encouraged to bring their own lawn chair for seating during the event. Participants will also provide their own ammunition and will use a standard .22 caliber rifle — no magnum, target rifles or handguns will be allowed in the competition. The age classes for the competition include Juniors (11–17), Seniors (18–49) and Vintage (50+). All participants 16 years old and under must have a parent or legal guardian present and must have their hunter education blue card to participate.

This year, as in past years, participants may enter to shoot in the open sight or the scope class, but not in both. The distance to the targets is approximately 30 yards. Participants will have 10 shots in three different positions: prone, sitting and standing. Prizes will be awarded for the top three places in each of the age categories.