Gavin Carrizales of Scottsbluff hit 38 of 40 targets, then won a shoot-off, to capture his fourth Nebraska Youth Smallbore Silhouette Invitational title Sept. 27 at Pressey Wildlife Management Area south of Broken Bow.

The junior defeated High Girl Makenna Quick of Alliance, who also shot a 38, in a shoot-off.

In 2020, in only his second year of eligibility, Carrizales, then a 12-year-old, shot the first perfect score in the event’s history. He’s won the last three championships, hitting 35 targets two years ago and 38 last year.

Carrizales, Quick, Laney Bohl of Mitchell and Emily Nelson of Scottsbluff teamed up to give the Western Nebraska Shooting Sports its seventh straight team championship, hitting 137 of 160 targets.

The annual event, which was established in 1977, is open to all Hunter Education graduates who are at least 11 years old and have not graduated high school.

“I would like to congratulate all of the competitors, not only for their safe firearm handling, but for their overall performance,” Match Director Matthew Haumont said. “We are proud to report another incident-free event.

“There were several instances of sportsmanship and integrity on display throughout the day,” Haumont said. “On several occasions, I witnessed older, more experienced kids mentoring and offering advice to our novice competitors.”

The 59 competitors from across the state fired 40 rounds of .22 caliber ammunition with a rifle unsupported and offhand at steel silhouette targets that were 43, 66, 84 and 109 yards in distance.

The 50th annual Smallbore Invitational is scheduled for Sept. 26, 2026.

The results are:

Individual Awards

State Champion – Gavin Carrizales, Scottsbluff, 38 of 40 (won shoot-off)

High Girl – 1. Makenna Quick, Alliance, 38; 2. Laney Bohl, Mitchell, 36; 3. Laura Borgelt, Wisner, 33

High Boy – 1. Bereket Glendy, Broken Bow, 35 (won shoot-off); 2. Brandon Thomsen, Pierce, 35; 3. Boone Button, Harrison, 31 (won shoot-off)

Class B – 1. Isaac Enns, Holmesville, 31; 2. Meighan Smith, Murdock, 30; 3. Axton Sugden, Seward, 29

Unclassified – 1. Erich Dybdal, Seward, 31; 2. Ruger Pelster, Harrison, 30; 3. Haylee Hubbard, Elm Creek, 25

Junior Division – 1. Mackenzey Connell, Waterbury, 30; 2. Macy Prothman, Hoskins, 26; 3. Cameron Wagner, Seward, 25

Senior Division – 1. Justin Missel, Mitchell, 28 (decided by hits on rams); 2. Zane Meyer, Milford, 28; 3. Emma Loxterkamp, Beatrice, 27

Heavy Scope – 1. Tristan Connell, Waterbury, 26 (decided by hits on rams); 2. Colton Sebade, Wayne, 26; 3. Emily Nelson, Scottsbluff, 25

Light Scope – 1. Lynn Miner, Emmet, 27; 2. Noah Papiernik, Ord, 25 (decided by hits on rams); 3. Chisum Pelster, Harrison, 25

Light Iron – 1. Benjamin Loxterkamp, Beatrice, 16; 2. Keaton Sebade, Wayne, 14; 3. Tilden Hird, Lincoln, 12

Novice – 1. Jace Langley, Beatrice, 20

Novice Light Scope – 1. Isaac Zogg, North Platte, 2

Novice Light Iron – 1. Easton Powers, Broken Bow, 1

Team Awards

High Overall – Western Nebraska Shooting Sports Purple (Emily Nelson, Gavin Carrizales, Makenna Quick, Laney Bohl), 137 of 160

4-H Teams – 1. 10X Shooters (Axton Sugden, Cameron Wagner, Erich Dybdal, Zane Meyer), 113; 2. Wayne Sharpshooters #1 (Colton Sebade, Macy Prothman, Mackenzey Connell, Tristan Connell), 108; 3. Western Nebraska Shooting Sports B (Caden Closson, Jack Closson, Jeremy Missel, Justin Missel), 76

Open Teams – 1. Pink Fuzzy Unicorns (Brandon Thomsen, Haylee Hubbard, Laura Borgelt, Meighan Smith), 123; 2. Western Nebraska Shooting Sports A (Boone Button, Chisum Pelster, Ruger Pelster, Tilton Button), 104; 3. Open Team No. 4 (Benjamin Loxterkamp, Emma Loxterkamp, Tripp Meier, Cater Matson), 82

School Teams – 1. Lawrence-Nelson (Gus Harrison, Brysen Grams, Mason Menke, Owen Smiley), 28

Motorists should use caution to avoid collisions with deer

Fall is the time of year when deer are more active. Crops are being harvested, and deer breeding season is in full swing.

Bucks are more actively searching for does. They are bolder, less wary and more susceptible to collisions with vehicles. Deer are more active between dusk and dawn, but their movement peaks near dawn and dusk.

The Nebraska Game and Parks Commission has tips to help drivers avoid deer-vehicle accidents and lessen the risk of injury or vehicle damage.

  • The harvesting of crops could push deer out of an area and toward a road or highway. Anticipate the possibility of a deer on the road. Prepare to stop suddenly but know braking too sharply or swerving may cause you to lose control and roll your vehicle.
  • Wear your seat belt.
  • When driving near shelterbelts, woodlots, rivers or creeks, especially during evening or early morning, slow down and watch for deer. Keep your headlights on high beams if there is no approaching traffic.
  • When you spot a deer, assume there will be others in the same area.
  • Deer often appear to be disoriented by headlights. Some react by freezing in the light, some dart into the path of the vehicle and others bolt away. Honk your horn and flash your high beams to frighten deer away. If there is other traffic on the road, activate your emergency flashers and tap your brakes to alert other drivers to the potential danger.
  • Many places where deer-vehicle collisions occur are posted with “deer crossing” signs. Pay attention in these areas.

The driver may take possession of deer struck, they must contact the Game and Parks within 24 hours and have 48 hours to receive a salvage tag from a conservation officer or designee. To see a list of conservation officers, visit OutdoorNebraska.gov and search “Officers.”

Regardless, call a law enforcement officer if you strike a deer as the animal could pose a potential hazard to other drivers. Move your vehicle to the side of the road, if possible, and turn on your hazard lights.

It pays to be vigilant behind the wheel. According to a State Farm Insurance report, 1.7 million auto insurance claims involving animal collisions were filed across the nation from July 1, 2024, to June 30, 2025, with deer accounting for more than 1.1 million of these claims. The report also says U.S. drivers, on average, have a 1 in 128 chance of colliding with an animal. In Nebraska, the odds are 1 in 155.

Commissioners to consider sportfishing orders

The Nebraska Game and Parks Commission will consider amendments to sportfishing orders when it meets Oct. 10 at Niobrara State Park. These orders regard daily bag limits, possession limits and open areas.

The meeting will begin at 8 a.m. in Eagle View Group Lodge at the park located at 89261 522 Ave., Niobrara.

Proposed amendments to sportfishing orders would, among other things:

  • clarify that the two-fish daily trout limit at the Soldier Creek Wilderness Area may include only one fish 16 inches or longer;
  • add Marlin Petermann Recreation Area in Douglas County to the list of waters with a two-fish daily bag limit and 12-inch maximum length limit on smallmouth bass;
  • add Marlin Petermann Recreation Area to the list of waters with a daily bag limit of five yellow perch;
  • add Wolbach City Lake in Greeley County, Forest City Recreation Area in Sarpy County and Mad Bear Recreation Area in Sarpy County to the list of waters with a one-fish daily bag limit and 21-inch minimum length limit on black bass;
  • rescind the exceptions (one over 34 inches or longer, no minimum length, three-fish bag limit, three-fish possession limit) on muskellunge and tiger muskellunge at Pelican Lake in Cherry County; and
  • confirm legal paddlefish archery fishing hours of sunrise to sunset.

Commissioners also will consider sportfishing regulation amendments that would remove redundant language, reorganize paddlefish regulations for clarity, provide new definitions of terms, and add new water bodies and renovated water bodies to the list of waters where possession of live baitfish is unlawful.

Commissioners will consider wildlife regulation amendments that would clarify rules for buying a preference or bonus point, allow the use of breech-loading muzzleloaders during the muzzleloader season, combine checking requirements for bobcat, gray fox and river otter, and move language on incidentally caught otters from one chapter of regulations to another.

Among other proposed wildlife amendments are those that would:

  • change the date a youth must be 15 to be eligible for a youth deer permit and eliminate the requirement for participants in the Free-earned Landowner Elk Program to designate their earned permit for the following elk season from when they earn them;
  • specify which birds are defined as nuisance birds, clarify when a permit may be issued, and clarify which parts may not be bought, sold or bartered;
  • add a carriage to the list of vehicles not allowed on a wildlife management area, with exceptions; and
  • make some changes to area-specific regulations on the following wildlife management areas: Catfish Run, Enders, Gifford Point, Kea West, Medicine Creek, Oak Glen, Randall W. Schilling, Red Willow and Swanson.

In other business, commissioners will consider staff recommendations to approve:

  • fee increases for park lodging and rental facilities;
  • a lease agreement for 90 acres in Sioux County for the Bighorn Sheep Restoration Facility, contingent upon securing funding through grants and donations;
  • the 2026-2028 Focus on Education Plan “Education Strategy: Connecting Through Experience”;
  • the 2026-2030 Statewide Comprehensive Outdoor Recreation Plan to maintain eligibility for the Land and Water Conservation Fund Statewide Assistance Program through the National Park Service;
  • the Recreational Road Program’s 1-5 Year Plan; and
  • the 2026 Nebraska Game and Parks meeting schedule.

To view a complete agenda, visit OutdoorNebraska.gov and search for “public notices.” To view proposed changes to Commission regulations and orders, search for “regulations.”