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THE LEAD S QUA D SP O T L IGH T T A HIGH SCHOOL OF ROUGHLY 3,200 STUDENTS, it would be easy for a team of eight to go unnoticed. In fact, Carolina Forest High School clay target coach Paul Collins once had a school administrator who didn't real- ize the school had a team that competed with real firearms. When some of his shoot- ers told her about the sport, she thought they competed digitally, with a projector setup almost like an E-sports team. The next day, she found Collins at school. "So you take teenagers to a gun range, with real guns, live ammunition, and let them shoot targets? Honey, I don't know if you're brave or crazy." Carolina Forest may have only eight athletes, but what they have built together over the past five years is very real. They compete. They laugh. Parents cook meals at tournaments. Teammates get together to shoot on Sundays. And at their home range, WildlifeA ction, Inc. Horry Chapter in Gallivants Ferry, South Carolina, they have created a place where students can challenge themselves with- out losing sight of why they started shoot- ing in the first place. "The team atmosphere is very relaxed— we're mainly here to have fun and enjoy shooting together," Collins said. That approach hasn't kept Carolina Forest from winning. Last fall, the team finished first at an end-of-season invitational after tying C l ove r H i g h S c h o o l a n d w i n n i n g o n a reverse-run-average tiebreaker. It remains one of Collins' proudest moments as coach. WINNING THE RIGHT WAY CAROLINA FOREST HIGH SCHOOL HAS CREATED A SPECIAL CULTURE by MATT KRUMRIE CAROLINA FOREST COMPETES AT WILDLIFEACTION, INC. HORRY CHAP TER. 10 PULLUSA MAGAZINE FALL 2026