By DOUG WILSON

Herald-Whig Senior Writer

NEBO, Ill. -- Sporting clays shooters who turned out Wednesday to raise money for area Boy Scouts couldn't use rain as an excuse.

Sprinkles held off until nearly all the 100-plus shooters finished their targets.

Exhibition archer Randy Oitker had a few minor problems because of the rain but still made precision shots while firing multiple arrows with a single shot. An appreciative group of shooters cheered as Oitker hit as many as five balloons with one shot and three Life Savers candies with another shot.

Oitker, 21, of Plainville, has been shooting in archery exhibitions since he was 14. Last year, he traveled to 27 exhibitions and logged between 35,000 and 40,000 miles.

"These shots are not tricks. If they were tricks, I'd never miss," Oitker said after one of his multiballoon shots fell one balloon short of perfection.

Cheers went up from the sporting clays shooters when Oitker hit his targets.

"No matter how I shoot, if there's one kid who is influenced to shoot or hunt, it's been worth it," Oitker said.

Influencing young lives was the emphasis at the ninth annual Sporting Clays for Scouting event. Shooters paid $150 to participate in the shoot. Others paid $30 to attend the meal or bought items in an auction.

Funds will help support programs for the Mississippi Valley Council of the Boy Scouts of America.

Organizer Fred Cory came up with the sporting clays shoot as an alternative to the golf outings many organizations use.

The fundraiser for Scouting has been held at Harpole's Heartland Lodge since it started. The Oakley-Lindsay Foundation and Allied Waste Services are major sponsors, and several other sponsors contribute to the fundraiser.

Several Boy Scouts went to a small tent that protected Oitker's gear from the rain when he offered them free hats and other small items.

Oitker said he began shooting just before his ninth birthday and he started winning major archery championships a few years later. He started shooting at grand openings when he was 14 but made the leap to true exhibition shooting with the help of several sponsors.

He has 41 sponsors who provide everything from cash and mileage to products.

-- dwilson@whig.com/221-3372