Title image: A competitor at a National Archery in the Schools Program (NASP) Tournament.
By Jodi Stemler
When the Tokyo Olympic Games kicked off in late July, the first weekend of competition started with a bang… literally. Well, actually lots of bangs as most of the archery and shooting sports events started shortly after the opening ceremony. Shooting sports have been part of almost every Olympics since the first modern Games in 1896 and archery events began in 1900. With rifle, pistol, shotgun and archery events on tap, there are plenty of fun competitions to watch.
But maybe watching those competitors walk to the firing line is inspiring you to do more than just sit on your couch… maybe the Olympic shooters like Amber English and Vincent Hancock sweeping gold in the skeet competitions will motivate you to get into archery and the shooting sports yourself. If you’re dreaming about someday competing in the Olympic shooting events or just want to go out and have fun on the range, the archery and shooting sports industry are investing in making sure you have places to go and people to learn from so that you can start your journey into both recreational and competitive shooting.
Looking for a Place to Go
“Having a place to shoot is probably the most basic part of getting involved in the shooting sports,” commented Buddy DuVall, chief marketing officer for USA Shooting, and he’s absolutely right. Thankfully, the shooting sports industry and their partners in state wildlife agencies are working hard to create opportunities for new shooters and ensure they have places to go target shooting.
What many people may not realize is that there is an excise tax on firearms, ammunition and archery equipment paid by the companies that make the products. Those funds go to state wildlife agencies through the Federal Aid in Wildlife Restoration Act; along with wildlife conservation programs, range development and education programs are a key component of how those funds are spent. Currently there are more than 700 public target shooting ranges, both archery and firearm, that have been developed using funds generated through the industry excise taxes.
“Availability means opportunity and the excise taxes on archery and shooting equipment are certainly helping to fund the facilities that are providing opportunities for new shooters,” DuVall continued.
The next hurdle is having the tools and basic instruction in safety and fundamentals. Local retailers and ranges typically offer introductory courses for beginners and many provide rental equipment to get you started. The National Shooting Sports Foundation’s Let’s Go Shooting initiative provides detailed information for new shooters and offers an interactive map to find places to go shooting near you. The Archery Trade Association shares state contacts who can point you in the right direction to get started—or you can simply locate your local archery store and ask what programs they offer. USA Archery also offers a database of archery clubs and coaches and USA Shooting has an interactive map of their Certified Training Centers as well as shooting clubs.
Most people who participate in recreational archery and target shooting simply enjoy time at the range with friends and family. However, if you want to test your growing skills, there are competitions all across the country. For those interested in shotgun competitions, the National Skeet Shooting Association, National Sporting Clays Association and Amateur Trapshooting Association offer friendly competitions and can help prepare shooters for hunting waterfowl or upland birds. The International Defensive Pistol Association and U.S. Practical Shooting Association help improve skills in fast-action, precision pistol shooting that also replicate self-defense scenarios. The Total Archery Challenge and Precision Rifle Series offer shooting in real-world outdoor settings rather than on more traditional shooting ranges, while USA Archery sanctions Olympic-style archery competitions. And if the Old West is more your thing, there’s an entire cowboy action shooting discipline for you through the Single Action Shooting Society, while the Cowboy Mounted Shooting Association allows you to combine a love of shooting with a love of horses. There is truly something for everyone of all skill levels!
Youth Target Shooting Organizations
Bringing on the next generation of shooters is also a key priority of the archery and shooting sports industry and there are plenty of opportunities for kids
to learn and improve their skills. Just one week before the Olympics kicked off, 6,000 of the best young shooters in the country gathered in Ohio during the Scholastic Clay Target Program (SCTP)
and the Scholastic Action Shooting Program’s (SASP) national championships representing high school and collegiate shooting teams from around the country. In late June, the 4-H Shooting Sports National Championships were held in Grand Island, Nebraska bringing together thousands of additional shooters to compete in a wide range of disciplines. And in mid-June, the National Archery in the Schools Program Open Championships happened in Myrtle Beach after their U.S. National Tournament was held virtually earlier in the spring.
Each of these events offered a venue for young archery and firearms shooters to showcase their talent and to continue to build the skills that they might need to one day become Olympians. USA Shooting’s DuVall says that youth shooting sports programs are essential for developing shooters—the majority of the Olympic shotgun team and many of the rifle and pistol shooters came up through at least one of these youth programs. In fact, William Shaner who won gold in the 10-meter air rifle competition the first weekend started shooting at 9 years old with a 4-H program in Rifle, Colorado. Likewise, USA Archery offers a pathway for those interested in archery to pursue the sport.
While the national competitions and even the Olympics showcase the top shooters in the nation, local clubs give kids the opportunity to get started, gain experience and test their skills against one another while also developing valuable life lessons. All programs start with providing the basic foundation for shooting, including firearm safety and basic skills, and then offer competitions from small, local events up through state, regional and national contests.
“Target shooting gives kids confidence, discipline and leadership,” notes Sarah Hall, southwest program manager for the MidwayUSA Foundation. She and her husband, James, both would know. After getting their start in 4-H shooting sports, Sarah shot competitively at the University of Kentucky and James shot on the Jacksonville State University rifle team and is now competing at the Tokyo Olympics in air pistol. Their love of shooting ultimately led them to their careers in the industry. When not competing, James is the director of development for international pistol and rifle competition for SASP, and Sarah’s work with the MidwayUSA Foundation helps young shooters learn and excel. She notes that shooting and archery disciplines can often provide an outlet for kids who want to participate in individual and team competitions but might not be as successful in traditional athletic events.
“I competed in other sports but gravitated to the shooting sports,” Sarah continues, “I was shy and wouldn’t speak in public but shooting and 4-H in general gave me confidence and leadership skills. For James who was always active in a million different projects, shooting developed focus and discipline. Everything we gained through shooting applies to adult life and we see that so often in the kids that come through shooting sports programs.”
Jon Zinnel, conservation and youth shooting sports program manager for Federal, Remington and CCI Ammunition, was a National 4-H Shooting Sports Ambassador and is a big supporter of the program that teaches about 500,000 boys and girls every year. Like the Halls, he believes that 4-H is a great start for young people who want to shoot, no matter where they come from, because the state Cooperative Extension offices that oversee 4-H programs are able to reach out to broader demographics in both urban and rural communities. In addition, 4-H shooting sports offers a great avenue to start early.
“Kids can start with BB guns and archery when they first join 4-H at 8 years old,” he says. “But there are a wide range of disciplines in the 4-H Shooting Sports, most of which mirror the Olympic events of archery, trap, skeet, air rifle and pistol, and .22 rifle and pistol as well as several others. Kids can try them all and then compete at county, state and national contests. If they find one discipline that they love, they can also specialize in that through other programs like the Scholastic Clay Target Program.”
For kids interested in archery, the National Archery in the Schools Program (NASP) is an in-school sport, most often through physical education classes, using a curriculum developed by educators to meet classroom educational standards. Targeted to grades 4-12, NASP had taught archery skills to over 18 million students in more than 14,000 schools across the country as of 2019. The Scholastic 3-D Archery (S3DA) program is another avenue, delivering archery and bowhunting opportunities for young people in after-school settings as well as with archery-affiliated clubs and businesses in the community.
Investing in the Future of the Shooting Sports
The shooting sports can be expensive to get involved in, but according to Zinnel, the shooting sports industry is investing in youth shooting programs. The MidwayUSA Foundation where Sarah Hall works manages $209 million in endowments for more than 2,800 shooting teams and 70 different organizations, supporting the expenses incurred for ammunition, targets, competition fees and more. MidwayUSA Foundation has also provided almost $42 million in cash and product grants to teams as well as funding for range development and coach training.
In addition, many states use funds from the federal excise tax on archery and shooting equipment to support youth programs. And it adds up to a lot of funding—Vista Outdoor, the parent company for the ammunition brands that Zinnel works for, has paid several hundred million dollars in federal excise taxes over the last few years. This is only one company in the industry—the total apportionment to states through the Federal Aid in Wildlife Restoration Program in 2020 was over $600 million for conservation, ranges and education programs. Beyond the funding through the excise taxes, companies and the trade associations have increased their support for these organizations over the last decade and it’s beginning to pay dividends.
“We’ve seen a double-digit growth in participation across most youth target shooting organizations and we are committed to supporting the future of shooting sports and our industry by doing what we can to ensure these kids have the opportunity to get out on the range. As an ammunition company, part of our mission is to protect our heritage. Investing in youth shooters is helping to support that mission and to ensure that everyone has the opportunity to get involved in the shooting sports,” Zinnel concluded.
Get out on the Range!
Perhaps the time has passed for you to become the next great Olympic shooter, but you still want to give recreational shooting a try. Or maybe your child is showing interest in building the skills that will take them to the Olympics a dozen years from now—or their interest just gives you all a great excuse for some family time on the range. No matter what, if you were inspired by the USA Archery and Shooting teams to step up to the firing line and try the shooting sports, there is no greater time than now.