Whether you are a competitive shooter or a novice, there are organizations and programs to get involved with that promote participation in recreational shooting sports. A number of these organizations offer specialized youth shooting programs.

ACUI Intercollegiate Clay Target Championships
The Association of College Unions International, as part of its recreational program, provides students enrolled at a college, university or military academy the opportunity to participate in clay target championships. Shooters are eligible for individual or team awards and scholarships.

Amateur Trapshooting Association
The Amateur Trapshooting Association (ATA) serves as the governing body for American-style trapshooting. The annual Grand American World Trapshooting Championships is its premier shooting event. The ATA hosts the NSSF Scholastic Clay Target Program (SCTP) National Championships during the Grand and provides the opportunity for young SCTP shooters to also participate in the Grand Championships.

American Legion Junior Shooting Sports Program
The American Legion provides junior shooting sports programs that emphasize gun safety and marksmanship skills. The American Legion hosts a national junior air rifle tournament annually.

Becoming An Outdoors-Woman (BOW)
This recruitment and outreach program offers outdoor skills workshops to women throughout North America. It is a program of the College of Natural Resources, University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point with programs in most states and several Canadian provinces.

Boy Scouts of America
The Boy Scouts of America (BSA) has a long-standing policy of teaching its youth the safe, responsible and intelligent handling, care and use of firearms in planned, carefully managed, adult-supervised programs. NSSF's Junior USA Shooting Team Patch programs are popular rifle target and trapshooting activities that emphasize firearms safety and earn Scouts official Junior USA Shooting Team patches.The activities are featured annually in BSA's "Boys' Life" and "Scouting" magazines.

Civilian Marksmanship Program
The Civilian Marksmanship Program (CMP) promotes firearm safety and marksmanship training with an emphasis on youth shooting programs.

International Defensive Pistol Association
The International Defensive Pistol Association (IDPA) oversees a shooting sport that simulates self-defense scenarios and real-life encounters. It is geared toward the new or average shooter but is also rewarding for the experienced shooter to test skill and ability.

National 4-H Shooting Sports
4-H programs provide a positive experience for youth, promote safe and ethical use of firearms and help foster involvement of the total family in lifelong recreational activities.

National Muzzle Loading Rifle Association
The National Muzzle Loading Rifle Association (NMLRA) promotes and preserves the sport of muzzleloading through recreational, educational, historical, and cultural venues such as match competition, hunting, gun making and safety, historical re-enactments, exhibits, museums, libraries, and other related programs.

National Rifle Association Education and Training Division
The NRA provides educational training programs for all levels of expertise to ensure safe, ethical, responsible shooters and hunters.

National Skeet Shooting Association (NSSA) & National Sporting Clays Association (NSCA)
NSSA is the governing body and largest organization dedicated to the sport of skeet shooting. NSCA is the premier sporting clays association dedicated to the development of sporting clays at all levels of participation.

Scholastic Clay Target Program (SCTP)
This program, developed by the National Shooting Sports Foundation, provides young skeet, trap and sporting clays shooters an opportunity to compete for scholarship funds while earning state and national recognition.The program instills safe firearm handling, commitment, responsiblity, leadership and teamwork skills.

Single Action Shooting Society
The Single Action Shooting Society (SASS) is an international organization created to preserve and promote the sport of Cowboy Action Shooting™, which is a multi-faceted shooting sport in which contestants compete with firearms typical of those used in the taming of the Old West.

USA Shooting
USA Shooting is the national governing body of the Olympic shooting sports and is responsible for training and selecting shooting teams to represent the United States at world game events and the Olympic Games.

United States Practical Shooting Association
The United States Practical Shooting Association (USPSA) promotes the fun of practical shooting that measures the ability to shoot rapidly and accurately with a handgun, rifle, and shotgun. USPSA offers practical shooting competitions across the country including its premiere USPSA National Championship Matches.