As of 2018, there are reportedly more than 2,000 high-school rifle programs across the United States. In 2015, 9,245 students in 317 schools across three states participated in the

USA High School Clay Target League The USA Clay Target League of Saint Paul, Minnesota, organizes and runs high school and college clay target shooting programs along with state tournaments and a yearly National Championship It is a 501(c)(3) non-profit corporation and the independe ...

. In 2018, participation had increased 138% with 21,917 students from 804 teams in 20 states.

History

Supported by organizations like the

Civilian Marksmanship Program The Civilian Marksmanship Program (CMP) is a U.S. government-chartered program intended to promote firearm safety training and rifle practice for all qualified U.S. citizens with a specific emphasis on youth. Any U.S. citizen not otherwise legall ...

, school-based gun education was routine for much of the 20th century. It was common for high school teams to compete with .22 caliber rifles. In recent years,

air rifles An air gun or airgun is a gun that fires projectiles pneumatically with compressed air or other gases that are mechanically pressurized ''without'' involving any chemical reactions, in contrast to a firearm, which pressurizes gases ''chemic ...

have gained in popularity as a more affordable and safer alternative to .22 rifles. According to

John Lott John Richard Lott Jr. (born May 8, 1958) is an American economist, political commentator, and gun rights advocate. Lott was formerly employed at various academic institutions and at the American Enterprise Institute conservative think tank. He ...

Until 1969 virtually every public high school—even in New York City—had a shooting club. High school students in New York City carried their guns to school on the subways in the morning, turned them over to their homeroom teacher or the gym coach during the day, and retrieved them after school for target practice. Club members were given their rifles and ammunition by the federal government. Students regularly competed in citywide shooting contests for university scholarships.

In 2008, the Minnesota State High School Clay Target League was formed out of an after-school mentorship program run by Jim Sable, a retired advertising executive and avid trap shooter. By 2010 the program had renamed itself the

USA Clay Target League The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

. Today, the USA Clay Target League is the largest youth clay target shooting program with over 38,000 students participating in 2021.

References

{{reflist High school sports in the United States Shooting sports in the United States

History

See also

References