National Shooting Sports Month—10 Ways to Join The Fun

August is National Shooting Sports Month. Here are 10 ways you can join the fun from learning to shoot to entering NSSF’s giant sweepstakes.

By The Editors of Step Outside

National Shooting Sports Month—10 Ways to Join The Fun
Photograph Courtesy of National Shooting Sports Foundation

The National Shooting Sports Foundation has designated August as National Shooting Sports Month. This annual event is your chance to invite a friend to come shooting or spend some time at your local range trying a new type of shooting sport.

National Shooting Sports Month also offers you the opportunity to take advantage of great deals and events being offered at your local range or retailer. And if that’s not enough, you could become a winner in a special August sweepstakes at letsgoshooting.org where you can enter to win fantastic prizes from National Shooting Sports Month sponsors.

Here are 10 fun ways you can celebrate National Shooting Sports Month with friends and family.

1. Take a Friend Shooting

With over 51 million Americans participating in the shooting sports, think about how many people we could introduce to all the fun and excitement that target shooting provides if each of us took just one friend shooting this month. Watch them break their first clay target or hit the 10-ring with a rifle or handgun and we guarantee you’ll see a smile on your friend’s face.

2. Rediscover the Fun of Shooting

Like golf, tennis or any other sport you haven’t played in a while, you might feel a little rusty and maybe a little anxious about heading to the range. Don’t be. Grab that favorite old firearm and head to your local range to dust off your skills. You’ll be surprised how fast that great feeling of breaking targets or making great shots comes right back.

3. Win Great Prizes!

Beginning August 1, a fantastic sweepstakes will be going on at letsgoshooting.org. Take a moment to register and you just might be one of the lucky winners that takes home an incredible prize from a National Shooting Sports Month sponsor. 

4. Try Something Different

From sporting clays to 3-gun each of us has our favorite shooting sport, but National Shooting Sports Month provides a way for you to challenge yourself. If you’re a shotgun shooter, try target shooting with a handgun. If you’re a handgunner, try your hand at cowboy action shooting. Who knows, you just might discover a brand new “favorite” shooting sport.

5. Participate in a Shooting Event Near You

This month, ranges all over America are offering events where you can test your skills against other shooters in fun competitions of all kinds. Check out Letsgoshooting.org to find National Shooting Sports Month events at ranges and retailers coast to coast. Can’t find an event? Then use the accompanying map on this page to locate the range closest to where you live for a fun day of shooting. 

6. Take a Date Shooting

Looking for a fun date-night outing? Make a date with your spouse, partner, boyfriend or girlfriend to go shooting. They’ll have a blast (literally) and you’ll be a hero. Interestingly, the fastest growing segment in target shooting (and hunting), is women. And you’ll find more gear than ever at your local dealer that’s designed specifically to fit female shooters comfortably.

7. Save Money On Great Deals

Dealers all over the country are offering special sales on guns and gear throughout National Shooting Sports Month. Find a participating retailer near you and take advantage of these great offers.

8. Educate Others About Our Sports’ Tradition

Having the opportunity to own firearms and participate in the shooting sports is both a tradition we can proudly hand down as well as a freedom to celebrate. Take the time to educate others during National Shooting Sports Month about how important it is for us to preserve this freedom and what a wonderful gift our sports are to pass along to others.

9. Be a Safety Leader

The shooting sports are safe because participants make firearms safety a priority. Be an example to others by demonstrating how to safely handle, shoot and store your firearms both on and off the range.

10. Share #LetsGoShooting

The theme of National Shooting Sports Month is #LetsGoShooting. This month take time to share the hashtag on your social media networks and be sure to remind others that there has never been a better time to try target shooting than right now!