The Circle Ten Shooting Sports Committee has a very active training program for adult leaders to get the proper certifications to incorporate Shooting Sports into their unit’s programs. The Scouts love shooting archery, BB guns, .22 caliber rifles, muzzleloading rifles, and even pistols and larger caliber rifles (in the Venturing program). However to do all this takes a well trained group of adults with the proper certifications to run the ranges for units on these events. 

Who can shoot what? 

• Cub Scouts can shoot archery, BB guns and/or sling shots (wrist rockets) when at district/council events only.
• Scouts BSA can shoot archery, .22 caliber rifles, and shotguns on campouts (Scout camps), district/council events, and at commercial ranges.
• Venturing Crews can shoot archery, any caliber rifles, shotguns and pistols (Scout camps – there are specific restrictions at Circle Ten camps on specific types of firearms, and calibers, check with the council for these), district/council events, and at commercial ranges.
• There is a special program – The 3 gun shoot which consists of a lever action rifle (.22 caliber, 10 shots), shotgun (2 rounds), and pistol (.22 caliber 6 shot single action revolver), this requries a NRA RSO, NRA Rifle Instructor, NRA Shotgun Instructor, and a NRA Pistol Instructor and is done at council level events only (not available for unit level events). 

It is possible to use private property ranges, but these must first be approved for use by units by the Shooting Sports Committee. There is a process that must be followed to get this approval, for more information email us.

What certifications are needed?

• For Cub Scout archery at district/council events – at least one adult with the BSA Archery RangeMaster. 
• For Cub Scout BB gun at district/council events – at least one adult with the BSA BB Gun RangeMaster. 
  • NRA Range Safety Officer is not needed and can not be used to open a range. A RSO can help run the range, but is not authorized to open a range. The RSO certification is not an instructor course and is there strictly for range safety. 
  • The BSA BB gun RangeMaster training includes some basic teaching instructor to help the Cub Scouts to learn to shoot properly.
• For Scouts BSA archery – to open and run a range – at least one BSA Archery RangeMaster. 
  • However to be a Scouts BSA Archery merit badge counselor, the counselor must have the USAA Archery Level I certification (this also allows him/her to open and run a range). 
• For Scouts BSA shotgun – one NRA Range Safety Officer (RSO), and one NRA Shotgun Instructor (one instructor per Scout actively shooting). 
• For Scouts BSA rifle – one NRA RSO and 1 NRA Rifle Instructor (one instructor per 8 Scouts actively shooting). 
•  These numbers are the minimums needed by National BSA policy. Additional people are highly recommended. The more trained adults monitoring the youth handling/using firearms is a good thing.  

How do I get trained? 

The Shooting Sports committee offers NRA and USAA classes throughout the year. The schedule for the upcoming year is usually posted sometime in December after all the dates have been finalized. To see the schedule and to signup for classes, look in either the calendar or events link on the Shooting Sports Website (this site) or Circle Ten’s Shooting Sports iHub page. Registration for classes close on the Wednesday before the class, and this date is firm. After this date, you will have to wait until the next class opportunity. Classes are also limited in capacity; if they fill up, you will have to wait for the next class opportunity. Sign up early to guarantee your spot. We also offer a small number of BSA Archery RangeMaster and BSA BB Gun RangeMaster classes prior to Cub Camp. Additional trainings in these two certifications may be held by districts or any with the NRA Rifle Instructor (BSA BB Gun RangeMaster) or the USAA Level I (BSA Archery RangeMaster) in a unit or district. All of these trainings except for the BSA RangeMaster classes are also taught by other people in a commercial setting. They will likely cost more but it does not matter where you get your certifications. The commercial offering may fit your time schedule better than when our small staff of volunteers have offered up their time to teach a course. 

Is there an order to the classes? 

For the most part, no. The NRA Rifle/Shotgun/Pistol/Muzzleloading classes do have a pre-requisite class that must have been taken during the two years prior to the time you are taking the specific instructor course. You will need to provide proof of that at the time you are taking the instructor course. You only have to take the BIT class once (as long as it hasn’t been more than two years ago) before the Instructor classes. The order you take the instructor courses is up to the participants. There is no pre-requisite class for RSO, USAA Archery Level I, BSA Archery RangeMaster, or BSA BB Gun RangeMaster.

Have a question or need to contact the Circle Ten Council Shooting Sports Committee?

Please click here.