Effective September 1, 2024, there will be significant changes to Scouting’s Shooting Sports
programs. These changes affect most programs, though some programs are more affected
than others. In particular:

A. Changes to Venturing and Sea Scout Shooting Sports

• Rifle Shooting: Venturers and Sea Scouts will no longer be allowed to shoot centerfire rifles. All Venture and Sea Scout rifle shooting activities will be limited to the same rifle shooting activities as Scouts BSA Scouts – .177-caliber air rifles, muzzleloading rifles, and
  .22-caliber bolt-action rifles.
• Pistol Shooting: Venturers and Sea Scout units will not be permitted to shoot pistols as a unit activity. Pistol shooting is permitted only as part of an NRA Pistol First Steps Orientation course, which must be taken at an accredited camp program.
• Hunting:Hunting is no longer part of the Venturing program. Venturing youth may continue to take part in Hunters Education courses
• Muzzleloading/Black Powder: Venturers and Sea Scouts will no longer be able to shoot muzzleloading/black powder pistols.

B. Changes Applicable to All Programs

• Firearms and Ammunition:
• Only Council-owned firearms and council ammunition can be used for any Council, District or Unit shooting event on Council-managed properties. Units will be charged for ammunition as follows:
  —$5.00 for a 50-round box of .22-caliber rounds
  —$10.00 for a 25-round box of 20-gauge shotgun shells
• It is recommended that units purchase more ammunition than is likely to be used for a unit shoot. Council will process a refund for all full boxes of ammunition returned at the end of the unit shoot, but there is currently no process for topping up ammunition in the event that a unit runs out of ammunition while on the range.

Units holding shooting events at commercial ranges with their own firearms and ammunition are limited to calibers and gauges that are permitted under BSA policies.

Pistol Shooting:

• The Scouting Pistol Safety and Marksmanship program is being retired effective September 1, 2024. This will not impact our Council’s Shooting Sports, since we were not offering this program.
• Venture-age Scouts can only participate in the NRA FIRST Steps Pistol Orientation at an accredited camp program (day camp, short-term camp, long-term camp) or a council organized one day event. NRA Pistol First Steps must be taken before any pistol shooting event, even if the Scout has previously taken the training.

Ranges:

• Scouts may only shoot on Council-managed properties (e.g., Lost Pines, and Green Dickson, once the new ranges are built), commercial ranges, and government ranges.
• Scouts will no longer be allowed to shoot on ranges that have been set up on private property. The only exceptions to this policy are Cub Scout BB Gun and Archery events in connection with District or Council events and Older Scouts Archery.
• Range Staffing: In addition to providing the required number of NRA Certified Instructors and NRA-trained Range Safety officers required by the range’s Standard Operating Procedures, events that provide unit-level shooting sports activities must have at least one registered unit leader 21+ years of age present at the range who has taken the Range Activity SAFEty online training (which is targeted to be available online 9/1/2024). All units should note that the new Range Activity SAFEty training IS NOT the same as Range Safety Officer training.
• Cowboy Action Shooting: Notwithstanding any of the other changes, the rules for Cowboy Action Shooting have not changed. In other words, Venture-age Scouts may still shoot single-action revolvers and lever-action rifles as part of a Cowboy Action Shooting event that is held pursuant to an approved Cowboy Action Program at an accredited camp program (day camp, short-term camp, long-term camp) or a council-organized one day event.
• Guide to Safe Scouting Updates on Shooting Sports