The Dallas Safari Club (DSC), a continued supporter of the Scholastic Shooting Sports Foundation (SSSF) has awarded the youth development organization a grant totaling over $24,000. This support comes from multiple chapters, including DSC Great Lakes, DSC Heartland, DSC Oklahoma, and DSC Charleston.

The DSC’s mission is to ensure the conservation of wildlife through public engagement, education and advocacy for well-regulated hunting and sustainable use. Every year DSC raises funds through an annual convention, which go toward grants that directly support our mission of conservation, education, and advocacy. Through outreach efforts and informational content that introduces shooting and science-based wildlife management to growing demographics, DSC is ensuring a legacy of well-informed future sportsmen, sportswomen and conservationists. The SSSF is humbled to accept this large grant amount in support of youth development through its Scholastic Clay Target Program (SCTP) and Scholastic Action Shooting Program (SASP).

"As a non-profit we realize how much effort fundraising takes," said SASP National Director, Rick Leach. "The fact that these four DSC chapters are willing to donate their hard-earned funds in recognition of our mission of youth development is greatly appreciated. The Dallas Safari Club has been a supporter of our programs for a number of years and the continued vote of confidence from multiple DSC chapters is humbling."

"Both of SSSF's youth programs are very fortunate to have support throughout the outdoor industry," said SCTP National Director, Tom Wondrash. "The Dallas Safari Club continues to invest in our youth, who will be the next generation of hunters and conservationists. Through our youth development programs, we aim to shape those next generations into the best possible citizens they can be. The grant funding from multiple DSC chapters is an incredible gesture and we hope to continue our work with the support of the DSC for years to come."

With a year-round season, this funding is put to immediate use for the SSSF's youth programs. Conducting its largest National Championship event to date with over 10,000 event entries, the SSSF looks to continue its mission to facilitate youth development through its team-based clay target, action shooting, and international disciplines. As the official youth feeder program for USA Shooting, the scope of athlete success can be realized at the highest levels through the SCTP and SASP. Athletes can begin their shooting sports journey at a young age and continue through college, which is encouraged and supported by scholarships offered by both of the SSSF's youth development programs.

Athlete safety and support is critical to the SSSF's mission. In 2020, the foundation launched its modernized coach education programs to help expand the nationwide network of youth shooting sports adult volunteers. With new teams being activated through programs such as the SCTP and SASP every day, the need for a simple, efficient and comprehensive path to coach certification is realized as the SSSF Basic Coach Certification Program. With the DSC grant support, the SSSF plans to expand its training offerings with advanced coach curriculum and focused training for international disciplines of skeet, bunker trap, air pistol/rifle, and sport pistol.

Iowa is considered by many to be one of the premier white-tailed deer hunting destinations in the United States. Dreams come true in the Hawkeye State every year as hunters consistently harvest mature, corn fed bucks that reach well over 200". Getting a tag, however, is easier said than done. Now you can guarantee your tag and promote state and local conservation efforts through the Iowa Scholastic Clay Target Program Non-Resident Deer Tag Auction, in partnership with the Iowa Department of Natural Resources (IDNR).

This auction is for One Iowa Special Non-Resident Deer Tag, good Statewide for Archery, Gun season one, Gun season two, or the Late Muzzleloader season during either 2022 or 2023 Iowa deer season (hunter's choice). The deer tag includes 1 'any sex' deer and 1 'antlerless' deer. For seasons and hunting information, go to: http://www.iowadnr.gov/

The auction showroom is currently open for preregistration and the auction officially opens on August 1 at 12:00PM CST and ends on Friday, August 12 at 6:00PM CST. 

The winner of the auction receives a tag that includes 1 any-sex deer and 1 antlerless deer. This non-resident deer tag is good statewide; however, Landowner Permission is required before hunting on private land. The winner of the auction is required to purchase an Iowa nonresident hunting license and pay the non-resident habitat fee.

The tag may be used either in the coming 2022-2023 season, or next year in the 2023-2024 season. The hunter must declare which year and one of the following standard seasons at the close of the auction and no later than September 25th, 2022.

2022-2023 season dates can be found at http://www.iowadnr.gov/Hunting/DeerHunting.aspx . 2023-2024 dates have not been confirmed at this time but will be similar to 2022-2023 dates.

In this episode, we recap SASP Collegiate Nationals and SCTP International Team Members share their stories of qualifying for their respective US National Teams. 

In this episode, we review upcoming events and fundraising efforts for youth shooting sports. Our interview for the episode is with SASP Athlete and Junior Shooter Magazine writer, Abby Jackley. We discuss her first visit to SHOT Show as a media representative and her plans for the future!

In the season-opening episode, we chat with a familiar voice, John Linquist to discuss new SSSF and MidwayUSA Foundation initiatives that begin growing your team's funding future immediately, each season. We are also joined by a SCTP athlete whose team is hard at work, preparing for next month's College Nationals.

In this episode, we recap the various records broken at the 2021 National Championships, review USA Shooting at the Olympics, and get the perspective of a Nationals volunteer who previously did not have any experience in team-based youth shooting sports.

Each year in July, thousands of youth shooting sports athletes converge at the Cardinal Shooting Center for their National Championship. To support the monumental ten-day event, team coaches, adult volunteers, family members, sponsors, program staff, vendors, and others all do their part to ensure each youth shooting team's Nationals experience is unforgettable. Affected by an abbreviated close to last year's season, the Scholastic Clay Target Program (SCTP) and Scholastic Action Shooting Program (SASP) both saw the prestigious National Championships come roaring back, with teams from 33 different states setting all-time records for attendance. A new bar has been set and the outlook for youth shooting sports is looking brighter than ever.

On the front end of Nationals were the international events of Bunker Trap, International Skeet, Air Pistol, Air Rifle, and Sport Pistol. As the Official Youth Feeder Programs for USA Shooting, the SCTP and SASP provide many opportunities for competition and development for athletes chasing their Olympic dreams. The American sports of Action Shooting, Skeet, Trap, and Sporting Clays followed with a 10-day event schedule.

Just over 2,700 SCTP athletes competed in their respective clay target sports, totaling 7,658 entries. These participation numbers clearly solidified 2021 as the largest SCTP National Championship to date. To put this into perspective, over 1.4 million White Flyer clay targets were thrown at the 2021 National Championship events with an additional 357,000 targets thrown during sponsor demos, shoot offs, last competitor standing, practice, and side games. That is 10 semi-tractor loads, stretching beyond the length of a football field!

On the pistol and rifle side, the SASP opened up with international events with the 2020-2021 season being the first to offer the international disciplines of 10 Meter Air Rifle, 10 Meter Air Pistol, and Sport Pistol. The expansion of shooting disciplines offered by the SASP realizes the SSSF's mission to serve as a feeder/pipeline for organized, sanctioned shooting organizations and teams. 2021 saw SASP's record for the largest action shooting event in the world definitively set for the third consecutive year. Over 700 participants competed in a staggering 2,000 entries where well over 320,000 rounds were fired in competition and over 180,000 additional rounds were fired at sponsor side matches, demos, and practice bays. To accommodate this spike in participation, the Cardinal Shooting Center expanded its action shooting facilities from eight to a total of twelve shooting bays in anticipation of another world record event taking place.

After the final shots were fired at the 2021 National Championships, it would not only set program records but it would also go down as the largest shoot in the history of the Cardinal Shooting Center. Youth shooting sports bounced back from 2020 and we look forward to the new season in August.