United States' increased interest in firearms leads to growth of NRA programs.

Fairfax, Virginia - Americans' interest in firearms has seen a surge in popularity over the past five years. More people are getting involved with the shooting sports, personal safety and hunting than ever before. And to help everyone from beginners to experienced firearms enthusiasts fully enjoy their Second Amendment rights are 178 NRA programs.

Places where we've seen the most growth are in our popular courses like NRA Basic Pistol and the female-focused Women On Target Instructional Shooting Clinics, designed to introduce citizens to firearms. You can't teach these courses without being a Certified Firearms Instructor or supervising safe shooting activities unless you're a Range Safety Officer.

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Women on Target Rifle Clinic Turns out a Fun Maryland Crowd

Up in Maryland, Jennifer Dukes spends her days as a mom, a wife and an NRA Certified Instructor. After a little coaxing, Jenny agreed to share some of her instructing experience from a Women on Target program last weekend.

Marriotsville, Maryland - Early morning on April 13, women began filing in to the classroom at Monumental Rifle and Pistol Club. They were there to learn how to shoot. Many of the ladies arrived with little to no experience; this would be their first real exposure to the shooting sports.

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Friends of NRA travels to Massachusetts and Vermont for a little education and a lot of fun

Fairfax, Virginia - This weekend you can catch Episode 7 of Friends of NRA on Outdoor Channel. For three seasons we've followed Matt and Jessie Duff around the country, and now the world, as they the meet the inspiring ways people show their support for the NRA. Each episode we learn a little more about the NRA family and we've only just scratched the surface.

Last episode our dynamic duo trekked the Oregon coast and squeezed in a white water rafting trip. This week it's back to the East Coast as Friends of NRA is in search of New England patriots.

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Matt and Jessie Duff finding Friends of NRA throughout the Beaver State - Oregon

Fairfax, Virginia - Friends of NRA airs Sunday nights on the Outdoor Channel. Following the adventures of Matt and Jessie Duff as they travel across the country, the show focuses on one truly unique NRA experience after another.

Last week we saw them at the National High School Finals Rodeo in Rock Springs, Wyoming. This week they continue their westward trek to the shores of Oregon.

Arriving first in Coos Bay, Oregon, Matt and Jessie are welcomed by the hard working members of the Coos County Friends of NRA Committee. A High Caliber Club, the committee raised $56,000 for the shooting sports in 2012. That's a lot of hard work. Well, it turns out these friends of the NRA work as hard as they play. Especially once they get out onto the sands of Coos Bay. That's where our hosts were treated to a dune buggy tour of the Bay's beaches.

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12,000 Women learn to shoot at NRA Women on Target Instructional Shooting Clinics

Fairfax, Virginia - "Women want to learn how to shoot."

According to NRA's Women on Target program, participation in the female focused instructional shooting clinics increased by 26% in the 2012. National Women on Target Program Coordinator Diane Danielson believes she knows the reason why.

"It's all thanks to word of mouth and the nature of the program," said Danielson. "We're strictly for women, primarily the first time shooter. It's about getting out to shoot and getting over the fear of firing those first shots."

Since the program's fervent beginnings back in 2000, almost eighty-thousand women have stepped onto a Women on Target range. Though the curriculum varies per event, ladies are generally offered the opportunity to fire pistols, rifles and shotguns under the watchful eye of an NRA Certified Instructor.

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Figuring out which gun fits their needs at NRA's Women on Target

Centreville, Virginia - Ever think about attending one of NRA's Women on Target clinics?

Wonder what there is to learn?

Or maybe it's a question of what type of women go to such things? Women like Casey Saggers and Jennifer Boughton.

Now grizzled veterans of our Centreville, Virginia clinic, Saggers and Boughton came out that day for two very different reasons. Saggers, product of a Law Enforcement upbringing, was looking to buy a gun. Boughton, with thirteen years of military service under her belt, was looking for a little fun.

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Ladies learned firearms and more in Fincastle, Virginia

Fincastle, Virginia - It was two years ago this week that the NRA brought on Diane Danielson to take over the NRA's Women On Target Instructional Shooting program. Jumping in with both feet, she promptly headed out to Fincastle, Virginia.

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An NRA filled day of firearms education for ladies in Alaska

NRA Field Operations' Volunteer Fundraising Coordinator Allison Terusiak shared a story about a great Women On Target clinic on Alaska's Kenai Peninsula.

Elaina Spraker Fires Off the Kenai Peninsula Women On Target Program

Are you a woman who has time and time again watched your husband from the window shooting his guns outside? Do you secretly wish you could join the guys on their next big hunting trip? Or perhaps you may be the type who simply wants to have a working knowledge of these cold-metal, comes in all shapes and sizes, and in many ways intimidating tools that we call firearms?

If so, fear not, Elaina Spraker of the Kenai Peninsula Women On Target Clinic has just the thing for you.

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Last week we paged through one of the top finishers in the Youth Education Summit Grand Scholarship andlearn about how they brought NRA programs into their communities. Let's take a look at the other top applicant, Rebekah Abel, who also received a college scholarship of $6,500.

The Y.E.S. Grand Scholarship takes place after the seven-day National Y.E.S. in Washington, D.C. Students who are interested can plan and document the introduction of programs like Refuse To Be A Victim, Women On Target and more to their hometowns.

Rebekah, like Amanda, attended the 2011 Y.E.S., where she and her classmates spent a week seeing practically all of the sights in our nation's capital as they learned the significance of the American Constitution, the Bill of Rights and the importance of being an active citizen.

When Rebekah returned home to Johnstown, Ohio, she was determined to become an active NRA supporter in her home state of Ohio and hopefully get some assistance for her future college studies along the way.

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