How many National Records do you think NRA's Competitive Shooting Division keeps track of, 50? 100? Higher than that. 500? 800? Keep going. 1,000? You'll get there eventually.

The National Rifle Association keeps track of nearly 7,000 national shooting records.

Yeah, that's a lot of records. But once broken down the number makes sense.

NRA doesn't just keep track of "pistols" and "rifles." There's Air Pistol, Action Pistol, High Power Rifle, Silhouette Pistol, Smallbore Rifle, Fullbore and so many more. From there it breaks down even further.

Records must keep track of metallic sight, any sight, rapid fire, slow fire, prone, standing and all the variations of ways to shoot. Don't forget about shooting indoor, outdoor, distance and number of shots fired. You must also take into account these records being stored for both individuals and teams. Lastly, each of these records are kept for all of the possible categories a shooter can be classified as: Open, Civilian, Service, Woman, Junior, Senior, Police, etc.

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The Boy Scouts of America are one of NRA's most active Youth Cooperative Organizations, who utilize NRA firearms training for their shooting sports programs. Troop 270 from new Hampshire is no exception. Thank you to Scoutmaster Mike Michaels for sending the following report and photos from Troop 270's day of rifle shooting.

Dunbarton, New Hampshire - Boy Scout Troop 270 of Pembroke, New Hampshire brought out 18 Boy Scouts and 10 adults for a great day of rifle training and shooting fun. Weather was no concern as the boys were donated indoor range time and target rifle usage from Pioneer Sportsmen Inc. of Dunbarton, New Hampshire. Pioneer is a private club for pistol, rifle and archery with a beautiful and well equipped indoor range.

New shooters just starting the Rifle Merit Badge went through the NRA FIRST Steps rifle course with Instructor Scott Lane. Experienced boys proceeded directly to the range to complete their groups. One of the toughest parts of earning the Merit Badge is shooting five, 5-shot groups at 50 feet that can be covered by a quarter. Many of the participants were able to complete the requirements. All the boys had a great time with over 1600 rounds fired.

The troop shoot was organized by Scoutmaster Mike Michaels who has been a firearms enthusiast since the first day he shot a .22 rifle as a young Boy Scout. Michaels is noticing that there are not enough kids involved in the shooting sports but yet all of the scouts he meets are very interested in shooting.

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Interested in bringing some new programs to your shooting range or club? Then join NRA Clubs and Associations for an upcoming NRA Club Leadership & Development webinar to learn how to start a youth program and how NRA can help you get started. The webinar will also provide an overview of the NRA Competitive Shooting Division's wide range of activities in shooting disciplines, for shooters of all skill levels.

The free one-hour webinar will be held this Thurdsay, March 22 at 1:00 p.m. Eastern. You can register online or check out a listing of other upcoming NRA Club Leadership & Development webinars. Topics are offered to suit any club and offer great advice on how to make your club more successful.

Have a question or a suggestion for webinar topic? Contact NRA Clubs & Associations at 1-800-NRA-CLUB or at clubs@nrahq.org.

NRAblog's Lars Dalseide is in Wickenburg, Arizona this week for a Precision Law Enforcement Rifle class with American Firearms Training and Tactics. Although he's busy learning the ins and outs of precision rifle shooting and advanced marksmanship techniques, he had time to send us this video featuring a Colt AR-15. He may only be at 100 yards, but he'll be working his way back to farther yardages throughout the course. Keep checking back, because Lars will have more updates of the experience here on NRAblog.

Starting April 23, after this year's sectionals have wrapped up, NRA will begin accepting sectional scores submitted using the Orion Scoring System.

Never before has scoring a target, especially a batch, been this easy. Simply scan your target, run it though the Orion software and you'll get back an image of your target accurately scored to within .1mm. 

With the rising popularity and accessibility of electronic targets and scoring systems in the shooting world, this move will make smallbore and air rifle matches easier for all parties involved.

Orion runs on any Windows-based computer and requires special Orion paper targets, nearly identical to garden-variety 10 bull/ 12-bull paper targets, for the scoring system to work properly. These targets have special optical codes printed on them to tell the software where the black bulls are.

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There are hundreds of things to consider when planning a championship. When looking at locations, for example, you have to think about the size of potential facilities, parking, hotels, distance from the airport, number of restaurants in the area, distance from major cities, public transportation, volunteers, etc ... and that's just the beginning of the location list. While there are dozen of other issues that must be addressed, one thing you definitely can't forget is the swag.

Swag is the souvenirs patrons and participants bring home from major events. At SHOT Show, for example, many walked away with Walther playing cards, Sig Sauer pens, Trijicon spudz (Don't know about spuds? Check out Alpine Innovations) and dozens of other goodies. While prepping for the 2012 Intercollegiate Rifle & Pistol Championships at Fort Benning, Georgia, NRA's National Collegiate Shooting Manager Victori Croft was looking at all sorts of options.

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With 2012 underway, why not start the New Year off with a new program at your club or range? The NRA Club Champion Challenge is a fun and exciting way to do just that - and to see who is the best all-around shooter in your club or shooting organization.

Getting started couldn't be more simple - learn more about the NRA Club Champion Challenge and register your event online at www.nraclubchamp.com. NRA provides the courses of fire to choose from and even provides awards including medals and belt buckles for champions. So what are you waiting for? Start 2012 with a "bang" by holding an NRA Club Champion Challenge at your range or club!

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With just a few shopping days left until Christmas, I've decided to put together my top ten picks (in no particular order) of great stocking stuffers for the shooting enthusiast in your life. If none of these options will work for those hard-to-buy-for shooters on your list, I suggest you trade them in for a new friend or family member who is less picky or has better taste. If you think I've left a "must have" off the list, leave a comment so I can see what I've missed! 

1. Noveske Shooting Team 3-Gun Outlaw Instructional DVD

This is a great DVD for those who are new to 3-gun competition or looking to step up their game. Jansen Jones and Rob Romero from the Noveske Shooting Team take viewers through advanced techniques for 3-gunning including transitions, shooting positions, strategy, and more. It's not the same as attending a Noveske 3-Gun Training Class, but it's the next best thing to learn from two of the country's top competitors.

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When I think of some of the top names in shooting, Daniel Horner instantly comes to mind. When he's not on the road dominating the leaderboard at major 3-gun competitions across the country, this national champion is at Ft. Benning in Georgia serving as a shooter and instructor with the United States Army Marksmanship Unit (USAMU).

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