A first lesson. Then a reason to return.

I spent part of this week compiling ATA All-American teams from 1927 through 2026.

One surprise: the historical team lists I found on the ATA’s website stopped at 2007. Finding the older team lists meant turning to other people who had already done some of the digging and assembled their own archives.

I’m still checking gaps and inconsistencies, but having those names together gives me something useful to return to. There are nearly a century’s worth of shooters in there, and probably a few stories worth telling.

This week: a women’s shooting program with somewhere to go after the first clinic, a page from Wendell Cherry’s notebook, and a closer look at the rules shaping firearm reviews on YouTube.

Florida’s FSCA Honeybelles says it has introduced more than 1,200 women to sporting clays. Its fall update shows what happens after the introduction: a traveling league, partner shoots, and a November fun shoot.

The ladies-teaching-ladies program offers two clinic levels. Beginners start with classroom instruction and 25 targets. Shooters with some experience can move into Basic Plus, with 50 targets and instruction on stance, gun mount, and improving their shooting.

That gives a new shooter a next step. The league and social shoots give her people to take it with.

The part worth borrowing: When someone leaves a beginner clinic, give them a specific invitation back. A date, a familiar instructor, and someone to shoot with can make the next visit easier to arrange.

The Honeybelles is expanding its teaching capacity, too. Its fall newsletter reports five more women pursuing NSCA coaching certification and another clinic location.

The November 8 Fall Fun Shoot at Quail Creek costs $110, including lunch and a golf cart for each squad.

Explore the Honeybelles program and fall update →

Wendell Cherry’s practice notebook has very little space for what went wrong.

In Part 2 of his conversation with The Dead Pair Podcast, Cherry describes a journal approach learned from mental-performance coach Lanny Bassham. He records the date, location, and objectives, then gives the most space to what he did well. The improvement note gets roughly half a line.

That changes what survives a practice session. Instead of carrying home a catalog of misses, he records the things he wants to repeat.

Try this: After your next practice, write down:

Make the good-shot notes useful: where your eyes were, how the move felt, or what helped you stay with the target. “Shot pretty well” won’t give you much to work with next Thursday.

Listen to Cherry, Part 2 →
The notebook discussion begins around 6:25.

YouTube’s branded-content policy prohibits branded content featuring weapons or ammunition. Its definition includes content influenced by a brand partner in exchange for payment, free products, or sponsorships. The policy applies to the entire video, including the parts outside the sponsor segment.

That matters to anyone who watches shotgun reviews before buying. Manufacturer access can help a reviewer test equipment that would otherwise be expensive to obtain.

NSSF’s September 28 analysis raises questions about where YouTube will draw the line. How will it treat a temporary product loan? Could a sponsorship from an unrelated business affect a video featuring a firearm?

For viewers, those decisions could affect which reviews get made and how creators pay for the testing. The questions to keep asking of a review remain practical: who supplied the gun, who paid for the video, and how thoroughly did the reviewer test it?

Read NSSF’s analysis →
Read YouTube’s policy →

Last week we covered President Trump’s order calling for expanded hunting and recreational shooting access. Outdoor Life’s reporting adds a practical question: do the agencies have the resources to carry it out?

Backcountry Hunters & Anglers CEO Ryan Callaghan welcomes much of the direction, while calling for more funding and staff at the land-management agencies responsible. Access to landlocked public acreage has support across the groups interviewed. The details will emerge as agencies develop policies and regulations over the coming months.

Does your club have a beginner program that gets people coming back? Reply and tell me what happens after the first lesson. I’d like to hear about the second visit, the first regular squad, or the person who makes the introduction.

And if you have old ATA All-American team lists tucked away, I’d welcome those, too. A scan or a photograph may help fill a gap in the archive.

Please send it my way.

See you next Sunday.

Dean