Issue No. 6 | Sunday, October 11, 2026
Good morning.
The USA Clay Target League is making it easier to get young shooters on a team. Its new club division removes the school-approval requirement, giving local clubs and youth organizations a direct route into the league. Also this week: a striking number buried in the ATF’s import tables, and Ian Darroch on the courtesies every squad deserves.
OPENING SHOT
More kids can get on the line
The USA Clay Target League has opened a new route into organized youth shooting: club teams that don’t need school approval.
The new USA Youth Club Clay Target League allows students in grades 6–12 to participate through local clubs and youth organizations, including 4-H, FFA and scout troops.
Getting a school-based shooting team approved can be difficult. This gives willing families, coaches and clubs a way to move forward themselves, opening the league to young shooters who might otherwise miss the opportunity.
The starting requirements are straightforward: five athletes, an available shooting range and a certified coach. Each athlete must also complete firearm safety certification before participating. Existing homeschool league teams will move into the new division.
For clubs interested in building a youth program, there’s time to get organized. Spring 2027 registration runs February 2 through March 22, with competition beginning April 18.
BUILDING THE SPORT
Two countries. Nine out of ten imported shotguns.
Turkey supplied 71.1% of the shotguns imported into the United States in fiscal 2024. Italy supplied another 19.4%.
Together, that’s 90.5%, according to the country table in the ATF’s Annual Statistical Update 2025.
The counts make the concentration plain:
Turkey: 797,394 shotguns.
Italy: 217,883.
All countries combined: 1,121,715.
Those figures count imported guns across the shotgun category. They don’t separate trap guns from hunting or other shotguns, identify brands, or measure what buyers paid. U.S.-made guns are outside that denominator.
Even with those limits, the concentration is striking. A dealer’s rack can offer plenty of brands while the imported guns come overwhelmingly from two countries. That is useful context when looking beyond the name on the receiver to where a shotgun was made.
THE CRAFT
Could someone watching tell you missed?
Ian Darroch’s Trap & Field article on etiquette describes a standard he was taught:
“Your body language should be such that they shouldn’t be able to tell if you broke the target or not.”
That’s worth teaching alongside gun hold and foot position. Shooters also need to learn how their conduct affects the people beside them.
Darroch’s advice is specific: keep a reasonable squad pace, wait until the shooter ahead has finished before mounting, and notice whether your movement distracts a neighbor. A left-handed shooter may appreciate an extra moment before you open and reload.
Frustration stays yours. Throwing shells or taking it out on the scorer makes the squad endure it.
The courtesy continues in a shoot-off: arrive promptly, give your opponent room to concentrate, and shake hands afterward.
An older article, with plenty that still belongs in a new shooter’s first lesson.
YOUR SHOT
What’s one bit of shooting etiquette you wish someone had taught you sooner?
Reply with the habit, who taught it to you, or how you learned it the hard way. We may share a few in a future issue.
Know a parent or club volunteer trying to get a youth team started? Forward this issue their way.
See you next Sunday,
Dean