By Gregg Parker

Steeped in history, riflery is a classic camp activity that is very popular among campers. Like other individual sports, the main competition is one’s own experience of learning new skills and beating personal-best scores. This sport promotes pride, accomplishment and a sense of triumph as skills are mastered.

In the Olympic sport of target shooting, there are several styles of basic target shooting, from prone (laying down)--which is the easiest to master and first to practice--to sitting, kneeling, and eventually standing. Mastering these styles continues to up the level of skill needed, so kids do not become bored easily, and long-term goals for advancement will keep them coming back to the rifle range year after year. Though difficult to master, shooting does not require the same kind of physical ability as other youth sports. Regardless of size, age, gender, and natural physical ability, all kids are able to succeed at shooting.



One common question about riflery relates to how new camp parents respond to the idea of target shooting being offered at camp. In my experience, most parents have no problem at all with riflery, but some wonder about the logic in teaching such a sport in a world that attempts to promote non-violence to children. Although gun violence is a serious issue in the world today, riflery promotes the type of skills that help keep kids safe--safety, discipline, respect for others and self-control.