So here's a project we've been working on in the North South Skirmish Association.
Early this year, we were manning a table at a gun show and a Scouter came up and started talking to us about muzzleloading. His main point, there is an acute shortage of NRA certified Muzzleloading Instructors and you have to have that credential to teach muzzleloading at any Scout function. After a bit of investigation, we found not only was his statement true, but it was also a huge understatement. Fast forward, a group of us NSSA members got certified and worked in a Scout camp each session this summer. We worked with about 300 Scouts and Scouters, I personally worked with about 75. Of the ones I worked with, I helped all but 3 improve their muzzleloading marksmanship to the point where they could shoot a Ritz cracker off a wire at 25yd off hand with a Civil War musket.
Here's what we're about to do- we're going to run a training session for NRA Muzzleloading Instructors at our home range, Fort Shenandoah, in early January. At the completion of the session, we will have about 35 more instructors ready and willing to instruct youth in Scout camps and other youth settings. These instructors will be able to do what we did last summer and help youth in muzzleloading safety and marksmanship.
We plan on introducing as many kids as we can to the REAL world of muzzleloading and not a pile of myths. Muzzleloaders can be accurate, muzzleloaders are real guns, and not last by any measure, muzzleloading competition can be great fun!
So I'm hurling the gauntlet down here and now- what are YOU doing to help kids?