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I am currently reading the Boy Scouts of America Shotgun Shooting Merit Badge book. My eldest boy just happens to be working on this merit badge.

Page #7 of the book mentions the 10, 12, 20 ,28 and .410 gauges but does not mention the 16 gauge. Shocked

I looked inside the front cover and it states the following:

Send comments along with a brief statement about yourself to Boy Scout Division, Boy Scouts of America, 1325 West Walnut Hill Lane, P.O. Box 152079, Irving, TX 75015-2079.

Just thought I would pass along the info in case anyone wanted to write the BSA to get the book changed to include the 16 gauge.

ioannes

Member Joined: 17 Sep 2005 Posts: 134 Location: TEXAS

Howdy ioannes,

I have Scouts out to my farm periodically (whenever they wish) and some shoot shotguns at clays while they are there.

I noticed that the shotguns the Scout leaders brought were not suited to the younger/smaller shooters, ie, 12ga, long stocks, heavy.

The 16ga would certainly be better than the 12 for the younger ones.

I should probably get a single shot 20ga and leave it at the farm for the small shooters.

HHH

A used 20g 1100 IC choked with a short stock would provide young scouts with a better experience-more comfortable to shoot and lots more broken targets.
A classic TX dove and quail gun and they should not be hard to find on the used gun racks.

Quite frankly, I did not know the BSA still offered merit badges in shooting. Several years back, I approached our local troop leader to offer the boys a day's worth of free target shooting at our local club complete with kid sized target .22 rifles, a couple of kid sized 28 ga single shots, targets and ammo provided. The scout master politely informed me that guns were not to be encouraged among today's American youth. I retreated with the feeling that he viewed me like I was a child molester or worse.

Later on, another troop camped overnight on the club grounds. Our ranges were closed to the club members for the day and the following morning to avoid any accidents while the kids were there. In short, none of these youngsters had any safety training about guns and gun ranges, so we could not have guns around them at our own gun club. I've since left that place to those who feel they know how a club should be run. I now belong to one where all kids and not just members' sons and daughters are encouraged and trained in shooting and gun safety.

Well, what do I expect. This is Massachusetts. I can thank the Kennedy legacy for this one. Its OK for a kid to grow up screwed up and into rude, arrogant behavior, drugs, drinking, whores, and fast cars like the Kennedy kids, but God forbid he should handle a gun or learn gun safety or go hunting. That's just too politically incorrect. Rolling Eyes

H. Roe Bartle Scout Reservation near Osceola, MO serves almost 4000 scouts and adult leaders during the summer and offers merit badges in blackpowder, shotgun, and rifle (.22) shooting.
(BTW: any other members of the tribe of Mic-O-Say out there?)

Actually the Scouts have merit badges for both the Shotguns & Rifles.

At Camp Easton here in North Idaho the scouts can earn both of the merit badges.

At the skeet and trap club we have two of the members signed up as merit badge councelors so the the scouts can come to the gun club the get the shotgunning merit badge.

ioannes

ioannes is correct. I checked the Merit Badge website: http://www.meritbadge.com/mb/ and there is not a blackpowder shooting badge. A 'Mountain Man' venue is offered at lots of Scout Reservations where boys have the opportunity to shoot black powder rifles and shotguns.

Member Joined: 08 Nov 2005 Posts: 3438 Location: Illinois

The local scout troop is due at our club next month.Some of their parents are not anti's but have no experience with or own a firearm.They also do some bowshooting while here. Wink

Member Joined: 17 Sep 2005 Posts: 134 Location: TEXAS

I have been told by the Scout leaders of the troops that use my farm that an NRA certified instructor is required to be present in order for the boys to shoot. I don't know if this is a national requirement or not.

I have inquired into obtaining certification, but apparently there are separate courses for rifle, pistol, and shotgun, and they are not free. They also consume some amount of time that I have not had available.

BTW, the regional Scouting organization offers an insurance policy, free of charge, to cover you, your farm, or your club, should you decide to sponsor a Scout outing. The only requirement is that you not charge a fee for the instruction or event. Scouts were using my place for free, before I found out about the insurance.

We need to encourage our youngsters, and it's not difficult. Just make the offer, and it is usually accepted with enthusiasm.

Doc, I used to have just such a Rem 1100, but I gave it to one of my sons. The next time the Scouts come to my farm, I intend to borrow it back for their use.

HHH

Joined: 06 Mar 2005 Posts: 11 Location: Nebraska

Our troop goes to Camp Geiger, St Joe MO every summer for camp. They offer both the shotgun and rifle merit badges at the summer camp. They are so poular that the boys have to sign up when they get there and most classes seem to be full.

And Revdocdrew, I and both of my boys are in Mic-o-say at Geiger.

And things are also different at our local club. Several of the local Junior High and Highschools have Trap teams. We allow some of them to practice at the range during the school year. We also have a summer league to keep some of the kids (and their dads) shooting thru the summer.

Jim

Member Joined: 30 May 2005 Posts: 15 Location: Oklahoma

Hi fellas,

I am an Assistant Scout Master in our local troop and NRA-certified Shotgun & Rifle Instructor. One of my main jobs is to organize the shooting campouts for the troop and serve as merit badge counselor for Rifle Shooting and Shotgun Shooting merit badges. It is now a BSA requirement that an NRA-certified instructor be present and in charge of any BSA sponsored shooting activity. These campouts are among the best attended of any we have and the shooting sports are very popular at summer camps as mentioned in other posts. It is a bit of an investment in time and money to get NRA-certified. Each course lasts about 14 hours and the fees vary with the instructor. Several of us scouters made a package deal with our guy for $100.00 for both courses. We don't run into too many scout leaders with bad attitudes toward shooting sports down here 16ga Guy, but I know they exist. In my opinion, they're alot more likely to be child molesters than the likes of us. BTW Revdoc blackpowder rifle is an option in Rifle Shooting Merit Badge, but it requires another separate NRA-certification to teach it.
I would encourage you all to continue your efforts to help youth who are interested in shooting sports in whatever capacity you can because the respect for firearms and their proper use is an important thing for these younger generations to learn. The freedom and the right to own and use firearms is a great treasure that has been handed down to us. We should be good stewards of this precious thing and preserve and pass it on.

Off the soapbox now,

Littledoc