USPSA Membership Hits Record 45,000, and Why That’s Important

The shooting sports have come and gone steadily over the past two centuries. Back in the 1890s, Schuetzen matches (which, ironically, are making a bit of a comeback) and festivals reached their golden age and drew entire towns to bask in the precision marksmanship. Speaking of festivals, rimfire Gallery Shooting was a staple of carnivals, state fairs, and boardwalks across the first half of the 20th Century. Hunting was a rite of passage going back to Colonial times but reached its modern peak in the U.S. in 1982, when measured participation hit an all-time high of 16.7 million hunters, well over 7 percent of the total population, while community Turkey Shoots began to nose-dive around the same period. Today, only about 4 percent of the population actively hunts, and turkey shoots are all but gone. I grew up with DCM Rifle shooting, but, except for the National Matches, CMP and the Garand Association, the pastime is all but forgotten. Peak attendance for the National Matches occurred…