NRA Foundation grant keeps shotgun sports accessible for students
The Texas A&M University-Victoria Trap & Skeet Shooting Club has secured another gift from the National Rifle Association Foundation in its efforts to make shotgun sports more accessible to a wider range of participants, from first-time shooters to seasoned collegiate competitors.
This is the fourth consecutive year that the club has received a donation of practice ammunition, with this year bringing in a variety of shotgun shells valued at nearly $4,000.
“Shotgun sports can be cost prohibitive, and that might keep somebody from even wanting to try,” said Daniel White, A&M-Victoria associate professor of biology and the club’s faculty advisor. “Because of the generosity of the NRA Foundation, we can get all sorts of students to come and try.”
The club received 10,000 shotgun shells for practice ammunition split between 12-gauge and 20-gauge, White said. The 12-gauge shipment arrived in early March, followed by the 20-gauge shells roughly two weeks later.
The shells will support a diverse group of participants, including veterans, new shooters, experienced competitors and students who have aged out of youth programs but want to continue in college. The grant will also allow the club to focus on its core priorities: safety, skill development and enjoyment of shotgun sports in a structured environment, White said.
The grant is highly competitive and is administered at the state level. The club must submit a formal proposal each cycle, outlining how the ammunition will be used and who will benefit. Last year alone, the ammunition supported 57 individual participants, White said, a number the club expects to grow in the coming year. Each participant who uses, handles or benefits from the shells is counted toward the total impact.
Even as the academic year has wound down, the Trap and Skeet Club remains active during the summer for students and local participants who are still in the area and wish to shoot recreationally.
During the regular semester, the club typically meets on Friday afternoons, but the summer schedule is more flexible, White said. Outings are arranged based on availability and conditions, often shifting to Tuesdays or other days as needed, with a general aim of practicing at least once every two weeks.
“We appreciate the continued support of the NRA Foundation,” White said. “With their gift of shotgun shells, this will allow the club to practice at very little cost to the competitors.”
Texas A&M University-Victoria, located in the heart of the Coastal Bend region since 1973 in Victoria, Texas, offers courses leading to more than 50 academic programs in the colleges of Business, Education & Health Professions, Liberal Arts & Social Sciences, and Natural & Applied Science. A&M-Victoria provides face-to-face classes at its Victoria campus, as well as online classes that students can take from anywhere. The university supports the American Association of State Colleges and Universities Opportunities for All initiative to increase awareness about state colleges and universities and the important role they have in providing a high-quality and accessible education to an increasingly diverse student population, as well as contributing to regional and state economic development.