Citizen's Rifle and Revolver Club

The CRRC Junior Pistol Program provides an opportunity for children aged 12-20 years old to learn gun safety, basic pistol operation, and marksmanship skills. No prior experience with firearms is required, but participants must be willing and able to follow instructions. Guns and ammunition are provided (participants are not required to own or purchase a pistol, but may use their own pistol, pending approval). All firing is with 22 caliber rimfire pistols. This program is open to the public (CRRC membership is not required).

Additional information is available in the CRRC Junior Pistol Flyer

To register or get more information, send an email to juniorpistol@crrc.org   (You can use this mail-to link or Click here to copy 'juniorpistol@crrc.org' to your clipboard)

Gun Safety & The Safety Class

All program participants are required to attend the safety class before they can attend any live-fire classes. The safety class is typically offered on one or two dates before each Spring/Fall season. All participants must follow all safety rules at all times. Unsafe behavior will not be tolerated.

The Basic Rules of Gun Safety:

• ALWAYS keep the gun pointed in a safe direction.  In our classes, downrange (towards the targets) is the safe direction.
• ALWAYS keep your finger off the trigger until ready to shoot.  "Ready to shoot" means pointed at the target.
• ALWAYS keep the gun unloaded until ready to use.  In our classes, range commands will be given, indicating when loading is allowed.
• Know your target, and what is beyond.  In our case, we are using paper targets in front of a backstop.

Gun safety is much more than just those rules, though. Knowing how to safely load, operate, and unload any firearm you are using is critical. Being able to recognize when a pistol is loaded or made safe is also important. Eye protection and ear protection must be worn by everyone in the range while anyone is firing. Even knowing basic gun terminology is vitally important to ensuring everyone's safety on the range. Safety is the top priority.

Basic Bullseye (Precision Pistol) Information

The CRRC Junior Pistol Program teaches marksmanship using traditional Bullseye shooting stages and techniques. Bullseye pistol shooting is done one-handed, unsupported, in the standing position, typically at distances of 50 feet, 25 yards, and 50 yards. There are three types of stages:

There are two primary sanctioning bodies for Bullseye shooting: the NRA (National Rifle Association), and the CMP (Civilian Marksmanship Program).

Matches are generally fired using a combination of 22 caliber rimfire pistols, "centerfire" pistols (any pistol firing centerfire ammunition between 32 caliber and 45 caliber, inclusive), and 45 caliber pistols. Pistols can be revolvers or semi-automatics. However, most juniors shoot "22-only", where the whole match is fired using a 22 caliber rimfire pistol.

To allow shooters of differing skill levels to all be competitive, Bullseye shooting uses a classification system. Each shooter is classified according to their past scores, and match awards are given separately for each classification. Since 10 shots are fired at each target, and the maximum score per shot is 10, each target has a maximum score of 100. The classifications are based on your average score per target, as follows:

Since everyone who shoots at any level below an average of 85 is considered a Marksman, and since most new shooters and junior shooters require significant practice time and effort to even be close to 85, this system is not very rewarding for them. That's where the Winchester/NRA Marksmanship Qualification Program comes in...

Winchester / NRA Marksmanship Qualification Program

The Winchester/NRA Marksmanship Qualification Program is a merit-based skill development program designed for new shooters. Shooters can achieve ratings by either stage-based scores, or aggregate-based scores, but the CRRC Junior Pistol Program follows the stage-based scoring system. The table below shows the scores needed for the various ratings. Awards for acheivement include certificates, patches and rockers, and medals.

Note that the first three ratings (Pro-Marksman, Marksman, and Marksman 1st Class), may be fired two-handed, or while the hand or gun are supported. However, all ratings beyond Marksman 1st class must be fired one-handed and unsupported.

The Winchester/NRA Marksmanship Qualification Program book (.pdf)

Go to CRRC Activities

Last revision : Sep-01-2022