Yellowstone Rifle Club has run a traditional NRA junior rifle program since at least 1952. At that time, the program met in the basement of the Science Building at Eastern Montana College (now MSUB). Junior shooting is currently held on the heated and well lighted YRC indoor range.
The Junior Division of YRC is designed to provide a venue for young people ages 10 to 20 years old to learn shooting fundamentals and safe gun handling in an organized, indoor shooting program, whether for fun or advanced competitive goals. The .22 rifle program for new shooters currently meets on Sunday afternoons from late November thru mid-April. See YRC Calendar for current schedule. An airgun program is also available on Monday evenings.
Membership: $45 per shooter per year, provides liability insurance coverage, and NRA Marksmanship Qualification Program (MQP) awards. Includes range fees for the entire indoor season. Ammunition and pellets purchased separately. Junior memberships do not include any adult YRC range privileges.
- A combined junior smallbore & airgun range fee and junior membership is available for $70 per shooter. This covers both junior & airgun practices.
Range fee: Range fees to help cover the cost of targets, heat & lights, are included in the membership, as described above.
Ammunition: Club .22 ammo is available at $4.00 per 50 rounds. Ammo is sold for use on the range only and is NOT sold for use outside of the Junior Program. If you choose to bring your own ammo, it should be standard velocity. No Stingers or similar hyper velocity ammo.
Equipment: All needed equipment is available at the club, including hearing protection & safety glasses. If you desire to use your own rifle, it should be a bolt action .22 cal rifle with peep sights. Rifles must be capable of being loaded as a single shot. Rifles with tubular magazines are not allowed for safety reasons. Scopes or other optical sights are not allowed under the NRA Marksmanship Qualification Program. Open sight rifles are strongly discouraged because they are difficult to shoot accurately enough to qualify for NRA MQP awards.
Clothing for the shooter: wear a heavy, long-sleeved sweatshirt or jacket to help protect elbows even under the shooting jacket. When shooting positions other than prone, firm soled boots are helpful.
Program: a first-time shooter will be given an introductory briefing by an NRA certified instructor. Eye dominance will be determined. New shooters will learn safety rules, range procedures and commands, and rifle nomenclature. They will be introduced to the basics of sight picture, breathing, and trigger control, and will be fitted with jacket, sling, glove and ear & eye protection.
Shooters will start on the NRA MQP .22 rifle qualification course, handing in targets for scoring and recording. First shots will be fired over a rest. Five–3 shot groups covered by a quarter, then five–5 shot groups are required to advance to the Pro-Marksman level, which requires shooting in the prone position. Shooters proceed through the various NRA MQP levels to sitting, kneeling, and standing. Awards are presented 1 or 2 times per year.
A separate qualification program is also available for the air gun program.
Advanced coaching is available for those wishing to enter competitive shooting activities. We can help you learn the skills to advance to state & regional level competitions. Who knows, with dedication & effort on your part, you could become a State Champion!
Information for Parents
Shooters may attend with an adult who is not a YRC member.
A responsible adult must be available while the child is at the range.
If you are signed up for a particular shooting relay for .22 rifle, please arrive about 15 minutes early so your child will be ready on time.
You may view shooters from behind the glass and you may use a scope or binoculars to watch their progress.
You may be asked to help score targets, put away equipment, or provide assistance to coaches.
For more information contact our Junior Program Directors.