NEWTOWN, Conn. – -(AmmoLand.com)- The National Shooting Sports Foundation® (NSSF®), the firearms industry trade association, celebrates President Donald Trump’s signing of H.R. 1222, the Target Practice and Marksmanship Training Support Act, at The White House. The President signed the NSSF-priority bill May 10, just two weeks after the bill was passed by Congress.
“We deeply appreciate President Trump’s swift enactment of this legislation that will give state fish and game agencies greater flexibility to build new recreational shooting ranges and expand and improve existing ranges,” said Lawrence G. Keane, NSSF Senior Vice President and General Counsel. “This administration understands the value and investment the firearms and ammunition industry makes to safe recreational shooting and to sustained conservation to benefit wildlife and habitat restoration across the United States. Public shooting ranges provide hunters a place to sight in rifles and pattern shotguns before hunting seasons, for people to take firearm safety and hunter education courses and for recreational target shooters to enjoy their sport.”
The “Range Bill” has been a sustained-effort priority for NSSF and is a crucial step forward in promoting, protecting and preserving hunting and the shooting sports. In the course of more than a decade, versions of the bipartisan legislation were introduced as 29 different numbered bills and 15 separate legislative packages, starting with the 110th Congress. While it had broad support from both Republicans and Democrats in both the U.S. House of Representatives and U.S. Senate, previous attempts to pass the legislation were derailed for reasons unrelated to the actual legislation.
The Target Practice and Marksmanship Training Support Act, also known as the “Range Bill,” allows states to use their Pittman-Robertson Fund allocations to begin construction of new ranges, or improve existing state-run public recreational shooting ranges.
Prior to this law’s enactment, states were required to put up 25 percent of the cost of range construction projects to access the matching 75 percent of Pittman-Robertson funds. Now, states can access those funds with a 10 percent match and will have five fiscal years to acquire land for range construction or expansion projects.
Pittman-Robertson funds are derived from an excise tax paid by firearms and ammunition manufacturers. Since 1937, the fund has generated more than $12.5 billion funding wildlife conservation and safety education programs in all 50 states. NSSF estimates more than 80 percent of Pittman-Robertson excise tax contributions are generated by sales attributed to recreational shooting. This means today’s recreational target shooter is an overwhelming contributor to conservation through excise tax support.
A recurring concern of recreational shooters, and those considering entering the sport, is proximity and access to a safe range. This new law would make it easier for states to enable recreational target shooters to enter the sport, which in turn would generate continued contributions to Pittman-Robertson funds and the conservation programs which it supports.
NSSF is especially grateful to U.S. Reps. Ron Kind (D-Wis.), Rob Bishop (R-Utah) and Duncan Hunter (R-Calif.), as well as U.S. Sens. Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.V.), Michael Bennet (D-Colo.), John Boozman, (R-Ark.), Mike Crapo (R-Idaho), Joni Ernst (R-Iowa), Angus King (I-Maine), Joe Manchin (D-W.V.), Jim Risch (R-Idaho), Mike Rounds (R-S.D.) and Dan Sullivan (R-Alaska). All are original co-sponsors on both the House and Senate versions of the legislation.
About National Shooting Sports Foundation (NSSF)
The National Shooting Sports Foundation is the trade association for the firearms industry. Its mission is to promote, protect and preserve hunting and the shooting sports. Formed in 1961, NSSF has a membership of thousands of manufacturers, distributors, firearms retailers, shooting ranges, sportsmen’s organizations and publishers nationwide. For more information, visit www.nssf.org.
That’s what you end up with if you live in urban areas or gun grabber states. I wouldn’t know how to act if I had to pack everything up and go where they have control over you. That’s not my idea of fun. It is good some democrats are for this.
I have zero problem traveling a little ways to get to a good range. The problem here in So. Cal. is that there are so few open ranges. And those that we do have are always crowded. More is better but I don’t expect governor “Grabbin’ Newsome” will be on board with this project.
It is a good bill for areas where there are no public lands, and even for those areas where there are public lands. I’m lucky to live where I can go shooting on public lands just minutes from my house.
Our range has benches that are over 50 years old and need a lot of TLC maybe this will help.
GOOD! About time the “newbies” are accommodated. To shoot at a “free range”, I am forced to travel over an hour to access the shooting range that charges $10 per day / $25 per year for seniors and $50 per year for all over 16 years of age.
That’s cheap!
My “local” range that I can shoot rifle at (17 min drive) charges about 20 bucks per visit. And yearly fee to get started is about 700
oops, I meant 700 if you want for 1 year, than it’s 300 or 400 renewal each year.
@Gentlemen, I know what you mean. I am forced to walk almost 54 seconds to my local range, from my front gate. The fees would be crushing, except for I don’t charge myself anything. Rife, pistol, shotgun, SAW, TOW, whatever is handy. Surrounded by woods so I can only eek out 962 meters. Texas is calling.
tom 4, Woods are deep, full of piggys too. Deep East Texas Boilermakin’ Trash
I pay 10 dollers an hour , Thats with a membership thats 265 dollers a year
Yeah you’re lucky, the ranges near me charge like 15$ an hour. I guess we have public lands a little over an hour away where you can shoot for free, but they don’t have any benches or targets.