WASHINGTON, D.C. — NSSF®, The Firearm Industry Trade Association, released the Firearm Ownership & Sport Shooting Participation in the U.S. in 2022 report. The report highlights 24.1 percent growth of adult participation in sport shooting in America from 2009 to 2022. Surveys indicate that during that time, sport shooting participation grew from 34 million adult participants to over 63.5 million.

Key survey findings showed the most popular types of recreational sports shooting for adult participation in 2022 were target shooting with a handgun, at 16.9 percent, target shooting with a rifle, with 15.6 percent and target shooting at an outdoor range, at 13.3 percent. The report also indicated that recreational target shooting at indoor ranges recovered to pre-COVID 19 levels, after an unsurprising dip during which pandemic protocols suppressed indoor shooting range participation. In 2022, 17 percent of all adults participating in the shooting sports were newcomers, a 42 percent growth since 2020 that reflected the similar changes in demographics as seen in firearm purchasers. Today’s recreational marksmen and women are more representative of a broader scope of American demographic groups, increasingly urban and represented by women.

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