• NYS 4-H Shooting Sports / Cornell Cooperative Extension — One of the best low-cost ways to get started. NYS 4-H offers air rifle, rifle, shotgun, pistol, archery and other disciplines, with certified instructors and structured safety training. Families should contact their county CCE/4-H office to find the nearest program. Erie County 4-H also offers financial assistance scholarships, including funds that can be used for shooting-sports training.

• Local rod & gun clubs with youth programs or reduced-cost opportunities — Clubs can be considerably less expensive than paying for individual range time and private instruction. For example, Newark Rod & Gun Club has a Terry & Beth Johnson Youth Shooting Fund that helps subsidize youth shooting costs, including NYS Clay Target League participation. Rochester Rifle Club Inc is another local organization with a long-running junior program and competition pathway.

• MidwayUSA Foundation — This is worth asking a local youth shooting team about. The Foundation provides grants to youth shooting teams rather than individual athletes, helping with expenses such as ammunition, targets, travel, equipment and other team costs. As of June 30, 2026, it reported $11.8 million in cash grants distributed during 2026 and 2,619 teams eligible to receive grants.

• Western New York youth-sports grant/equipment programs — Organizations such as Project Play WNY and its partners help youth-serving organizations reduce participation barriers. Its Good Sports partnership provides new sports equipment to qualifying youth organizations in the nine-county WNY region, while Project Play's grant programs can help organizations provide programming at little or no cost to families. These generally aren't individual-shooter grants, so the key is to find a local club/team that participates.

• Ask the club/team about “sponsored” equipment, ammunition, and entry fees before buying anything — This can be the biggest money saver. A beginning youth shooter often doesn't need to own a firearm immediately. Some programs provide or loan equipment, and NYS 4-H specifically notes that equipment is provided for its instructor-training workshops. Start with a program that provides supervised instruction and equipment, let the child determine whether they enjoy the sport, and then consider purchasing equipment later.

1. Start with the county 4-H offices

• Wayne County: Cornell Cooperative Extension of Wayne County — 315-331-8415. Wayne 4-H is currently enrolling for the 2025–26 program year. I'd call and specifically ask, “Do you currently have an active 4-H Shooting Sports club, or can you connect me with a certified shooting-sports volunteer?”‍ ‍

• Monroe County: Cornell Cooperative Extension of Monroe County — 585-753-2550 / monroe4h@cornell.edu. Monroe 4-H previously advertised a shooting-sports club for ages 9–18 at Rochester Rifle Club using club-owned air rifles and certified instructors, so this is a particularly good place to ask about the current status or next enrollment.

• Ontario County: Cornell Cooperative Extension of Ontario County — 585-394-3977. This is probably the most promising first call in Ontario County: CCE's 2024 report specifically says three volunteers revived the county's 4-H Shooting Sports program, offering disciplines including air rifle/rifle, shotgun, pistol, archery and others.

2. Check the NYS High School Clay Target League

If the student is in grades 6–12, go to the New York State High School Clay Target League's team directory and search by school. The current directory includes area schools such as Newark, Palmyra-Macedon, Marcus Whitman, Naples and others.

The League is especially attractive for a beginner because students don't have to try out if the team has room, and teams can include students from different schools in the same or adjacent districts. The current participation fee is $40 per sport, although ammunition, targets, range and other team costs can vary. Search the NYS Clay Target League teams

3. Call Newark Rod & Gun Club

Newark Rod & Gun Club in Wayne County is worth contacting directly. It has a Terry & Beth Johnson Youth Shooting Fund, established specifically to help subsidize youth shooting costs, including participation in the NYS Clay Target League and traveling leagues.

That's exactly the kind of organization I'd ask:

“We're looking to get our child started in youth shooting. Do you currently have a youth team or know which local team you would recommend for a beginner?”

4. Look at Ontario Rod & Gun Club

Ontario Rod & Gun Club is another particularly relevant option. The club says it hosts the NYS High School Clay Target League and has a youth program, along with trap and other shooting activities.

This could be especially convenient for families in Ontario, Wayne, eastern Monroe and surrounding communities.

5. Ask the closest club to connect you to the team, not just sell you range time

A few other places I'd call include:

• Walworth Sportsman's Club — particularly interesting because it identifies itself as the home of the East Palmyra Christian High School Trap Team.

• Victor Rod & Gun Club — active in trap/skeet leagues and youth-oriented shooting activities.

• Hol Field Rod & Gun Club in Bloomfield — trap/skeet and instruction.

• Canandaigua Sportsman Club Inc — a family-oriented club in Ontario County with extensive shotgun facilities.

• North Seneca Sportsmen & Rifle in Phelps — another option for families in the eastern Ontario County area.

With knowledge of local resources and connections to most local area gun clubs we can be a great place to start.

Former youth coaches and willing to start a new scholastic trap team - if no teams have openings this is an opportunity we can discuss.

If you would like to start a team at your local school we can help father and present information that can be shared at school board meetings, etc.

Yes, we are willing and able to do private coaching individually or with small groups.

Our operations manager has two children who play Division I athletics with full scholarships and has expertise in communicating with college coaches, understanding rules and regulations around recruiting for college sports, and how to identify private scholarships and funding opportunities for those college programs that can’t offer full or even partial scholarships but provide excellent opportunity for advancement.

Our operations manager has two college aged children and has worked and volunteered around youth athletes and programs for more than 20 years.

Our owner and lead instructor has worked with scholastic teams and individual youth shooters for more than 15 years.