Federal Premium, CCI and Savage Arms—the official shooting sports partners of the Boy Scouts—are providing shotshell and rimfire ammunition and firearms in support of 1,620 Scout camps that offer shooting sports across the country.
“Federal Premium and CCI are proud to be a strong supporters of youth shooting sports and the Boy Scouts of America,” said Federal and CCI’s Rick Stoeckel. “It is our duty and pleasure to introduce and educate youth to the shooting sports. Whether hunting or target shooting, the experiences and values build character and abilities that can last a lifetime. We are proud to be introducing youth to the shooting sports and building the next generation of participants.”
Last summer, Savage provided 110 rifles for the 2017 National Jamboree at the Summit Bechtel Family National Scout Reserve, while Federal and CCI supplied the ammunition, helping the Scouts fire 346,910 rounds. Vista’s Gold Tip provided nearly 10,000 custom arrows for the Jamboree, too. The event attracted 40,000 scouts and instructors, and the 10,600-acre property is home to The Barrels shooting range, which has 233 individual shooting stations across the facility.
Vista Outdoor also announced a partnership beyond guns and ammunition, and became the official conservation sponsor of the Scouts. Vista Outdoor brands Federal Premium, CCI, Savage Arms, Gold Tip, CamelBak and Bell became official partners with the Scouts for Shooting Sports, Archery, Hydration and Wheeled Safety.
This isn’t the first time Federal and parent company Vista have stepped up for the Boy Scouts. Back during 2013’s big ammunition shortage, Federal dedicated the production of 10 million rounds of .22 Long Rifle to make sure Scouts would be able to shoot at summer camp.
In 2016, the last year for which numbers were available, Rifle Shooting was the most popular non-required merit badge earned by Scouts (14th), with 41,444 awarded. According to scoutingmagazine.org, since 1988, 1,412,619 scouts have earned the Rifle Shooting merit badge.