Boy Scouts

My brother is now thinking of taking his son shooting. With me, of course. He’s a teenager. Boy Scout age. So I was thinking using the Boy Scout merit badge requirements and procedures as a starting point.

We’d probably start him out with .22 rifles.

They used to have merit badge books for each merit badge. You’d use that as a guide book under tutelege from some counselor, and that counselor would sign off when you met the requirements to earn the badge.

Sadly, it looks like the merit badge books haven’t been fully digitized yet. The requirements have been.

Most of it seems to be a Hunter’s Safety Class, but a Lite version. With a shooting requirement for score. You can go muzzle loading, air gun, or modern cartridge. And the shooting score for .22 isn’t easy. “Using a .22 caliber rimfire rifle and shooting from a bench rest or supported prone position at 50 feet, fire five groups (three shots per group) that can be covered by a quarter.”

A quarter!

Now do all 15 have to go into a group you can cover with a quarter? I don’t know if I can do that. Now a 3-shot group, even from a bench rest, in an inch hole is by no means simple.

Here’s an interesting requirement:

“h. Explain to your counselor the proper hygienic guidelines used in shooting.”

Uh… refrain from keeping your trigger finger warm between rounds of fire by sticking it up your butt?

Ok, ok, it’s probably has to do with washing your hands of powder residue after shooting. But still… do keep your finger out of your butt.

This requirement can get you a PhD if you took it to the bitter end of detail:

“f. Obtain a copy of the hunting laws for your state. Explain the main points of hunting laws in your state and give any special laws on the use of guns or ammunition.”

Oooo… I don’t remember a shotgun merit badge!


You have to hit 12 of 25 clays on 2 occasions. Probably better than I can do, now.