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March 28, 2025
New Mentorship Coalition Aims to Increase Opportunities in Shooting Sports, Hunting
Let’s face it, trying a new activity can be very intimidating. Even a fun new board game can seem daunting, having to learn the ins and outs of the rules of play. Why even take the time when you’re already familiar with other games you can play?
When looking at target shooting and hunting, confidence levels of potential participants vary greatly. Finding opportunities may be easier for some based on who they know, past experiences and the access they have to a sufficient range or hunting property. Participation takes dedication from the participant, but only gets easier for everyone when there is also commitment from some form of community or support system.
With 26.2 million first-time gun owners purchasing their first firearm since 2020, there is a tremendous opportunity to help those new gun owners improve their familiarity and proficiency with firearms. Recreational shooting activities and hunting are fun, effective ways for gun owners to train and meet new friends. So, how can we, as a community, help?
+ONE® Initiative – An Initiative for Leaders
Across the United States, firearm safety and hunter education instructors, shooting sports coaches, club leaders, hunting guides, neighbors, friends and family members welcome new target shooters and hunters into new and exciting activities that support safety, responsibility, proficiency and the sense of community. This collective community represents the best of the best in shooting sports and hunting. To help represent this group and recruit more strong leaders and volunteers, NSSF created the +ONE mentorship initiative.
The +ONE mentorship initiative works to facilitate community engagement in the shooting sports and hunting by improving discoverability, access and the user experience during entry. Created in 2017 with the mission of increasing participation through peer-to-peer mentorship, +ONE, led by NSSF, has been evolving to meet the needs for not only mentors, but the organizations and communities that create essential access points at the local level.
Besides spreading awareness around the opportunities for individuals to mentor from day to day, NSSF has promoted a pledge that has served as an indicator of the opportunities and intentions that exist among target shooters and hunters to drive newcomers into the respective activities. NSSF has also tested and observed models for mentorship events focusing on both industry and consumer participants.
We’re going to look at the two pillars that support mentorship through +ONE. The first is peer-to-peer mentorship, efforts by individuals and the second pillar is community programs, led by organizations.
Individual Mentor Data
Since 2018, +ONE pledge responses by individuals interested in mentorship racked up the total number of potential mentees to more than 2.5 million. It is safe to assume that this number signifies only a portion of the opportunity that exists for outdoorsmen and women to help others in the communities get involved. That is especially true since the rise in gun ownership has exploded since the COVID-19 pandemic. There’s a clear opportunity to increase interest and participation in shooting sports and hunting.
The pledge data shows that hunting mentors typically know at least three people on average that they could take hunting. Individuals who said they could mentor others in firearm fundamentals and target shooting indicated they knew more than six people on average that they could take to the range.
Survey responses for why individuals were interested in joining the +ONE community generated the following keyword results, illustrated in a word cloud.
Replicable Programs as Drivers
After gathering data from the +ONE pledge over several years to better understand the interest in peer-to-peer mentorship and what drives it, NSSF recognized the need for more meaningful outcomes and actionable results. Pledges help raise awareness, identify mentor prospects and increase participation, but the approach has limitations in understanding mentor needs better. Bridging the gap between interest and action is the key.
The only way to measure action is by identifying what constitutes action. In order of significance, action can be 1) in-the-field experiences, 2) classroom instruction and 3) storytelling. With those outcomes in mind, the primary focus for +ONE has shifted to connect volunteer mentors with programs that foster community and learning.
Initiated through +ONE, a mentorship coalition made up of organizations with replicable mentorship-related programs, started in 2022. Together, this coalition creates a nationwide, localized network of shooting sport and hunting communities.
Current +ONE partner organizations include NSSF, Pass It On – Outdoor Mentors, First Hunt Foundation, National 4-H Shooting Sports, Shoot Like a Girl, the International Hunter Education Association (IHEA), Outdoors Tomorrow Foundation, National Deer Association, Outdoor Heritage Education Center, Ruffed Grouse Society, Ducks Unlimited and the North American Gamebird Association. NSSF is actively seeking new partner organizations that specialize in areas within shooting sports and hunting and that meet the qualifications of becoming a +ONE partner by operating a replicable mentorship-related program.
Here is what some partners’ representatives have said about +ONE:
“The Outdoors Tomorrow Foundation is pleased to be an official +ONE partner because of our shared commitment to getting more kids connected with the outdoors. Countless kids have learned to enjoy both shooting sports and hunting as a direct result of Outdoor Adventures–finding their niche in competitive shooting sports and learning about the role of hunting in conservation.” – LeAnn Schmitt, Director of Partnership Development
“Mentoring new hunters is about cultivating a legacy of stewardship and community. That impact is magnified when we provide opportunities to those who need it the most and to those who are positioned to share that experience with others. These principles form the foundation of our Field to Fork program. We are proud to stand side by side with the NSSF as a +ONE partner, combining our mutual passion for conservation and multiplying our efforts to recruit a new wave of mentors.” – Elizabeth Kligge, Hunting Heritage Programs Manager
“The NSSF’s Plus One initiative is brilliant. In a world where so many of us are asking the question, ‘What can I do to help?’ The answer is simple, take someone with you to the shooting range or afield to hunt. Creating lasting outdoor enthusiasts starts with the introduction; and that is something we proudly do every day at SLG2, Inc.” – Karen Butler, President & CEO, Shoot Like a Girl
Partner Impacts
At the end of 2024, NSSF collected data from its +ONE partners to better understand the impacts programs have on driving shooting sports and hunting participation. This data will be used to set mentor recruitment benchmarks for 2025 across all partnering organizations with the understanding that participation growth depends on volunteer mentors, coaches and instructors.
Between all existing +ONE programs, there are nearly 62,005 mentors supporting approximately 557,467 students through hands-on shooting sports, hunting and related activities. This means that, on average, each mentor affiliated with official +ONE programs supports nine students or mentees. Note how this ratio varies from NSSF’s +ONE pledge data, which comes from individual survey data not directly affiliated with programs.
Another key outcome from the data is that some official +ONE partner programs offer online and classroom education that amounted to nearly 950,000 students (data average aggregated from partner data in 2023 and 2024). These offerings are significant because they provide efficient and thorough curriculums that help increase confidence, safety and awareness around opportunities, among other things.
Programs use data to improve, expand and deliver opportunities. They consider all resources and work on a larger scale. They create mentorship best practices and standards that accelerate progress for both mentors and the coalition.
Your Responsibility
If just one out of three of America’s recreational shooters helps one new person into shooting sports or hunting, we’ll secure a strong future for generations to come. That is the +ONE motto. That future doesn’t depend solely on any one person or singular organization, it depends on us working together and chipping in when there is a chance.
In the U.S., there are more than 63.5 million target shooters (as of 2022, per NSSF’s Shooting Sports Participation Report) and more than 14.4 million hunters (as of 2022, per the USFWS 2022 National Survey of Fishing, Hunting and Wildlife-Associated Recreation). If you consider yourself among this crowd, we invite you to join the +ONE Movement as a mentor and be inspired by the growing community of leaders who are paving a positive path for future generations. And finally – let’s face it – shooting sports and hunting are more fun and rewarding than any board or phone game. Don’t believe me? Give them a try!
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