Josh Campbell is a CNN law enforcement analyst, providing insight on crime, justice and national security issues. He previously served as a supervisory special agent with the FBI. Follow him on Twitter at @joshscampbell. The views expressed in this commentary are his own.

(CNN) "Steady and relax," I whispered as my cheek fused to the stock of my .22-caliber rifle, waiting for the shot to break and launch a round at 1,800 feet per second toward the paper target downrange.

This would be merely one of thousands of rounds I fired in youth shooting-club practices and competitions while growing up in rural Texas. While some kids spent the majority of their extracurricular time on the ball field or practicing music, my interest was firearms.

Josh Campbell

If mastering challenges makes us better people, my formative years on the shooting range taught me countless lessons in self-control as I steadied a rifle, arrested my anxiety through controlled breathing and worked toward the goal of mechanical precision, round after round. Replicating that proficiency over and over was tangible evidence I was good at something.

In shooting sports, as in life, one can always improve. When I started as a special agent trainee at the FBI Academy in Quantico, Virginia, I was once again reminded that learning is a lifetime endeavor. As I stood on the firing line, day in and day out, flanked by two hotshots who never seemed to miss their targets, I felt that same positive competitive spirit I had when I was a kid, and was again reminded how influential firearms had been in shaping and improving my character.

Although I don't remember ever formally signing up to be a junior member of the National Rifle Association -- perhaps it was included in my shooting club membership -- I do remember receiving membership literature in the mail and proudly telling my friends. To me and my fellow shooting club members, the NRA represented a bond shared by firearms enthusiasts who appreciated responsible gun ownership.