I’ve seen a bunch of coverage of the big guys like Glock, Taurus, IWI. I’ve seen coverage of some of the interesting finds such as S.W.O.R.D. International, Unique-AR’s and TNW Firearms. I was surprised to see how many firearms related non-profits were there.

Firearms related non-profits

Something not many people realize is the difficulty that our soldiers have fitting back into a normal life when they return home. From PTSD to profound physical trauma, their lives and the lives of their families are forever altered. One of my dear friends confided in me one day when we were driving that zooming in and out of traffic was really a trigger for some of his PTSD as it reminded him of hauling ass through volatile areas and not knowing what came next. It struck a note with me and I always try to remember and be considerate of his experiences and the challenges he has conquered.

Some of the non-profits that we visited aim to help these warriors and their families return to some semblance of normal. Whether it’s shooting competitions, hunting trips or other outdoor adventures these organizations work hard to provide experiences in nature and the outdoors as well as escapes from the harsh realities of adjusting and reintegrating to everyday society.

Two of these groups, Freedom Hunters and HAVA have similar aims and work very hard towards those goals.

Freedom Hunters Freedom Hunters is a Military Outreach program dedicated to honoring those who protect our Freedoms. Our mission is to salute the noble work of our courageous men and women of our Armed Forces. Freedom Hunters reflects the outdoor community’s appreciation to our troops by taking: select active duty and combat veterans, families of fallen heroes, children of the deployed, as well as those wounded or injured, on outdoor adventures. Freedom Hunters mission is empowered by the generous support of many: sportsmen, conservation groups, state agencies, outfitters, corporations, and land owners. HAVA (Honored American Veterans Afield) The HAVA vision is the creation of a small organization of volunteers from the shooting sports industry to facilitate a series of hunting and shooting activities for groups of disabled veterans wherein personal attention of the sponsors and facility operators contributes to the veteran’s sense of joy and accomplishment, and a permanent awareness that marvelous things are possible despite disabling injuries. These veterans have given their full measure of commitment to the preservation of their country’s values, and deserve America’s contribution to their healing process to whatever degree necessary to accomplish physical, mental and cultural rehabilitation.

We also talked to another non-profit that works a bit differently. They are a tight group of snipers, marksmen and shooters that work to find and supply gear to snipers, designated marksmen and other specialized troops on deployment. Often, those soldiers aren’t supplied with the gear that is required for them to be successful and most importantly keep them and their fellow soldiers safe. AmericanSnipers.org aims to change that. AmericanSnipers.org The snipers and designated marksmen are encouraged to work through their own supply systems and to make their needs known to their superiors to maintain continuity and flow of information. However, that failing, AmericanSnipers.org has the ability to provide gear that goes directly from an AmericanSnipers.org shipping point, to the exact military address of the sniper himself. When the sniper’s deployment ends, he either gives the equipment to his replacement (if it is serviceable) or keeps it if he re-enlists and plans to return to overseas duty in a sniper billet. On media day at the range we briefly talked to Kids & Clays and discussed how they support the Ronald McDonald House Charities. They solicit contributions and donate the proceeds to Ronald McDonald houses who host annual Sporting Clays, Skeet and Trap events. I could not find if Kids & Clays is a 501c in the national database, but Ronald McDonald House certainly is. Kids & Clays Kids & Clays solicits contributions of cash and merchandise from generous National Sponsors and Donors and then donates the items to Ronald McDonald Houses who host annual Sporting Clays, Skeet and Trap events. All of us at We Like Shooting appreciate the efforts of these non-profit organizations and encourages anyone who reads this to please help in whatever way you can. Whether it’s donating a few spare bucks to one or all of them or offering any other services that are fundamental to their continued success. Causes don’t get much better than this folks. You can donate to them by clicking the links below and finding the donate link. AmericanSnipers.org

HAVA

Freedom Hunters

Kids & Clays Booth interview from AmericanSnipers.org https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t_XwCGjbtB8