Does legal mean one has to be an NRA member?
OK........the short answer is that you do not have to be an NRA member to shoot. You could even become the state champion if your scores so warrant.
What follows is the long answer, with provides some details:
There is no prohibition unless the Match Bulletin makes that prohibition clear. As a matter of fact, the NRA no longer requires a prohibition of non members shooting in Registered or Approved Tournaments. The NRA leaves that to the club. The club can demand that all shooters be members of the NRA but that has to be posted in the match bulletin. The NRA no longer makes that a requirement.
There is no club prohibition. The shooter who is not an NRA member, is obviously not a club member, so that shooter would, under the club rules, be shooting as a guest. He would be a guest of the match director.
In reading Mark’s response (private e-mail), I think that he is incorrect when he states that the non NRA shooter cannot be the state champion. Even though the NRA sanctions a match as a State Championship the only way you could legally preclude someone from being the State Champion is to put it in the bulletin ahead of time, i.e., “to be declared a state champion, the person firing the highest score must be a member of the NRA”. If it is a championship and I win it, I am technically and legally the state champion, providing I come from the state in which the championship is being run and the bulletin contains no limiting provision. Our matches have no such provision. We want folks to get out and shoot and have a great time. And, above all, be safe.
