What Is The Airgun Sporting Association?

So what Is The Airgun Sporting Association? And why should I care?

Observant readers of Hard Air Magazine may have noticed a bold new banner ad that’s appeared on our Home Page. It says “Airgun Sporting Association. The industry working for you.”

Many airgunners have heard of Ed Schultz. He’s a lifelong airgun shooting enthusiast who has worked for almost 30 years in airgun product development at Crosman, SIG, then to Crosman again.

In addition – as of May 15, 2024, Ed became President and CEO of the ASA. It’s a well-deserved appointment! You may have read the HAM story about this from 2024.

With Ed’s lifetime of interest and passion for airguns, nobody’s going to argue that he does not bring a wealth of knowledge to the ASA. He’s “one of us” – a true airgun enthusiast, hunter, plinker and competitor – who has spent years fighting in the background of the industry to benefit our interest.

Over the coming months, Ed will be contributing updates about the ASA through Hard Air Magazine. Some will be simple updates, others may be more provocative.

What I do know is that Ed is enthusiastic to engage with all of us through the HAM Community. He will be looking for comments and feedback. When you meet Chief_Pellet_Officer in the HAM Community, you’ll know that’s him!

So today, Ed is updating us on his first year leading the ASA. He’s also covering the results of the latest ASA meeting. It was held in Las Vegas, at the SHOT Show.

Take it away, Ed…

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As I reflect on 2025, my first full year with the Airgun Sporting Association, I am excited to share a review of our progress and the path forward. Transitioning from a career in product development to a role focused on expanding the airgun community and strengthening our collective voice has been incredibly rewarding.

A core focus of my work lately involves the ASTM standards committee, a group I have served on for over 20 years. This “behind the scenes” collaboration with organizations like the Consumer Product Safety Commission is vital for monitoring and improving our industry’s safety standards, and I am proud of the success we have achieved.

Attending SHOT Show in this new capacity was a significant shift. In the past, I spent my time scouting new product ideas and visiting competitors.

This year, I focused on visiting our partners and members at Hatsan, Umarex, Pyramyd Air, and Air Venturi. During our annual executive meeting, we were joined by Crosman, Daisy/Gamo (Iconic Outdoors), and Predator International.

Below. Ed with Richard Turner (left), President and CEO of Umarex USA at the 2026 SHOT Show.

We are also pleased to welcome New England Airgun as our newest retail member, joining a long time member Airgun Depot.

The meeting was also attended by the Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies (AFWA) to continue discussions regarding their 2024 resolution urging Congress to extend federal excise taxes to airguns and ammunition. I will share more updates on this matter soon.

Looking ahead, I am eager to engage further with the HAM Community and share the work we are doing. A primary goal for early 2026 is to revamp the ASA website to make it more user-friendly

We are also focused on increasing individual memberships and expanding our mission beyond hunting advocacy.

Finally, I am excited to share that the ASA and ASTM are collaborating to set standards for airgun slug sizes and calibers ranging from .177 to .72. While the committee is working with all major manufacturers, I am very interested in gathering input from the people actually using these products.

I hope that we will be able to have another post on this topic soon.

I look forward to your feedback as we move forward and hope that this helps to answer the question: “What is the Airgun Sporting Association?”

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Thanks Ed. That’s a great start!


The post What Is The Airgun Sporting Association? appeared first on Hard Air Magazine.

 

[Ezana4CE]

@Chief_Pellet_Officer I'd like to know how the idea of an excise tax on airguns came about? Whose idea was that? To whom was the idea offered to? To what end?

 

[Chief_Pellet_Officer]

Billm to answer you question "What is your primary focus this year?"​

ASA 2026: The Year Ahead​

This year, the Airgun Sporting Association (ASA) is laser-focused on protecting our sport and improving the shooting experience for everyone. Our top priorities for 2026 include:

• Defending Your Rights: We are working closely with the Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencys (AFWA) to ensure a fair resolution regarding Federal Excise Taxes (FET). Our goal is to protect the industry and ensure these policies don't unfairly burden airgunners.
• A Better Member Experience: We’re launching a brand-new, user-friendly website early this year to better serve hunters, competitors, and recreational shooters with easier access to resources and news.
• On-the-Ground Feedback: We will be attending two of the nation's biggest airgun shoots this year to talk directly with you. We want your input on the future of the ASA and how we can better represent the community.
• Industry Standards: We are continuing our work with the ASTM to provide more consistency in slug sizes and calibers (.177 to .72), helping to take the guesswork out of performance.

I appreate the comments on stadarding rules for compatitions, The ASA is proud to be the organization that successfully established the current 100-yard rule and target size standards used across the country ASA rules.

As the relatively new President of the ASA, one of my primary goals is to build upon our successful track record of expanding hunting opportunities by shifting more focus toward increasing participation in airgun shooting sports.

While we remain committed to our roots in advocacy, I believe the future of the ASA lies in supporting the entire community—from competitive benchrest and field target shooters to weekend plinkers. We want to ensure that every airgun enthusiast has a place in this organization and a voice in where the sport is headed

 

[pan60]

@Chief_Pellet_Officer I'd like to know how the idea of an excise tax on airguns came about? Whose idea was that? To whom was the idea offered to? To what end?

so is ASA for or against the excise tax?
maybe I missed something I got

The meeting was also attended by the Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies (AFWA) to continue discussions regarding their 2024 resolution urging Congress to extend federal excise taxes to airguns and ammunition. I will share more updates on this matter soon.

but I did not get the ASA's position on. the topic?
as for me I AM NOT for ANY MORE TAXS of any type much less making a VERY percentage of air gun hunters pay additional taxes not count the multitude of others not hunting and has mentioned this will bleeding into the the smaller calibers and effect everyone.

food for thought.

 

[Ezana4CE]

so is ASA for or against the excise tax?
maybe I missed something I got

but I did not get the ASA's position on. the topic?
as for me I AM NOT for ANY MORE TAXS of any type much less making a VERY percentage of air gun hunters pay additional taxes not count the multitude of others not hunting and has mentioned this will bleeding into the the smaller calibers and effect everyone.

food for thought.

@pan60 He said he’d address this later, but I don’t recall him providing a timeframe. It seems that the federal excise tax (FET) was at the core of what Bill was discussing initially. Posts 8-25 covered some of what I asked about, specifically post#18. However, I’d like to know who is for the FET and who opposes it. I’m glad @Billm openly expressed his concerns on the topic.

 

[Billm]

so is ASA for or against the excise tax?
maybe I missed something I got

but I did not get the ASA's position on. the topic?
as for me I AM NOT for ANY MORE TAXS of any type much less making a VERY percentage of air gun hunters pay additional taxes not count the multitude of others not hunting and has mentioned this will bleeding into the the smaller calibers and effect everyone.

food for thought.

I’m not trying to be disrespectful, but the lack of transparency leaves everyone drawing their own conclusions.

My initial conclusion: a group of people interested in big-bore airgun game hunting went to a state wildlife commission and enquired about expanding deer hunting to airgunning. Maybe they asked why can’t we have some airgun days like archers and muzzleloaders do? The state wildlife agency probably responded with something like: “ well, they get those days because muzzleloaders and archery equipment are taxed like firearms and some of those taxes are passed to us to help provide hunting opportunities for muzzleloaders and archers. We don’t get any funds from airguns.’ The light bulb came on: quid pro quo’s- you give me hunting and we’ll give you more taxes”. They stepped back and thought about it and realized there might be a lot of opposition from Red Ryder purchasers. Limit it to .35 and above, perceived problem solved. One state isn’t going to get a tax invoked and so they probably took it to the national association for game commissions.

****THE ABOVE POST IS NOT A FACT OR RUMOR. IT IS JUST MY GUESS HOW THINGS WENT DOWN BASED SOLELY ON THE LIMITED INFORMATION PROVIDED.****

But, it does kind of make sense doesn’t it? Do you really think that the game commissions came up with this idea and called an airgun manufacturer or dealer and said: hey we need some more money and thought maybe we would tax your products. I’m actually not totally against it, I just don’t like the image if backroom deals.

How hard would it be to simply state how the conversation got started, who initiated it and what the motive was?

 

[Solo1]

I’m not trying to be disrespectful, but the lack of transparency leaves everyone drawing their own conclusions.

My initial conclusion: a group of people interested in big-bore airgun game hunting went to a state wildlife commission and enquired about expanding deer hunting to airgunning. Maybe they asked why can’t we have some airgun days like archers and muzzleloaders do? The state wildlife agency probably responded with something like: “ well, they get those days because muzzleloaders and archery equipment are taxed like firearms and some of those taxes are passed to us to help provide hunting opportunities for muzzleloaders and archers. We don’t get any funds from airguns.’ The light bulb came on: quid pro quo’s- you give me hunting and we’ll give you more taxes”. They stepped back and thought about it and realized there might be a lot of opposition from Red Ryder purchasers. Limit it to .35 and above, perceived problem solved. One state isn’t going to get a tax invoked and so they probably took it to the national association for game commissions.

****THE ABOVE POST IS NOT A FACT OR RUMOR. IT IS JUST MY GUESS HOW THINGS WENT DOWN BASED SOLELY ON THE LIMITED INFORMATION PROVIDED.****

But, it does kind of make sense doesn’t it? Do you really think that the game commissions came up with this idea and called an airgun manufacturer or dealer and said: hey we need some more money and thought maybe we would tax your products. I’m actually not totally against it, I just don’t like the image if backroom deals.

How hard would it be to simply state how the conversation got started, who initiated it and what the motive was?

Because you’re talking politics and back door deals are the norm

 

[Farmplinker2]

Pittman-Robertson tax pays for public hunting land AND public shooting ranges. So we might be getting more opportunities to use airguns if they are subject to Pittman-Robertson.

 

[Billm]

Pittman-Robertson tax pays for public hunting land AND public shooting ranges. So we might be getting more opportunities to use airguns if they are subject to Pittman-Robertson.

That’s a possibility. But, here in Florida there are almost no P-R funded ranges. The same for the state of NY. There are no P-R funded gun ranges in the Fl panhandle and I have 6 rifle ranges within 20 miles of me including 1000yd ranges. personally I’ve never taken an airgun to a range except in Europe over 40 years ago. But, I could see why someone with a big bore would want access to a range.

 

[Billm]

Hopefully this was not the end of the discussion concerning ASA?

 

[Billm]

Herein lies the problem: several questions/concerns in reference to the ASA and the Fish and Game Association were voiced a month and a half ago and the thread fell silent.