America's Oldest Shooting Club: Newport Rifle Club Turns 150

It’s a year of anniversaries in the American shooting world, as the country celebrates its 250th anniversary and gun manufacturers put out commemorative edition rifles to go with that birthday. But in Newport, Rhode Island, local shooters are celebrating a big birthday of their own. The Newport Rifle Club is turning 150 years old in 2026.

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A long history

While there were certainly other shooting organizations founded before the Newport Rifle Club opened up in 1876, none of those other groups have managed to stay in continuous operation. As it turns 150 years old, the Newport Rifle Club says it is the oldest continuously-opened shooting club in the US.

There are certainly many reasons for a gun club to shut down, so how has the Newport Rifle Club managed to stay open? According to  a write-up in The Newport Buzz, youth outreach programs, including training for Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts, university students and other kids’ programs are a big part of the Newport Rifle Club’s operations. Along with cooperation with other youth organizations, the club also offers its own in-house once-a-month Beginning Youth classes for firearms safety and marksmanship for youths aged 8-18. These classes, which offer instruction in the basics of firearms handling, are free of charge.

Programs like these, as well as programs for experienced shooters, including concealed carry courses, have kept the East Coast gun club open for a century and a half. This is no easy task in a region where shooters have fewer rights than they do in many other states, but reportedly, business is actually booming in this gun club, with plenty of demand.

Want to learn more?

Chances are, the club will be celebrating somehow this year, but we see no indication of upcoming hootenannies on their Facebook page (see here). Their website doesn’t seem to be working very well at the moment, but there’s a phone number to contact at their website, so if you want to see what the club has to offer you—or what you can offer the club—you could start by contacting them there.