Close to two million game birds were harvested on 1500 commercial and private shooting preserves, and on State Game Commission controlled upland game areas during the 1960 -- 61 season. The shooting development program of the Sporting Arms and Ammunition Manufacturers ' Institute has successfully published these facts in all major outdoor magazines, many national weeklies and the trade papers.

The most effective way to develop more places for more sportsmen to shoot is to encourage properly managed shooting preserves. This has been the aim of the director of the shooting development program, the New York staff of the Sportsmen's Service Bureau, and the SAAMI shooting preserve field consultants since the start of the program in 1954.

Following the kick-off of SAAMI's shooting development program in 1954, a most interesting meeting took place in Washington, D. C.. The group known as the American Association for Health, Physical Education, and Recreation (a division of the National Education Association) initiated a conference which brought together representatives of the National Rifle Association, SAAMI and the American Fishing Tackle Manufacturers. This meeting was called to determine how these groups might cooperate to launch what is known as the Outdoor Education Project.

The Outdoor Education Project took cognizance of the fact, so often overlooked, that athletic activities stressed in most school programs have little or no relationship to the physical and mental needs and interests of later life. The various team sports assuredly have their place in every school, and they are important to proper physical development. But with the exception of professional athletes, few contact sports and physical education activities in our schools have any carryover in the adult life of the average American man or woman.