Rifle Shooting Merit Badge History
Earned through 20201,533,240
Best year200455,512 earned
All-time popularity#29official, as of 2020#28by 2025 (estimate)
Earned by Year
First earned in 1993. Peak year 2004 with 55,512. Hover over or tap a year for its numbers.
Known count No data available
"—" means merit badges were earned that year but the exact number is not currently known. "#16 of 141" means the badge was number 16 of the 141 merit badges earned that year. National counts have not been published since 2020, but the rankings have. The grand total comes from official reports and includes the years without a known count. The 2025 all-time place is an estimate, because the counts for 2021 to 2025 are worked out from each year's official ranking and the total number of merit badges earned that year.
1987—
1988—
1989—
1990—
1991—
1992—
199337,029#19 of 123
1994—
1995—
199643,968#19 of 134
1997—
1998—
1999—
200049,468#16 of 128
200146,417#16 of 129
200254,054#14 of 129
200355,018#11 of 130
200455,512#12 of 121
200550,337#13 of 121
200647,996#12 of 121
200746,174#14 of 121
200846,221#13 of 121
200951,562#13 of 122
201050,801#12 of 125
201154,276#10 of 129
201250,435#11 of 132
201347,054#7 of 129
201445,839#14 of 136
201543,196#15 of 138
201641,444#14 of 138
201737,796#15 of 139
201837,695#15 of 139
201934,049#15 of 139
202011,081#22 of 137
2021—#8 of 137
2022—#16 of 138
2023—#18 of 138
2024—#16 of 138
2025—#16 of 141
Grand total through 2020:
This page keeps growing. More of this badge's history, including its patches and pamphlets, is being checked and will be added once it is confirmed.