Shotgun Shooting Merit Badge History
Earned through 2020627,238
Best year201127,838 earned
All-time popularity#60official, as of 2020#58by 2025 (estimate)
Earned by Year
First earned in 1993. Peak year 2011 with 27,838. 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. "#28 of 141" means the badge was number 28 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—
199319,713#28 of 123
1994—
1995—
199615,188#38 of 134
1997—
1998—
1999—
200020,106#33 of 128
200118,192#35 of 129
200222,653#30 of 129
200324,404#30 of 130
200425,926#28 of 121
200523,562#28 of 121
200623,062#27 of 121
200722,986#27 of 121
200823,597#27 of 121
200925,086#27 of 122
201024,978#25 of 125
201127,838#22 of 129
201226,173#23 of 132
201324,603#18 of 129
201423,970#27 of 136
201521,895#29 of 138
201620,912#28 of 138
201719,703#26 of 139
201820,241#26 of 139
201918,576#26 of 139
20205,631#63 of 137
2021—#26 of 137
2022—#26 of 138
2023—#26 of 138
2024—#27 of 138
2025—#28 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.