With his father Jonathan away for the day, young John charged his 6-year-old brother Matt with the task of stripping the rust from the barrel, while he, himself, concentrated on forming the stock from a stick of wood. John wound a piece of wire tightly around the barrel and stock, and affixed a scrap of tin as a flash pan. His ignition system was simple: On his command, Matt would light the pan with an ember at the tip of a sliver of pine.

Just a few hours after beginning the project, the two barefoot boys - John carrying the rifle and Matt slinging a perforated tin can full of glowing coke - were off to test their workmanship on prairie chickens. By morning a few locks of John's hair had been singed, but the Browning family was dining on biscuits and the three birds taken with the boy's first shot - the shot that sparked a brilliant revolution in firearms.

One hundred-thirty-six years later, we've come to realize that every youngster's first shot is just as monumental as John and Matt's. That's why, every year, NRA introduces to more than 10,000 young people the shooting sports through NRA Shooting Sports Camps - a program that brings together eager youngsters with the best the shooting community has to offer. Conducted at local gun clubs across the nation, the camps provide a tremendous opportunity for young people to learn about the shooting sports and firearm safety in a hands-on environment under the guidance and supervision of highly experienced coaches and instructors.

The shooting sports camps wouldn't be possible without the generous support of NRA members and industry partners through the NRA Foundation. Browning Arms Co., the company that John Browning founded 126 years ago, recently created an endowment within the NRA Foundation to ensure the shooting sports program continues to be funded for many generations to come. Aptly named the John M. Browning Endowment, it is part of NRA's Marksmanship and Training Endowment. Kicking off the endowment, Browning worked with the firearm distribution firm of Davidson's to create a pair of very special limited edition Buck Mark pistols in the tradition of the Partners For the Future series. The first Partners For the Future gun was the William B. Ruger Endowment Special NRA Edition Mark II pistol two years ago, and last year, three Beretta shotguns celebrated the creation of the Beretta Youth Endowment. The John M. Browning Endowment Special Edition Buck Marks are the Hi-Grade Model and the Grade 1 Model.

Production of the first of the two pistols - the Buck Mark Hi Grade Model - is limited to 1,001 guns. This model features an anodized blue frame, a stainless steel slide, a gold trigger and a pair of stainless barrels.

The Hi-Grade Buck Mark comes fitted with a 5 ½" slab-side barrel that is brushed on its round surfaces and polished on the flats. The spare is a 7 ¼" bull barrel that is completely polished and features and integral scope base. Both barrels sport an adjustable Pro-Target rear sight and TRUGLO/Marble's fiber optic front sight. The chambers are hand-reamed for the .22 Long Rifle cartridge, and the crowns are recessed.

Both barrels feature matching engraving with gold accents. The right side of each barrel is engraved with Browning's signature and his likeness, while the left features the NRA logo, the Browning "Buckmark" icon and the "PARTNERS FOR THE FUTURE" banner. The stock are laminated walnut, tastefully checkered and feature stars-and-stripes engraving on each side, combining the NRA and Browning logos.

The first 11 Buck Mark Hi-Grade Model pistols will have very special destinies and will receive a special treatment, in that they will be hand engraved by Baron Technology, which is contributing to the project. The first pistol will be stamped with the serial NRA00000 and will be sent to Fairfax, Va., where it will become a permanent addition to the collection of the National Firearms Museum. The NRA will offer the second pistol, numbered NRA00001, in an online auction at www.nrafoundation.org that will end during the 2006 NRA Annual Meetings in Milwaukee.

Serial numbers NRA00002 through NRA00005 will be awarded to four members who donate at least $5,000 to the John M. Browning Endowment of the NRA Foundation. Serial numbers NRA00006 through NRA00010 will be awarded for donations of $2,500 to the John M. Browning Endowment. The amount of the donation, minus the value of the pistol, is tax deductible. For more information on acquiring one of these special pistols, contact Corporate Giving Programs Manager Clifford T. Burgess, Jr. at (703) 267-1125 or cburgess@nrahq.org.

The next group of guns, from serial number NRA00011 through NRA00500 will be offered directly to collectors who purchased a numbered William B. Ruger Endowment Special NRA Edition Mark II. Those folks will be sent a letter and will have first right of refusal. Unclaimed sub-500 Hi-Grade Buck Marks will be offered to the general public for an additional $100 donation to the NRA Foundation.

Serial numbers NRA00501 to NRA01000 will be available for purchase to anyone who makes a $50 donation to the John M. Browning Endowment. The suggested retail on the Special NRA Edition Hi-Grade Model is $654.99.

The Buck Mark Hi-Grade Model comes with a lockable Browning pistol rug case. All of the Special NRA Edition Buck Mark pistols come with a magazine, a cable lock, and a letter of authenticity signed by Browning President and CEO Charles Guevremont and NRA Executive Vice President Wayne LaPierre.

Whether you want one of these Buck Marks for a daily shooter or for collector's value, your support of the NRA Shooting Sports Camps will go a long way to making many monumental first shots.