On the 15th April 1948, about 100 shooters met in the Railway Institute Building in Elizabeth Street, Sydney to form the Sporting Shooters Association of Australia. Many changes have taken place since those days.

One of the most notable changes is the number of members in the Association which continues to increase each year.
In 1959, it had a mere, but mighty 250 members - a drop in the bucket by today's standards. Membership fees, have also changed since the Association was first formed. Back in 1948, city members paid ten shillings, and country members paid seven shillings and sixpence.

The SSAA began in NSW because of the government's increasing involvement in firearm legislation. In 1950, NSW had adopted the title Sporting Shooters' Association of Australia, so everyone was clear that it was not to be just a 'One State' organisation.

The State branches came into being at different times. Victoria formed in 1951, Queensland in 1957, South Australia in 1965-1966, ACT in 1965, Western Australia in 1967, and Tasmania in 1969.

In 1962, the National SSAA came to life as a result of a meeting consisting of 12 people. The group agreed that there was a need for a federal body, whose purpose would be to assist and advise state bodies.

At the time, the Association had no official magazine but rather a quarterly newsletter called
The Report, which was first printed in 1959. The first Australian Shooters Journal appeared in 1968
and has since gone through a number of changes and improvements.

For a more in-depth look at the Association's history, see the February 1998 edition
of the Australian Shooters Journal.