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Monday, Jan 14, 2013 1:59 PM UTC

NRA launches shooting app for ages 4 and up

For $0.99, players can "unlock" an MK11 sniper rifle

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Topics: Guns, NRA, Video Games, Apps, smartphones, , ,

NRA launches shooting app for ages 4 and up

The NRA has launched an iOS app that puts a shooting range — featuring nine “true to life” firearms — right in your pocket. Billed as the “NRA’s new mobile nerve center,” the app is recommended for ages four and above.

Talk about starting them young.

“NRA: Practice Range” advertises “one-touch access to the NRA network of news, laws, facts, knowledge, safety tips, educational materials and online resources,” but these features are not an integrated part of the app. Despite the app’s claims of “striking the right balance of gaming and safety education, allowing you to enjoy the most authentic experience possible,” users interested in gun safety are simply redirected to the NRA’s website, making the app primarily a vehicle for the shooting game.

The app offers three gameplay modes: indoor range, outdoor range and skeet shoot. And while players start out with an M9 handgun, for $0.99 they can “unlock” an MK11 sniper rifle.

The launch comes a little more than a month after the tragic mass shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary and with the Obama Administration poised to act on gun control as early as this week.

There are currently no reviews on iTunes, but as the Appside, an app news and reviews site, asked in their write up, “Is now the best time for a National Rifle Association (NRA) 3D shooting game? We’d suggest not.”

Katie McDonough is an assistant editor for Salon, focusing on lifestyle. Follow her on Twitter @kmcdonovgh or email her at kmcdonough@salon.com. More Katie Mcdonough.

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