Picture someone setting a fresh glazed donut on a target stand, stepping back to the line, and putting five rounds through the hole without taking out the ring. That is not a range game that has always existed. We made it up. And the first year it ran, a precision shooter proved it out at 40 yards with an air rifle.
The TSUSA Donut Round Challenge is a social-media shooting challenge from Target Sports USA, held each year on National Donut Day, the first Friday in June.
Participants record five shots through the center of a standard donut hole without disrupting the donut, post the video with the required hashtag, #TSUSADonutRoundChallenge and enter to win a prize. Each year, a handful of winners are randomly selected from valid entries to receive a digital gift card or gear. This year’s exact dates and prizes are listed below.
That is the short version. Everything else is below.
The 2026 Challenge: Dates, Prize, and How to Win
This year’s window runs Friday, June 5 through Friday, June 12, 2026. The challenge opens on National Donut Day and stays open for eight days, giving everyone a chance to find a donut, get to the range, and post their entry.
The sweetest marksmanship competition of the year is back. 🍩🎯
— Target Sports USA (@AMMOplusbyTSUSA) May 30, 2026
Our Annual Donut Round Challenge returns with a sweet prize for 5 participating sport shooters: a Target Sports USA gift card and tactical gear.
Enter by posting your video on social media and tagging us + use the… pic.twitter.com/hwPmkP2zNl
Five winners will be randomly selected from all valid entries. Each winner receives a $25 digital gift card. There is no sponsor brand for 2026. This is TSUSA, straight up.
Winners are contacted directly by Target Sports USA once the entry window closes. You will not need to check a leaderboard or monitor a thread. If you entered correctly and got picked, we come to you.
How to Enter the TSUSA Donut Round Challenge
The drill is straightforward. The execution is up to you.
- Get a standard-size donut. The challenge is to put five shots through the center hole without destroying the ring itself. The donut stays intact; the hole is your target.
- Record a video of the attempt. All five shots in one take, hole visible, result visible.
- Post the video on Instagram, Threads, or X during the challenge window.
- Tag the correct handle for the platform you are using: @targetsportsusa on Instagram and Threads, @AMMOPlusbyTSUSA on X.
- Include the required hashtag: #TSUSADonutRoundChallenge
That is a valid entry. Winners are randomly drawn from everyone who meets those requirements.
If your range does not allow shooting food: Trace a donut outline on a blank piece of paper, mark the center hole, and run the same drill. The paper-trace version counts as a valid entry. This was part of the original 2025 rules, and we kept it because ranges have different policies and we did not want that to disqualify anyone.
No purchase necessary to enter or win. Purchase does not improve your odds of selection. No specific firearm required. Caliber is your call. Range-legal ammunition is the only constraint. All participation must follow your range’s rules and standard firearms safety practices. See Official Rules at Official Rules for full eligibility details.
Why We Started the Donut Round: The Origin Story
Our marketing team built this in spring 2025, inspired by a spark of creativity from our marketing specialist, Madalynn Giglio, who, fittingly, came up with the idea over the best donut she’d ever had. A firm believer in the strength and spirit of women, Madalynn channeled that passion into something we’re all proud of, “and yes, the donut deserves some credit too“. National Donut Day was on the calendar, and the question became whether there was something community-flavored that could live on social without feeling forced. The shooting-plus-donuts angle was always meant to be a wink. The team wanted something you’d actually smile at when it hit your feed, something worth sending to a friend, or better yet, trying yourself.
As far as we could tell when we built the concept, no firearms brand had turned National Donut Day into a recurring community challenge. The calendar date had been sitting there since 1938 (the Salvation Army created it during the Depression as a tribute to the Donut Lassies, women who served donuts to U.S. soldiers near the front lines in World War I). The shooting community had left that date unclaimed, and that struck us as worth fixing.
The mechanic had a few things going for it. The pass/fail is immediate and visible on camera. A donut is available within five minutes of any range location in the country. The drill is a real precision test in a small package. And the whole setup looks absurd enough that people actually want to watch.
The challenge was built in-house by the TSUSA marketing team, not licensed from a contest platform or adapted from anything else. That matters to us because it means we own the rules, the rhythm, and the annual update. The Donut Round is ours to run as long as people keep showing up.
For context on other TSUSA community events we run through the year, the AMMO+ Day recap from 2025 gives a good picture of how we think about community programming.
2025 Recap: How Year One Went
The inaugural Donut Round Challenge ran June 6–13, 2025. The prize that year was mystery tactical gear for two winners. We called it “mystery” on purpose: the reveal was part of the fun. In 2026, we went with a $25 digital gift card because a known reward is easier to act on, and we wanted anyone on the fence to have a clear answer to “is it worth entering?”
Year one picked up press coverage we were not certain it would get. Four publications ran the story before or during the challenge window: Hunting Wire, NRA Family, Outdoor Wire, and Tactical Wire.
NRA Family’s coverage had the best editorial voice of the four, opening with the baker’s dozen angle: “Now you know what that 13th donut in the ‘baker’s dozen’ is for!” That line earned it.
The Target Sports USA launch post on Instagram is where it started:
That post went out June 6, 2025, the morning National Donut Day opened. Within hours, entries were coming in.
One of the early ones, from @luther_h, came in the same day:
The energy in that entry set the tone for the week. Quick, confident, and worth watching twice.
Then there was @3gunbrady, who did the whole thing at 40 yards with a Karma Airguns rifle:
That entry was a reminder that “firearms challenge” does not mean pistol-only. Air rifle is in bounds. Paper-trace entries are in-bounds. The challenge is caliber-agnostic and platform-agnostic, and in year one, the community found the edges of that in ways we appreciated.
Entries came in across pistol, rifle, and air gun platforms. Some people shot an actual donut on the target stand. Some used the paper-trace method because their range had a no-food policy. A few shot from unusual distances. The variety kept the hashtag interesting throughout the week, which is exactly what you want from a community-participation format.
We do not have a public winners list from 2025. The two winners were notified directly and confirmed. The entries embedded above are community standouts, not identified winners.
If you want a fuller picture of how TSUSA customers engage with the brand, what TSUSA customers are saying gives you a range of perspectives beyond the challenge.
Donut Round Challenge FAQ
The challenge runs each year starting on National Donut Day, the first Friday of June, and stays open for eight days. See the top of this page for the current year’s exact dates.
Record a video of five shots through the center of a standard donut hole without disrupting the donut, then post it during the challenge window with the hashtag #TSUSADonutRoundChallenge and the correct handle for your platform.
Trace a donut outline on a blank piece of paper, mark the center hole, and run the same five-shot drill. The paper-trace version is a valid entry. This alternative has been part of the rules since year one.
Yes. Instagram, Threads, and X are all accepted. Tag the right handle for the platform you use: @targetsportsusa on Instagram and Threads, @AMMOPlusbyTSUSA on X. Include #TSUSADonutRoundChallenge on all platforms.
Winners are randomly drawn from all valid entries once the window closes. Valid means: posted during the challenge window, tagged the correct handle, and included the hashtag. TSUSA reaches out directly to each winner to confirm next steps for the gift card.
Winners receive a digital gift card from Target Sports USA. The current year’s prize amount and number of winners are listed at the top of the page.
You must be 18 or older to enter and be eligible for prize fulfillment. This challenge involves operating a firearm or similar equipment at a range or comparable venue. Full eligibility details are in the Official Rules at EDITORIAL-FLAG-OFFICIAL-RULES-URL.
There is no caliber requirement. Use what you are comfortable with at your range. 9mm is a practical pick for a drill like this because it is soft-shooting and forgiving on follow-up shots. If you do not have a preferred range load, TSUSA’s New Republic Training and Range 9mm is available in 115gr and 124gr FMJ and is built specifically for range work like this. Pistol, rifle, even air gun is fair game, as long as your range allows it.
Follow Along
The challenge opens each year on National Donut Day. Follow @targetsportsusa on Instagram for the announcement when the window opens, entries as they come in during the week, and the winner announcement when it closes.
The entry rules, handles, and hashtag above are what you need. Everything else is just showing up with a donut.
Please follow all range safety rules and your range’s specific policies when participating. Treat every firearm as if it is loaded, keep the muzzle in a safe direction, keep your finger off the trigger until your sights are on target, and know your target and what is beyond it.
Kailon Kirby covers the ammunition market for Target Sports USA, where he has a view most writers never get. Working inside one of the country's largest online ammo retailers, he tracks pricing movements, supply conditions, and brand-level shifts as they happen, not after the fact.
A Connecticut State Pistol Permit and Concealed Carry holder, Kailon isn't just watching the numbers. He shoots, he carries, and he understands what market changes actually mean for the person standing at the counter or checking out online. That combination of ground-level industry access and shooter perspective is what shapes everything he writes.
When something is moving in the ammunition market, Kailon is usually the first to see it.
- Kailon Kirby
- Kailon Kirby
- Kailon Kirby
- Kailon Kirby
Madalynn (Maddie) Giglio is a part of the creative team behind the brand marketing moves at Target Sports USA. With several years of experience across blog content, social media, and strategic marketing, she brings a seasoned eye to every campaign worked on, whether it’s collaborating hand in hand with top influencers like Tony Sentmanat (RealWorldTactical) or reppin’ the TSUSA brand at industry events like the Great American Outdoor Show (GAOS).
She has built a strong foundation in the firearms space by obtaining hands-on experience in the field, learning from industry pros, and hitting the range with friends and family. Her mix of first-hand experience and marketing instincts makes her a trusted voice and helps her craft content that speakers to serious shooters and new gun owners alike.
- Maddie Giglio
- Maddie Giglio
- Maddie Giglio
