They’d pick up a lot more support if you could join for free.
They need the money to put ads on TV.
For active duty military NRA free membership
http://bulletin.accurateshooter.com/2010/02/free-nra-membership-for-active-duty-military-personnel/
I used to own a bar. I found that I had more drinkers when I said, "Drinks are on the house".
Lost a lot of profit and you never make it up.
People looking for freebies, are the same all over.
Did you work for nothing?
For good measure, I re-joined the Gun Owners of America as well. Their reputation is that they're more aggressive about certain aspects of gun rights even than the NRA.