Are Ranks of Shooters Growing or Shrinking?

[JFrank]

Many of us are old enough to remember when Elvis burst onto the scene. My goodness, you would have thought that the Four Horseman of the Apocalypse were saddling up the horses and getting ready to ride.

Then a decade and a half later, the Beatles Hit the scene. All of those now 30 year olds couldn’t see why all of those “kids” were screaming and acting so crazy……..just like they did.

As generations change, the previous one invariably can’t seem to understand why the younger generation likes the things they like and do the things they do. And Vice-a Versa.

It bleeds over into all walks of life.

The “good old days” were probably not as good as we would like to remember, and ”modern times” are ripe with a whole new set of problems.

If both young and old can’t seem to come to grips with that, maybe the problem lies with each.

Good point Jackie, you’re probably right. My buddies older brothers were in a greaser stage and used to carry a pack of Lucky Strikes rolled in their t shirt sleeve and drive 55 ford convertible with a converted floor shift and one had a Henry J sitting in the field, among others..

 

[Bottom Fodder]

Good point Jackie, you’re probably right. My buddies older brothers were in a greaser stage and used to carry a pack of Lucky Strikes rolled in their t shirt sleeve and drive 55 ford convertible with a converted floor shift and one had a Henry J sitting in the field, among others..

Probably very few here knows what a Henry J is but they came with a carton of Lucky Strikes

 

[JFrank]

Probably very few here knows what a Henry J is but they came with a carton of Lucky Strikes

Nobody gave two packs for the Henry J but those Lucky strikes’ were the kind.

 

[ronsatspokane]

In my experience a good majority of those first person shooter kids will jump at the opportunity to shoot a gun like they use in their game. Ive taken quite a few family members, friends kids to the range to shoot. Some are adults now. Some shoot regularly some dont. But none would of been able to say yes if I stereotyped them all as facebook, tik tok homebodies. Ive also learned a fair amount from a few of the old heads at my conservation club. Ive also heard a ton of ridiculous garbage. Theres room for all ages, races, interest, budgets and personalities in gun ownership.

On this front I've had some success. One young software engineer asked me to teach him and his wife how to shoot. I did. Took them both through the material most gun safety classes cover and had them try different fire arms starting with a single shot 22 rifle and ending with a semi auto pistol. At the beginning of the day their eyes were the size of pie pans when they held a gun. By the end of the training session they looked more like seasoned pros. He called some months later and said he was going to get into this long range shooting thing called F Class. He did. He has since been to nearly every US Nationals, several Berger Southwest Nationals and the world championships when it was held in Canada a couple years back. He has cost me a lot of money trying to keep up with him.

Took another kid, who fit the stereotype of a youth gamer to a tee, out for a round of trap along with a bunch of other people from work. He'd played a lot of first person shooter games but had never held a gun of any kind. Taught him how to hold a shotgun, maintain his sight picture, move from the hips to follow the target and how to lead the target. Let him use a Browning Auto 5 so the recoil didn't shock him too much. Kid shot 20 out of 25 from the 16 yard line the first time. Held very close to that through a couple more rounds. Those of us who knew the game had never seen anyone do that well their first time out. He wants to go again and bring his wife.

Dragged one of my nephews into an F Class match. This kid is one of the hardest working kids I know. The opposite of the stereotype. He loved it but he does not have the time or the money to participate on a regular basis. Maybe when his nest building years are somewhat done and the kids are out on their own he'll have the time and money.

Three very different kids (at the time they were in their 20's) with three different outcomes and commitments to the sport of shooting and for very different reasons.

 

[LiveFire]

Three very different kids (at the time they were in their 20's) with three different outcomes and commitments to the sport of shooting and for very different reasons.

That is fantastic. Its our obligation to share our knowledge and experience with the youth. I understand some refuse to learn. Thats unfortunate but a lot just dont understand or know whats available to them out there. They only know what theyre exposed to and unfortunately theyre exposed to a ton of ignorance through social media and biased news networks, other uninformed adults and much more.

Some have interest but need guidance. Theres tons of misinformation being spewed out there from fudd lore, to wannabe range commandos to outright lies.

I think itd be great if clubs started offering a shoot for people who dont own anything or perhaps do but it just lives in the closet. Some type of shoot where people are there for fun, to educate, to learn not just compete.

 

[jackieschmidt]

At our

That is fantastic. Its our obligation to share our knowledge and experience with the youth. I understand some refuse to learn. Thats unfortunate but a lot just dont understand or know whats available to them out there. They only know what theyre exposed to and unfortunately theyre exposed to a ton of ignorance through social media and biased news networks, other uninformed adults and much more.

Some have interest but need guidance. Theres tons of misinformation being spewed out there from fudd lore, to wannabe range commandos to outright lies.

I think itd be great if clubs started offering a shoot for people who dont own anything or perhaps do but it just lives in the closet. Some type of shoot where people are there for fun, to educate, to learn not just compete.

Tomball Club Matches, we have a Factory Class.And we mean Factory Rifles suited for field use.
Last year we had decent turnouts in Factory. And, (this is very important), I emphasize that they should in no way compare their equipment and level to those of us who compete on a regular basis. That would be a formula for discouragement.

Compare yourself, and your Rifle to like shooters using similar equipment.

 

[LiveFire]

That sounds good. Im gonna suggest something like that to our rifle club. Did you advertise it or just word of mouth? Were you able to reach the general public?

 

[jackieschmidt]

That sounds good. Im gonna suggest something like that to our rifle club. Did you advertise it or just word of mouth? Were you able to reach the general public?

Our matches are pretty well known in the Houston Metro area. It is basically word of mouth. For our Club Matches, we welcome all comers. We also have a Modified Class for Rifles in between Factory and all out Benchrest Rifles.
Here are our rules.

http://www.tgcwebsite.com/pdfs/match_scores/VFS/VFS_Rules.pdf

 

[ronsatspokane]

That is fantastic. Its our obligation to share our knowledge and experience with the youth. I understand some refuse to learn. Thats unfortunate but a lot just dont understand or know whats available to them out there. They only know what theyre exposed to and unfortunately theyre exposed to a ton of ignorance through social media and biased news networks, other uninformed adults and much more.

Some have interest but need guidance. Theres tons of misinformation being spewed out there from fudd lore, to wannabe range commandos to outright lies.

I think itd be great if clubs started offering a shoot for people who dont own anything or perhaps do but it just lives in the closet. Some type of shoot where people are there for fun, to educate, to learn not just compete.

Those in need of guidance include many of the people we see at the range who are already firearms owners and have no idea about the range of opportunities open to them.

I've talked to people who are AR aficionados. Some of them have built their own guns and are testing for accuracy, some are new owners who just bought one off the shelf for home defense and are trying it out. I can tell you that none of them have ever heard of High Power or Across the Course. I describe the opportunity to them and provide them with contact info so they can talk to the folks who run the program. Don't know if anyone has availed themselves of the opportunity.

I've had better luck with the bolt gun crowd. I see people testing loads they developed and are clearly looking for better accuracy. They have dreams of shooting accurately at longer ranges. When I tell them about F Class they seem genuinely interested. Some of them have shown up to matches with their rifles. Some just to watch. This range is not a national range with a lot of hard core benchrest or F Class shooters but some of them are still intimidated by the distance and the knowledge base required to get on target at 600 yards (won't even mention 1000 yards). I tell them to drag their rifles to the line and we will get them on paper. Some do. Some of those are hooked and continue.

 

[ronsatspokane]

At our

Tomball Club Matches, we have a Factory Class.And we mean Factory Rifles suited for field use.
Last year we had decent turnouts in Factory. And, (this is very important), I emphasize that they should in no way compare their equipment and level to those of us who compete on a regular basis. That would be a formula for discouragement.

Compare yourself, and your Rifle to like shooters using similar equipment.

That is happening here as well. The long range matches at Missoula have a hunter class that is intended for folks with hunting and PRS style rifles. It kind of follows a PRS style but they shoot with the sling and/or F Class folks. Locally we have always allowed hunters to shoot with us. We can help them get on paper but they don't show on a regular basis. They'd burn those skinny barrels out in a couple of matches.

 

[LiveFire]

Those in need of guidance include many of the people we see at the range who are already firearms owners and have no idea about the range of opportunities open to them.

I've talked to people who are AR aficionados. Some of them have built their own guns and are testing for accuracy, some are new owners who just bought one off the shelf for home defense and are trying it out. I can tell you that none of them have ever heard of High Power or Across the Course. I describe the opportunity to them and provide them with contact info so they can talk to the folks who run the program. Don't know if anyone has availed themselves of the opportunity.

.

We have a 200 and 300 yard AR style rifle shoot every month at our range. We shoot iron sight and scoped. It is basically the same dozen people. But there is no advertising, just word of mouth. They also have a varmint rifle and a midwest varmint shoot. Ive not been able to make it to the last two this year. We have numerous other shoots, pistol, rimfire atc but once again its basically the same people. Id like to change that.

There is also a DNR public 100yd range about 5 miles away. I feel like a lot go there because its free. However we only charge $50 a year to be a member and have access to a 300yd range, trap range, and archery range. Seems like a very good deal to me.

 

[Brians356]

The grocery bill has taken up all the funds that used to be available ; )
Dan

You must not keep good records. The Big Guy sez the Inflation Reduction Act is a huge success, and seniors in particular have benefited immensely.
-

 

[Larry Koch]

Vista and Blackrock investments are keeping prices high as long as they can.

 

[ronsatspokane]

We have a 200 and 300 yard AR style rifle shoot every month at our range. We shoot iron sight and scoped. It is basically the same dozen people. But there is no advertising, just word of mouth. They also have a varmint rifle and a midwest varmint shoot. Ive not been able to make it to the last two this year. We have numerous other shoots, pistol, rimfire atc but once again its basically the same people. Id like to change that.

There is also a DNR public 100yd range about 5 miles away. I feel like a lot go there because its free. However we only charge $50 a year to be a member and have access to a 300yd range, trap range, and archery range. Seems like a very good deal to me.

50 bucks is a very good deal these days.

 

[Liven The Dream]

Well went to Washington State Prone Match a Couple weeks back.
This was a American/Canadian get together for years. It was Range Capacity with a waiting list.
This year about 37 shooters on Saturday and 30 on Sunday.
I understand the problems in Canada, not a shooter came down.
We missed them.

 

[jimmymac]

I understand the problems in Canada, not a shooter came down.

Can you elaborate? Thanks.

 

[Liven The Dream]

Can you elaborate? Thanks.

As told to me one thing Paper Work to come over and cost.

 

[hogpatrol]

In the last few years at our club, two new shooting events have been well attended, two gun and steel challenge (pistol) both open to non members.

 

[urbanrifleman]

Shrinking.

I used to work the Dayton gun shows in Ohio back in the 1990s. We used to bring Wolf ammunition in by the pallet everyday. We would typically do five or six pallets of Wolf AK ammo a weekend. People would bring in moving dollies when they bought ammunition.

Multiple times a day guys with moving dollies bringing vans to the show and would literally buy 10,000 rounds of ammo. To go shoot it and then come back the next show and buy another.

There were lots of them.

The competitive shooters in the 1990s that went to Perry would vastly outnumber the ones today (that would be my guess, but I have no direct data).

Everything stopped with the baby boomers. The ranks of shooters, as we know them today, are essentially just the baby boomers and the smattering of people following them. When the baby boomers are gone, the percentages left will be small in comparison.

And these teenagers barely go outside for any physical activity. It doesn't matter if it's baseball or soccer or football or tennis or shooting. Recreational numbers are plummeting post COVID. Here in Tulsa it's evident simply by the number of outdoor facilities that are being turned into lay down yards for oil companies or just left to go to weeds because no one's using them. There aren't enough of the imports from Mexico in Tulsa left to keep the soccer fields filled like 10 years ago.

These parents are raising an entire generation of shut in couch potato children that stare at their phones all day.

So I'm going to go with "shrinking" .

 

[AccelR8]

I used to work the Dayton gun shows in Ohio back in the 1990s. We used to bring Wolf ammunition in by the pallet everyday. We would typically do five or six pallets of Wolf AK ammo a weekend. People would bring in moving dollies when they bought ammunition.

Multiple times a day guys with moving dollies bringing vans to the show and would literally buy 10,000 rounds of ammo. To go shoot it and then come back the next show and buy another.

There were lots of them.

The competitive shooters in the 1990s that went to Perry would vastly outnumber the ones today (that would be my guess, but I have no direct data).

Ha ha, reminds me of something...it was Autumn of 1999. All the talk about Y2K and people buying survival rations and how society was going to be thrown back to the 1800's.

I was at a gun show picking up some ammo I had ordered. I was a High Power/Service Rifle shooter and was shooting quite a bit each year. I had a two-wheel hand truck with three 1,000 round cases on it (wasn't Wolf by the way ). Now as many here know that's not a whole lot of ammo for a competitive shooter.

As I went out the entry and exit door a local cop who was working security there goes "Holy crap, ya got enough for the millennium or what?"

I gave him the best dirty look I could muster and kept walking.