Lack of younger shooters?

[Black Jaque Janaviac]

I don't mind, it's just interesting to see a hobby dominated by one demographic. It's alien to me because most of my other hobbies cover most age demographics pretty evenly lol.

I think it has something to do with how people are inspired.

You said you have an interest in history. That's probably a key point. Most of the old timers that are in this sport have fond memories of watching Davy Crockett and Danial Boone on TV as well as numerous movies like Jeremiah Johnson and a bunch of old westerns. The heroes were real people from real times. Or perhaps fictitious people but modelled after real people.

What inspires kids today? Well at Halloween I see more spiderman and ironman masks and hardly any cowboy costumes (used to be a common costume in the 60-80s) We also see the Navy Seals portrayed as today's heros. My own kids watched a lot of the super hero movies and would watch historical movies only because it was something I requested (they enjoyed them anyway).

When Pirates of the Carribean was the rage there was some interest in that era. Although it seemed to spark more inspiration for swords. Interestingly historical swords and blade weapons seem to hold some popularity.

So the key is inspiration. Tell some good stories. Watch some good shows. Sitting down with the kids on the living room sofa with a bowl of popcorn and watching Master and Commander or a good Civil War movie may do more to generate interest than immediately taking them to the range. Especially if they are watching a guy rattle off several clips from a semi-auto while you are loading the second shot.

 

[TFoley]

Lack of interest by younger folks is endemic, I'm sad to say - AND international. Here in UK we host a guest day every month of the year, at which full members of the club can bring along their friends and/or colleagues - up to four people of any age - to see what goes on behind all that smoke over on the 'other range'.

I always take along a couple or three BP guns, including a revolver, utterly sure in the knowledge that none of the guests will ever have fired a handgun in their lives before then. Most of them have a great time, no matter what they shoot, be it a musketoon or a volunteer rifle, even a S*i*e*, but the youngsters....... hmm, maybe.

On the last guest day we had two groups of four guests, all brought by a husband and wife club pair of members. Each group had two younger folks in it. One of them sat on his chair behind the firing line and never moved, except to ask if there was anywhere he could charge up his cell. The other three all had a go with the musketoon - with low loads, I might add - but walked away after turning down a second shot. They steadfastly refused to have anything to do with the revolver at all. The adults happily took up their places and had a great time.

These days I'm tempted to not offer youngsters a chance at shooting something they would never have imagined they'd ever have the chance to shoot - probably because none of them can relate to it in any meaningful way. How to raise interest in BP shooting unless they already shoot something else, given that 98% of 'em don't actually shoot anything else?

Beats me.

And there's the pity.

 

[rusticbob]

Take youngsters on a road trip.
I took my grandsons to Ft. Ticonderoga last summer. They we’re amazed by the flintlock and cannon firing, so much so that my older grandson wanted to attend a muzzleloader shoot this past winter with me. He wants a hands on opportunity to shoot my percussion and flintlock guns now. This should be a fun summer for us here this year.
Movies and books are great, but a hands on demonstration can make all the difference.

 

[granth]

Take youngsters on a road trip.
I took my grandsons to Ft. Ticonderoga last summer. They we’re amazed by the flintlock and cannon firing, so much so that my older grandson wanted to attend a muzzleloader shoot this past winter with me. He wants a hands on opportunity to shoot my percussion and flintlock guns now. This should be a fun summer for us here this year.
Movies and books are great, but a hands on demonstration can make all the difference.

Awesome! I think being interested in muzzleloading is the main thing that drives us youngsters to want to have an experience. I think step one to get more members in this community is to spark an interest inside them.

 

[Rangefogger]

I’m a somewhat younger flintlock addict myself, at 29 years. Got two boys, My baby is 1 and my oldest is 3 1/2. When my younger son was born last year I bought two kibler SMR kits and built them to give to my sons, when the time is right. My oldest boy Loves to watch the old Davy Crockett series with fess Parker, as I did when I was his age. That is actually what got me interested in Flintlocks and American history in the first place! Ever since I saw Davy Crockett as a boy, I knew I had to get a Rocklock some day. My oldest boy has a toy longrifle cap gun but get this… when he pretend loads it, he puts the powder in, patch and ball, rams it home, and then primes the “pan” from his horn!

Here’s a pic of us building our “rifles”together… as I was fitting the butt plate on my rifle he dragged his workbench out on the deck and went to work on his own rifle! It made my day!

 

[Black Jaque Janaviac]

Another idea might be to watch the Colonial Williamsburg Gunsmith. That one is jaw dropping to see a guy go from a log and bar of iron and trun it into a beautiful rifle. However, as videos go it is slow compared to what many youth are accustomed to. It would be nice to see a modern remake of that.

 

[Ray-Vigo]

The way I got involved was that I was immersed in early American history as a child. I grew up in a house built and owned by a man who had been a Captain in the local militia during the War of 1812, and my parents used to take my brother and me on the local "old house tour" sort of thing. Like most boys, I eventually reached the age when guns were of interest, and being immersed in the old house/old furniture/antiques world, flintlocks became a big thing for me. I wish that my experience could be more generally applicable, but I'm sorry to say that it may have been a one-off kind of experience.