New blood?

[cynthialee]

Granted the instant gratification thing is a problem and modern guns feed into that mindset.

I think that pointing out how it is cheaper and takes real skill, you might be able to interest some of your peers.

I got into it because my dad was a black powder shooter. My siblings all grew up with the same dad, but I am the only one that got the bug. Seems that only a certain type of mindset is drawn to these guns.

With a BP gun I don't feel rushed. No need to pump as much lead down range as possible. That would be silly. With BP one can take their time and think it all out before the shot.
Each bullet is custom loaded and if not loaded properly with foreknowledge of the guns capabilities, you are not likely to hit. So I take my time and think about each shot. With a modern gun, follow up shots are so fast there is scarce time to process information and incorporate it into the next shot.

 

[hanshi]

Back when I started you would have had a tough time finding a builder who could actually build a scratch gun and there were limited choices on parts. Now there are quite a few full time builders out there and about all of them are younger than I am. Of course you also must count the part time builders and those who build their own guns.

I had no mentor or guidance when I started off, just an interest in history and 18th & 19th century technology. I had the drive to teach myself most of what I needed to know; kids today are more interested in computer games, cell phones and "butt sitting". They truly do need mentors.

 

[Col. Batguano]

It's historically driven. People get interested in their family geneology when they're older too. BP is something that you graduate to, rather than from. When I was younger I was more interested in pumping lots of lead down range--class 3 stuff. Now I find that stuff kind of boring. I'm less interested in acquiring a massive quantity of firearms than I am their individual quality. I have the commodity of guns I "need". Now I'm concentrating on those I actually "want".

 

[blackpowder shooter]

The black powder club I belong to lets juniors shoot for free. We also allow young shooters to shoot of the bench. Minors have to be supervised at all times. The major problem is that in New York State it is against the law to allow anyone under the age of 12 to handle a firearm. By that time it is to late. Sports and video games have taken hold.

 

[cynthialee]

first time I fired a gun I was 5 or 6 years old
scared the snot out of me and it was exciting all at once
I knew from a very young age to respect firearms.

 

[Adui]

first time I fired a gun I was 5 or 6 years old
scared the snot out of me and it was exciting all at once
I knew from a very young age to respect firearms.

I wanna say I was 4, but memory is foggy that far back.. Same reaction though!

 

[Spikebuck]

Wow...the best... :thumbsup:

The black powder club I belong to lets juniors shoot for free.

and the worst... :td:

New York State it is against the law to allow anyone under the age of 12 to handle a firearm.

all in one post!

 

[tecum-tha]

There are plenty of young kids who like this stuff, but no-one wants to spend his time to mentor them. They or the parents also don't have much money to spare.
I had no mentor when I started and after spending a lot of money and time the rifle I had was still shooting like "sh..t". No one showed one anything, despite saying, that's why we shoot percussion guns...
The groupings changed when I bought Dutch Schoultz system. It saved me so much money, too, compared to the mail order stuff. Then I started to look more into the interior technology of things and finally found the flaw of that Pedersoli rifle. It is now a "Lancaster" and it shoots fine
I gave away a few "cheap" rifles, which kill deer every fall. But these young men get "drilled" by me to a certain extend. It is important to master a firearm, otherwise you're a danger for yourself and others. The problem is with organisations like 4H and clubs, that they don't have a curriculum to teach the important stuff.
I am just writing one for our archery club, because we need young members and I like to teach them to become good archers and educated buyers.
If you have knowledge, these hobbies can be reasonably cheap. If you don't know squat, it gets pricey really fast....
What we miss, and I think we need to work on that:
A flintlock/percussion gun kit for kids, with interchangable stocks. I am already having gunstock routers in my eye.
Especially the .45 cal is underrepresented compared to Europe (where it is almost the standard..)

 

[Tommy Bruce]

I don't see how a Gameboy competes with shooting a real gun...

I don't get it either :idunno: I wish I didn't have to work evenings and partial weekends, I'd try to expose some of the local boy scout troops & 4H groups to living history. I've also volunteered at the school and it went over pretty well but they wouldn't let me bring my flinters in so they got half the story. I'm hoping to start a Butler's Rangers group here and set up at some local festivals to try and do some recruiting.

 

[Julian Reynolds]

I was taken out shooting by my grandfather when I was eight, and have been hooked ever since (30 years ago!)

Over here in the UK shooting is an aging passtime but that is because we have a different problem - legislation - the hurdles you need to jump in order to get licensed. If you are a young person (say, in your early twenties), in order to fulfil the security/access licensing conditions you need to be either living at home with permission from your folks to own guns/fit security cabinets (ie. your parents need to be pro-gun, not often the case in the UK) or you need to be living in your own home. Rented accommodation will not do. Then there's the cost - not just of the licensing/club membership etc. - everything shooting is more expensive here because the market is so small and tightly restricted. So you already need to be relatively well off (or have very sympathetic parents) to shoot. On top of that, the places where you can shoot (and what you can shoot at in terms of game)are limited, especially with rifled firearms.

Shooting is a very closed, suspicious community over here, because we are such a minority and are constantly (incessantly) under public scrutiny and attack at every level. Which makes it doubly difficult to break into without a 'mentor' to vouch for you.

It is, however, generally easier and cheaper to shoot smoothbores (we have a strong 'shotgun' community here in the UK) and the age restrictions are much lower (you can teach a child to shoot one, for instance).

I have, for a number of years, actively promoted muzzleloading shotgun shooting, taking every opportunity to put one in the hands of a young person (under my close supervision) at public have-a-go events. I was the youngest licenced shooter in my club back in the day, and once I had jumped the legislative/financial hurdles and became 'accepted' I was exposed to lots of friendly, fun shooting, but it was a struggle getting started, and I have always wanted to make it easier, if I possibly can, for other young people. Opportunities to do so, however, are limited over here.

Julian

 

[hanshi]

My grandfather use to take me into the woods regularly and he'd always carry his old trusty halfstock. He stopped doing this after a couple of years because I would always find my way back to the farm.....or maybe I misunderstood the question. :idunno:

 

[Zonie]

I don't think Joolz had a question.
Just a sad story about how some governments keep the riffraff out of the shooting sports.

Personally, I think you should be grateful that your grandad didn't tell you, "The name o' the game is 'Duck & Hide'.
You go hide and iffen ah sees ye, ye better duck cause ole Peggy here don't miss often."

Just kidding. :grin:

Course, back in my youth we had dozens of Cowboy shows to watch along with ole' Danial Boone and the like. That got us interested in guns and shooting at a tender age.

Now there isn't much available for kids to watch that gives the positive side of shooting so it's up to us to introduce as many youngsters as possible to that aspect of the sport.

 

[AZbpBurner]

First time I recall going out shooting was up in San Francisquito Canyon. Dad was just starting on building his collection. He started out with Hi Standard, K-22, a Ruger or 2, and already had Grandpa's WWI era 1911. The scars are still visible on my thumbs from having them in the way of the recoiling 1911 slide ...

We went on with my Boy Scout Troop to shoot .22 rifle for the Marksmanship Meritbadge & then went on for the NRA Medals. We were the only troop in the valley to wear multiple marksmanship medals on our uniforms. The sissy & PC crowd would throw a hissy about it today.

We would shoot every Sunday at either Angeles or the Rocketdyne/Atomics Int'l ranges.

It's sad that kids today don't have the same opportunity.

I weont on to High School in Ohio, and ran a trap route from home to the HS property. In my pack I had extra muskrat traps, Dad's .22 Single Six, a couple boxes of ammo, several knives, and a bottle of muskrat gland 'essence'. Every morning, the bag would go into the Vice Principal's office, behind the door.

The only mishap with that bag was when a nosy front office lady decided to rifle thru it uncorked the essence, gagged & dropped it, spilling it out onto the floor (less than a teaspoon of the stuff), and cleared the office.

Today I'd be hunted down by a swat team & shot, jailed and\or expelled.

But, then again, back in the late 60's folks in positions of responsibility seemed to have that measure of common sense that they are devoid of today.

 

[Loxahatchee]

I cant imagine the kind of uproar that would ensue if a kid were to do that today.... :shake:

 

[lhw123]

Common sense has fell by the way side for sure. People just don't realize how good they have it because of sacrifices made by those in the past. I am very fortunate to have like minded friends and family but I miss the real US of A!

 

[flyfisher76544]

A couple of things I have noticed is that the kids these days and the last generation or 2 doesn't have role-models like we did back in the day. Had to watch a nephew on mine last Saturday and they don't even have Saturday morning cartoons on anymore. Heck I remember after school coming home and watching Daniel Boone, Davey Crockett, Mickey Mouse club and quite a few other shows. These kids don't have that. Now-a-days its all basically crap shows. Heck how many folks remember when rated "R" shows didn't come on until after 8 p.m.????? Not in the middle of the day like now. Remember running around in the yard or out in the woods playing "War"? I haven't seen that in I don't know how long. I hate to say this, but it would seem that the "Politically Correct crowd" is basically making the youth of today a bunch of soft wienies. Heck I have a neighbor who won't let her child play with a toy gun let alone shoot a real one.

 

[Bruce Bogart]

Not all kids are couch potatoes. Here is an example. Our club in conjunction with the Ohio Department of Natural Resources sponsored a class on begining muzzleloading. Had 15 participants of which approximately 10 were teens or younger.

This young man dryballed 8 times, he was so excited. Yep I let him and then taught him a couple wayts to clear it :grin:

Couple more youngsters getting the BEST of advice :hmm:

 

[Col. Batguano]

If they wouldn't let you bring in an assembled gun, would they let you bring in the lock? If you could spark the lock and with or without a small puff of 4-F in the pan that might make almost as good as an impression.

 

[lhw123]

Technology has had a lot to do with that. I mean.....yes...i grew up with a Nintendo but that was the last resort for my friends and I for late evenings or when it was raining. I remember my mother or grandma yelling down the road for me to come in for supper and I would be filthy from playing "war" or building forts. We could make one heck of an artillery barrage with a dirt pile, some little green plastic army men and firecrackers!

 

[Hawgeye]

Our local ML club had it's youth shoot yesterday. We had 24 youngsters of varying ages and skill levels show up, down from 51 last year. The enthusiasm the kids showed was definitely a positive, but the relatively light turn out was worrisome. Maybe there were some conflicting activities. The sportsman award went to first timer eight year old who hit one out of six targets on his course of fire. The one hit was a solid bullseye. He talked about it to who ever would listen for nearly a half an hour. There were some very respectable scores in both divisions. I'm always surprised by the competence of some of the junior shooters. Gives me hope for the future.