THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS?

[Keb]

...I found the world, and the future ahead to be simply too serious and bleak for me to be able to go around playing 18th century. Way too much other stuff to worry about and take care of while I still can. Without really knowing, I might dare say that many others have left the hobby for similar reasons...

That's pretty much how I feel. I'm feeling my age and not able to run thru the woods like I once did. I can't see good enough to shoot any more so I only shoot a smoothbore a couple times a year. The big rondyvoos of the 80's & 90's are gone and I don't like what the foundation rondyvoos have become. I don't really enjoy the company of most (not all) of the "hangers on" so I'm pretty much done with those. I don't have a back door I can walk out and shoot, either. That puts a damper on shooting, too. I've not been at the work bench since last summer so I've not produced anything like I once did. So, I guess my participation is dwindling as fast as the hobby is dying and I'm contributing to it's death.

 

[jfaldo]

I think if every shooter could find someone to "mentor" into whatever discipline they are shooting then these sports would fair better.
Unfortunately a lot of people complaining don't do anything to change this by trying to actively recruit and again mentor even one individual. Preferably a younger person would be the best to do this with. My current shooting partner is someone I started out mentoring when he was in his mid twenties. It was trying at times. He didn't have a rifle and no other kit to use so I provided everything. Now in his mid thirties he's out shooting me on a regular basis and couldn't be prouder of him.

Of course being a realist I understand even in ten years young people have changed a lot. Technology and social media have destroyed a lot of our kids who will never do the things we have done because their minds have been rotted by it. So sad.

 

[Kansas Jake]

So many things have changed in the last 50-60 years. When I was a kid here on the Great Plains we were a much more rural society. This is still farming and ranching country, but the farms and ranges are many times larger with many fewer people actually living on farms. Access has changed too with many more areas closed to shooting or hunting. As a kid even "city" kids could walk or bike a mile or less out of town and shoot and no one thought much of a kid carrying a 22 on a bike to go plinking in the country. That doesn't happen any more. To be involved in any shooting sport has to be more intentional and is more expensive.

I go to a public outdoor range regularly. About 80% or the rifles there are black autoloaders or similar variants. Some die hard regulars are into accuracy, but that is generally hardcore target shooters. Very few muzzleloaders show up and often they are the inlines before deer season.

Do I have an answer? No! I just wish more folks would experience the joy of powder, patch, ball and the smell smoke. My own grandkids don't have much interest when asked to tag along and shoot. They would rather stare at a tv screen and push buttons.

I don't intend this to be a downer, just a reality check. For me the whole muzzleloading thing has been a lifelong hobby related to the history and joy of the firearms. It has tied into my love of local history and the settling of the west.

 

[Black Hand]

The way I see it is that you can do something about it or sit back and complain while others do something about it. Get involved and change something, complaining only heats the air...

 

[Kansas Jake]

I know it sounded like complaining, but was just a reality check. I shoot my front stuffers regularly at a public range and will let anyone who is interested shoot them. Most are surprised at the accuracy. Also, set triggers usually present a surprise with the light touch. I also volunteer at a kids day held there annually and work with the muzzleloading segment of the day.

 

[tenngun]

But I have hope, I see some thirty year olds at events and proud for that Nick Post, things go in cycles.
I recall a 1940s mechanics illustrated that had instructions on how to cover a footed bathtub to make it look like a built in. Now people pay big bucks for old bathtubs and buy modren remakes.
Many of us came into this via primitive and backswoodsmen type. Then we try and learn how to get right equipment. We give up our old “primitive” for more correct. I’m sure some of the folks that get involved in pirate festivals want to be correct, just as some ren fair folks do the time correctly.

 

[Black Hand]

I know it sounded like complaining, but was just a reality check. I shoot my front stuffers regularly at a public range and will let anyone who is interested shoot them. Most are surprised at the accuracy. Also, set triggers usually present a surprise with the light touch. I also volunteer at a kids day held there annually and work with the muzzleloading segment of the day.

Jake,
I apologize for the confusion, but my comment was not directed at you. It was merely a general comment to those who complain rather than do.

I see some of the same, but for the last 14 years I've been involved with an event that allows 75-150 boys each year to shoot muzzleloaders and learn something about our periods of interest. If WE don't care enough to educate the next batch of muzzleloader enthusiasts, who will?

 

[azmntman]

As a kid even "city" kids could walk or bike a mile or less out of town and shoot and no one thought much of a kid carrying a 22 on a bike to go plinking in the country. OMG I can see the news choppers and headlines now if a kid on a bike were spotted with a GUN :shocked2: . I used to ride my bike all the time to shoot. :shake:

For me the whole muzzleloading thing has been a lifelong hobby related to the history and joy of the firearms. It has tied into my love of local history and the settling of the west.[/quote] :metoo:

 

[necchi]

As a kid even "city" kids could walk or bike a mile or less out of town and shoot and no one thought much of a kid carrying a 22 on a bike to go plinking in the country.

That was my story too. We where outside the city limits, but then the City annexed the township. At 11-12 we would still grab the 22's and ride our bikes a 1/4 mile to some friendly farmer owned land to shoot an hunt. We did it with parental blessings and unsupervised too.
Now-a-days you can't even find a farmer that'll let ya on his land to look at the wild flowers!
(that's due to insurance and liability!!)

That doesn't happen any more. To be involved in any shooting sport has to be more intentional and is more expensive.

Yup,

 

[tenngun]

We had a shooting club in our school, and on practice we on the team all brought our .22s to school. We had a few girls on our trap team. The back of the school faced about ten miles of high desert between us and the next town. We often left class for a rabbit hunt after school. During deer season every boy with a pickup had a deer rifle in his back window.

 

[longcruise]

It seems inevitable that clubs and groups who stick tenaciously to the rule of excluding all modern muzzleloading rifles from their group will soon die away.

Our state association sponsors many shoots and matches. For the ones that we actively invite and promote the modern ML shooters we get zero response. Those folks aren't interested in shooting matches or fun shoots. They don't have any interest in the camaraderie and many are averse to the idea of competing. They bought those guns to be able to hunt the ML season and shoot them once per year at most but more likely less often than that.

 

[Juice Jaws]

Same thing at my school. One time a few of us skip school to shoot squirrels and target shoot off of the county road. County Sheriff came by, pull his pistol out and took a few shots at our targets. Then said, "you boys be careful and make sure all of you are in school tomorrow" Those days are dead and gone.

 

[Black Hand]

Other than taking a firearm onto school grounds, people rarely notice guns here. We have an open-carry state...

 

[Loyalist Dave]

It seems inevitable that clubs and groups who stick tenaciously to the rule of excluding all modern muzzleloading rifles from their group will soon die away. The numbers don't lie. I think the solution is to start including the modern stuff in your group.

IF that's the case then why has the local rifle range, where you can shoot anything except full auto, gone in the past 10 years from a waiting list to join, to declining membership?

I heard the same complaints about black powder and about reenacting from 1990 - 1992..., what was going on then? Recession and recovery. We just finished 8 years of economic problems, and now things are beginning to move again. Our hobby is not an inexpensive pastime, and we need to remember that.

We should also remember...,
There are studies that show that kids want more time with their parents, but their viewpoint is skewed to expect less time due to their environment .
Quantity Time: Do Children Want More Time with
Their Full-Time Employed Parents? M. Rivka Platnick, Ph.D. April 2002
Making time for kids? Study says quality trumps quantity. Washington Post, March 28th, 2015.
(Note...the kids that were in the 2002 study are now grownup and are now having kids themselves, and they don't want to necessarily duplicte their childhood, but may want to improve on the childhood for their kids.)

So..., sell the event and the activity as quality time, away from the TV, XBox, and cell phone. Perhaps work up to shooting, by having your club host something like a bread making seminar? Anybody know how to make soap, or how about pickles? Unfortunately, do to some recent headlines, those of us who shoot are seen by many moms, and some dads, as "one of those people; the people who shoot guns. " :shocked2: :shake: So..., we must be smart and introduce ourselves more as the folks who know a lot about simple living, with good stuff to share. OH and btw sometimes we use these old fashioned rifles and shoot paper... why don't you come out and see?

LD

 

[Flint62Smoothie]

I don't totally agree or disagree but if you get inline shooters to attend, some of them might come over to the side locks and give them a try.

FWIW my Club is going through this debate right now, as here are some experiences that another Clubs have garnered over the last few years.

One Club shoots monthly on the 3rd Sunday and allowed people to ”˜join in’ whether or not they had period or ”˜hunting’ clothing or even the unmentionable non-period correct BP arm. They’re finding out that about 20% of the those will buy a side lock and be shooting with them a year later ...

Then again, the SoVT muzzleloading snowshoe biathlon has a division for the same non-period correct BP arm and they too are seeing participants seeking out and buying side locks for the FUN of it! Especially when they see us kicking their arses on the targets ... and yet they has [optical devices[/i] no less.

So to me ... while not intending to open up these forums in scope (as I do like and appreciate the true/real muzzleloading and historical and intent/content here) I do think it behooves us all to open up our MZL activities in order to promote new participants.

 

[Billnpatti]

Now, here's an idea....stick with me just a minute. Your club could add a weekend .22 match to your regular muzzleloading schedule. It would be a separate match shot when no muzzleloaders were being shot. Targets should be reactive novelty targets rather than paper targets. Folks seem to like them better. Our club had an added .22 match and it brought out some new shooters. We had a few muzzleloading rifles there to look at and they drew a lot of attention. If someone were really interested in them, we would allow them to take a few shots after the .22 match was concluded. If you can get them to come out to your range and see what you have they may want to come out and shoot muzzleloading rifles next time. The idea is that you need to get their attention. Sort of like "If you build it, they will come". Having some sort of chow for the shooters will help, too. I see no problem with the food attracting bums because only the shooters will be fed and they will be paying an entry fee. The entry fee will exclude the bums. Here is how that works, go to an office supply store and buy a roll of tickets. When a person pays their entry fee, they are given a ticket. When the match is concluded, they get into the chow line and exchange their ticket for chow. No ticket, no chow. The backup plan for lost tickets is to have each entrant sign a log book. Then if someone loses their ticket, you can just refer to the logbook as a backup.

Of course, you will need some kind of prizes. Your entry fee can be used for buying some prizes and it will help offset part of the cost for chow.

Well, it's just an idea. :hmm: and you are looking for ideas.

 

[azmntman]

During deer season every boy with a pickup had a deer rifle in his back window. :metoo:

Today that would trigger SWAT and expulsion :shake:

 

[Juice Jaws]

You are very lucky. I am from gun loving Calif. Of course the story I told was back in 68, you try that now and we all would be in jail, plus the County Sheiff

 

[uno676]

I have a lot of people at the range ask about mine or say I have one that I haven’t shot in years. I always let others shot mine if they want. I don’t belong to a ML club. Part of the reason is a lot of them require full period dress which is cool but I’m not really into myself. The other part is it’s hard to cut a specific day out from family obligations for these meetings. I have been asked by my range to do an intro to muzzleloading which I plan on doing but I will be offering everything from flint to inlines. Because just getting people interested is the first step.

 

[Adui]

:hatsoff: Definitely something worth doing!!