Competitive shooting grows on college campuses

[monotonous_iterancy]

From the Washington Post of all places comes an article about the rapid growth of competitive shooting on University campuses - Ivy League institutions such as Yale, and schools such as MIT. I find both this surge in interest as well as the reporting on it by a major media outlet to be encouraging.

What do you think of all this?

Article here: http://www.washingtonpost.com/local...b5e63819d2_story.html?tid=HP_more?tid=HP_more

 

[justin22885]

this could just be another sign of the rapidly growing interest in firearms among younger groups, of all the new gun owners since 2013, most of them happened to be younger, id say sub-25 years old and the majority of the guns sold were military style such as AR15s, AKs, and all the other options available.. its encouraging that i find more younger people who fully understand the intent of the second amendment than a lot of older people where the majority of your "fudds" reside

i attribute this two two primary factors, soldiers returning from the middle east, having experience with military firearms and wanting to keep some of their own, and first person shooter video games with tens of millions of players across the united states it sparks an interest in such weapons and when they find our our constitution actually allows them to own any of them for real, then they become interested and get into shooting

 

[CapnMac]

Only quibble I have here is the use of "on campus."
I'd wager all this (highly applaud-able) activity is off-campus at existing gun ranges.

 

[TennJed]

Only quibble I have here is the use of "on campus."
I'd wager all this (highly applaud-able) activity is off-campus at existing gun ranges.

The article states MIT practices under a gym on campus. I would guess that they all practice on campus since they are competitive teams for the school

 

[230RN]

Probably had ranges down there from days of yore.

My own campus had a 25 yard range on it that nobody knew about until one of the old-time groundskeepers happened to mention it. This was about 1960.

I've seen an upswing of interest, too. I took a NRA Safety class for an upcoming CCW renewal where the first time I tried to register, it was full up a week beforehand, and when I finally took it, there were 20 people there, including three or four ladies.

My personal banker is toying with the idea of getting a CCW, too.

 

[Taurus 617 CCW]

I didn't find out until the end of my senior year that my college campus had an indoor 25 yard range for shooting .22 long rifle only. I would have been all over it had I known earlier.

 

[buck460XVR]

What many folks don't realize is that guns are not generally prohibited on college campuses, only the inside of buildings. My son shoots sporting clays while @ college and keeps his shotgun locked in the trunk of his friends car in the dorm parking lot. His CWC is locked in a compact safe, steel cabled to and under the seat of his girlfriends car. Both are completely legal. Could be the ranges are in exempted buildings.

Our local High School has just started a competitive Co-ed Sporting Clays team. It will be a lettered sport, and the school will pay for some practice ammo but no firearms or ammo are to be brought on school grounds. This is it's initial year and the amount of students signing up and going out for it were higher than every other sport in the school except for football.

 

[monotonous_iterancy]

Our local High School has just started a competitive Co-ed Sporting Clays team. It will be a lettered sport, and the school will pay for some practice ammo but no firearms or ammo are to be brought on school grounds. This is it's initial year and the amount of students signing up and going out for it were higher than every other sport in the school except for football.

Is this in a more rural or urbanized area?

 

[oneounceload]

Glad to see more sporting clays. The more we get the "FUDDS" who only think a "shooty is good for HD or slugs for deer" converted, the better the world will be..........

.......(THAT'S for all of you - and you know who you are, who denigrate the shotgun sports and those "rich guys with those $800 shotguns")............

 

[P5 Guy]

In Hot & Humid Florida

https://ufl.collegiatelink.net/organization/ppc/about

'GATORS practical pistol team for a starter. Doubtful they get to practice on the campus.

http://www.ncaa.com/sports/rifle

March Madness Matches that's rifle matches not the other annoying march madness.

The WVU Mountaineers are looking for a threepeat and yet another trip to the White House?

 

[barnbwt]

"THAT'S for all of you - and you know who you are, who denigrate the shotgun sports and those "rich guys with those $800 shotguns""
Not enough zeroes.

Competitive teams are great, but I'll be really impressed if we get shooting as an accessible elective in more colleges. Just like I've have had no cause to mess with archery were it not for a school with all the facilities and equipment needed, many won't bother to get set up for guns, or most importantly, trained up for guns.

TCB

 

[barnbwt]

From the article:
"Doan, the captain of MIT’s pistol team, has been on the team four years — without telling his parents back home in California."
<shudder> Every day another shiver.

TCB

 

[Tom609]

All things considered, I thought it was a positive article about a trend that's attracting more young people to the shooting sports...

Even if he didn't tell his parents.

 

[oneounceload]

GATORS practical pistol team for a starter. Doubtful they get to practice on the campus.

There is also a competitive shotgun team that shoots at Gator trap and skeet and shoot International versions; some of those kids are pretty damn good..........

 

[barnbwt]

I wonder if WAPO will become addicted to the extra traffic they get when they post a pro gun story? This was the second or so largely favorable scoop in the last week.

TCB

 

[ford8nr]

My kids HIGH SCHOOL has an old 50ft smallbore rifle range in the basement under the pool. Hasn't been used since the 70's