First off, great first post.
I want to echo the sentiment of "getting in the game". It sounds like you're already doing more than 95% of gun owners by taking the actions recommended by the NRA-ILA alerts, but there are additional things that help to keep me charged up.
Take control. I've been going to the General Assembly for about 3-4 years and find it amazing to sit there and watch our legislative process in action. That, in itself, can depress you as you wonder how anything ever gets done.
However, it fills me with pride and a sense of the responsibility we all bear as gun owners standing together to assert our rights.
Effect change at the local level. I've been stumping for a couple of pro-RKBA candidates, supporting them financially and attacking the antis that infest our state's General Assembly.
Pass it on. I was at the trap range a while back and saw a couple of young kids (8-11 years old, I'd guess) with what looked like their granddad. One young kid was carrying a single shot of some sort and the other a pump gun with a black stock. Granddad had that "never-been-here-never-done-this" sort of discomfort going on and they were wondering from range to range looking to get set up to shoot. They were up on the doubles range (not too effective with the single shot) and the kids were getting pretty beat up from poor form and mount.
I watched a while to see if Granddad was doing any instruction but got the feeling he was going to just let them blast away. I shuffled up and complimented the kids on how well they were doing (sometimes little white lies are good
) and the kids said that they didn't think it was too much fun. I made a big deal again of their progress and invited them over to the next range where we could work on some singles and Granddad looked like he had won the lottery. Now, I'm no ATA Grand Master (or Grand Poobah for that matter) myself but I figured this was one of those days where a shooter's spark was either going to be nurtured or extinguished.
In short, after a few minutes of some basics from Shotgun 101, a la Dave McCracken, there many smiles, grins and giggles to be had by all.....especially me. I figured that I may have given the RKBA-movement two more chances at lasting another 20-30 years beyond me.
Take the fight to them. I try not to let a single anti-gun article, editorial, or letter to the editor go unchallenged. It takes no time at all to whip out a short, well-edited letter to take their lies and misconceptions to task. Call out anti-gun legislators on their position. Don't let them have a place to hide.
Spend more time shooting and not just talking about shooting. It's easy to spend too much time looking at catalogs, websites, gun forums, etc rather than exercising our rights. Every dollar you spend on ammo, range fees, targets, etc strengthens us as a community.
Hang out with like-minded people. I'm a school teacher, so there's not much in the ways of fellowship to be found on that front. I go to group shoots, we organize MD THR social events, and I generally avoid the people who get under my skin. Life's too short to subject yourself to the irrational thoughts and behaviors of people who would seek to strip your rights.
Don't lose hope. Things are good right now. It might change in November and later on in 2008, but for now we are riding the crest of a wave.
