Lack of diversity in shooting sports

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A few months back, I was at my local shooting range (about 1/2 hour drive from downtown Los Angeles) and met an older African American man. He was asking about my spotting scope and we got to talking. He was there with his two nephews because he likes to spend time with them teaching them responsibilities (BTW the two nephews were pretty good with the leveraction rifles). Thing is, I've seen and met a few African Americans at that range, but that one time was the only time I saw a family shooting together.

We shooters need to be as all inclusive as possible because gun rights are civil rights and the more people who realize that, the better.
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Amen.

BTW, I saw a special on CAS on cable television and former professional basketball star Kareem Abdul-Jabber was present. He said he was trying to get more African Americans involved in CAS and part of the reason was to make them more aware of their history and give them other role-models to follow, as an alternative to looking up to rap artists.
 
As far as getting women into shooting your best bet is to take them.My PHD geogeek wife had never shot before we got married.After she tried it she became hooked on rifles and pistols.Nowadays we mostly shoot muzzleloaders.BTW,she shot her first deer with a 50 cal sidelock.
 
Barbara,

AAArrrrrgggghhhh! Could we possibly encourage her to move to the SF Bay area? Maybe replace Feinstein, Boxer or one of the others? PLEASE!? (She does wear safety glasses except at photo sessions, right?)


Kareem Abdul-Jabber in CAS? Fantastic!

CAS is probably one of the best entry points for most non shooters because of the pagentry. Problem is that it is quite expensive relative to some other shooting activities. I would sure need to build up to it bit by bit. That pushes the sport the those dedicating their disposable income to the one sport, rich people or as mentioned before older people with more disposable income.

But it is one heck of a good family draw. And the idea of being able to use it to 'seduce' non shooters might just be the justification I need. :D
 
>> Drjones
>> Based on my experiences, many THR'ers seem to be of Asian decent. <<

thrsacramento.jpg


Gee what makes you think that??? :confused:

:evil:
 
I think that CAS would be one of the cheapest events to get your feet wet. Single action revolvers are some of the cheapest handguns on the market. The shooting isn't about emptying mags as fast as possible so ammo cost is held down. Now as you get deeper involved having the shotgun, rifle, accessories, and the period clothes will cost, but it's not requied for just starting out.
 
I was at a range in the bay area and down the line were 3 or 4 gangsta' types with quite the variety of weaponry. Lorcins, a glock, an AR, and get this an H&K P7, the first I´d seen. So I asked him what he thought of it, and he had NO idea about it, he even asked me what I knew about it. He let me shoot it (great gun BTW). I didn´t really think it wise to ask about the registration status of his AR :) . Who knows, maybe they were clueless with poor taste in firearms (lorcin :barf: ).

atek3
 
Unfortunately the gangsta thing is part of the gun ownership stereotype I think. Trader's in San Leandro is a well known shop and the gangsta types are often two to three deep along the counter.

On a positive note, THR must emit some sort of vibrations as when I was at the Chabot pistol range this morning there were five African Americans which meant almost half the population on the pistol line that time of the morning. Now this is something unusual in my experience here.

Two were a father and his eight year old son. They had just begun shooting in January. I told them about other recreation and encouraged them to try it.

I really wish that I had made time to get into more conversation with all the black shooters to learn of the level of interest, original inducement to become interested, etc. but I was on a quickie shoot and had to get back to company at home.

Been thinking about that comment above that the ethnic groups from India and Pakistan also don't seem to get involved. There is a big population of those ethnic groups around the SF Bay area and I really cannot remember more than a couple ever being at the range.

Well, that's another nut to crack.
 
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All:

Please note that the pic posted by Skunk was taken in front of a Chinese restaurant.

:)
 
Since I was "outed" as a shooter at my place of work, I have had numerous folks of all backrounds consulting me...

Representative questions:

"What gun should I own? I have a .357 Magnum that I inherited from Dad, but I don't like shooting it because it's too loud. But I still keep it for 'protection'." I asked when did she last shoot it. Answer, "Four years ago."

"I have a Glock ###, but it never practice with it. But it's OK."

"Well, I own one, but I keep it locked up in the closet and the ammo is still in its unopened box." Uh-huh. I'm sure when the BadGuy shows up at the door at 3:00 am, he/she/it will wait around for you to load....

Owning guns seems to not be a big issue. Getting owners into training is. The aforementioned folks were of multiple races and backgrounds. How do you get folks to realize that self-defense is a personal responsibility? Like everything else?
 
Uh oh. My hot button there, Typhoon, is the assumption that guns are for violent pursuits. How about pointing them to local safey classes and non violent recreation?

I know I'm marching against the tide among anti's and firearms owners alike, but in my book SD is a side note with negative connotations. I prefer to induce people to become involved for reasons that don't have the potential for making them feel they are involved in something slightly evil or dirty.

I also have a problem with depending on the 2nd Amendment to justify firearms ownership. Should not need justification for any pursuit not detrimental to others. Should stand on it's own merits. I feel that the more people who just plain enjoy shooting the less we will need to argue legal views of a sentence in the Bill of Rights.
 
Your point is well taken.

My personal training with handguns is for self defense. That is in no way meant to say that handguns cannot be used for some excellent sport and personal challenge. The same can be said for long guns.

I do not advocate the exclusive use for guns as self defense tools. On the other hand, I do not fail to recognize their potential use for the same.

Room for all...
 
Yup. My 686+ with moonclips of Federal Hydra-shok migrate to the bedroom each night just because it would be downright stupid not to have my recreational equipment available if it could be used to save our lives. Would do the same thing with a cricket bat if I played and did not shoot. ;)
 
There lies one of the biggest problems with those not understanding firearms (handguns in particular). All they see or hear is of the violent usage of them and never consider them for recreational usage. They go to a range and all the big targets (something a beginner will first go for) are silhouettes of a man. Then they watch people rapidly firing at these targets. What ideas do you think this impresses upon them?
I know some shooters only see the handgun as a defensive tool and you can see them train diligently with them. I think it's a shame they have this limited view, but to each their own. The handgun can also be used for sport, fun, art, and just plain enjoyment. If we could show people this then we may turn the tide. Every time a trigger is pulled no one has to die or get hurt. It can create grins and giggles. That is the point we should be getting out to the non-shooters.
 
NIGHTWATCH,

That's sick. Don't let the antis get that. They will probably take it serious and be looking fo shotgunners when they go to the Olympics. Worse they will probably have shotguns banned or confiscated until after the Olympics.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++


I am anxious to get on Kenn Blanchard's new site to see how he is doing it. He is apparently including but not focusing on shooting sports as one of a variety of offered outings.
 
I think you are making way to much out of this. Shooting is just not a 'girl' thing. Weapons, throughout history, have been 'guy' things. As for ethnicity and participation in shooting sports, that might bear looking at,but again, regardless of how it is now, its not that big a deal.
 
The concern is that the sports need more participants to deflate the bigoted images portrayed when laws are passed. Women and ethnic groups are two that are not involved enough and as represented by the media, Million Moms and all, are two groups that feel most threatened by firearms availability.

Basically, if more of the population were involved they could provide a broader support when "sensible" gun laws that restrict honest citizens and do nothing to deter criminals are contemplated. More people would feel the pain of such laws and discourage that line of thought.

But my thoughts have been pretty thoroughly explored at this point and I've received the insight I asked for.
 
Additional thoughts: antis see white gun owners as KKK rednecks, black gun owners as gangstas.

I perceive that the black community in particular is more worried about gangstas than rednecks. I also perceive an internal prejudice that blacks are not competent to own guns. Maybe because of a fear the black gun owners will end up violent or maybe fear that black gun owners are just like wimpy women that are just going to have the gun taken from them and used against them.

I think that the only cure for these prejudices is positive role models in the form of responsible black gun owners. The same goes for competent female gun owners.

I also feel sad for people who are deprived of a great sport because of social stigma.
 
Well you can at best expect to see a similar mix to the population. Blacks make up 10% of the population, So it would be illogical to expect to see more than that. Also Shooting is usually an activity passed on from generation to generation. Sure there are new shooters but that is a minority of shooters. Since blacks have been discouraged from owning firearms through legal and political means up until the last 30-40 years depending on the locale, it will take a while for them to come in to the sport. Also since the black population is more urban nationally, firearms are not a part of the culture.
 
No disrespect DrDremel, but you really need to come south and see how your figures reflect on the black population here.
 
Overall the pecentage would be maybe 10%, but in this area (Oakland, CA) as in Majic's neck of the woods there is a heavier concentration of black citizens.

We also have a huge concentration of east Indian and Pakistani in the who are seldom at the range. On the other hand the equally huge concentration of pan-asians are omni-present at action matches and at the range.
 
USPSA is full of Filipinos

At the club match i shot 2 days ago had 4 black guys and 2 asian guys. This was out of about 15 people. Some places just have more but in general there are sports that dont attract a lot of diversity. one reason is socio economic. the average income for blacks is less which is why you dont see as many in higher costing sport and activities. It is just like skiing. You dont see many there due to cost. You see a ton of asians there(mainly japanese) because of the income of the culture.
 
Jeeper, you're right on the filipino thing, in the bay area its big stuff.

wierd, maybe it has something to do with the phillipines "lax gun laws"?

atek3
 
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