Maybe we need to redirect our Focus.

[freebird914]

I was watching the medal count for the Olympics. If I am reading it correct, We the USA did not place in the Shooting at any level so far. That is just disturbing to me. Can we get our Country back to shooting? That could maybe turn the tide of public opinion ? Just amazed so far. Thoughts ?

 

[AlexanderA]

Olympic shooting is not really relevant to ordinary people's lives, regarding guns. In fact it's past time for the Olympic Games in general to be abolished. The emperor Theodosius had the right idea when he abolished the original Games back in 393 AD.

 

[rust collector]

As with professional sports/entertainment, many olympic sports are so specialized and irrelevant to life as we know it that they are more a testament to OCD and heavy investment/sponsorship. Media try to ramp up the drama, but it all comes down to metrics, politics and a dash of theatrics.

 

[CapnMac]

Olympic shooting ebbs and flows.
As above, it's a very specialized sort of thing (think F-class here) and the people involved are as equally specialized.

Four years ago, American women were dominating the shotgun competitions, and Americans were holding their own in the rifle and pistol competitions. Which is amazing in some ways for all the rimfire ammo used.

 

[Jim Watson]

ISSF is dull, all .shotgun, 22 and air gun at Olympics.
ISSF is hard, clay pigeons are faster, you can only hold a pistol in one hand, you have to stand up to shoot a rifle.
Too many more exciting things to do here.

 

[hso]

Can we get our Country back to shooting?

Competitive shooting can inspire. The spectacle and attention given to the Olympics every four years is an opportunity for us to use that interest to support shooting sports and make them normal in the face of the Anti propaganda that only dangerous criminals use firearms. The challenge is getting people inspired enough want to compete in shooting sports, to get the support in the face of the social engineering in this country to destroy any mention of firearms, and then apply pressure to get news and social media to cover competitive shooting sports instead of suppressing interest in them. The way to do that is energize discussions about the sports when attention if focused on them however briefly.

Can we start a discussion in open society that differentiates between the click bait of infamy around criminal shootings and the fame from competition that we missed in these Olympics? We have a great opportunity to spread the word that silver went to a Turkish 51 year old in a T shirt and reading glasses calmly competing with the nonchalance of a "boss"? I think we can if WE pump the discussions when stories like this come up. We are in an information competition with Antis and we're lax in using good stories about firearms use to our advantage in the face of the opposition suppressing them.

Turkish Shooter Had Most Honest One-Liner After Going Viral While Winning Silver Medal

Yusuf Dikeç is now an internet legend.

www.si.com

MSN

 

[hso]

It is also important at the same time to point out where the Antis are robbing us of good stories about shooting using the Olmypics as a frame.

There are two stories out now about a paralympian being shadow banned because she competed in a shooting sport and about the West Point competetive shooting group taking their information down.

When Wall Street Journal publishes an article like this we should be blowing it up. "Why would social media suppress stories about a US parlympic competing for the US simply because she is representing us in a shooting sport??? Are they handicapped by treating heroes like this as criminals simply because they only want to treat people like her, and you, as a criminal online?" "McKenna Geer is scheduled to represent Team USA at the Paralympic Games in Paris next month. The 28-year-old Washington state native, who was born with a muscular disorder called amyoplasia arthrogryposis, will compete in the air-rifle event. Yet if Ms. Geer wants to post about her athletic adventures abroad on social media, she’ll likely be out of luck. Why? Meta, the parent company of Instagram and Facebook, has shadow-banned her for her shooting-related posts."" and then link the WSJ article and post this picture with it.

https://www.wsj.com/articles/meta-censors-a-paralympic-athlete-air-rifle-f7321d29

Follow up with "McKenna isn’t alone in facing such censorship. Recently, Meta has also taken similar actions against other athletes, such as Team USA shotgun athlete Conner Prince. The Facebook page of the West Point Rifle Team at the U.S. Military Academy was “unpublished” by Meta, which stated that the page “goes against our Community Standards.”"

 

[LiveLife]

Thoughts ?

Not really into AIR pellet rifle/pistol competition ...

For 22LR competition, I like 25 meter rapid pistol and ISSF (International Shooting Sport Federation) is where it's at

25 m Rapid Fire Pistol Men Final - Egypt (EGY) 2024 - ISSF WORLD CUP

www.youtube.com

For Paris Olympics, 25 meter rapid pistol event is next week. Here's schedule of all shooting events (Air and 22LR) - https://www.nbcolympics.com/news/shooting-2024-paris-olympics

BTW, US Olympic shooting team - https://olympics.usashooting.com/meet_your_paris2024_pistol-team/

ISSF is dull, all .shotgun, 22 and air gun at Olympics.

Too many more exciting things to do here.

Why USPSA and IDPA "action pistol" matches are more popular in the US.

30 years ago, I started USPSA match shooting and my reloading/match shooting mentor was a seasoned bullseye match shooter who also shot PPC matches. He suggested I try bullseye match shooting but I told him I didn't have the patience for bullseye matches but liked fast action USPSA.

I was gearing up for 3-gun match shooting when we had to move early and buy our retirement house 10 years ago. I think for many in the US, there's greater popularity of "action pistol/3 gun" matches than bullseye/ISSF/Olympic type shooting.

 

[hso]

And what memes we forward on social media matter.

This is good for us.


This is not.


We have choices about how we use this interest and we need to choose wisely.

 

[Jim Watson]

Once upon a time - 1970s - I was the reporter for the Trap club. I would write up the weekly league shoot between two regional clubs and the newspaper would print it. Sometimes even pictures. Times have changed.

IPSC had a proposal to be a "demonstration sport" at a 1990s Olympics but it got quashed. I recall it was to be scored on a time plus basis akin to IDPA so watchers would not have to master the arcane hit factor system.

 

[rust collector]

Let's face it, we'll never be able to compete with gymnastics, swimming or beach volleyball! I agree that we need to show the shooting sports as a legitimate lifetime sport, but the Olympic competition is probably not an effective means for that.

 

[hso]

Let's face it, we'll never be able to compete with gymnastics, swimming or beach volleyball! I agree that we need to show the shooting sports as a legitimate lifetime sport, but the Olympic competition is probably not an effective means for that.

We can't compete for eyes with sports like those in the Olympics, but that isn't the point.

The OP laments our lack of standing and asks hiw we can get people back into the shooting sports.

I view using the Olympic and shooting sports as part of our own efforts at outreach/propaganda because the Olympics generates a little interest over the usual flat line level before the Olympics and a month after. Grab the 15 minute news cycle whenever it spits out something positive instead of the steady drum beats of negativity.

 

[Jim Watson]

I was surprised to see a straight news announcement of the IDPA Nationals.

Pistol tournament attracting hundreds from around the world

IDPA executive director Joyce Wilson said, "We have a great relationship with all the wonderful staff at CMP and we're excited to be back in Talladega this year."

www.annistonstar.com

I do wish they had shown pictures of competitors with guns in hand.

 

[Riomouse911]

I coach (as an unpaid volunteer) the local high school AFJROTC air rifle program. I think it is my way to open up the minds of our local kids to the shooting sports. Some come in alteady seasoned shooters who need minimal tweaking, some with pre-exposure to video shooter games (these guys are the hardest to break from bad habits) and others with zero exposure. (Girls have become my easiest to work with and two of my top three shooters last year were female!)

I like to let them know that developing the skills involved is great training for success in school, business and life; as the focus, mental discipline and physical efforts involved in practice and competing in shooting events are not much different than studying and taking a final exam, prepping fir a job interview or assembling data for a large group presentation. Solid, dedicated efforts up front make for a greater chance for success when it matters.

I do live near the olympic shooting site from the 1984 olympics, I do hope they hold them here again in 2028.

Stay safe.

 

[General Geoff]

We have choices about how we use this interest and we need to choose wisely.

Respectfully, both of those memes help raise awareness of how "cool" the shooting sports can be. The only reason Yusuf is an internet sensation when the guy who beat him to win the gold isn't, is because of how casual and cool he was during the event, both in attire / conspicuous lack of special equipment and attitude. It gives off the vibe of "if HE can win silver like that, maybe I could become a marksman too!"

We should all be cognizant of how many folks join the ranks of gun owners because of the portrayal of guns being "cool" in media. Might not be the most noble reason but the draw is undeniable.

 

[BLACKHAWKNJ]

Probably 99 and 44 /100 & of the world's shooting is done in this country.

 

[hso]

Not to kill the discussion since it is important for us to get more people involved in the shooting sports, more celebration of the shooting sports, and more sponsorship of the shooting sports, but America rarely makes any showing in the pistol or rifle Olympic competition and has only been a powerhouse in the shotguns sports for the past several decades. We haven't been effective in Olympic shooting sports like we think we should. That means more effort needs to be put in by the industry and organizations we support with out purchases and donations, but we should be putting in more to support the teams and clubs helping young shooters get on the path to these high profile events.

 

[hso]

Probably 99 and 44 /100 & of the world's shooting is done in this country.

I don't get your point with respect to this discussion?

Do you mean we should be doing better in these competitions because we shoot more than the rest of the world? I think we all agree that our performance is pathetic against the international shooting community considering the number of people we should be able to have competing if we just go by gross numbers of people engaged in shooting. Do you have a suggestion on what we should do about it?

 

[hso]

Respectfully, both of those memes help raise awareness of how "cool" the shooting sports can be.

I can't agree. Any association with cinematic murder plays right into the hands of the message Antis put out.
Part of what's made the Antis effective is the messaging around guns being associated with murderers. Cinematic murderers shouldn't be considered role models even if they're cleverly depicted.

 

[Littlef]

I can't agree. Any association with cinematic murder plays right into the hands of the message Antis put out.
Part of what's made the Antis effective is the messaging around guns being associated with murderers. Cinematic murderers shouldn't be considered role models even if they're cleverly depicted.

I can certainly see that perspective, but I don't think it has to be black and white, good and bad. I post about a lot of my shooting activties on facebook. There's a handful of people interested, who make comments, but most people are not interested, and never give any type of response or interaction. I posted a similar pulp fiction meme, and there were dozens of people responding, commenting, and discussing it. It was all light and positive. Its a good idea to keep in mind the political winds and gun issues in this country, but I don't think we have to walk on eggshells when it comes to the shooting sports. - just one guy's opinion.