Not enough young gunnies?

[bigun15]

Pretty much all of the other teenage guys I know either love shooting or would love to go shooting. I will tell all of you gun owning adults this: Teenage guys want to shoot but can't. We'd love for you to take us.

I typically make a once-a-year trip to New Mexico to visit my grandparents and I bring a friend. Every year it's a different friend, and every year we get to go shooting. We use an SKS w/ 30 round mag., AK47(note:my friends and I are from California, so this is all typically illegal to us), .22 rifles and revolvers, and the occasional lever action or muzzleloader. We all love it every time. No exceptions.

 

[ProguninTN]

Lack of Young People

I started when I was about 11 or 12. The biggest obstacle for me was not being close to the range. Luckily, I now know of close ranges. I also suspect that anti-gun nonsense being fed to kids may be a cause to the lowered shooting interest.

 

[jfanzen]

i shot my first gun... umm two months ago>? maybe one.. immeditely i was hooked! it ws fun...i was a little timid... but i mean it was my first time and a gun isnt a toy... 13 more days i will turn 21 and im going to buy my first handgun.. im really excited.. if people (adults) offered to take the younger ones shooting and teach them properly there would be alot more young gunnies out there..

 

[Stiletto Null]

I do what I can to bring my peers (college students) into the fold.

 

[Ed Ames]

Saw a lot of the reason earlier today when I went to a gun store to pick up some shot shells. "Dad" was looking at pistols, 4 year old (roughly... I'm no expert) was being the typical enthusiastic little kid "Guns! Look at the guns!" in a happy/exited voice. "Dad" responded: "Guns are BAD! BAD! Only for looking at, never for touching!" ... that quieted the kid down quite a bit. Then "Dad" asks to see a huge revolver (some .454/.44-esque hunting monstrocity) out of the case.

:banghead:

 

[solareclipse]

to such things i always say, give us the money, and we will buy guns.

meanwhile we need clothes and cell phones. those come first.

really things have changed over the years and so have the priorities.

 

[the 22 junkie]

Most of it is the crap they're fed in the schools. My English teacher's got a Brady campaign poster on his wall. But to counterbalance it, I always make libertarian rants during free journal just to piss him off. That'll show that hippie. THe best thing you can do to help them is get them off the following things:
MTV
Cell Phones
$150 Jeans
Emo Bands/new music in general

People can't believe it when I tell them my fream is to become a hermit in the Smoky Mountains and live with the salt of the the earth. Or, maybe its people like me, who make them think all gun owners are nutcases.

 

[TimboKhan]

I submit that there aren't as many young gunnies because old gunnies aren't the most accepting bunch of folks in the world (and yes, thats a broad generalization). I have seen crusty old guys at gun shows refuse to show guns to young guys with long hair and earrings. I myself was once refused the right to look at a gun because I have an earring and my cap was on backwards. The exact phrase the guy used was "You don't know what these can do.." Really? A combat Marine veteran that grew up around guns, owns a substantial collection of guns and has been shot has no idea what a gun can do?

The fact is, We are at fault for this. We, as gun owners, constantly judge those that we deem unacceptable. In this very forum the other day there was a thread on Ashton Kutcher, and there were several comments made to the effect that he was too goofy to be a person that would make a good advocate for 2A. Someone will post a youtube video, and then we will all scream about how the mouthbreathers have poor gunhandling skills. We will look at a picture of a girl exhibiting poor gunhandling and moan about what she looks like and how she is acting. Hell, I have done it myself when confronted with someone I don't particularly want to spend time with wanting to tag along to go shooting.

My point is, those people that handle guns poorly and have 15 different studs hanging out of thier faces are what our lack of participation and our predisposition to judge has wrought. If we look past what we find different or wierd, we have a real opportunity to educate and groom futurer 2A advocates. How many of you old guys were greasers or hot rodders back in the 50's? How many of you guys dabbled in weed or acid (or both) in the 60's? How many got drunk and drove home after the Peter Frampton show in the 70's? How many of us listened to Heavy Metal? None of those activities were socially acceptable at the time, but most of us turned out just fine, and my guess is that is because someone, at some point, took the time to show us the ropes. Besides, times are changing. We can either change with them, or we can die, and I really think it's that simple.

I say that we need to stop looking down our noses at todays kids and teach them how to have fun and be safe. We need to teach them that real shooting is different than what Solid Snake does in Metal Gear III (and, by god, it helps if you actually know who Solid Snake is. Connect with the kids on their level, not yours.). We need to teach them to be ethical shooters and collectors. For me, I have tried to take a more liberal attitude towards taking people shooting. I offer up my time and guns, but I make it clear that on the range they must listen to me. Rockstar.esq has taken scads of his classmates shooting, some of whom have never even really seen a real gun, and he actually delivers a safety lecture to them. Everyone has fun, and no one has been hurt, and I can think of four guys right off the bat that have purchased guns of some sort and become shooters simply because of their experiences with him. I hate to say it because it is an image that I always sort of wished was applicable in my life, but the quaint old image of Grandpa taking the kids shooting is passe. Heck, most of the guys that are Grandpas on here probably listened to Jimi Hendrix and Led Zepplin and Country Joe and The Fish when they were younger, and so they can't even relate to that image!

So, in a nutshell, thats my opinion on the matter. Rant concluded.

 

[Dr. Dickie]

I agree with a lot of what you TimboKhan; however, I think there is more to it.
I think often the judgment of (us) older gun owners has to do with personal responsibility, not gun ownership exclusively.
That is, just getting young people to OWN guns is not the aim (good gosh, there are enough gangbangers that own guns as it is), it is instead to get them to accept personal responsibility for their lives.
Gun ownership (and true freedom in general) comes with a very large responsibility. When us older folks see some punk kid (which is, rightly or wrongly, often determined by dress and attitude) show an interest in guns, we assume that it is due to worship of the rap star, gangbanger, badass rather than an interest in firearms and the ability to defend yourself and a love freedom.
As responsible gun owners, we SHOULD be skeptical and make sure that we are not just feeding some punk a weapon to make him feel like a big shot. Though, as you say, that can cut both ways and though skeptical, we should not shut the door and be dismissive. It is a tough line to tell, and that is why it should be the parents that teach their children firearms, and get them started on the path to responsible living.
Not saying it is going to happen, but that is the way it should happen.
I am always willing to help a new young shooter, but I am going to judge the person before I shuffle them off to the range.
(and yes, I know you did not mean to just take anyone, I am not disagreeing with what you said, just adding to it).

 

[MatthewVanitas]

@Dr Dickie: I agree that simple blanket "guns for everyone" isn't the right mentality, and that safe and responsible use is a key component.

However, I really don't think that most folks, when properly taught and minimally supervised, are anywhere near as reckless as many gunowners assume they will be.

Over several hundred kids that have come through the UT range this fall, I haven't seen a single one mimicking the ludicrous Hollywood gunhandling forms. We teach the Four Rules in the opening brief, and correct anyone who doesn't follow them. That pretty much covers it.

We get some minor unsafe behavior, mostly due to simple inexperience. That's why an RSO stands by new shooters to ensure that they don't angle the gun when loading it, or have finger on trigger when racking the slide. Any unsafe behavior that I've seen, which was all swiftly corrected, is the kind that could happen in 1906 just as well as 2006.

Heck, firearms accidents _rates_ (not just overall) are down. It's those nogoodnik 1906 kids that were careless.

When you see kids at the range with multiple piercings or saggy pants behaving unsafely, it's likely that it's because no responsible gun owner took the time to teach them. They either wandered into a gunshop and bought whatever looked cool, or borrowed it from an equally incompetent parent who filled their heads with "shoot burglars in the yard, then drag 'em in the house so you can claim it's defense".

IRT image: yes, you can figure some things out by looking at people, and it'd be dumb to walk around with your eyes shut all the time. However, our top shooter AT UTRPC looks like Eric the Red (if Eric the Red had been the frontman for a death-metal band, neck tats and piercings). Our second-place shooter looks like the Asian-American version of John Lennon. Our baggy-pants, stubble-faced, backwards-cap member eschews the semi-auto pistols and shoots benchrest single-shot .22 rifle. All good.

-MV

 

[Koobuh]

"Now all the kids want to do is watch weird Japanese shows and play video games."

Hey!
It IS possible to do all three, though simultaneously is not recommended.

I'm 27, so I suppose I count as the 'younger generation', and it's true that shooting is rather less popular for mine than for older generations. Lack of places, time, and money to shoot are the largest obstacles.
We have a lot more potential hobbies vying for our attention, in addition to the everyday grind of our 'new, service' economy.
I found shooting to be an excellent mood-improver as well as a source of pride-in-accomplishment and fulfillment I wouldn't otherwise have in my life, due to my lousy job. Painting the shooting sports in that light is very positive, and places it in the category of an action-hobby like racing and mountainbiking, both very popular hobbies for younger people.

I would say the attitude of older gunnies is less of an issue for young people than you would think. It is an annoyance, but for the most part kids expect old people to be crotchety farts anyway, and if they're getting a positive experience despite them, are willing to look past the deficiency.
Rude or just plain mean people are more of a problem, though, as younger people don't want to be bothered by jerks while trying to enjoy something fun- it's more a matter of 'I want to be here, but don't have to be here'; there are other things they could be doing if they just dropped shooting as a hobby. Putting up with jerks is no fun, and the 'no fun' threshold for dropping a hobby is getting mighty low lately. People are much less willing to treat a hobby as a job, to be done in spite of annoyance, is my point.

 

[Molon Labe]

Lack of places, time, and money to shoot are the largest obstacles.

I disagree. There are still lots of places to shoot. And it's now cheaper to shoot than it's ever been.

The real reason is that, for whatever reason, shooting is just not the "in" thing for the 20-something crowd.

 

[Huddog]

The area around Asheville, NC has been changing for several years. It has always been a tourist area and now the tourists are becoming residents. Many of the younger people who grew up in the area and probably are owners of firearms are no longer living in the area as it becomes populated by the "more gentle, no need for guns" folks who move there. There has also been several major industry shut downs in the area, blue colar work has decreased and people have left as retirees have increased. Simple fact is there probably are not as many young households in the area as there used to be. The Asheville Citizen Times is a leftist rag and would slant the stories to be anti-gun, after all how many of us agree that alcohol was as much the culprit in the two incidents that occur than the gun was.

How many of us would take a telephone interview? Much less admit that we own firearms to a perfect stranger. I usually do not desiminate that information to people I don't know. My two sons are shooters and both are in the 18-29 group.

 

[RandomAvenger]

I'm 23 and have been shooting since I was 6. I wouldn't trade that time spent with my dad and brother for anything in the world. I would like to get involved with firearms instruction for kids these days, but there aren't many opportunities to do so where I live. So, I guess that means I should get off my a** and start creating opportunities for kids around here.

 

[MatthewVanitas]

@ Random: bingo! Call NSSF and see if there are any clubs in your area. Call some local gunshops and ask. There's a dang good chance that somebody (ROTC, 4-H, CMP) is doing something to teach kids to use guns in your area, and can use your help.

Do you take friends of yours along shooting too? Folks our age, if not shooters already, make powerful allies. They're young enough to be flexible to new ideas, but starting to get to the age of having money and influence. Also less distracted (in some cases) by career and kids.

-MV

 

[RH822]

My youngest daughter is a gun owner. She's an 18 yr old high school senior. She owns a Taurus model 85 that I gave to her for her 18th birthday. She also has 2 long guns and this past week she got to shoot a Barrett L82 light fifty in her Criminal Justice vocation class. Her and her boyfriend plan on getting their handgun permits before she graduates this year. I hope she keeps up the tradition.

RH

 

[Hazzard]

I have an 18yo and 20yo. They epitomize the younger generation. They like the following:

MTV - yes, definately
Cell Phones - too much
$150 Jeans - When I'm buying, yes. When they're buying, it seems that $150 jeans aren't as important
Emo Bands/new music in general - The 18yo is the guitarist and the daughter is the singer in the band.

They also go to the range with me every time we can get the schedules together. And it may be one of the only times that they will actually listen to my advice.

And Timbokhan, that was a great post!

 

[Cybert]

Well, I'm in my late twenties. I only discovered shooting in my early twenties. My mom is very anti-gun. I'm one of those video game players, too! Remember, some games are pretty realistic. The free America's Army is a great way to introduce anybody to guns.

 

[Barbara]

You guys would love the conversation I had with my nephew last week..he turned 12 the end of September.

I knew he liked guns and asked him if he'd like to go watch a combat rifle match in a couple weeks.

He was geeked.

Him: "Can I shoot?"
Me: "Sure. Maybe even run the course with a .22."
Him: "Can I bring my AK?"
Me: "You have an AK??"
Me, looking at his dad: "He has an AK?"
Dad, who hunts but that's about it, laughing: "Yep."
Me: "Have you shot it?"
Him: "Yep. It's my favorite gun."
Me: "Uh. Ok. Sure. Bring it along. Cool."
Him: "Should I bring the chest rig? I only have three magazines for it but 2 of them are 30 rounders."
Me: "Uh. Uh. Yes. Good. Good. Bring it."

Then he brought out all his gun books and started to show them to me and he knew who the manufacturers were, what calibers they were, what years they were produced. He especially likes rifles.

I was kind of in awe.

Tells me he's going to be a cop.

The next day, he shot an 8 point buck, too.

And the neat thing is, he's a really sweet, thoughtful, well-mannered child. OI have no questions at all about his ability to handle a gun safely (although obviously still with some supervision at his age.) There are a lot of 16 year olds I can't say that about.

 

[oneshooter]

The photo is my 8yr old. His older brothers (19 and 21) shoot Highpower, either across the board or reduced course. They have been trying for 3-4 years to beat me. Came real close, makes me work even harder!

Oneshooter
Livin in Texas

 

[Dr. Dickie]

Quote Cybert
"I'm one of those video game players, too! Remember, some games are pretty realistic. The free America's Army is a great way to introduce anybody to guns."

Dude, I'm in my 50s, and I am one of those video game players a well.
I was playing Castle Wolfenstein and Wizardy back in early '80s.

 

[TimboKhan]

Well, post-rant, let me point out that I also am an avid video gamer at 34, and have been since I got my first ever Pong machine. There is certainly nothing wrong with video games as a fun diversion, and in fact I recently used a video game as an activity for a days lesson plan on WWII using Battlefield: 1942. It was fun! I found an easy way to incorporate something they were interested in with something I was interested in, and it turned into one heck of a teachable moment for me.

 

[Mr. Cuts]

Another young gunnie

I am 22 and a gunnie. Honestly though it is often not socially acceptable for someone my age to be so into firearms. I CCW and hunt and shoot IPSC and later this month my first IDPA match. I am also in college to be a LEO. The most common reaction to my owning guns is "you really want to kill somebody huh?" or "Hey can I borrow one I have somebody I need to shoot!" these people are joking but come on! My boss at work will be having a bad day and say "can I borrow your gun?". It just goes to show how little people understand firearms ownership. :banghead: