Good News For The Shooting Sport

[rabywk]

A little background on me, I have been shooting competition smallbore rifle for over 20 years now. Well the gentleman that taught me how to shoot has been wanting to retire for a couple of years now and I have been gradually taking over the responsibilities of the Jr. Rifle team.

The team over the last 7 or so years has been shrinking in size and only consisting of between 3 to 5 kids. Well this last Saturday we had a new class start up and to my surprise we had 11 new kids show up. That will put our team size up to 15 kids this year.

Well thinking this was just a fluke, I called around to a couple of other guys that run Jr. teams and asked how things were going for them. The comments I got from ALL of them was busy. They said that this year they have seen a large influx of new shooters.

I really hope this keeps up. Starting our children out when they are young is necessary for the survival of the shooting sports and also the 2nd Amend.

[lukem]

That's great. My daughter is 10 and lives in New Orleans. I've asked my dad to start taking her shooting and she's really excited about it.

[spc]

A little background on me, I have been shooting competition smallbore rifle for over 20 years now. Well the gentleman that taught me how to shoot has been wanting to retire for a couple of years now and I have been gradually taking over the responsibilities of the Jr. Rifle team.

The team over the last 7 or so years has been shrinking in size and only consisting of between 3 to 5 kids. Well this last Saturday we had a new class start up and to my surprise we had 11 new kids show up. That will put our team size up to 15 kids this year.

Well thinking this was just a fluke, I called around to a couple of other guys that run Jr. teams and asked how things were going for them. The comments I got from ALL of them was busy. They said that this year they have seen a large influx of new shooters.

I really hope this keeps up. Starting our children out when they are young is necessary for the survival of the shooting sports and also the 2nd Amend.

Great news.

I started my son out when he was aobout 5-6 years old with a Benjamin pump pellet pistol. I pumped and he shot. He is now an avid shooter and at school in Chico State.

I hope all goes well with the rifle team.

spc

[DrDavidM]

That is truly great to hear. I live in a rural area and people do not seem to be as afraid of guns as they are in some places. I do fear as children grow now, the negative aspect they hear about firearms is going to be overwhelming. Your class presents hope for the future. Thank you for teaching our youth the safety and enjoyment associated with firearms! :)

[Skye]

That's great news!

I remember back in Omaha NE in the late 40's we had a strong rifle team in HS (ROTC) and we often went to school on the bus with target .22's slung over our shoulder.

Here in southest Colorado we have a good program with the 4H kids. .22 target rifle, archery and trap shooting.

Keep up the good work!

...Skye...

[Muzz]

That is awsome, rabywk. Keep up the good work! Every kid we get 'hooked' on shooting hopefully pushes back the destruction of the 2nd Amendment.

[Hoplites1234]

Is there any known reason for the increase o0f the number of youngsters in the clubs?

[rabywk]

Is there any known reason for the increase o0f the number of youngsters in the clubs?

None of us know. I have a couple of new shooters, who's parents do not shoot. The only thing I can think is crime is getting out of hand and people are starting to see it. What better way to get your kids familiar with guns then get them into a program. Either that or college is getting to expensive. There are still a couple of colleges out there that give full ride scholorships to shooters. The military academies also are always looking for shooters.

Our program is very cheap. You join the club for $125 a year and everything is paid for. Over the years we have built a large supply of very nice .22 target rifles and air rifles. All the coaches also have a few extra :D that we loan to the program when needed. The club gives us an annual budget to buy ammo/pellets, targets, new coats, shooting mats, scope stands, ect... So other that the $125 a year to join, the only other expense someone would have would be match fees, which range $15 to $25 a match.