How do we encourage new people into the sport ?

The best way to get youngsters interested in shooting airguns is to let them have them when old enough, make sure they know the safety aspects and what they can and cannot shoot and then find somewhere remote, ie some woodland or fields with absolutely no adults in the area and just let them get on with it, once anything is organised by an adult the fun stops for the common or garden youth.
 
The best way to get youngsters interested in shooting airguns is to let them have them when old enough, make sure they know the safety aspects and what they can and cannot shoot and then find somewhere remote, ie some woodland or fields with absolutely no adults in the area and just let them get on with it, once anything is organised by an adult the fun stops for the common or garden youth.
A fairly irresponsible suggestion, appreciate stating 'when they are old enough' and brief the safety aspects, however allowing any youngster, or even adult lose with a firearm and suggest the simply get on with it is a recipe for disaster and possibly worse.
 
The best way to get youngsters interested in shooting airguns is to let them have them when old enough, make sure they know the safety aspects and what they can and cannot shoot and then find somewhere remote, ie some woodland or fields with absolutely no adults in the area and just let them get on with it, once anything is organised by an adult the fun stops for the common or garden youth.
Yeeeah I don't think that flies in 2026, on like multiple levels. Also it really sounds like you have a somewhat warped perception of young people...
 
The law is clear on the ages to own, use and borrow sub 12 airguns and when adult supervision is required, thats what i meant 'when old enough' no need to confine airgunning to ranges etc, let them at 14 and up find somwhere safe to let them plink away at old cans etc away from adults but legally,
Some may give it up but some may start going to ranges etc,
 
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The best way to get youngsters interested in shooting airguns is to let them have them when old enough, make sure they know the safety aspects and what they can and cannot shoot and then find somewhere remote, ie some woodland or fields with absolutely no adults in the area and just let them get on with it, once anything is organised by an adult the fun stops for the common or garden youth.
We saw many parents with children-Mum's & Dad's, with their Son's or Daghters, sometimes whole families, attending the early HFT shoots. What better way to enjoy family time outdoor's together, with a little "in family" competition for fun.
Childhood memories like that, are what will ensure plenty of people return to the sport, or take their own offspring shooting.

As long as it's safe and they enjoy it, it's all good(y)
 
The law is clear on the ages to own, use and borrow sub 12 airguns and when adult supervision is required, thats what i meant 'when old enough' no need to confine airgunning to ranges etc, let them at 14 and up find somwhere safe to let them plink away at old cans etc away from adults but legally,
Some may give it up but some may start going to ranges etc,

I read your original post as if you were suggesting the nippers just go forth and find somewhere where they wouldn't be caught.

Remote woods or fields with no adults to spoil their fun. Rose tinted spectacles aside for a minute that's potentially not legal, safe or responsible.
 
The best way to get youngsters interested in shooting airguns is to let them have them when old enough, make sure they know the safety aspects and what they can and cannot shoot and then find somewhere remote, ie some woodland or fields with absolutely no adults in the area and just let them get on with it, once anything is organised by an adult the fun stops for the common or garden youth.

Have you not read any of the threads where Police - possibly armed - have turned up to those guys shooting entirely legally on perms etc?

I don't know where you live * but in many places (like the Home Counties) there is nowhere that remote and certainly nowhere that it would be legal - unless you know friendly farmers etc and just forgot to mention them?

It is no longer the 1950s!!!


Edit *
London, apparently.
Any suggestions or examples of suitable places???
 
Have you not read any of the threads where Police - possibly armed - have turned up to those guys shooting entirely legally on perms etc?

I don't know where you live * but in many places (like the Home Counties) there is nowhere that remote and certainly nowhere that it would be legal - unless you know friendly farmers etc and just forgot to mention them?

It is no longer the 1950s!!!


Edit *
London, apparently.
Any suggestions or examples of suitable places???
A raft in international waters
 
A raft in international waters
Also, I live in a pretty remote area but there’s always someone around: that farmer on his quad, that bumbling tourist who doesn’t know how to navigate, that dog walker , those urban explorer type clowns, fell runners, mtbs, paragliders….each one of these can call 999 if they assume the worst.
 
When I was a boy, there was no Internet, no mobile phones, and no video games.
Spending hours in your bedroom was considered a punishment.

TV was in black and white and we had a choice of two channels... and very few programs were aimed at kids over the age of 4. . . Mercifully, rap music hadn't been invented, and other songs didn't have swear words in the lyrics.
The height of desire for most kids was having a bicycle. ... or making a carty from planks of wood and a set of old pram wheels... no brakes, of course. :ROFLMAO:.. If we were lucky, we had an air rifle to shoot in our back gardens.
We didn't have "instant gratification"... we had to work at it.. and it felt good.

Basically, we went outside to play and we made real friends. We went back home when the street lights came on.
It was a totally different era. We used our imaginations to make fun.
To a greater extent, modern technology has robbed modern kids of that style of childhood... and society in general is noticeably poorer for it.

If we can drag modern youngsters away from their screens by showing them real pastimes, and having them socialise with real people, I consider it to be a success.

As an aside, when my grandchildren stay with me, they are totally banned from screens. . . It's amazing how quickly they turn back into children. :)
Spot on wing commander 👍
 
Lena in 2020 at Pokljuka
Don’t be afraid to say that you shoot and some may ask about it then offer to take them at set up targets they can hit which in turn encourages them and keep them away from the members which talks a load of crap has not to discourage them returning in the future
 

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Hmmm, I gave this members previous post the benefit of the doubt, but clearly it read exactly as intended.
Essentially, this entire thread has been about how to change the perceived public image of this sport and encourage new people into it, and so far this person has suggested that if youngsters do come into it then they want them to do so as far away from them as possible.

You "don't want to be treading on eggshells the whole time..."

What does that even mean? I've never been on any range, shoot, or club soil were I felt I was ' treading on eggshells'.
Are you honestly saying you're unable to partake of any shooting activity without an accompanying tirade of foul mouthed abusive language?

So far all you've managed to do is reinforce two extremely unhelpful sterotypes; that all youths are troublesome and that all older shooters are grumpy and potty mouthed.
 
I can get people to give it a go, took a bunch of the wife’s church friends shooting, rented the lanes, provided guns/targets and instruction, everyone seemed to enjoy it, but beyond a one off, or asking when the next time I was arranging another event, not much interest. At least they hopefully went away understanding that shooting things isn’t what most people think it is, it’s more about control and skill than anything else.
 
I can get people to give it a go, took a bunch of the wife’s church friends shooting, rented the lanes, provided guns/targets and instruction, everyone seemed to enjoy it, but beyond a one off, or asking when the next time I was arranging another event, not much interest. At least they hopefully went away understanding that shooting things isn’t what most people think it is, it’s more about control and skill than anything else.

honestly even if they themselves don't actively get involved, just moving the needle on public perception is a big part of it IMO - so good on you!
 
Perhaps clubs could have stalls with info and plinking areas at vintage vehicle, country and town shows also, that may help get people interested, i have never seen an airgun display at a country show, i see airgunners that i know at these shows so there may be a crossover of interest, There are cycling clubs, the w.i and craft groups with demonstrations and info at most,
I wonder do any of the importers or manufacturers of airguns do much active promotion of airgunning as a sport and healthy pastime,
 
Like pubs, kids should only be allowed to be in the company of unrelated adults at certain times on certain days, family days, i dont like having to tread on eggshells around them and their parents should understand that their precious little angels can be an annoyance to others.
I can understand where your coming from, even if the wording is a bit ambiguous, if my understanding is that not all adults or at my age 59 want to be in the company of children when out and doing things that we enjoy, I.e shooting and fishing, one example I went fishing last year with my eldest son who’s 34, there was kids about 15 or so on the pond 3 of them, the pond was an hour drive away, anyway after about 2 hours they must of been bored and started throwing stones and rocks in the pond near to where we were fishing, just ruined our day, we ended up sacking it and coming home, same as going the pub when my children were kiddies we made sure they didn’t ruin other peoples day out, but this day and age the parents let them run riot whilst their on their mobiles etc, fair play to anyone who takes kids to whatever hobby or pastime that they enjoy or partake in, but I think it’s only a fair comment not expecting every adult to be in the company of kids, especially when you’ve raised your family and want some me time so to speak or if you have kids at home and want or need a break from them, If that’s what you were meaning. Sometimes though it’s better to suffer in silence than express your views though. People take things the wrong way to easily.
 
You "don't want to be treading on eggshells the whole time..."

What does that even mean? I've never been on any range, shoot, or club soil were I felt I was ' treading on eggshells'.
Are you honestly saying you're unable to partake of any shooting activity without an accompanying tirade of foul mouthed abusive language?

Agreed, all of it - even the bits I Edited out for brevity and to highlight my main point . . . . .

We often refer to the generation that fought WW2 as "the greatest generation" and similar terms of approval.
No less well deserved by the preceding generation which fought WW1 - and probably others.

Why mention this?
My father, uncles and others who fought in WW1 and WW2 had proved themselves as "real men" or something similar by any sensible criteria, I reckon.
None of my immediate family ever had a Commission, nobody higher than a Sergeant and all (in my family) had worked in the Colliery with minimal education - so not exactly "posh" or anything remotely like that.
None of them would have used profane or offensive language in public, least of all where ladies or children were or might be present!
Doing so would have resulted in a dramatic loss of any "standing in the community"

My generation of "Baby boomers" have some responsiblity for this - we were so keen to overthrow the "bourgeois norms" of previous generations in pretty much every area of life.

What happened to reasonable manners?
When did F-ing and Blinding in public become acceptable?

I am not advocating a return to "Victorian values" and hiding the legs of tables and pianos in case they seemed "sexual" but surely some decorum is not unreasonable in public?

(No doubt the language used by my fore-fathers on the battlefield or when under fire would have been "unrestrained" - of course!)
 
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