How do we encourage new people into the sport ?

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. :)
 
Wing Commander said:
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. :)
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👏 👏👏👏👏
 
Wing Commander said:
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. :)
Click to expand...
Another factor today is parental fear, look how many kids get chauffeured to school and everywhere else in a giant SUV. They aren't allowed out to play with other kids like we were, they have supervised playdays to meet their peers.

Alan
 
I was born in the 70's, always out playing, riding my bike, exploring the park etc, so I do appreciate the outdoors and that freedom.

However, unfortunately in some areas you wouldn't really want to let your kids roam about due to the kind of yobs and kids that are seemingly left to their own devices 24/7.

It's a much more difficult balance these days I think, you want your kids to have freedom and explore, but you just can't do that everywhere these days sadly.
 
In my opinion,its about getting them to the range and trying it out for a while. The range im a member of are awesome at welcoming new and young people in. Also I think the cost is a factor everything has gone very expensive and difficult for them to invest in a rifles reasonably accurate and kit to travel the path so many of us have.
 
It’s difficult down here at the moment, it seems that one of the local clubs has closed, and the three most promising clubs to join have closed their membership because they are now oversubscribed! If anyone knows of a decent club that is accepting members in the south Hampshire region, please drop their names to me….
 
Aimless said:
the actual issue that young people are considered an 'inconvenience' if they dare to go out in public, thereby forcing them to stay at home
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An interesting and thought provoking viewpoint.
Here is edge of town, maybe not really urban, kids, youths, can go to a skate park, pump track, open fields, a park.
One thing I have noticed is that the kids who come out to this field edge, expect to nick some firewood for their evening burn, nick anything else that takes their fancy, hassle the livestock, leave loads of rubbish of others to clean up, and generally express a level of quntery that is more than we'd get away with as kids.
So yes I do recognise "kids being out" should not be instantly seen as trouble, but in turn it would help if they just left no trace, quietly enjoyed a bit of smoke away from town, so that they enjoyed themselves, nobody even knew they were there, and everyone was happy, but most of the time it is not like that, and the behaviour feeds back to the farmers and landowners attitudes.

It did happen in some areas, when I was a kid, and maybe it is impossible for me to take an overall view when I only experienced the south east, but I've ejected pre-teens from building where they had started fire to drink their beer, if they had been quiet, perhaps a bit less flame, and just got on with it, they'd have had a good night. As it was they were in danger of carbon monoxide poisoning and were so mouthy they were impossible to miss.

Just last week they pulled a small solar panel off the bird shed, broke the wire, all it was doing was keeping an internal light on in winter, but now if I hear them I'm on alert, what are they going to mess up now, they also have a long history of more significant damage, I'm not sure what drives it, nor what sort of reward they expect from society as a whole.
 
I think it needs to be more accessible somehow... like one of my friends I brought along clearly didn't care for shooting paper but the moment there was some casual competition with the duelling tree she was all over it. I don't have enough experience with outdoor / HFT / FT shooting to comment but I figure it needs to be less bench rest and more dynamic / outdoors where possible
 
The thing is, being online on a screen, gives you instant dopamine rushes with every like. You can also be a minor celebrity in any sphere with virtually no effort. That’s way more attractive than actually travelling to half a shed in the middle of nowhere, in the rain to hang out with a bunch of old guys (apologies again, I love you) It’s no contest.

I say this as devils advocate, as I am itching to go out to play, despite being out earlier.

Speaking as a white, middle class person… we really need more representation in our community, full stop. I still avoid 90% of business networking events purely because I know there will be no one there who looks like me, and me arriving will be ’a thing’. I think it’s exactly the same situation with a huge demographic of potentially amazing ambassadors for shooting.
 
urbanxi said:
I do have a sensible idea (yawn!)…
I think a TV show similar to the Mortimer / Whitehouse fishing thing would be good.

Imagine a couple of younger presenters, just in a field, in nature, shooting metal targets, and just chatting, putting the world to rights. The shooting isn’t the main subject, but is just there. Normalise it, don’t sensationalise it.
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Cracking idea, sadly unlikely.
I could see a YouTube channel doing something like that and it being popular, but sadly a corporation as woke as the BBC wouldn’t go near any shooting sports in a million years!!
 
PistolDan said:
Cracking idea, sadly unlikely.
I could see a YouTube channel doing something like that and it being popular, but sadly a corporation as woke as the BBC wouldn’t go near any shooting sports in a million years!!
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As a self-confessed card-carrying woke type (and also a keen shooter), I honestly think that has little to do with it. Unfortunately shooting is just not that popular, especially compared to fishing. People know what they're getting from a fishing show, and something based around shooting is just too out there for a lot of people.

I'd also gently suggest to the shooting community that if we want to welcome new folk into the sport, especially younger people, it would be nice to make an effort to show that we're keen to welcome everyone, regardless of gender, social class, political viewpoints etc. A lot of my mates think shooting is a bit of an old boys' club (and looking at the demographic at most ranges I go to, it sort of is) and it would be good if we as a shooting community made an effort to change that.
 
Anyone on here over the age of 50 had the best of it-the freedom to eat your breakfast then go out with your mates for the day, all Summer. To go out after dinner/tea (delete as appropriate to your region) and stay out until it went dark.
Do kids get that level of freedom today?

The past is a distant land.

A whole generation who were sat in front of a video from the age of 12 months, because it was easier for the parents. They graduated onto video games. They are the parents of primary school children now.

Getting access to private land / farmland is so much more difficult.
Shooting equipment is by and large, exponentially more expensive-certainly to be competitive in certain disciplines.

I was dismayed, after a long absence from looking at the UKAHFT results table, to see virtually no juniors competing at the majority of the rounds. I mentioned my concern on STB about the long term future of the sport.

I do have sympathy for the female members who posted on here, the reality is that field sports are a predominantly male enviroment and most airgun clubs, predominantly older men.

Pete is doing his bit with this Forum and his nationwide promotional tour.

If the "government" really want to encourage and recruit more young people into our Armed Forces, then a promotional push towards the shooting sports, airgun clubs and ranges in particular, would pay dividends all round.
 
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twigulus said:
As a self-confessed card-carrying woke type (and also a keen shooter), I honestly think that has little to do with it. Unfortunately shooting is just not that popular, especially compared to fishing. People know what they're getting from a fishing show, and something based around shooting is just too out there for a lot of people.

I'd also gently suggest to the shooting community that if we want to welcome new folk into the sport, especially younger people, it would be nice to make an effort to show that we're keen to welcome everyone, regardless of gender, social class, political viewpoints etc. A lot of my mates think shooting is a bit of an old boys' club (and looking at the demographic at most ranges I go to, it sort of is) and it would be good if we as a shooting community made an effort to change that.
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Yes, the atmosphere at many shooting events is very laddish / macho etc.

Mainly old white blokes, often F-ing and Blinding away in virtually every comment

Personal point of view?
Does not bother me but it is not welcoming to anybody less thick skinned.
Everyone at my Club was respectful towards my grand daughter - but the usual atmosphere is very different!

The photo of the young woman in a bikini at the start of the thread is meant in a light-hearted way of course - but it would be seen as not at all funny or appropriate by many people who are not as "blokey" so the question is
"Do we want to welcome more diverse people into our sport?
If so what are we going to change to make it happen?"
 
Byronic said:
Yes, the atmosphere at many shooting events is very laddish / macho etc.

Mainly old white blokes, often F-ing and Blinding away in virtually every comment

Personal point of view?
Does not bother me but it is not welcoming to anybody less thick skinned.
Everyone at my Club was respectful towards my grand daughter - but the usual atmosphere is very different!

The photo of the young woman in a bikini at the start of the thread is meant in a light-hearted way of course - but it would be seen as not at all funny or appropriate by many people who are not as "blokey" so the question is
"Do we want to welcome more diverse people into our sport?
If so what are we going to change to make it happen?"
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I think there in lies the problem, the member owned clubs have the stalwarts that have kept the sport going, how many members generally stay behind to tidy up, put out targets, do the ongoing maintenance etc etc?
The perception being you have to give things up to accommodate the more diverse
I’ve seen circumstances where changing things to accommodate new people drives the stalwarts away and the club just fades
It’s difficult in that you have 2 sides with different agendas and it can be difficult to navigate around and provide an agreeable option for both sides
It’s not easy for member clubs but easier for pay to shoot venues
 
Rikard said:
I think there in lies the problem, the member owned clubs have the stalwarts that have kept the sport going, how many members generally stay behind to tidy up, put out targets, do the ongoing maintenance etc etc?
The perception being you have to give things up to accommodate the more diverse
I’ve seen circumstances where changing things to accommodate new people drives the stalwarts away and the club just fades
It’s difficult in that you have 2 sides with different agendas and it can be difficult to navigate around and provide an agreeable option for both sides
It’s not easy for member clubs but easier for pay to shoot venues
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Excellent post Rich-a society which fosters agenda's can only be divisive.
 
Rikard said:
I think there in lies the problem, the member owned clubs have the stalwarts that have kept the sport going, how many members generally stay behind to tidy up, put out targets, do the ongoing maintenance etc etc?
The perception being you have to give things up to accommodate the more diverse
I’ve seen circumstances where changing things to accommodate new people drives the stalwarts away and the club just fades
It’s difficult in that you have 2 sides with different agendas and it can be difficult to navigate around and provide an agreeable option for both sides
It’s not easy for member clubs but easier for pay to shoot venues
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I think this is very true. Member-owned clubs sort of by definition will change more slowly, as it's the members that make it. Unfortunately this generally means when the members move on (retire from the sport, move away etc) it's harder to replace them; new members are (and should be) expected to buy into the club culture, whatever it may be.

I spend a lot of time at Doncaster airgun range, and I think they strike a fantastic balance. Extremely friendly and welcoming, all sorts of people there. The feel of a club but in an accessible pay-to-play format. And a nice dog. :)
 
Dioclese said:
Excellent post Rich-a society which fosters agenda's can only be divisive.
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It’s a fine line, how many Airgunners complain about the attitude of some Shotgunners and small bore/full bore shooters, and vice versa
People generally don’t like change and change has to be for the right reason just not to accommodate agenda’s
 
As someone returning to the hobbie after a very long lay off i'm some what dissapointed in any progress for this pastime.
There are many good points and suggestions made already but it does seem to be a literal postcode lottery.
I've searched for facilites in my area, spent 15 mins chasing defunct FB links only to find the place had closed down, fair enough, take your chuffin website down then.

Also dissapointed at STB site, it used to be the font of all knowledge for club events all over the u.k, now you HAVE to log in to read any of it, that'll put alot of folk off, including me.
I have found several places in my area, varies between £10-15 for 3 hrs, age limits are 10+,never seen any kids there, the majority are 50+
who sit in the same spaces ,never speak, abit like a village pub, the ranges are ok but not enough reactive stuff to keep kids busy for a few hrs.

You find a empty spot and end up chatting to whoever pegs up next to you, assuming they want to chat, it's all a bit too clinical, no social interacting. it''ll turn people away.
Absolutely no doubt it is a tough business model to get right but if we don't get more youths interested sooner rather than later ranges will be full of old men effin & jeffin to there hearts content.
Until there is no one.
 
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