I know its been discussed alittle in the past and a lot with the firearms industry and other hobbies as well. Elders were worried today's youth just wouldn't get into these kinds of hobbies. How is that holding for truth in your area?
What is everyone seeing for age of airgunners lately including yourself.
- Thread starter Cody01
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Well my family are lost more or less.
My nephew i am sure if you popped the hood of a car and asked him to identify a spark plug he would be clueless, and the kid is 35 and never owned a license.
My oldest Niece though, one day playing electrician in their house, i did manage to get her to solder together some pieces of wire,,,,, that was pretty cool.
My friends nephew was a pretty good RC car driver doing the ultra fast 1:8 scale nitro cars, but it was always his uncle that wrenched on the cars and him or me bing the pit crew.
As for the populous here in general, i have no idea i tend to leave them alone as our ideas and beliefs are pretty far from each other.
So in general i feel like a alien here in my native country.
Mind one of the kids at the local gas station, was a little interested in the shooting i told them i was doing, so one day he was filling shelved and so not so busy, so i asked him if he wanted to see my rifle as i was on route to the range.
His jaw dropped when he saw the blacked out Epic airguns Two rifle with the folding stock in the case,,,, and the huge scope.
He was probably expecting to see some cheap ass break barrel.
My nephew i am sure if you popped the hood of a car and asked him to identify a spark plug he would be clueless, and the kid is 35 and never owned a license.
My oldest Niece though, one day playing electrician in their house, i did manage to get her to solder together some pieces of wire,,,,, that was pretty cool.
My friends nephew was a pretty good RC car driver doing the ultra fast 1:8 scale nitro cars, but it was always his uncle that wrenched on the cars and him or me bing the pit crew.
As for the populous here in general, i have no idea i tend to leave them alone as our ideas and beliefs are pretty far from each other.
So in general i feel like a alien here in my native country.
Mind one of the kids at the local gas station, was a little interested in the shooting i told them i was doing, so one day he was filling shelved and so not so busy, so i asked him if he wanted to see my rifle as i was on route to the range.
His jaw dropped when he saw the blacked out Epic airguns Two rifle with the folding stock in the case,,,, and the huge scope.
He was probably expecting to see some cheap ass break barrel.
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Here in Western NC there's a definite difference between the rural (and farm) kids and urbanites. Those of us that are more rural are more reality-based and thus open to the outdoors and hunting/physical sports. The urban kids around here are pretty much screwed when the power goes out as they see nothing aside from their phones.
I've helped a few of the urban kids come to know the shooting sports along the way. It's up to us to introduce the next generations to the joys of it.
Cheers,
J~
I've helped a few of the urban kids come to know the shooting sports along the way. It's up to us to introduce the next generations to the joys of it.
Cheers,
J~
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Age wise I think it runs the gamut from young to old. Males, in general, grow up loving stuff that explodes, goes fast or slings projectiles! It's in our DNA I think. What's not to love about the precision tooling & extreme range & accuracy of today's airguns? To be able to do it without further damaging my already f'ed up hearing is icing on the cake. I would have DEFINITELY gotten into it at a younger age if the guns we have now were available then. I've turned 16 year olds to 70 year olds onto this sport and ALL seemed equally excited by it. What I DON'T see are a lot of 65+ year old women getting into it. Younger women, yes.
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" dad ? will you drive me to my friends house ? "
Why you have a license !
but if i drive it would be illegal to be on my phone !
yeah right , you could walk to your friends .
kid gives blank stare
Just thinking is all .
Why you have a license !
but if i drive it would be illegal to be on my phone !
yeah right , you could walk to your friends .
kid gives blank stare
Just thinking is all .
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At my PB range we organize an "open house day " public invited . lots of kid stuff like tomahawk throw and .22 shoot , Archery shoot . I run the Air gun range , lots of kids but no adults will shoot air . one mother tried it first so her daughter would shoot . and anyone can shoot clays for prizes , Maybe 100 people show up and maybe we get three or four new members to sigh up . Best kept secret in Kentucky / 50 and 100 yard ranges / three pistol ranges , Archery . Free campgrounds / clubhouse / monthly meetings with a dinner provided / Boat dock on the lake / fishing . ALL this for a measly $ 105 a year AND all we get is 3 or 4 nubies .
P.S. Of course most people around me can just shoot of the porch , easy Deer in the freezer .
P.S. Of course most people around me can just shoot of the porch , easy Deer in the freezer .
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The RC cars is great fun too. Another long running hobby of mine. I have always struggled to get friends or relatives into either because they look at me like I am insane when I say what RC cars and PCP air rifles cost. I do get where they are coming from because I am currently in a financial hardship myself but I do hope to bounce back. Spent 13 years in a high stress sales role and a month ago I reached my breaking point. I knew if I didn't walk away I would end up doing something stupid and makibg things worse. I am a disabled vet but of course its always a battle with the VA for getting properly rated so I am pretty rough shape and limited to what I can even do in a day.Well my family are lost more or less.
My nephew i am sure if you popped the hood of a car and asked him to identify a spark plug he would be clueless, and the kid is 35 and never owned a license.
My oldest Niece though, one day playing electrician in their house, i did manage to get her to solder together some pieces of wire,,,,, that was pretty cool.
My friends nephew was a pretty good RC car driver doing the ultra fast 1:8 scale nitro cars, but it was always his uncle that wrenched on the cars and him or me bing the pit crew.
As for the populous here in general, i have no idea i tend to leave them alone as our ideas and beliefs are pretty far from each other.
So in general i feel like a alien here in my native country.
Mind one of the kids at the local gas station, was a little interested in the shooting i told them i was doing, so one day he was filling shelved and so not so busy, so i asked him if he wanted to see my rifle as i was on route to the range.
His jaw dropped when he saw the blacked out Epic airguns Two rifle with the folding stock in the case,,,, and the huge scope.
He was probably expecting to see some cheap ass break barrel.
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O yeah it do seem like we can hit the not cheap hobbies, in the 90ties we fished a lot, when that become a addiction and the rod collection grow ( off shelf rods and build your own )
And for various forms of fishing, lets just say i am happy most of the 90ties i was a pretty good earner.
My friend raced the 1:5 cars, that was also not cheap when you want a competitive car
And for various forms of fishing, lets just say i am happy most of the 90ties i was a pretty good earner.
My friend raced the 1:5 cars, that was also not cheap when you want a competitive car
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Quality music instruments run well into the 1000s.
I've had my fair share of guitars and amps. They're just like air guns though, the guitar or airgun picks you, not the other way around. Many of those guitars are long gone because no matter how cool or how pretty, if it doesn't "feel" right, it isn't meant to be yours.
$2500 on a daystate rifle is a ton of money, but that's just getting your feet wet with a vintage les Paul or fender. Neither of which I still have. I had custom shop Jackson soloist that were 3k a pop, but as I got older my hands said nope to those super thin necks. Now I play Dean's almost exclusively.
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I actively try to recruit new airgun shooters all the time by bringing them to my home range and teaching them field target and letting them shoot the finest airguns made… if that doesn’t hook them well…..
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My club has a Junior Sportsman’s Program during the Summer through early September… Archery one week, BB guns and .22 rimfires the other. Don’t know if the kids will stick with it in the long run. But they get exposed to the skill sets necessary to carry it on long term.
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My first hobby as a butting earner,,,, HI - FI
So speakers - AMPS - custom made ( by me of course ) record players, expensive arms for it and pickups.
OMG i was in my 30ties before that was paid off, and this in spite at that time i was also for a short while a good but very naughty earner after i got home from my job,,, and today i have NOTHING but a few of my CDs
So speakers - AMPS - custom made ( by me of course ) record players, expensive arms for it and pickups.
OMG i was in my 30ties before that was paid off, and this in spite at that time i was also for a short while a good but very naughty earner after i got home from my job,,, and today i have NOTHING but a few of my CDs
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Basically two age groups. There are three other airgun shooters in this area that I know of, all in their 50’s I think. Two are a married couple, retired military and excellent shooters. By far the largest number that I see are at matches and are age 13-25 ish. There are a lot more younger shooters and I’m glad to see it. They have high end guns and often travel long distances for a match. That tells me they have good family support. It’s obvious from how they shoot that they’ve done the work needed to do well, they understand safety and frankly are very nice polite people. Shooting around these competitors has given me a much more positive outlook on the future. There are quite a few and the numbers are growing.
Rick H.
Rick H.
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Well, I'm 50 and most of the people I hang out with that shoot airguns are older than me and most are retired. Now there are some younger than me shooting airguns but not many.
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Airgunning is a great hobby for any age. I'm 74, and I shot away most of my hearing as a stupid kid and young man, shooting all kinds of guns with no protection. Even with protection, thousands of clay targets every year took its toll later on. So, air guns are a perfect way to enjoy shooting without more damage.
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If you want a good "Return on your Investment", you first have to invest with the belief that, with good input from you, your investment will grow. For whatever the reasons, the investments in me at an early age did not make me a good investment. I had to learn most everything by doing it poorly with a lot of mistakes and making improvements as I went. Fast forward to my mid 60's and I have started an air gun range at our local Izaak Walton club. I teach new shooters that they can shoot better than they thought they could. I use methods and equipment that are not the conventional systems in use today. All the new shooters are able to hit their targets to their satisfaction. Brand new shooters routinely and easily shoot 1/4" beads at varying distances of 2-13 yards with Co2 pellet pistols. This is my method of investing in the future. More people will continue to enjoy shooting if they are good. We have to start the young kids very early, and they have to get good quickly. I no longer believe that it takes 1000s of rounds to develop good skills. I have seen kids become good shooters within 10 shots. They are all impressive to watch.
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I got rid of all of my Gibsons, but I still have my Strats including this 74, and a 69. I also still have my 72 Sheridan Bluestreak. I'm don't think I'm a horder, after all I did unload the Gibsons?
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I am not going to mention then, that the smoothest guitar i have tried to play with was a Ibanez.
And i have tried a few Fenders in their different shapes, not least the V one, CUZ when i was young and beat on skins, there was really just Rock ,,, HEAVY Rock for me.
But of course in that i am also not skilled and even more of a noob, also the finger i got " cut down " on my left hand well the tip of it dont like to just depress 1 string on a guitar, and the nail are way more forward on that finger then the not harmed ones.
And i was never in the mood to pull a Hendrix
So messing with a bass guitar is more up my ally, and more of the rhythm section where i firmly belong as a person with a tendency to like to beat on his instrument ( drums )
i actually like a funky slab bass.
And i have tried a few Fenders in their different shapes, not least the V one, CUZ when i was young and beat on skins, there was really just Rock ,,, HEAVY Rock for me.
But of course in that i am also not skilled and even more of a noob, also the finger i got " cut down " on my left hand well the tip of it dont like to just depress 1 string on a guitar, and the nail are way more forward on that finger then the not harmed ones.
And i was never in the mood to pull a Hendrix
So messing with a bass guitar is more up my ally, and more of the rhythm section where i firmly belong as a person with a tendency to like to beat on his instrument ( drums )
i actually like a funky slab bass.
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Any youngster today would love to get into airgunning. Adults too. Sadly it is simply out of most folks price range. It's a specialty and a luxury that has to be budgeted for. Very few can afford the time or the money.
The only people (young or old) that get into the hobby are the ones who can afford it. Most parents nowadays are working two jobs just to put food on the table. Most kids don't have exposure to much of anything outside their cell phones. They don't have any idea what airgunning is.
Old men have the time and money to shoot an air rifle. Young men don't. I know I never did. I wanted a Diana break barrel since I was 10 years old. I got one 50 years later.
As a parent I taught my son to shoot a rimfire. He had a BB gun. Airguns were cool but it was a niche. He wanted to hunt. So as soon as he was ready he got a high powered rifle. I spent my time focusing on those skills. Airguns never made the priority list. Money was spent on food and clothing. There was little left for an expensive hobby.
Now he is 40 and successful. Im 64 and retired. He shoots an airgun with me often. We shoot inexpensive springers and have a ball. Now the priority list has changed and there is room for it.
Most young parents just don't have time to train marksman even if the kid is interested. Kids love to shoot but they don't want to pursue it as a discipline. Air rifles arent any better than a BB gun for that purpose. And a BB gun is much less expensive.
Ask any kid if he would rather have a cheap rimfire or an expensive pellet rifle. Ask any parent which they prefer the kid to have. Now ask a retired old buzzard with a bad leg.
Older guys that have developed skill and assets but lost mobility naturally want an air rifle. And a much larger percentage of old guys can afford it. They have the time and patience for it. They have developed the technical background and mechanical ability for it.
I think that's why the average age of airgunners is way up there.
The only people (young or old) that get into the hobby are the ones who can afford it. Most parents nowadays are working two jobs just to put food on the table. Most kids don't have exposure to much of anything outside their cell phones. They don't have any idea what airgunning is.
Old men have the time and money to shoot an air rifle. Young men don't. I know I never did. I wanted a Diana break barrel since I was 10 years old. I got one 50 years later.
As a parent I taught my son to shoot a rimfire. He had a BB gun. Airguns were cool but it was a niche. He wanted to hunt. So as soon as he was ready he got a high powered rifle. I spent my time focusing on those skills. Airguns never made the priority list. Money was spent on food and clothing. There was little left for an expensive hobby.
Now he is 40 and successful. Im 64 and retired. He shoots an airgun with me often. We shoot inexpensive springers and have a ball. Now the priority list has changed and there is room for it.
Most young parents just don't have time to train marksman even if the kid is interested. Kids love to shoot but they don't want to pursue it as a discipline. Air rifles arent any better than a BB gun for that purpose. And a BB gun is much less expensive.
Ask any kid if he would rather have a cheap rimfire or an expensive pellet rifle. Ask any parent which they prefer the kid to have. Now ask a retired old buzzard with a bad leg.
Older guys that have developed skill and assets but lost mobility naturally want an air rifle. And a much larger percentage of old guys can afford it. They have the time and patience for it. They have developed the technical background and mechanical ability for it.
I think that's why the average age of airgunners is way up there.
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