Pull - “The Generation Game”

[Richard59]

This months Pull (p18-19) has a feature on the subject of encouraging youngsters and in opening paragraph, which the current membership is most probably accuratly described is a line “if things stay the way they are we will see the demograhic continue to age and slowly the sport will die out”

Now Im not seeing that, Ive shot clays on & off and since marriage / kids / mortgage / kids / work / kids / rugby / kids / cricket / kids have allowed, even more so since 1987 (25) and participation is, at the shoots Ive been too rocketed. Opportunity to shoot( grounds & not just a field with 6/8 manual traps) is also far more abundant than ever before.

There is always at grounds incentives for the lower age bands, reduced entry fees & the like, am of the opinion though shooting, like most sports will see a spike in interest by the sub 20 y/olds which for a great many reasons rapidly tails off as they experience life itself. There are many great shooters in this age group, not a great many number of shooters, never has and doubt if ever will, this despite efforts by many.

Shootings main new entrant market, from what Ive seen is tad older, constant and we enjoy a long shooting “career”

Die out? No its all inclusiveness, regradless of ability the scene is vibrant and should enjoy being so for decades to come.

JMO of course

 

[Charliedog]

i think a lot of parents struggle to fund themselves shooting, add in a child or two and a days practice becomes pretty expensive, most good young shots i see have parents chucking plenty of money at them with lessons, cartridges and clays, out of reach for most

 

[El Spavo]

I'd love to take my little boy shooting when he's old enough, but there's no way I'll be able to pay for lessons or much other stuff for him on my wage/pension if he wanted to progress.

 

[Wonko the Sane]

Considering the general state of the world I find it way difficult to worry for the continuation of a sport when far the majority of people haven't even the sense to worry for the continuation of life on this planet.

I'll certainly enjoy myself while I can in my own selfish way but in the long term I'm glad to be old

 

[westley]

I have six Grandkids, 3 male and 3 female. The eldest of the Males being 30, then a 16 year old and a thirteen year old. At some stage or other I have taken them ALL clay shooting and the eldest boy has accompanied me on game and pigeon shoots. To date, only the eldest lad is in any way interested in shooting. Two of the girls have shown a slight interest, but only to impress their current partners I think   !  The 2 younger boys both had the interest, along with their Father too. The problem has been my eldest Daughter, their Mother, who has constantly blocked a great number of the days that I have tried to take them shooting,  quoting some stupid excuse or other.  Neither of them have ANY interest in anything that involves being surgically removed from whatever electronic device they happen to have become attached to.  I have proved that they can have an enjoyable time without a damned phone. I simply removed them, at the arrival at the clay ground, returning them when we were leaving the ground, there were no complaints either  !   This is NOT something that is common to shooting, the fishing groups are also experiencing the same problems and are asking the same question, "HOW do we attract more youngsters into the sport"  ?  Whenever I have run a 'have a go stand' at any Youth events, I have been the busiest person at the event, often Instructing for some 6 or 7 hours without a break and the pile of empty cases at the end of the day,  proved just how popular the shooting had been,  with the airgunning coming a close second.  IF we can get them to attend, then the interest is most certainly there. I do sometimes believe it is the attitude of non-shooting parents that we need to overcome, and I do not know the answer to that one.

 

[Jan Powell]

This months Pull (p18-19) has a feature on the subject of encouraging youngsters and in opening paragraph, which the current membership is most probably accuratly described is a line “if things stay the way they are we will see the demograhic continue to age and slowly the sport will die out”

Now Im not seeing that, Ive shot clays on & off and since marriage / kids / mortgage / kids / work / kids / rugby / kids / cricket / kids have allowed, even more so since 1987 (25) and participation is, at the shoots Ive been too rocketed. Opportunity to shoot( grounds & not just a field with 6/8 manual traps) is also far more abundant than ever before.

There is always at grounds incentives for the lower age bands, reduced entry fees & the like, am of the opinion though shooting, like most sports will see a spike in interest by the sub 20 y/olds which for a great many reasons rapidly tails off as they experience life itself. There are many great shooters in this age group, not a great many number of shooters, never has and doubt if ever will, this despite efforts by many.

Shootings main new entrant market, from what Ive seen is tad older, constant and we enjoy a long shooting “career”

Die out? No its all inclusiveness, regradless of ability the scene is vibrant and should enjoy being so for decades to come.

JMO of course

I can’t comment on anything other than trap but I don’t see it as a dying sport, at least not at the moment. Entries are as healthy now as they have been in years. There’s a good number of talented juniors coming through as well as quite a few seniors returning to the sport after time away. The Krieghoff DTL all but sold out in a couple of days!

I’m not a fan of excessively subsidising junior participation, not least because experience shows it seldom pays dividends in the long term. Too often juniors lose interest when distractions elsewhere take over and whilst they may return once they’re older, it could easily be seen as money wasted. Governing bodies and county committees would be wise to invest in those that provide the sports backbone. After all, it’s they that pay their entries and levies each week and stick with the sport through thick and and thin.

By far the greatest threat to clay shooting isn’t participation, it’s the closure or downsizing of grounds. I know of at least a dozen under pressure including some that are very well known. I was talking to the owner of a premier ground just last week who predicted outdoor clay shooting will all but cease to exist in 15-20 years time. Sad but probably true.

 

[Will Hewland]

My son has had a go twice and did well both times. Looked really comfortable. Same when he tried some karting, but with both sports it was a moments fun and didn’t wish to pursue either. Shame. You can lead a horse to water.. My stepdaughter did some shooting at 13. Had  another go 8 years later, enjoyed it but just said “that will be too expensive” and walked away..

 

[Guest]

she hit the nail on the head

 

[Wonko the Sane]

Cost is certainly a factor for those in and considering the sport.  Far more important is that guns have become an anathema in our societies.  Even here in the US with our (not mine) NRA to protect gun right we have an organization that is or was at any rate supposedly dedicated to the promotion and continuation of the shooting sports as a component of its existence.  That of course is total BS as the NRA has done nothing and ignored every opportunity to promote shooting since just after WW2.  In fact they have contributed in the most unfortunate way to the perception in the US that the majority of gun owners are deranged murderers just waiting for a proper moment to leap out shooting.  You all may not be faced with such a large and organized attempt to demonize shooters but at least the shooters, blinded by NRA and right wing propaganda, aren't paying for it.

 

[Paul120]

Cost is certainly a factor for those in and considering the sport.  Far more important is that guns have become an anathema in our societies.  Even here in the US with our (not mine) NRA to protect gun right we have an organization that is or was at any rate supposedly dedicated to the promotion and continuation of the shooting sports as a component of its existence.  That of course is total BS as the NRA has done nothing and ignored every opportunity to promote shooting since just after WW2.  In fact they have contributed in the most unfortunate way to the perception in the US that the majority of gun owners are deranged murderers just waiting for a proper moment to leap out shooting.  You all may not be faced with such a large and organized attempt to demonize shooters but at least the shooters, blinded by NRA and right wing propaganda, aren't paying for it.

Unfortunately  I think you right. What's really depressing is that even though the laws and culture is different  the perception of people who shoot is carried over outside of the US. 

 

[Nimbusgb]

Gliding, Sailing both dinghies and bigger stuff, power flying ...... all have the same challenges of attracting youth and the cost of participation.

I doubt there will be any solution in the face of how we are educating and bringing up our kids. We are killing off any vestiges of individualism, stamping on ambition and drive, pandering to short attention spans and not to mention scaring them witless of the great outdoors, it's a dangerous place don't you know.

 

[cockney21]

The first issue is cost. Most UK parents cannot spend £25-£35 each week on shooting even of they want to, and that figure is just for a basic local Sunday morning outing. Go to the events for youngsters and 90% will be from higher wage families. Wages compared to living cost in the UK have reduced a lot since the 80s mainly due to house prices or rents I feel.

Second big hot for youngsters is  discovering beer/cars/opposite sex.My son would shoot 100 every week whatever the weather until he was about 17. Now we are doing maybe 100 a month...that's how life is for a lot of sports I suspect.

 

[Wonko the Sane]

Second big hot for youngsters is  discovering beer/cars/opposite sex

Yeah.  Once they break that scent they're lost   :yahoo:

 

[westley]

The first issue is cost. Most UK parents cannot spend £25-£35 each week on shooting even of they want to, and that figure is just for a basic local Sunday morning outing. Go to the events for youngsters and 90% will be from higher wage families. Wages compared to living cost in the UK have reduced a lot since the 80s mainly due to house prices or rents I feel.

Second big hot for youngsters is  discovering beer/cars/opposite sex.My son would shoot 100 every week whatever the weather until he was about 17. Now we are doing maybe 100 a month...that's how life is for a lot of sports I suspect.

Have you seen the entry costs to get into a football match lately   ?    THEN of course there is the pub afterwards, leaving the kids in the 'beer garden' ( ?) smoking area,  with a bag of crisps and a coke. (usually as in a cola, but NOT always)

 

[philpot]

I do find it a great shame that the costs prevent youngsters entering the sport but lets face it, clay shooting has never been cheap and regarded by many as a rich boys sport, ok that is rubbish but back in the 1970's when I started it was not cheap. Now retired I have to be very careful how often I can shoot and my wife also shoots so double costs here and even though my youngest daughter (23) has a flair for DTL shooting and some sporting, she cannot afford to take the sport up which is a shame.

Phil

 

[El Spavo]

Ironic... afford to make the grade, be the top dog, and you'll never pay for shooting paraphenalia (and possibly days out) again.

 

[philpot]

Ironic... afford to make the grade, be the top dog, and you'll never pay for shooting paraphenalia (and possibly days out) again.

Very true

 

[Wonko the Sane]

Ironic... afford to make the grade, be the top dog, and you'll never pay for shooting paraphenalia (and possibly days out) again.

and how many are there of those folks?

If you look at the population of GB at sorta +/-65million and then whatever the # is for regular clay target competitors how big a % do you get?  Is that a significant enough a market to get a sponsor excited enough to cough up some $ ? ?   Would seem to be a return small enough to make it a waste of resources.  

but that might just be me

 

[ips]

The simple fact is that even if Mr and Mrs X pay huge amounts of money to get son or daughter into shooting there comes a time were two things happen, the child becomes old enough to fund itself and around the same time beer, nightclubs and the opposite sex are discovered, I have seen this happen many times over my 30 odd years of involvement in the sport.

Shooting sports and the costs that go with it will never appeal to the vast majority of young folk.