Dee:
I have seen a huge increase in the number of people shooting in this area. The main factor has been conceal and carry and the presence of good clay shooting ranges. The increase has been just staggering. The number of ranges in my area is increasing, and existing ranges are expanding. Who is going there? People in their 30s, 40s, 50s and 60s. Even in places like Wyoming most of the shooters at the ranges are in that demographic.
I see very few people in their teens and 20s shooting around here. Most that do are people from other countries and people whose parents also shoot regularly. Cost is probably a factor. As in my case, I strongly believe it takes a catalyst later in life to make one an enthusiastic shooter.
The only really good things I see coming out of teaching kids for a day or two is that they learn some gun safety. That's great. But it doesn't require a range.
One thing that I simply can't understand is why there isn't more emphasis on shotgunning. I'm not a big shotgunner, but when I see stuff like this, it makes me think we're doing it all wrong:
1) The kids at the .22 range don't look like they're having much fun.
2) Kids shooting clays with easy trap targets and a light recoiling 20 gauge are clearly having fun. They really enjoy it. Shooting a moving target that breaks. What could be more naturally appealing to a kid? Same applies to women who don't otherwise shoot. Give a lady a shotgun that fits and doesn't kick too badly and she enjoys the game.
Yet, as I said, there's darned little, if any, training in this for kids. I'd rather give a kid two boxes of shotgun shells and some easy targets than a brick of 22s and the tedium of just shooting holes in paper. Cost will be about the same, but the results may be more lasting.
Another observation on shooting is: what's wrong with setting up cans and breakable targets to shoot at with a .22. Clean-up will be a bit more involved but it sure is more fun than shooting at paper. My kids never liked shooting at paper initially. They loved shooting at soda cans and stationary clay targets on the berm. My son didn't even tolerate shooting at paper until I required him to hone his marksmanship for hunting. By then his marksmanship was pretty good because he already knew a lot about shooting, but not about shooting with the kind of consistency needed for hunting. A little "paper training" made him see the value of placing a bullet accurately on game.
Furthermore, what's wrong with semi-auto sustained fire on a reactive target? That's a heck of a lot more fun than shooting paper, yet I have never seen any one of these kid classes allow such activity. When I see adult shooters having fun at the range, particularly the pistol range, most of them are engaging in sustained fire of some kind. That's where the fun is.
Why is there a consistent drop in the number of hunters? It's not for lack of training. Since the requirements for hunter safety and the attendant one or two day shooting classes, there are more people than ever being formally schooled in the rudiments of shooting. But there's nothing to keep them shooting.
As I see it, these one day seminar classes are trying to accomplish too much in too little time. As a result, they are almost pointless.
