How many adult shooters do we have out there

Tanktrek · Post by **Tanktrek** » Sat Sep 11, 2010 6:59 pm

How many between the age of 30 to 80 still continue to shoot Air rifle or smallbore rifle on a regular basis for recreation?

How many between the age of 30 to 80 still continue to shoot competitive Air rifle or smallbore rifle on a regular basis?

Just trying to prove a point, some of my distractors claim that shooting Air or Smallbore rifle is for kids only. Help me out guys.

Ron

Fatman · Post by **Fatman** » Sat Sep 11, 2010 8:19 pm

HI:

Yea, some of us old farts (66 and counting) still shoot a lot. Used to compete as a kid, Sall Bore - Winchester 52D heavy barrel, club and postal matches. Maryland club, Powder Burners (Art Cooks old club in Laurel MD). We took the Virginia State Junior Championship one year, my last competition as a Junior.

Shot Military postal matches with Ruger Mark 1 for a while but don't recall any wins.

Health issues now preclude entering matches. I still shoot SSP 177 at 5 meters (all the room I have) 3 to 5 times per week. Am limited to offhand but on a good day produce 1 holers (5 shot groups, CTC Spread about 2 to 5mm) with a Daisy 953+753 barrel+Pilkington trigger tune, 753 sights (fetteled, they were junk to start with), adjustable butt plate (Archer Airguns), add-on comb stock mod and 3/8" sight risers (cut from 1pc scope riser mount) using Daisy Prcision Max pellets (don't know how they qualify as precision, but they work OK in the 753's Choked Lothar Walther barrel). Whole setup is about as cheap as you can get (living on Social Security after the crash) and still make it happen.

Can't seem to get any or my friends or their kids interested in shooting and believe me I've tired ..... given away half a dozen guns to get them going but the adults are too busy and the kids just want to play with the aps on their cell phones. Kind of a dying sport around here (Annapolis, MD). Everyone's so PC and if you own/shoot guns your considered some
kind of weirdo.

I do run on.

Cheers,
Fatman

I have far too much time on my hands.

Tanktrek · Post by **Tanktrek** » Sat Sep 11, 2010 8:20 pm

I will start; I am 57 years old, and enjoy shooting both Air and smallbore rifle events at my home club.

Ron

Shooting Bloke · Post by **Shooting Bloke** » Sat Sep 11, 2010 9:13 pm

Count me in. I shoot air and 22 rifles, as well as various calibers in handguns. I am 39.

peterz · Post by **peterz** » Sat Sep 11, 2010 9:22 pm

Sixty nine and shooting AP and AR. Not quite good enough to compete, but it's coming.

mapletune · Post by **mapletune** » Sat Sep 11, 2010 9:23 pm

i'm 23... but I already feel old =D

chuckjordan · Post by **chuckjordan** » Sun Sep 12, 2010 8:15 am

I'm 50 and shoot daily, sometimes 2X daily with airguns. In my house (it's that quiet and easy).

I have a Steyr LP2 and can practice 10M. This is what I'm shooting most often

I have airrifles (FWB P70, Diana 75, etc....) and don't shoot them 10M-style, but, Field Target style (a sitting position).

I collect and restore the older 10M AP/AR as I enjoy the restoration process, so I always have something new to shoot. Here's an example of what I restore: Diana 60 &65, Walther LG53, 55, LGV, FWB300, HW55, etc. And Diana 6G's too.

Think of it this way, if you spend 30 minutes daily to practice with AP/AR, and in 1 month you have 15 hours of practice. If you're PB buddies go to the range monthly, they'll have what? 1-2 hours of practice. You alrady have them beat with 15X more practice time.

To give you another example, it presently raining in VA. After I write this and read a few more posts I'll head upstairs and practice for one hour. If it's still raining later this afternoon, I'll have another hour session.

It doesn't get any better than this!

Misny · Post by **Misny** » Sun Sep 12, 2010 11:45 am

We don't get many air rifle shooters at our matches. What few we do get are usually juniors, but lately more adults are taking a shot at it. The air pistol shooters are nearly all adults. I would challenge anyone that says that air guns are for kids, to try it. It would probably be a pretty humbling experience. Most of our air pistol shooters are cross-over bullseye pistol shooters. Besides the enjoyment of shooting air pistol, they claim that it helps them in the fundamentals of pistol shooting in general. Most of the shooters at the smallbore matches are adults, but many are juniors.

Precision shooting isn't for everyone and neither is competitive shooting in general. Precision shooting requires a lot of effort and many folks don't want to train that hard.

gn303 · Post by **gn303** » Sun Sep 12, 2010 12:17 pm

Air disciplines are a real challenge to any shooter no matter his age.
I’m 61 :-( and love air pistol, started shooting when is was 18 and still enjoying it. My wife took up air pistol a few years ago (we don’t differ much in age) and really got the hang of it.
Lots of members in our club are over 50 and still enjoying their shooting sessions.
Guy

chuckjordan · Post by **chuckjordan** » Sun Sep 12, 2010 12:25 pm

I think you'll find more AP/AR shooters in the denser populated areas. I happen to live in the East Coast now and know that finding a spot to shoot CP/RF extremely difficult. I can shoot AP/AR by just walking upstairs to my 3rd floor (I have 2 empty bedrooms there); I have 14 yards to shoot (perfect for 10M). Rain or shine, sleet or snow, hot or cold, I can shoot.

When I was a teenager/young adult (70's - 80's), my uncle had a farm in No. Illinois. We used to shoot there on the weekends. It's all houses now. My point is that finding land to plink (not on a range) is getting extremely difficult unless you farm.

I'd be willing to bet that the top 1% of shooters either:
1) are military have unlimited access to ammo and time
2) are civilians that train with AP/AR daily and crossover to RF/CF

Trigger time is still trigger time.

Bob-Riegl · Post by **Bob-Riegl** » Sun Sep 12, 2010 4:54 pm

Age 79- going on 80 God willing---and I still shoot, FP, AP, RF, SP and Bullseye, IDPA and IPSC plus a Light Rifle League. "Doc" Crochety OLD Coach.

Telecomtodd · Post by **Telecomtodd** » Sun Sep 12, 2010 9:41 pm

45 here in North Carolina. Shot as a youth with the Rochester (NY) Rifle Club, did the entire 4P program. Took a loooong sabbatical from smallbore but continued to shoot other things. Became a member of the Sir Walter Gun Club in Creedmoor, NC (near Raleigh) and got back into smallbore with two of my kids, coached one within a year to walk-on to the B squad of a Division 1 school and had the other working up to her DE in only six visits to the range (she had never shot anything until last year). Now a Level 2 coach, a certified rifle instructor, and a prone competitor shooting Expert classification - I'm still working on my Master ticket. I need more time to practice, but my real-life job as a Product Manager for a $100M product line requires a lot of time and energy. Oh, and Patron Life NRA member, Friends of the NRA committee member...

Shot a 1577 Saturday at a metallic match, had some minor wind problems. Frustrating putting 6 rounds at 100 yards into a single ragged hole and then watching 4 subsequent 9s on just one bull. Oh, I forgot to mention I hadn't shot metallics since early July - missed Perry this year because of work commitments. The match winner was young B.J. who ended up with a 1597 just one lane right. Another former youth shooter was one lane left and I think had a 1588. Both have either won National Competitions or hold national records. I'm extremely proud of our younger shooters who are no longer Juniors, but are shooting for the high scores of tomorrow! (and happier than heck to have both of them beat my score, too!)

Tomorrow I'm going on a fun shoot with a local congressional candidate who is leading polls in his voting district. I'm going to let him shoot a variety of things - including my 1913 on sandbags/benched. We need more friends in Washington - especially smallbore shooters!!

TomN · Post by **TomN** » Mon Sep 13, 2010 12:49 pm

Just turned 50 and still shooting, mostly smallbore 3P but a little prone and AR as well. But I feel like the last of the breed as my mentors from earlier days have retired or passed on, and my club really has no shooters aged 25 - 40. It really seems like a junior's game now.

fast shooter · Post by **fast shooter** » Mon Sep 13, 2010 4:55 pm

I'm 55 and a pistol shooter, and will be till I can't anymore. whenever that is.

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Mon Sep 13, 2010 6:13 pm

49 years and shoot pistol (.22, .357 and .45) but my favorite air pistol.

TerryKuz · Post by **TerryKuz** » Mon Sep 13, 2010 7:17 pm

In my 10 meter rifle league in Pennsylvania there are about 100 shooters, and the average age is probably 50 or a bit less. Same goes for silhouette.

TennJay · Post by **TennJay** » Wed Sep 15, 2010 7:01 pm

At 46 I've almost quit HP to focus on smallbore rifle.

All day to shoot 80 shots or half a day to shoot 160 shots. As little time spare time as I have, the decision was easy.

TennJay · Post by **TennJay** » Wed Sep 15, 2010 7:06 pm

At 46 I've almost quit HP to focus on smallbore rifle.

All day to shoot 80 shots or half a day to shoot 160 shots. As little time spare time as I have, the decision was easy.

Bowman26 · Post by **Bowman26** » Wed Sep 15, 2010 8:41 pm

Pushing the top of the hill now at 39 and shoot 3 weekend matches a month in Smallbore and Air rifle silhouette. Besides that I shoot airguns and smallbore plus pistols here at the house. Having a full 100m silhouette range a few feet out my door is heaven, loose animals on rails and resetable, swingers all over joy joy :)

At the matches I got to I am about the youngest there with the exception of one young lady that is a great little shooter. At the big matches I have been to the kids usually mop up the old fellers but no one cares it is just fun to shoot and BS with everyone. The beauty of shooting is you only need yourself to compete.

Bo

keithwwalker · Post by **keithwwalker** » Wed Sep 15, 2010 9:02 pm

For kids only? Some of this gear is incredibly expensive, and the last I checked, you can win a gold medal at the olympics for 10m air rifle and pistol. Enough said!

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