Are guns going out of favor with the younger crowd?

[Hal]

Hmmmm..."fixed income"....exactly what is it?

"Boomer speak" for social security/retirement.
That source of income that sees a 3% increase every year while the cost of medical coverage increases by more each month than the 3% increase gets you.

Hahaha! What was your wage way back when, Hal? How many hours did it take to make 20 bucks after taxes, in the days of yore?

I see where you're going here JimBob & while it does have some merit, I did start at $2 something an hour - but - unlike the current push to raise minimum wage - everyone understood you worked our way out of the minimum wage pit.

Within a few years of my entry into the full time job market in 1970 - my income had almost doubled.

[J.G. Terry]

What is a younger shooter? Younger people are not showing up in my shooting sports. I suspect that possible we are looking in the wrong place for young shooters. I see younger shooters showing up with black rifles and mainly automatic handguns. I'll be on one range and hear the young people dumping magazines on another. I could care less about black rifles. That's their thing

The NMLRA was concerned about no new members showing up twenty years ago. The younger shooters are now middle aged. Remember the black rifles and electronic games are really more interesting. Membership in older shooting sports is declining. I do not mind being a dinosaur.

[USNRet93]

Originally Posted by buck460XVR

No, I don't.....nor do I wear a tin foil hat like some of the others here. Just sayin'......



Then why not pro gun indoctrination from birth? Or is there? I know around here there is. Kids grow up with deer hunting treated as a National Holiday, celebrated almost as much as Christmas. Speaking of Christmas, guns are still a favorite gift around here....as a toy when the kids are small, and then real guns as they grow up.

Part of the problem when kids don't identify with guns is because some gun owners tend to think that by being intimidating, resorting to bullying and belittling others is a positive image. It's not. It turns folks off.

ayup...

[J.G. Terry]

Look at the cost of firearms in the past in constant dollars. When a Model 70 cost 125.00 and a 100.00 a week was fair money. Would a firearm that cost a week's wages today be expensive?

Good point, how are hunting and firearms presented today?

Added: I remember in another forum some guy came across as willing and ready to shoot anybody that close to his guns. When called out on his violence he explained being "tough", he thought was right and expected. Wonder if the young people who are often target of mass shooting may be sensitive to the "tough" talk.

[rickyrick]

Younger shooters probably don’t spend as much time on these antique message boards lol.
Younger people think Facebook is outdated and for boomers.
Many forums throughout the years have dried up and vanished, but I guess that means that TFL does gain new active users.
Most message board type users have migrated over to reddit or the various chans etc.

[BourbonCowboy]

If you really want to know why there are fewer younger shooters, just ask a kid if he'd rather have a new shotgun for Christmas or the newest iPhone.

Not only is there a decline in interest in shooting/hunting, there is also a decline in athletic participation. In the last few years, I've seen a lot of schools eliminate their football programs - or go to 8-man football - simply because of a lack of participation. However, several of these schools have created "competitive gaming" teams - where they compete at video games with other schools. These competing interests take away a lot of the hunters/shooters.

[Spats McGee]

Y'all would do well to avoid straight politics if you want this thread to remain open.

[mr bolo]

the young people rather get a new tattoo or car, they dont care about your guns.

the young people of today want to ban firearms and want to destroy the 2nd amendment.

[TruthTellers]

I may be the youngest guy on this forum, turn 30 next year, and money is the big factor for people my age and younger. When I started working a real job the pay wasn't good at the start and it took a year for the review raise to come and even then it still wasn't spectacular, it was just nice to say I took home $500 after 50-55 hours a week.

Now I make that in almost half the time.

Of my circle of friends or co-workers my age, only two I know own or owned guns, but never shot them because ammo costs money, range time costs money, and they have other interests. To them the guns are for protection, not fun. Even if they wanted to explore the shooting sport and hobby more, they can't afford to or they can and don't have time due to working.

Those I know who can afford it live in states that make owning a gun a PITA and they'd rather buy motor vehicles. For them I think in 10-15 years they will buy a gun, probably a milsurp because of WW2 video games and I will in a vain attempt tell them not to get a $1000 M1 Garand that is heavy and has kick and instead go for the M1 Carbine and 10 shot mags or get something more modern and cheaper, like an SKS without a bayonet.

They'll buy the $1000 Garand and sell it and a box of ammo included for $500 after they get Garand thumb and a bruised shoulder. Then they'll ask me what 9mm to get for $500.

Being in my 20s are there things I missed out on that I could have spent money on that wasn't guns? I'm not a concert goer or spend money on tickets for sports, I don't care about fast cars that are a waste in bumper to bumper traffic, I rarely buy clothes outside of jeans and a few shirts, I have the same $30 cell phone I've had for 5 years, and half the time I drink beer it's Natural Ice or Rolling Rock. The other half the time it's Sam Adams or a craft goodie goodie like Allagash or Southern Tier.

So, I live a cheap lifestyle and don't follow fads with electronics. All people in their 20s have to have the student debt loans, the $800 phone (that they make a monthly payment on *ugh*) with the $50/month unlimited data plan, the $300/month car, the Netflix and Disney Plus subscription, and then they have to buy a bunch of other crap off Amazon.

Oh, and the dog. Can't forget about the dog and all the premium food they need.

Does that mean guns are not in favor with young people? Well, the anti gun ones, sure, but there are pro gun 20 something's out there who just don't have things figured out financially yet.

[zukiphile]

I may be the youngest guy on this forum, turn 30 next year, and money is the big factor for people my age and younger.

This is easy to forget several decades later. As you age, your income may increase, but you also may daunting liabilities that leave you nostalgic for the good old days when student loans, rent and a car were the big bills.

In fact, if you've just emerged from student poverty to post graduate poverty, $700 for a single gun and some ammunition looks like a huge outlay.

The other part of this is sociological in that a young fellow may have dozens of "friends" and better things to do with his time. One's horizon's can be very broad at that stage. This may contrast with a fellow whose life has been absorbed into career and family, but maintains a hobby and its associated acquaintances. For some it's golf, or cars, or stamp collecting. When your passion and escape from the grind aren't interrupted by calls about a party at X's place in a half hour, that hobby can see a focus and dedication that would be hard for a younger fellow to maintain.

[Fishbed77]

Cost is relative. Yes things cost more, but people are earning much more. We need to work fewer hours in order to afford most of the things we buy than we did when I was in college in the 1970's.

This is opposite of reality. Purchasing power for most Americans has barely changed in the last 50 years.

https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tan...d-for-decades/

Also consider that there are many expenses today that Americans in the 1970s didn't have to incur. Things like internet access, which didn't exist at that time, but is practically required to function in society today. Or the runaway cost of automobiles, which are required by a huge percentage of the American population just to get to work due to the lack of good public transportation in the vast majority of this country.

[jimbob86]

Or the runaway cost of automobiles, which are required by a huge percentage of the American population just to get to work due to the lack of good public transportation in the vast majority of this country.

I see some of the local usual suspects- community activists- constantly harping about how we NEED to expand bus routes, add light rail, etc ..... when the public largely doesn't want to ride the busses that we have- they just don't want to ride the bus.

[dyl]

Younger shooters probably don’t spend as much time on these antique message boards lol.
Younger people think Facebook is outdated and for boomers.
Many forums throughout the years have dried up and vanished, but I guess that means that TFL does gain new active users.
Most message board type users have migrated over to reddit or the various chans etc.

I agree with this. I stumbled upon another gun related sub-section of a social site because I was looking for deals on firearm related things. (I was never sure about mentioning other websites by name so I won't)

Let's just say I'm not that old... yet. I think. But even without a genuine old man outlook it was easy to see a difference in communication style. Shorter phrases, less explanations, more references to internet jokes (memes). There was an occasional paragraph written here or there, but it was much less common than on this "old fashioned" message board.

The difference between that and this message board is exactly part of the charm of this site. There is a range of age and experience. And some things need to be explained from the ground up when a short little comment won't do, and the system here makes it easy to do it.

That website also wasn't set up to encourage thoughtful responses and I think that's a new pressure on internet users today. Fast funny/witty responses that didn't earn disapproval were what was rewarded, even among the gun loving community on that site. It's hard to have a real discussion when you'd be penalized by peers (with downvoting) for disagreeing.

Explaining something thoughtfully is an investment and takes time and effort. I have always enjoyed seeing everyone invest in each other here. It's almost like a moment of being mentored which is becoming less common but is needed.

[TruthTellers]

Originally Posted by jimbob86

I see some of the local usual suspects- community activists- constantly harping about how we NEED to expand bus routes, add light rail, etc ..... when the public largely doesn't want to ride the busses that we have- they just don't want to ride the bus.

The busses that never run on schedule or the way their routes are add an extra 30 or 60 minutes to your commute?

Yeah, the bus may work for people in sectors that pay low wages because that's the reason that transportation service exists, but for people with higher paying jobs, jobs where you are expected to work overtime on demand with little notice, Saturday, etc. you need a car.

And cars are becoming outrageous not just in initial price, but their low quality after 3 or 5 years, as is the price of replacing sensors that are damaged in accidents or fail.

I'm very hesitant to let my car go because it's one of the last sedans made with an all cast iron engine that was designed in the 80s (back when stuff worked and lasted) and isn't full of sensors. Heck, my car doesn't even have anti lock brakes and I haven't had an accident due to the brakes locking up.

Not too mention those CVT transmissions sound like they're all defective even when brand new. Put 60k miles on them and you'll be lucky if they last another 10k miles.

[buck460XVR]

Originally Posted by mr bolo

the young people rather get a new tattoo or car, they dont care about your guns.

the young people of today want to ban firearms and want to destroy the 2nd amendment.

Do you have any proof or statistics that point that way, or is it just a WAG on your part?

FME, I see just as many old coots, who have owned guns for over half a century, demanding magazine capacities and UBCs, as I see younger folks. When on those rare times I go to a public range, I see more young folks with high capacity weapons than old farts....and most of the guns those young folks have are newer. I see just many more middle age to old folks getting brand new cars as I see young folks. As for tattoos, ever been to a major bike rally and seen all the Baby-boomer Harley riders? What other folks have for priorities and spending their monies should not matter. Don't make them anti 2nd just because they don't spend all their monies on guns. General, belittling statements like the above do nothing to help our cause. Instead they give an overall negative image to gun owners, even those of us who are more open minded.

[godale]

I see a lot of sides of this but there is so many budget guns to get in the door now . And while they are not something to pass on years later they are accurate . Example the Finn feather fur in ohio is selling the Thompson compass for 199 before taxes




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[rickyrick]

I think that this is a well run site. And it is still pretty busy and popular, I think partially due to the fact that many platforms directly ban gun related content.
Some can’t associate, like, share or other such activities because some employers are monitoring social media activities.
Still relatively Discreet here on TFL