Not a lot of enthusiasm for guns as far as I can tell

[R6436]

I think there are a lot of younger folks that enjoy firearms, but are pretty discreet about it.

Last weekend, I took two of my nephews to a defensive shotgun class, taught by a pair of excellent instructors. I paid the class fees, bought ammo, set up a pair of 870's for them, and was their own personal AI.

They loved it. Neither one can wait for the next range trip. Another pistol class is next, then a medical class from either Dark Angel Medical or Lone Star Medics. Then a carbine class, and probably ECQC.

BUT - both of them are very discreet about guns. No mentions on social media, no bragging to friends, etc. They are considering a BJJ class as well.

So yeah, there are plenty of low profile young people out there who enjoy guns. We do need more of them, of course.

This sounds like my oldest neice and nephew. Both have expressed an interest in at least going to shoot to dee what it is like. My dad used to keep a BB gun on the back deck for squirrelss and black bires in the yard. Mom used to talk about shooting cans in the yard when she was growing up. As the social view of firearms started to change and more young kids were in the family Mom eventually made Dad retire the BB gun and now pushes him to get rid of the shotguns & lever action .22 in the basement. As a result the neices and nephews are extremely hesitant to discuss firearms because they don't want to get into trouble with their parents and Grandmother. To try to keep the peace we refer to non-existent video games to discuss guns. Now that the nephew has his driver's lisence it isn't out of place for him to be out n about on his own, we have plans this Spring to shoot. Meanwhile I keep working on getting my Dad to sell me the .22 (I'd like to look into getting it restored if needed and/or shoot it again myself).

[Circle_10]

Well here's my story.
I'm 37 for about another month, so I'm in the oldest age group considered part of the "millennials". I'm actually not sure how I got into guns because I come from a mostly anti-gun/non-gun/non-hunting family. I didn't grow up around them at all.
I think I became interested about the time I was a freshman in high school, due to playing GoldenEye 007 for the Nintendo 64 and perusing the book "Weapons: The Diagram Group" in the school library. Although at this time I still knew almost nothing about them.
I.e. I didn't realize that a handgun's slide actually reciprocated for each shot and thought the slide serrations were some kind of "gas vent".
By the time I was a junior I was solidly pro-gun though. Although I didn't actually fire a real gun until I was 21 when I covertly bought an AK and secretly stored it disassembled in my bedroom at my parents house. My dad and stepmom had previously nixed my request for permission to buy a firearm, possibly more to motivate me to move out than out of any anti-gun sentiment though I think. So I just bought one anyway and didn't tell them.
Once I graduated college moved out on my own a year later though I "came out" as a gun owner.

[Arik]

Well here's my story.
I'm 37 for about another month, so I'm in the oldest age group considered part of the "millennials". I'm actually not sure how I got into guns because I come from a mostly anti-gun/non-gun/non-hunting family. I didn't grow up around them at all.
I think I became interested about the time I was a freshman in high school, due to playing GoldenEye 007 for the Nintendo 64 and perusing the book "Weapons: The Diagram Group" in the school library. Although at this time I still knew almost nothing about them.
I.e. I didn't realize that a handgun's slide actually reciprocated for each shot and thought the slide serrations were some kind of "gas vent".
By the time I was a junior I was solidly pro-gun though. Although I didn't actually fire a real gun until I was 21 when I covertly bought an AK and secretly stored it disassembled in my bedroom at my parents house. My dad and stepmom had previously nixed my request for permission to buy a firearm, possibly more to motivate me to move out than out of any anti-gun sentiment though I think. So I just bought one anyway and didn't tell them.
Once I graduated college moved out on my own a year later though I "came out" as a gun owner.

I did the same. The first few rifles I bought I was still I highschool. A Marlin 22lr semi auto, some sort of 12G pump, a pistol grip 410 and a Russian Mosin M38. Kept them hidden in the crawlspace then in my car which I drove everywhere and eventually in the garage where my dad ended up finding them

[RetroRevolver77]

deleted

[Norseman]

Personally I think we, the gun community, have done a lot of it to ourselves. The attitudes in the gun community have changed just as much as the technology.

I can easily see how a lot of potential new shooters could be discouraged from dipping their toe into gun world when their guidance is from the internet as to navigating theses waters.

I imagine it's quite a different perspective from the outside looking in. Double edged sword and all that.

[Alex V]

Every time I go to the range it's packed, and there is usually a wait. And this is in NJ!

[LowSpeed_HighDrag]

I read through these comments and see many posters who don't visit gun ranges. I don't blame them. But, they are losing their perspective on this issue. I occasionally shoot at a multi-million dollar facility (Liberty Firearms Institute) with a well controlled indoor range and large pro shop. I see shoppers and shooters of all ages, at all times. When I stroll by the gun counter at Scheels or Cabelas, it's generally swarmed by young men.

I started shooting because someone helped get me started. I started hunting because someone showed me the way. I'm 29, so it was the generation that most of you belonged to that helped me. Guns and hunting are largely generational. How many young men are you taking hunting or shooting? They don't have to be family, but they will look at you as a father figure for life if you help get them started on this journey.

The more you ostracize millennials for being millennials, the less you give them a chance to break free from that mold.

My dad owned two guns that stayed locked up and never got shot. He died in an accident when I was 13, and I had never shot a gun. My mom was left to raise me, and she and her new husband were rabidly anti-gun (years later, I stopped by her house in uniform as a Police Officer and was asked to leave my gun in the car or leave the house). My grandpa took me under his wing, taught me gun safety over a weekend by having me carry an unloaded rifle around the house for a weekend and critiquing my safety habits. He started taking me shooting, and secretly gave a 30-06. I bought an 870 and a Saiga AK, joined the Marine Corps, and from there the gun sickness was set in.

Having never been hunting, I started talking to some of the cops I worked with after leaving the Corps about how to get started. I got my hunter safety at 26 with a class packed full of 8 year olds, bought a Citori and SBE2, and accompanied those guys on many upland and waterfowl trips.

Had it not been for my grandpa, who knows if I would even own a gun today. I can tell you I would have never been able to get into hunting on my own, and I am so thankful for those that have shown me the way. Now, I am always eager to find people, of any age, that I can convert to this lifestyle. Whether that is showing them M4C, helping them buy their first gun, teaching them to shoot, or taking them hunting. Most young men you meet, liberal or conservative, would probably take you up on the opportunity to shoot an SBR or suppressor....

This generation is eager and willing. Show them the way. Once the next gun scare happens, they will buy out the gun stores just like we all did during the last gun scares.

[sundance435]

I'm a millennial. All the people I know from my generation (and younger) have guns. Some of them are quite adamant about their guns. Some of them like hunting. Most of them own (and shoot on a semi-regular basis) an AR. All have at least a handgun or an AR (most under 21 just have the AR).

Most of the people I know who don't own guns are Boomers or Gen X. And except for my father and one of my uncles, I can't think of any of them who are particularly excited by guns.

Ditto - Depending on the range used, I'm at the beginning of "Millennial". Many friends of mine around the same age are some of the most ardent 2A people (could be me just unconsciously choosing who I associate with), but there's a paradox I see, too. My age group is the most protective of 2A rights, but a lot more of us live in cities and those folks just aren't big into guns and don't see the impact of "common sense" gun laws and how the effect they have.

Bingo. Most folks don't willingly put their egos at risk. We need to make it as easy and risk free (to the ego) as possible - I know that sounds SJWish, but folks really take things to heart that we wouldn't expect them to get so upset about.

As someone else pointed out, there are too many guys with drool running out of the sides of their mouths that know it all working at gun stores. They really turn off people who are new to it and keep others from coming back.

I think there are a lot of younger folks that enjoy firearms, but are pretty discreet about it.

Last weekend, I took two of my nephews to a defensive shotgun class, taught by a pair of excellent instructors. I paid the class fees, bought ammo, set up a pair of 870's for them, and was their own personal AI.

They loved it. Neither one can wait for the next range trip. Another pistol class is next, then a medical class from either Dark Angel Medical or Lone Star Medics. Then a carbine class, and probably ECQC.

BUT - both of them are very discreet about guns. No mentions on social media, no bragging to friends, etc. They are considering a BJJ class as well.

So yeah, there are plenty of low profile young people out there who enjoy guns. We do need more of them, of course.

That's me. You could probably glean that I own guns from the various pages I "like", but I'm loath to make any mention of owning guns, more so for PerSec than anything else. Same for those I associate with.

[BrigandTwoFour]

I'm 35 now. I purchased my first guns, a 1911and an M1A, right before graduating college and commissioning into the Air Force. I didn't start getting "serious" until 2010 or so, thanks largely to this board.

I now work around a lot of well-educated twenty-somethings. I've put the offer out there for anyone to accompany me to the range. I'd say it's a pretty even bell curve between "oh hell no, they terrify me" to "yeah, I'll bring mine too."

When I go to the range, it's always busy with people of all ages. What actually concerns me more is the lack of participation in shooting sports. I think we, as a culture, keep making the barrier to entry higher and higher for people to get involved in meaningful ways. Depending on the group you talk to, you aren't "serious" until you have $1500 rifle, $1000 optic, 30 magazies, load bearing gear, several cases of ammo, and three training classes under your belt. On the other hand, for competition, you don't matter unless you have your $3000 match rifle, leather shooting jacket, and classification.

What happened to just getting people started in a friendly way?

[SeriousStudent]

I'm 35 now. I purchased my first guns, a 1911and an M1A, right before graduating college and commissioning into the Air Force. I didn't start getting "serious" until 2010 or so, thanks largely to this board.

I now work around a lot of well-educated twenty-somethings. I've put the offer out there for anyone to accompany me to the range. I'd say it's a pretty even bell curve between "oh hell no, they terrify me" to "yeah, I'll bring mine too."

When I go to the range, it's always busy with people of all ages. What actually concerns me more is the lack of participation in shooting sports. I think we, as a culture, keep making the barrier to entry higher and higher for people to get involved in meaningful ways. Depending on the group you talk to, you aren't "serious" until you have $1500 rifle, $1000 optic, 30 magazies, load bearing gear, several cases of ammo, and three training classes under your belt. On the other hand, for competition, you don't matter unless you have your $3000 match rifle, leather shooting jacket, and classification.

What happened to just getting people started in a friendly way?

That is exactly why I have a bunch of .22's.

And when I take out new shooters, everyone's favorite is either the suppressed Ruger MK IV 22/45, or the 1950's Model 17 6" revolver. Both are tack drivers, and everyone loves them.

Folks have a fun safe intro, and go home proud of their targets with just a little coaching.

Here's the big thing: Make sure they get a really good safety brief with the 4 rules, and set a return date before we leave the range. Those two weeks fly by, and it gives them something to really look forward to. Half the time, they bring another friend.