Currently Browsing: New Shooters
Apr 26, 2013
Posted by Bitter in New Shooters, Shooting | 23 comments
Clayton Cramer blogged about the possible impact of a copper mine landslide on ammunition production, and that got me thinking about the extended impacts of today’s continued ammunition shortages.
Working with the Friends of NRA program, I’ve met several local instructors for youth shooting programs. Since most of these folks work with new junior shooters, they always start off with .22. I know at least one local Boy Scout camp shooting instructor who seriously questioned their ability to have any kind of shooting program due to the lack of ammunition. This is a long-term problem, folks. Every opportunity we lose to introduce new shooters to safe firearms handling is an opportunity to lost creating another pro-gun voter in the future. At the very least, it’s the loss of someone who likely won’t become hysterical gun policy debates because they at least have some basic understanding of firearms.
I’ve actually thought about getting back into shooting at Sebastian’s club more this year since I largely haven’t shot anything in a good year or more. But then that goes to the issue of not wanting to use up what ammunition we have knowing that we can’t easily get more of it.
A local gun shop is showing their new shipment of 50,000 rounds 5.56 which is already on sale (normally, they wait and put all ammo on sale on Saturday mornings) and even available for up to 10 boxes purchased at a time. Meanwhile, the few boxes of .22 are limited to one box per customer. I’m not sure I’ll ever get over the shock of .22 being the high demand caliber of ammunition.
I am thinking about pestering Sebastian to fix my Crosman this year so I can shoot air gun again. A quick search of places that sell pellets actually show specials to get a free tin (or multiple free tins!) of pellets with a purchase. That’s a very refreshing change to see. (For what it’s worth, any air gun billed as “tactical” makes me laugh.)
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Mar 19, 2013
Posted by Bitter in New Shooters, Shooting | 2 comments
If you’re looking for some positive press for gun ownership and use in your area, make sure you do your homework on who you pitch at a local paper or other outlet. The same group that published an op-ed mocking the idea that guns can be used to defend families also ran an article promoting 4-H’s program to teach youth how to shoot safely.
In the article, they note that at least two parents who have brought their kids up through the 4-H shooting program at Branch Valley Fish Game & Forestry Association have claimed that their child’s grades improved as a result of the concentration they learned in the shooting sports. I love this quote:
Jordan Bell, 12, of Chalfont, said she signed up when she learned her friends were going through the program.
“I really like it, on Friday I can’t wait for school to end because I know I’m going to come here,” Jordan said. “I like being able to improve — trying to outdo myself.”
That’s pretty much an anti-gun advocate’s worst nightmare. A 12-year-old girl who decided to try shooting because her friends did it and is now so hooked on the sport that she’s going to spend her summer on the range. I feel like someone will need to get some smelling salts up to Joan Peterson if she reads this story.
Even better, the article closes by telling parents how they can get their children involved with the added note that it’s only $3 a week to cover the equipment and ammo expenses.
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Feb 18, 2013
Posted by Bitter in New Shooters, The Media | 4 comments
A New Haven reporter who had handled guns three times before in very casual ways with no serious instruction decided to actually take a class that would allow him to get a permit to carry. He wrote about his experience, and it turns out that it’s more detailed instruction than most people would get in boating or driving classes:
Despite the relatively short class time [8 hours], a lot of ground was covered. Imagine going to driving school and being taught not only how to drive, but all the parts of an engine and what makes it go. Pear taught us how to use firearms, but also what makes them tick.
He taught the anatomy of a cartridge — bullet, shell and the primer that ignites the gunpowder. We learned the different components of handguns, both revolvers and semiautomatics. We learned the difference between a single-action firearm and a double-action firearm. We learned how to line up the sight of a pistol and how to control breath when aiming.
“We did an entire chapter of what you have to do to fire a shot,” Pear said. “Tons of words — 20 pages of written verbiage, 15 slides in a PowerpPoint presentation — for you to do something mechanical that takes a second to do. We explain every part of that event.”
The article is actually pretty long, and the reporter outlines what it was like shooting multiple calibers and an AR-15 in a private session he had with the instructor after class.
In the end, the reporter weighs the various reasons that men and women young and old took the class with him and debates whether or not to get a carry license. Ultimately, he decides that carrying is not for him, and the best decision is to put the fees for licensing toward buying his first gun to shoot at the range.
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Aug 12, 2012
Posted by Bitter in New Shooters | 10 comments
Joshua Wander, NRA Election Volunteer Coordinator in Pittsburgh, recently posted a story on Facebook about how he was a target of a scam targeting shooting instructors. He says that he was contacted by a person claiming to be from Japan who was looking for a firearms class during an upcoming family trip to the United States. They agreed at a price of $450 for the entire family. That is not what Wander received…
He received four money orders for $875.21 each that comes to more than $3,5000. He immediately recognized what was going on.
This is an old scam, when I call to tell them that they sent too much, they will ask me to deposit the checks and send them back the difference. It will take the bank a couple of weeks to figure out that the money orders are fake!
Turns out he’s not the only shooting instructor to be targeted by this classic scam lately. I did a quick search for the topic and found another report.
A few months ago, NSCA (National Sporting Clay Association) informed instructors and clubs of fraudulent activities targeting NSCA Certified Instructors around the country. This week, we have learned of other instructors and clubs who have been targeted with similar schemes.
The instructors and clubs tell us they are being contacted through email by someone who is supposedly setting up a shooting event for a corporate group. Some of the reports say the person claims to be from England.
The person inquires about booking instruction for the group, including guns, ammunition, and other equipment, adding up to thousands of dollars. Some of the emails ask for the instructor’s bank account information so he can wire the payment to the bank, while others ask the instructor to handle some US payments on behalf of the group, with a promise to send a money order.
So, if you’re a shooting instructor with your name and contact information published, be aware of this scam. While it’s a pretty classic case of fraud that most people have heard of, it usually takes other forms like roommate or rental ads, or even purchasing a products. Even if it doesn’t cheat you out of cash, it could cheat you out of your time by having to respond to these criminals in their initial inquiries.
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Apr 17, 2012
Posted by Bitter in New Shooters, NRA Convention | 4 comments
The anti-gun leaders keep trying to deny that more people are buying guns. Even when they finally concede that maybe there’s a smidgen of evidence from the NICS numbers, they claim that it’s just current gun owners buying more guns because we are all crazy and paranoid.
However, an interesting report came out of the NRA Board Meeting yesterday morning. And, no, it wasn’t just the news we broke on Twitter about the record-setting 73,740 NRA members attending the Annual Meeting & Exhibits. Kayne Robinson, Director of General Operations, told the crowd that they have seen a surge of training demands and had to really focus attention on being able to easily sell materials to the thousands of instructors across the country since the early days of the Obama guns sales surge. If you thought things were tapering off with Obama’s first term coming to a close, don’t be fooled.
So far in 2012, Kayne reported that the NRA sales are running about $265,000 above what they expected at this point in the year.
Yes, people are buying guns. New shooters are getting involved. People are taking the training classes to become safe and proficient shooters. Current shooters are coming out to support all of these new folks. Though the media likes to argue that NRA leaders don’t really have any solid foundation or following, about 1,500 grassroots supports came out to the National Friends of NRA Banquet to raise $450,000 for the NRA Foundation programs which put a particular focus on youth- and women-focused shooting programs. Across the country, local banquets are running 14% ahead of their expected fundraising goals. If most committees are like the one I have served on, there’s statistically only one way to raise more money – have more attendees.
While we were visiting with John Frazer, the Director of Research for ILA, in the NRA booth on the show floor, a gentleman who is active with his local VFW came up to ask about who he could talk to about funding a new shooting league. I gave him the information about how to find his local Friends group to put in a grant request since that’s the type of stuff I know our regional Friends committees love to support.
But remember, our opponents say we’re just making it up. There aren’t any new gun buyers seeking training. No shooters are really looking to become active. Current gun owners aren’t really any more involved with gun groups than they have been before. It’s funny how hard the anti-rights crowd has to work to ignore all of the mounting evidence that we are not only winning, but we plan to continue that winning streak far into the future as long as possible.
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Jan 3, 2012
Posted by Sebastian in New Shooters | 6 comments
We’re all familiar with it, but Kevin shows an example of how it’s done. And he’s right. It probably does terrify our opponents.
“That’s the smile you get from a new shooter – Every. Single. Time.”
Yep… and CBS is plastering all over now.
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Oct 18, 2011
Posted by Bitter in New Shooters | 3 comments
When I see CSGV crying in their cornflakes about Living Social shooting coupons, it catches my attention. I assumed they just swiped a link from one of the many I highlighted last week that revealed more than 11,100 people may have hit up the range due to Living Social bargains.
Instead, they are complaining about a current Chicago deal that treats folks to a wine tasting after they are done shooting. For only $65 bucks, you also get a meal in the deal. The best part is the purchase count. The total as I’m typing? 2,027. And the number keeps rising as I refresh.
UPDATE: As a commenter points out, the deal has sold out since this posted with 2,110 sold. When I initially looked at the deal, it was less than 2,000 sold.
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Oct 9, 2011
Posted by Bitter in New Shooters, Shooting | 12 comments
While the coupon I mentioned yesterday sold nearly 2,000 training deals, I decided to see if there was any other data on how well shooting instruction coupons sell through the various Groupon knock-offs.
Buffalo, NY – Current count: 262 people buying coupons to be trained
Charlotte, NC – 442 people trained
Gainesville, FL – 642 rounds of trap shot
Ft. Lauderdale, FL – 567 people trained
New Orleans, LA – 618 people trained
Winston-Salem, NC – 120 rounds of sporting clays shot
Richmond, VA – 351 people trained
Birmingham, AL – 992 shooters took to the range
Miami, FL – 374 people trained
It’s not just the US, either!
Edmonton, Alberta – 894 people trained
This is actually just highlights from one easily searchable site. I didn’t cover all of them, so the numbers are actually far higher than this. But, if you consider that the low number I found was 120 more people getting out to the range on a coupon that’s only available for 1-2 days at a time, these things are actually great for our movement.
It’s also a reminder people truly have fun going to the gun range. It’s much more exciting than the anti-gun range.
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Oct 8, 2011
Posted by Bitter in New Shooters | 2 comments
I clicked on an old link from a friend for a Living Social coupon offered a couple of weeks ago for an hour of firearms instruction, gun rental, and eye/ear protection in the DC area. Said friend was amused because of the description:
Are you ready for the best firearms deal to hit the DMV since District of Columbia v. Heller? Well, sharp shooter, focus your crosshairs on today’s deal and pull the trigger…
But today, I noticed just how many they sold – 1,957. Considering the coupon applies for up to 3 people with each deal purchased, that’s the potential for nearly 6,000 people to learn how to shoot thanks to this deal.
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Aug 19, 2011
Posted by Sebastian in New Shooters | 7 comments
In response to a post from yesterday, a friend in Illinois sends this along with the caption, “My 8 year old trying to talk me out of my MAC-10″:
Good finger off the trigger discipline. Looks to be good muzzle discipline. Glad to see some people are raising their kids right these days. I present this to you in order to horrify the gun control folks who I know sometimes follow this site.
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