Quote:
Originally Posted by Harold Lee Pickens
I see part of the problem, as the lack/difficulty of upland hunting opportunities. It used to be that a youngster got involved with hunting and guns by small game hunting, rabbits and birds. Now it is the almighty deer that drives youth hunting and you don't use doubles for that. .... I had mentors in my Uncle Sam, and my best friend's(Terry) father who looked after a poor(and yes, we were quite poor) boy and took me hunting(rabbits and grouse) frequently. I killed my first grouse with a 12 ga SXS, one of those Stevens with the nylon stock--boy did it kick--and I have been shooting SXS's since.
I know this is kind of a long diatribe, but we must first get the youth interested in hunting upland and expose them to double guns so that when they are older they can appreciate good/fine guns and continue our passion.
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It seems to me that to get younger people interested in classic American guns they have to first be willing and able to use one and have fun doing it.
Harold is correct; the days of easily available bird hunting, except in the upper Midwest, parts of the North East and the West are gone. The Old South with it's famous quail hunting is gone, replaced with a huge pine monoculture. You have to "pay to play" in Texas and the damn 10 year old drought has drastically reduced quail numbers.
To get teenagers interested in bird hunting now, when they have to toil and sweat buckets to even see a grouse or shoot at a quail covey rise, is almost impossible. They'd rather sit in front of the computer and play in comfort. Some one who is just beginning a sport or hobby needs a few quick wins to keep their interest going. There are damn few quick wins now-a-days in bird hunting.
The clay shooting associations (Sporting Clays, etc) are doing a pretty good job in youth shooting instruction and youth shooting leagues, but one sees only a very few clays shooters using classics such as a 16 gauge Parker DHE as I do. Tricked out O/Us and semi autos rule, so I don't see any near immediate gains in classic SxS shooters there. Hopefully as they get older....
No doubt everyone who has called for supporting youth shooting is correct; but I am fairly pessimistic about the current high interest in classic SxS guns lasting for the long term.
I hope I am wrong.