A FAIR EXCHANGE

Among the concerns faced by many small community gun clubs here in the Northeast is our inability to attract and maintain new and younger shooters.

- Rick Braccia

The experience of most area clubs is that 20-somethings show up, seem enthusiastic, shoot for a while and then vanish. I suspect that much of this has to do with younger adults carving out careers and building families, leaving them limited time to pursue what is a time and cash consuming activity; one that certainly is not geared toward growing families. This may be why so many shooters seem to come to clay target sports later in life; their kids are older, time is more available, and money is somewhat more plentiful.

At our member-owned and operated club in Massachusetts, we do everything we can to engage and encourage youngsters. We have run clinics, done demos for our local Boy Scout troop and stayed after hours to help newcomers figure out how to hit targets that are moving at what may seem like 100 miles per hour. We try to take enthusiastic and motivated newbies under our wing and attempt to build some comfort and confidence, hoping to create a shooter that will continue in the sport. We often go out of our way to loan guns, find sources for shells and generally accommodate any newcomer who seems to be committed to the sport. In short, like most small clubs, we do all that we can to mentor new shooters in the hope that they will remain committed to and perpetuate our sport. And sometimes, we learn some things ourselves.

One cold New England winter morning three years ago, a fellow club member introduced me to Marissa Kessell, a young woman with an interest in learning to shoot. I run the clay target fields there.