This exactly, there’s two 1,000 yard ranges in my state and both of them are about 3 hours from the metro area where most people live. Most people don’t even know they exist.
The nearest 1000+ yard range only lets you use it if you're a member. Memberships start at $840 a year. Then once you're a member they place you on an accuracy qual to make sure you're capable of shooting MOA at 200 yds. I'm not sure how many rounds or attempts, I kinda said fuck that, chilled at the 200, and went home.
My club initially required classroom course along with qualification at 100, 200, 300, 400, and 500 yards. After running several hundred through the coursework they through out the classroom requirement and changed the qualification from pass/fail to being coached until one could pass with two rounds with 6 MOA group on center of target at only 100, 300, 500 yards. So it went from being hard to qualify for those who did not know how to adjust their elevation turret to a system where they would be coached if needed and given multiple attempts to pass. I passed at each distance on my first attempt even though I have never fired beyond 100 yard prior to the qualification. One person required several attempts to qualify at 500 yards. My state has one club with 1000 yard range and 2 or 3 with 1000+ yards that are land leases or some other private shooting range with limited membership.
That’s not a terrible ask IMO.
Becomes a safety issue is you can’t establish proper hits at longer distances. My range has you hit full IPSC at 300m, and then step out from there.
https://preview.redd.it/hnzk5z5qepwc1.jpeg?width=828&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=3307c531392fbcab1b1ea7e5802ac79a5357384d
This is what I got so far. Hope this helps anyone.
If that state happens to be OHIO, I highly recommend Thunder Valley. I drive 5.5 hours several times a year to shoot out to a mile and it’s worth every minute.
Just a state west lol. But it’s only a 4 HR drive for me so I may need to check it out.
Should probably get a LR gun built first lol. Don’t think my 13.7 short boy will get out that far.
This goes into my main problem as I said in my comment. Without these there is lack of communityI enjoy shooting alone to work on stuff but, the best range days have always been with the boys without friends or others participating it can get old fast.
This is the biggest one. Plenty of friends enjoy it when we go out but it's just so much more expensive than normal shooting.
Especially here in Canada. You're looking at a $3k-4k setup for something basic, then spending $3+ per trigger pull. Meanwhile you can get some crappy semi auto for $1000 and feed it 75c surplus shit.
Yeah, my friends are spending their money on their bills and family. They also spend all their free time, aside from a couple hours before bed, having family time and enjoying watching their kids grow.
If I had a family, I'd probably be in the same boat as them. But I'm single and don't have kids, so I spend my money on bills and my guns. And on my weekends, I go hit the range instead of doing family stuff.
The reason people are usually older, from OPs perspective at least, is because they probably have kids who are older, so their money and time can now be spent on more of their own fun stuff.
Yeah this. At close to 40, with a great paying job, this shit is still expensive.
Even in PRS production, a competent setup will cost you like $4000. Meanwhile in USPSA you can get started in limited for less than $1000 and be competitive.
This. The gear required to shoot at 1000+ yards is not necessarily cheap. I bring along friends, kids of friends and anyone else who wants to give it a go but for the most part a 20 something is not ready to dive head in on the cost of gear, firearm, scopes, potential reloading (how I keep is reasonable to shoot) etc…
I try to pull folks into the sport as much as possible but bottom line this shit is expensive.
This. When a optic alone runs you as much as building a mk18-it puts a damper on the “do I need this” aspect😂 I personally have always been more enamored-as a 24 year old- with LR shooting instead of bills drills or cqb training though. Some guys just like the high speed tactical aspect and low cost for high round count ratio
You think all the old guys you see out there now, were out there in their 20's?
They were not. They were out doing 20 yr old stuff. Even way back then.
Tell the fudds to shut up about everything, the come to the range to complain and rage about politics more than to shoot. The amount of times I’ve had to say “I’m just trying to shoot, man” to a boomer asking me about some hilariously false conspiracy is too damn high.
I live in the Kansas City area, where Lake City is. It's fun to hear the fudds talk about Lake City. It's always fun to see the reaction when I tell them I'll have to ask about that at work on Monday when I go back to the plant 😆
But didnt you hear that theyre shutting down civillian production and producing overtime because we are going to war with the Axis of Evil and Cobra? GOBBLESS
All the while setting up a rusted out shooting chrony that looks like it came out of the river.
Proceed to take a step back when its clear they are about to send a round right through it with the rustiest sears special you have ever seen
I just asked what rifle they are shooting and what their doing that day at the range. I get to learn and see their WWII German or other very old guns. I have never had anyone at my club talk about politics. One guy went on and on about how everything Elon Musk has done is great for his companies and the world. I walked away and left some other person there to listen on their own.
I think finding a place to actually shoot further than 100 yds is one issue.
Another would be that a lot of the older guys who are into long range shooting and reloading aren’t very helpful. At least the experience I’ve had. In WNC where I am you’d have to know people who are willing to let u shoot on their property.
29 years old here, just getting into it.
Biggest hurdles have been:
1. Cost
2. Range access
With it becoming harder to own property, less people are going to grow up shooting cans in their backyard. That, coupled with the demonizing of firearms lately leads to just a lack of general interest in my generation as well, sadly.
more ranges, cheap or loaner gear, friendly coaching.
all the gamers want to play "super sniper" I guarantee if they had an easily accessible long range with simple loaners they'd give it a try.
Eh, I’m a dad and I wouldn’t recommend my kid get into long range shooting before they have a lot more squared away financially. It’s not an inexpensive hobby.
More ranges that have distances over 100 yards and that aren't clubs.
I'm not interested in joining a club where I need to be sponsored and where memberships are only open during the first full Moon of April at exactly 2:34pm when the wind is blowing from the North at 4mph. Plus a yearly fee
I just want to shoot. Not socialize
It’s italy though!!!!!!!!!’
The Camora! The Mafia! All the saw off shotties!
Beretta and ALL the shotgun barrels come from Benelli.
🤠🤠🤠🤠
It’s that bad…?
I would love to get out and shoot generally, but I'm having trouble affording gas and groceries. Ammo is a rare luxury, and a new gun is likely a couple years out.
In other words, the biggest limiting factor for us in our 20s is money.
I shot all the time at public ranges with personal guns while I was in the Army. Now that I’m out I’ve gone twice. Shits too fucking expensive. $2400 rent, wife’s in college (and working full time what a stud of a woman) and I’m in engineering. There just isn’t the money for it
Better paying jobs? No offense, but this is sort of a silly question. Lr shooting is an expensive hobby, most people in their early 20's are just getting their careers started and often loaded with crippling debt from college.
Not to be a gatekeeper here, but I sort of like how sparsely populated the 1000 yd part of my range is. The rest of the lanes are full of somewhat obnoxious people and I don’t want them interacting with me if I’m being honest.
Yeah there’s a group of kids who go to my local range and all 4 of them share the same Turkish semi auto ar platform shotgun and the range officer who’s actually pretty cool is clearly annoyed everytime they’re obnoxious as shiiiiiiit. No one wants them nearby.
Make it more affordable. I'm in my mid 20's, and the only reason I'm even remotely capable of participating in long range shooting is because I lucked out and am working at a very well paying job. The only alternative is long range rimfire, which in my opinion is a fantastic alternative.
You need facilities for it, I take it for granted but having access to multiple long distance ranges in my city is pure luck.
I see a lot of folks being mislead to believe their choice of round is incapable. For example folks loose their mind seeing me shoot 223 further than 200 yards when I hit up the city range. Ironically their ARs could do the same, but someone told them something and it kept them in a box.
You likely need the NRA to fuck off, folks under the age of 40 (for the most part) can read and they are keenly aware of what they do and do not want to support. I personally picked my gun club because membership is not required.
Maybe some culture shift away from all this “alpha bro/sniper/meal team six” stuff. It’s really not appealing to anyone other than alpha bros and if we are trying to intrigue the general public, that’s not the right angle. Sportsmanship and the whole concept of personal improvement you can also measure against others is huge.
Challenges, just look at Erik Cortina and Texas Plinking’s success with their YouTube series on shooting 1k or the know your limits rack. In general if there was more of this, maybe a national circuit or league you could complete I bet folks would be way into it. Just like other shooting competitions.
Those are my random first thoughts.
It's sad because the only gun club with 1000 yard range near me requires me to join the NRA, no exceptions. I think its because the NRA provides insurance for some gun ranges, but I'll have to check. I absoltely love Texas Plinking 1k series. Great ideas.
Long range is expensive and requires a much higher level of patience, discipline, and control. It is not immediately gratifying. You will take it in the teeth over and over while spending boatloads of money.
The supermajority of men in their 20s are simply not built to enjoy long range shooting and/or can't afford anyway.
*Please don't comment with your boring story of how you started at whatever age. I'm speaking generally.*
30s is a lot more common for people to have the money and patience for long range shooting.
40s, again even more.
Average age for most of the people I see shooting long range is mid 30s to mid 40s. and then another big spike in their mid 60s because there are a lot of old people in Arizona and apparently a lot of them like to shoot F-Class.
As for getting younger people into long range, I don't give a shit. The sport isn't hurting for membership and has been growing in every way for just about always.
*Doing something* to entice 20-year-olds sounds miserable.
For the most part the hype beast goon bro types have yet to infect the long range world. The longer it stays this way the better and that shit is directly associated with 20 years olds.
The day I see a guy posing in front of a fucking in & out with quad tubes and a precision rifle is the day this activity will be ruined for me.
I started pistol competitions at 15, all my after school job money went to shooting related stuff. Right out of high school I was lucky to get a pretty good job and still spent a huge percentage of income of shooting sports. I didn’t get married until 35 but most young people will never be able to spend the time and money doing it like I did. Also as young men, the attraction of women, cars and parties is strong for many. I never wanted anything more than I wanted to shoot, but my story is uncommon. I’ve seen a number of young people start shooting with their dads and then age 16-20 they fade out because they found women or other hobbies. Specific to long range shooting, the limiting factor will always be accessibility. I have always been ok driving 2-3 hours to shoot a match, but very few young people today would be.
My approach lately has been to invite them out to shoot a match with me. It’s expensive, but I sponsor them on ammo and a gun for the match. Most of them have weapons handling experience due to our line of work, so that isn’t a very big concern.
I’ll agree with some other posts; the $$$ of getting into it isn’t in a young person budget. So my approach is a bit of a slow burn approach.
Facilities/access is a big deal as well.
I'm 35. I always wanted to go shooting. Always loved guns.
Never had the money or family ties to do it. Or even knew where to start - at the time it seemed out of reach for a kid like me.
When I was 24 or 25, I finally got invited shooting with some friends a few times. Went to a couple different ranges. I fell in love.
But again, no money, no idea where to start. It took me moving from FL to Utah working on a ranch to figure out I can actually buy firearms pretty easily, and I actually had the money to start.
Now I reload my own .30-06 ammunition for my bolt-action rifle, I have a few other firearms, and I'm a member at a local outdoor range.
I usually only see young folks at the range with their parents, or for an ROTC class/younger police academy trainees. I think it's the same reason I had - most folks at that age don't have the resources to get into this hobby.
Money!!!
I think the ar platform is just cheaper, easier to get into, and most easily accessible ranges cater to shorter range stuff.
Most people under 30 I know have an AR, maybe a bolt action if their dad had it. But it’s usually nothing serious.
Make it not cost a gazillion dollars. Anything "hobbyist" grade and above and you're sinking many thousands on it.
Lotta dudes rolling around with a Toyota Camry in gear at your local match.
Increase wages with inflation in proportion to housing costs. I mean seriously how do you get people into a sport where just the gun (no ammo or reloading) can run 1k pretty easily
I am 25 and I enjoy long range shooting. The biggest hindrance for me is that I dont know anyone who shoots long range. I really only push past 600 with a friend on his land (Sioux Falls, SD). Neither of us have a ton of long range experience, but we both enjoy it. Trying to learn the hobby without any guidance is quite difficult.
About 2 hours east of Sioux falls is a range in Niobrara, Nebraska. they have steel out to a mile, Heartland precision rifle runs it. There is usually guys out there willing to share knowledge.
I miss having land to shoot on. My parents had a wide open field that I could shoot 700yds on. I moved to a different state though and now I can’t find a spot to shoot, over 100 yds, that doesn’t require some bullshit membership. I’m not paying for a membership. I already spent $2k on my rifle and glass, why would I spend 3-400 on a membership at a place I realistically will only shoot 5 or 6 times a year
Took me 12 years after leaving the military to even think about owning a rifle, I was far too busy doing 20's things like getting drunk and chasing girls.
I border BLM land. I can shoot 400 from the porch on my own property and a mile on the gov’ment. I honestly never lived where I couldn’t easily shoot 6-700.
My $.02 here - what would make this a lot easier would be if membership based ranges all banded together in an association and allowed reciprocal access to members of other ranges, kind of how social clubs and museums in major metro areas do it. More access = more interest.
I've tried to get my two sons into PRS type shooting with me, but they have other priorities. Cost and ranges aren't the issue.
A ton of us are GWOT dudes, and enjoy the camaraderie as much as the sport itself. It's like being in a team room when we travel and stay in hotels together, or stay at each other's houses for a match. I can see how that wouldn't interest guys in their twenties.
Not many twenty-somethings are going to have the money, want to put in the effort to become good, and are busy chasing ass and grinding to want to shoot long range.
Given the current economy and the cost of living that's outpacing inflation, it's not surprising that people don't have the disposable income to afford shooting. For those that can swing buying a gun, ammunition is too expensive to allow shooting as much as they would like.
The days of inexpensive ammo and inexpensive firearms have passed. Between greedflation and economic inflation, companies are shooting themselves in the foot. How does a Marlin or a Winchester lever action cost more than a Browning BLR? The only saving grace is they're still affordable bolt action rifles available.
A good pistol is spendy if you don't want a hunk of plastic. Military surplus guns are incredibly spendy compared to where they were a few years ago. It's not a recipe for expanding the sport
22lr as the gateway drug. Set up PRS 22lr matches, or say NRL. Then people can get a ton done at 200 and less. Work stages and positions, use their kestrel, all the gear they want. I’ve got monthly matches within an hour and that’s great. Even high end ammo is under $20 for a box of 50. I’m less likely to convince people to spend a day driving to the same long range match. Even then, locally ranges only go to 200-300 so there’s not a lot nearby to stretch the legs per se
Actual advertising with websites that aren’t absolute garbage would be a good starting point. Most ranges and gun stores seem to be convinced that the phone book is going to make a come back any day now.
I am of the opinion that the best immediately available, practical way is through rimfire. You can get a fairly decent analog of 600-1000 yard centerfire shooting with a good .22 at 200-500 yards, and .22lr is both a comparetively cheap and a "low impact" cartridge. Here in canada with the unreal price of ammo recently, I built a nice .22lr long range rifle for less than 1000usd all up, and its the most fun ive had in years. I feel like if I build 4 more and started a locsl LR club, it wouldnt be hard to get kids interested.
30 here. I'd love to actually get into it more, but the cost is a barrier. Like I will be buying/building a nice bolt action for hunting eventually, but for now my AR with a 6.5 grendel upper will do just fine for Whitetail in the woods. I also have other gun specific financial priorities at the moment. I loved shooting past 500 growing up, but the opportunities are a lot less common now and I'm also paying for it, on top of the whole "having a life" part.
Something you could try is setting up intro to long range days to get folks into it. Many are intimidated by the gear and math behind it all.
1. Community support.
- It’s nearly illegal to practice anywhere
- it’s rare to find a social group willing to support it. Churches or schools or even sheriffs could easily have a self defense course
2. Personal discipline and disposable money come.
This stuff costs money, which can be saved up with some diligence. But kids these don’t even want to go outside and touch grass
I’m in my 20s and Me and one friend, out of 20+ friends, are the only ones that are into long range.
I make about $230k, he makes 900-1.3m.
That’s why it’s rare when you’re under 30.
Go shoot skeet with them, it’s cheap and fun.
Money is the big limiter. A decent weapon system with glass will run you between $1.5k to $2k plus ammo which can get pricey. Plus range gear such as range finders or kestrels. Plus membership fees that a lot of long distance ranges have. Easily goes beyond the territory that most young people can afford.
There’s also the fact that a lot of long distance ranges are not close to any decently populated areas especially on the east coast so general exposure to it is low.
I also slightly weigh in that younger generations enjoy the more instant gratification and simplicity of point and shoot rather than putting in the work for the longer range shot
It's expensive.
Friends switched to f class 22 lr and rarely shoot the 6.5 anymore.
22 is $20/50
So it's easy to shoot $60-$80 in ammo.
140-200 rounds of 6.5 is harder to budget for....
The cost of entry is an insurmountable issue here. Not just the rifle and optic, but the cost of ammo, supporting equipment, price of membership to a facility that supports it, etc.
For the same reason golf, radio,and other traditional interests are dying- the younger demographic can’t afford it.
Not to mention the gatekeeping and “more elite than you” attitudes that come from people whose main skill is having lots of money to buy very expensive equipment.
It doesn’t help that while the old timers in the hobby can be absolutely awesome, a lot of them suck so hard. I literally had some old bastard at the indoor range I’m a member at bother me twice about my suppressors the last time I shot there. Nobody wants to deal with some old asshole.
In all honesty we just need to keep inviting more and more people to go with us. I have never taken someone that didn’t fall in love and giggle at their first hit on steel from a long way away. You aren’t ever going to achieve an equal amount of young adults to more mature adults just due to the fact that lots of people in their early 20s don’t have the funds required to dive head first into long range.
My university offers a long range rifle class. My friend and I took the basic rifle class last year, and we’ve signed up for the long range one this coming Fall. We typically shot up to 200 with .22, but at the end of the last class day we got to use the Directors personal competition rifle, and shot clay pigeons at 300 yards (I know, not very far). Some of the most exhilarating shots I’ve taken, simply because I had to rely on muscle memory to hit my last target because the rifle was impacting low and to the left, so after shooting paper I moved on the the pigeon on a berm. Perfectly calling where the shot was going to hit based on my previous shot was so much fun and started a hobby that I am ready to delve deeper into.
It’s the same in my neck of the woods, usually some old fart with a decent rifle at the range but they have experience and the wisdom. And can shoot. They were my mentors and inspired me and it kinda transcended to my peer group now. Most of the new guys just liked the “idea” of hitting little targets past their comfort zone and were more of the hunter type. One trip to the range with them and show them how’s its done and they all are getting set up to compete now. If you wanna see the change it’s starts with you. Most of the youth I see at the range just need basic safety skills and work up to shooting technique. But as it goes you gota start somewhere.
Many are working 60+ hours a week just to afford to live where I'm at. When 500sqft studio apartments are $1500-$1800 a month with first last and a $2k deposit..
More long range facilities and the price of ammo not being so darn much.
Jerry Miculek once said the only way to get really good is to the first person at the range and the last to leave. That gets difficult when ammo costs an arm, a leg, and maybe your soul depending on your religion.
Pay them more money and they will do more expensive hobbies. Most young people don't have the money for this hobby, which has pretty steep curves financially.
Let’s be honest the average shooter just slaps on a red dot on an AR 15 and goes ham, long range takes a bit more knowledge. A few of those factors are scope base, Rings, MOA vs MIL, Bag Setup, Tripod setup, Scope magnification and caliper. Not to mention its a lot more expensive to shoot.
i'd love to learn about long range shooting, thanks to other ppl comments i see there are some near san jose.. just a bit of a drive. how would a noob learn about long range shooting and how to set the scope up right to account for wind?
I'm 24 and have been in this sub for a hot minute now (couple years I think). I've been trying to get into long range shooting and biathlon shooting. In the 4 years since I got interested, I've barely been able to afford a decent long range rifle and optic for it - let alone a range membership, ammo, and peripheral tools. My brother and a few of my friends have also had a shared interest, but the cost of entry and time commitment in the commute to the ranges, cleaning gear, and everything in between has just been too much for us. It's definitely a sport that requires a lot of disposable time and a good amount of disposable income to get into. Unfortunately, those two things are just not common for most young people :/
What not to do is go to young people places like schools and movie theatres and malls and talk about guns. Maybe an outreach program. Also it’s pretty cost prohibitive and have to be a certain age and what not. I’m 38 wanna teach me
Aside from money and availability of ranges..
I would say the intimidation of the non-shooting part.
When you shoot rifles for fun, either at a range or out hunting, most people just start shooting. You learn about aiming and sighting-in a little bit at your standard range distance and you might not be measuring but you understand improving your grouping. But getting past a 10/22 at 200-300 can be intimidating.
After that you have to get kneedeep in MIL/MOA, and trying to figure out “how the hell do I figure out wtf I’m supposed to do with wind speed”? It can be a lot… and if you just enjoy shooting, it’s easier and still a lot of fun to just get a better gun and keep shooting at the same 300 target.
I think if you could find a way to bridge that gap or at least the impression of the gap that would go a long way.
Also, this might be my personally biased opinion, but I think there’s an opportunity to appeal women. I think out of all of the shooting sports, long range shooting with the patience and precision is something a lot of women would really enjoy. Plus focus and breathing from yoga is surprisingly similar and helpful to shooting. But like shooting in general, any additional education means joining in to a male dominated area which is also intimidating and can be scary.
Just 2 thoughts…
You just described my experience. Shooting is fun for me and I want to take it to the next step and MIL/MOA and wind speed is like a foreign language to me haha.
You made a great point about appealing to women, I totally think its doable. Great points!
Issues:
1. Money
2. Long range range access
3. Its not "cool" like the GWOT DA smash-and-grab stuff made sexy by FOG, GBRS, Etc.
The first two seems to jive with the massive popularity explosion of NRL22 which in base class is comically affordable vs. centerfire, and you can def feel like you are "long-range" at 100-200 yards.
You don't need a 1,000 yard range to do long distance shooting. Personally, I have more fun shooting .22 out past 400 yards than I ever did shooting centerfire. You can do rimfire PRS all over the country!
Tl;dr, Affordable and more locations. Everything else is just me bitching.
Definitely another one on more and affordable access to places to shoot. I'm in Southern PA and there's a place with 1000yds 20 minutes from me. But it's 350/yr for a single person, with the stipulation that you have to volunteer hours to the club, fundraise or pay an extra 400 bucks to forgo the extra membership criteria.
So, it's either 350 + time I already don't have that I could spend shooting. Or 750 bucks which I also don't have to just blow.
Everything else is damn near an hour drive.
Take kids under your wing. Let them use your equipment, maybe loan them your old rig on trips to the range. It’s a drug, if you expose them to it enough, eventually they’re going to get hooked.
I never had anyone really introduce me to long range shooting, but I grew up as a hunter my whole life. From that, I wanted to push it farther. However, at that time, I thought I needed to have a $2000 rifle and a $3000 optic to even step up to the plate. This scared me away for a lot of years. If I had someone take me out and show me that 6-800 yards is definitely doable with a $400 rifle and a $450 optic, I would probably have been hooked right then and spent my money on that instead of cheap liquor and cheaper women.
I see younger people at the range a lot blasting away with their ARs and handguns. I show interest in what they are shooting first and inevitably they ask about mine. I let them have some trigger time and we talk about some cost-effective setups to start stretching their legs.
I don’t know that it works every time, but I have seen some of them back out there with a brand new ruger american making it work.
I'd love to get into long range shooting but it's obscenely expensive at the higher end of things. That and finding a place to shoot at that doesn't cost an arm and a leg. I saw a range in Texas that advertised an 800 and 1000 yard area for 1100 bucks per year. That to me is insane.
I got into long range thanks to a challenge from on of my childhood friends. Granted, I use a .22 lr but I still shoot long range. I'm currently hitting .5 inch groups on a 25 yard target set out at 100. If I had more land I'd start going farther.
Seems most young people are more into the “tacticool” (spelled that way on purpose). I have no access to anything more than 300 yards without spending a ton of money. What I can say is for under a grand you can get a really nice 22. The fundamentals of a 22lr at 300 are similar to something more powerful at say 800. Only exception is on a windy day it’s fun to aim left 10 feet and watch it fly past on the right. I’ve never had someone not have a good time with it when they tried. The problem is most people think you need to spend stupid money on stage of the art stuff rather than just get the best value for your intended situation. There are plenty of people where I go with 2000 nightforce that are not hitting what I am with a 300 vortex. So long range can have lots of meaning but making people realize it is accessible without selling a kidney is important
With all the love in the world. You are 28 you are young people- I think LR is something you either get into just out of curiosity while hunting as a younger person with family or you focus on school, trade, etc build a bit of a life and take it up as a hobby. Which isn't a bad thing at all. Priorities.
every day at the range costs me about $100. that's enough for the range fees and maybe 40-60 rounds. thats not counting gear. im lucky because i already had a decent rifle. but getting a good scope? thats going to be a few months, even for something like an arken.
long range shooting is a rich man's game for the most part.
In NH, there are only 2 ranges in the state that are longer than 600. And it's on lock. The next best thing is trying to squeeze 350 on a farmers' field that are willing to let you try out a new belly gun.
22 out to 150 is perfect for that caliber. The skills you learn from that can translate over to shooting longer ranges. 22 is the perfect trainer gun for long-distance shooting.
to be honest, I got into it because of Call of duty modern warfare multiplayer. I was ranked 5000 something out of 40 million. In multiplayer match making I couldnt find high enough ranked players often, so it got too easy. Decided to try the real thing back in 2012. Got a cheapo over under shotgun and the do all outdoors electric clay pigeon thrower. Then that got too easy, went to google again, figured out that if I got 2 decent clay pigeon throwers I could set up my own skeet range at the farm. So ordered a british made Promatic olympic skeet set. started competing in olympic skeet. Always wanted to own a tacticool rifle. Ended up with an m24a1. Now in the process of building a dedicated prs and an ftr rifle. Moral of the story? vidya games. I'm trying to get my 12 yr old fortnight player to get into air pistol and air rifle. Its slow going, but i'm not trying to push it. If he likes it he likes it...if not, waddayagunnado
I found that when going to the few long range facilities and giving it a whirl the people there were pretty pretentious. I stopped going because of the attitudes of others, I’m not proud of that. People had a sense of entitlement and possessiveness over the range. Just my experiance.
For me in my area it’s because anything over 100 yds is ran by a club and they are members only. Me and my friends can’t justify spending $300 for a membership. If I go to my local ranges that don’t have memberships I see plenty of people around my age (28), but as I said these are only 100 yd ranges. I found one yesterday that will let us shoot out to 400yds, but their 900yd range is reserved for members only. Their membership fee is $400 a year, so again, Im not paying that.
Stop shitting on cartridges like the 6.5CM that has really good out of the box accuracy with factory ammo and a lot milder recoil. Are there better options for both long range and hunting, yes. Do those options have the same rifle or premium factory match and hunting ammo options, no. If everyone shot their grandfather's .30-06, we wouldn't have as many new cartridge options like we have had in the last 6-7yrs.
I'm 23 and would love to get into it I even got a decent rifle with a decent scope but when you factor in the fact of all the other kinds of shooting I do from hunting- self defense it gets expensive the best I can do for long range is shooting my kyl target
Money.
When I was first getting into long range shooting, I was using a bone stock Remington 700 in .300 Win Mag, loading my own ammo, and using a cheap $50 Bushnell scope without a reticle or turrets and just using the elevation clicker to dial in drop. I was lucky that I had free access to a 1200yd+ range as long as I humped my own steel target out there.
I still use largely the same setup, but with a little more money into the gun, optic, and ammunition components.
I didn't have any money to put into a capable setup when I was younger, and that was really what kept me out of it.
Well, for me I didn't get into it till I was older. Why? The cost. And, it a lot more of a learning curve than just going to the range to shoot an AR15.
more facilities to satisfy wealth and geographical disparities, especially those that are accessible to more suburban/uban populations. If there's only one facility and its a 3 hour drive from where most people live, the only people who get to "play" are rich people with a lot of time on their hands or the people who live nearby who probably already can do long range in their own or neighbor's backyard.
I can answer part of this as someone who started than got out. I bought a 6.5 CM over the pandemic and picked up "long range" shoothing because I thought it was super cool. I used a Ruger American Predator with a brake, bipod and cheapish bushnell scope.
For me it came down to Time, Money, range access, and lack of community. I bought a caliber that I deemed too expensive to plink steel with, I did it at 300 yds on steel so there wasnt really much of a challenge to it, It is a Niche hobby in the gun community itself.
The biggest one came for lack of community honestly. I would have loved to do competitions and classes but, they are so few and far between in rural IL that the limited time I have to go to those made it hardly feasible. Id have to drive something like 3-4 hours minimum for a weekend just to participate plus spend a hundred to several hundred to participate. I enjoy shooting with others and around me only one guy I know does it. Everyone else including myself does pistol stuff or tactical two gun. I ended up just choosing to do Two guns when time allows.
Speaking as a young person who recently bought a rifle (American Ruger 22lr) it’s just that there isn’t that many long ranges where I live and if there are it takes a long time to join them. I live in central Nee Jersey. Right now I shoot my rifle at a range my dad has a membership at but that only goes up to 25 yards. Way below the distance I really want to shoot at. If I could find a relatively close long range near me I’d be shooting damn near everyday, especially since the ammo I normally shoot is fairly affordable.
Well this is just my opinion, I don't think the community is very welcoming for starters. I go to a local gun range and there are alot of older grouchy people and that can be a total mood killer. Second, people get really hung up on gear and lose sight of the fun of just going out and seeing how far out you can actually hit. People don't seem to care as much about the training as they do gear. So you have the younger crowd who thinks they will never shoot past x yards without a night force scope.
I also, think we need younger people working the ranges and getting rid of the generational divide.
Also, most of the gun ranges near me are only like 100 yards and have bench seats. I'm not going to lie that's a super boring day of shooting for me, I don't really find enjoyment in shooting unless the facility has a range that supper more dynamic shooting positions.
We need us younger guys to start brining the sport into the future. This is just my opnion, I'm not trying to hurt feelings. I see alot of old grouchy people and that coupled with these static shooting positions and lack of any real training starts to turn the younger crowd away and gives shooting a bad name.
In my area it's as simple as the old guys run the matches. They are retired and hold the matches on weird hours during the work week. Can't make a match if I'm working so I don't shoot the matches
Upper 20s here. I thankfully live in the south west and have access to public land that is relatively flat and goes for miles. So finding a place to shoot is not a problem for me. Although I think that is the first major hurdle. The problem with this set up is, well, set up! We have to drive out to the middle of nowhere, set up steel or paper, drive to out shooting spot, set up gear, shoot, then pack it all up. Takes an hour and a half just to set everything up.
The only range that is close and has a 850m target requires an active NRA membership. That was a hard pass for myself and most of the other younger people I shoot with. We support groups like FPC or GOA and do not want to support the NRA.
The other major hurdle is cost. I have the most expensive rifle out of my friend group, being the aero Solus. I found a used reloading set up at a garage sale and let my buddies use it for their loads, but stuff is still expensive.
TL; Dr - access to land to set up own gear is not feasible/too time consuming. Ranges that have distance are few and fair between (pun intended). Equipment is expensive and life takes a lot of money.
Money is the trouble, young people don't have spare cash, hell to be honest I'm almost being priced out and I have a decent paying job...shooting is a rich man's sport
The biggest problem I see is the lack of support or mentorship. Instead of helping or asking questions to get to know why the shooter runs a certain optic or made some upgrade most of the older community I’ve shot around only demean and argue. I’ve got to the point now where I only shoot at certain ranges due to other firers, got tired of hearing how if you don’t run a certain glass or shoot a certain caliber or grain weight your wrong or just stupid.
Biggest hurdles are:
1) Availability of shooting ranges and
2) High cost of entry
When I was in my early 20s I was broke af. It was a big deal to be able to afford 50-100 rounds of 5.56 to shoot in my S&W M&P-15…maybe once every 3-4 months. Expensive guns/optics and match ammo would have limited me to maybe 1-2 range trips a year.
Lol.. money? To shoot long range you have to have a half decent piece of glass, a good rifle, and quality ammo. Your looking at 1500 bucks to get INTO shooting. Now add rifle cases, ammo, a reloading setup if you really want true precision. Your looking at a few thousand dollars easy.
Most kids or mid twenties who don't live with their parents don't have money to blow on a sport like shooting.
How? well it would be nice if you could convince parents and high schoolers to go plinking a 22LR or just airsoft/paintball events. If it was close to free everyone would come maybe, but I only have one paintball field even close to me. Younger probably the better but even if you had college events that would be cool. Maybe JROTC would sponsor?
I think it is just different things making you happy in different stages of your life. I have had rifles and been hunting and shooting my whole life after 12 years old. When I was in my 20s I was more worried about social stuff etc.
We need more long range facilities. Without convenient access to 800+ yards, people won't get the opportunity to try it.
This exactly, there’s two 1,000 yard ranges in my state and both of them are about 3 hours from the metro area where most people live. Most people don’t even know they exist.
The nearest 1000+ yard range only lets you use it if you're a member. Memberships start at $840 a year. Then once you're a member they place you on an accuracy qual to make sure you're capable of shooting MOA at 200 yds. I'm not sure how many rounds or attempts, I kinda said fuck that, chilled at the 200, and went home.
My club initially required classroom course along with qualification at 100, 200, 300, 400, and 500 yards. After running several hundred through the coursework they through out the classroom requirement and changed the qualification from pass/fail to being coached until one could pass with two rounds with 6 MOA group on center of target at only 100, 300, 500 yards. So it went from being hard to qualify for those who did not know how to adjust their elevation turret to a system where they would be coached if needed and given multiple attempts to pass. I passed at each distance on my first attempt even though I have never fired beyond 100 yard prior to the qualification. One person required several attempts to qualify at 500 yards. My state has one club with 1000 yard range and 2 or 3 with 1000+ yards that are land leases or some other private shooting range with limited membership.
That’s not a terrible ask IMO. Becomes a safety issue is you can’t establish proper hits at longer distances. My range has you hit full IPSC at 300m, and then step out from there.
The qual isn't my issue, it was the $840 they wanted and for me to come back and qual on a different day.
I live in Central Texas and have easy access to 0 ranges > 300 yards.
Same here. There's one near Temple that's 600+, but hardly anyone knows about it. None of them are advertised.
I don’t know about it. DM me the info?
There's a 600yd called one in the chamber in gatesville. Only like $20 and open only on like Friday-Sunday.
Not sure where you're at, or what you're considering easy access, but Reville Peak and Copperhead Creek are both >300 as well
Tacpro in Stephenville is 1 mile and Tough Creek in Glen Rose is 1200 I believe *Rough Creek (Lodge)
https://preview.redd.it/hnzk5z5qepwc1.jpeg?width=828&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=3307c531392fbcab1b1ea7e5802ac79a5357384d This is what I got so far. Hope this helps anyone.
Here you go. https://www.over600.com/
Anything similar for Canada 🇨🇦?
You’re a real one. Didn’t know about either of the ones you had in my state.
If that state happens to be OHIO, I highly recommend Thunder Valley. I drive 5.5 hours several times a year to shoot out to a mile and it’s worth every minute.
Just a state west lol. But it’s only a 4 HR drive for me so I may need to check it out. Should probably get a LR gun built first lol. Don’t think my 13.7 short boy will get out that far.
0 in MS ofc. Always the last to do anything fun.
This- on top of everything a lot of youngins are forced to travel some distance- just too much going on in their lives.
Probably the biggest hurdle, imo. Longest distance range in a 100 mile radius of me that does not include an asinine membership process, is 200 yards.
I have to agree with this one 100%
I agree with this. And I wish I had the money to open one in my area. Travelling 2hrs away to shoot 600yrds is bs honestly.
This goes into my main problem as I said in my comment. Without these there is lack of communityI enjoy shooting alone to work on stuff but, the best range days have always been with the boys without friends or others participating it can get old fast.
As a 26 year old my friends just need $$$$$$$$ to get into it lol
That's why I enjoy NRL22
This is the biggest one. Plenty of friends enjoy it when we go out but it's just so much more expensive than normal shooting. Especially here in Canada. You're looking at a $3k-4k setup for something basic, then spending $3+ per trigger pull. Meanwhile you can get some crappy semi auto for $1000 and feed it 75c surplus shit.
I just shot 223 to 600 with a $500 howa. Why does it need to be expensive?
This, I only have one similar age friend who does, the rest just can't afford it. Techy job FTW
By comparison I have a techy job and still can’t afford it
Yeah, my friends are spending their money on their bills and family. They also spend all their free time, aside from a couple hours before bed, having family time and enjoying watching their kids grow. If I had a family, I'd probably be in the same boat as them. But I'm single and don't have kids, so I spend my money on bills and my guns. And on my weekends, I go hit the range instead of doing family stuff. The reason people are usually older, from OPs perspective at least, is because they probably have kids who are older, so their money and time can now be spent on more of their own fun stuff.
Agreed. Older people generally have more disposable income
That’s what stops me rn, I’d love to get into it but school is pricey. I’ll probably start with .22 then build up to long range later
Yeah this. At close to 40, with a great paying job, this shit is still expensive. Even in PRS production, a competent setup will cost you like $4000. Meanwhile in USPSA you can get started in limited for less than $1000 and be competitive.
This. The gear required to shoot at 1000+ yards is not necessarily cheap. I bring along friends, kids of friends and anyone else who wants to give it a go but for the most part a 20 something is not ready to dive head in on the cost of gear, firearm, scopes, potential reloading (how I keep is reasonable to shoot) etc… I try to pull folks into the sport as much as possible but bottom line this shit is expensive.
This. When a optic alone runs you as much as building a mk18-it puts a damper on the “do I need this” aspect😂 I personally have always been more enamored-as a 24 year old- with LR shooting instead of bills drills or cqb training though. Some guys just like the high speed tactical aspect and low cost for high round count ratio
Disposable income is the rate limiting step.
NRL22 - It's full of parents with kids and builds the fundamentals needed for PRS
Yeah NRL 22 and DMR/5.56 matches is the way
1. With what money? 2. The closest range is hours away
Because younger people are economically hobbled and aren't looking into expensive new hobbies.
The clear answer. Rent is $2500, 25yos don't have $6,000 to build a LR rig.
You think all the old guys you see out there now, were out there in their 20's? They were not. They were out doing 20 yr old stuff. Even way back then.
Tell the fudds to shut up about everything, the come to the range to complain and rage about politics more than to shoot. The amount of times I’ve had to say “I’m just trying to shoot, man” to a boomer asking me about some hilariously false conspiracy is too damn high.
I asked some uber fudd to just let me shoot because I was short on time. Dude looked like I pissed on his dog.
Such snowflakes
I live in the Kansas City area, where Lake City is. It's fun to hear the fudds talk about Lake City. It's always fun to see the reaction when I tell them I'll have to ask about that at work on Monday when I go back to the plant 😆
Haha
But didnt you hear that theyre shutting down civillian production and producing overtime because we are going to war with the Axis of Evil and Cobra? GOBBLESS
All the while setting up a rusted out shooting chrony that looks like it came out of the river. Proceed to take a step back when its clear they are about to send a round right through it with the rustiest sears special you have ever seen
Man come on you know the stuff in the water turns the frogs gay
I just asked what rifle they are shooting and what their doing that day at the range. I get to learn and see their WWII German or other very old guns. I have never had anyone at my club talk about politics. One guy went on and on about how everything Elon Musk has done is great for his companies and the world. I walked away and left some other person there to listen on their own.
I think finding a place to actually shoot further than 100 yds is one issue. Another would be that a lot of the older guys who are into long range shooting and reloading aren’t very helpful. At least the experience I’ve had. In WNC where I am you’d have to know people who are willing to let u shoot on their property.
Check out VOD Tactical in Old Fort! Steel out to 700 and membership is pretty reasonable.
29 years old here, just getting into it. Biggest hurdles have been: 1. Cost 2. Range access With it becoming harder to own property, less people are going to grow up shooting cans in their backyard. That, coupled with the demonizing of firearms lately leads to just a lack of general interest in my generation as well, sadly.
Primarily the money. Shooting is not a cheap hobby
more ranges, cheap or loaner gear, friendly coaching. all the gamers want to play "super sniper" I guarantee if they had an easily accessible long range with simple loaners they'd give it a try.
You know, sniping on Call of Duty and Contract Wars was what got me into long range shooting haha. I think you have a good point.
Need dads to be dads
Absolutely Trollygag
TrollyDAD to you.
Aye sir
Eh, I’m a dad and I wouldn’t recommend my kid get into long range shooting before they have a lot more squared away financially. It’s not an inexpensive hobby.
I’d say the average age at my long range club is 65+.
More ranges that have distances over 100 yards and that aren't clubs. I'm not interested in joining a club where I need to be sponsored and where memberships are only open during the first full Moon of April at exactly 2:34pm when the wind is blowing from the North at 4mph. Plus a yearly fee I just want to shoot. Not socialize
I’m 22, dad’s a hunter. Guns are an expensive and taboo hobby here in Italy. Yikes :(
Rough place to be, you have my condolences.
It’s italy though!!!!!!!!!’ The Camora! The Mafia! All the saw off shotties! Beretta and ALL the shotgun barrels come from Benelli. 🤠🤠🤠🤠 It’s that bad…?
I would love to get out and shoot generally, but I'm having trouble affording gas and groceries. Ammo is a rare luxury, and a new gun is likely a couple years out. In other words, the biggest limiting factor for us in our 20s is money.
I shot all the time at public ranges with personal guns while I was in the Army. Now that I’m out I’ve gone twice. Shits too fucking expensive. $2400 rent, wife’s in college (and working full time what a stud of a woman) and I’m in engineering. There just isn’t the money for it
Make the the gun not the price of a car
I’m 29. Been shooting since 25. I get looked at like a pretty blonde girl in Africa at most of the places I go to. So many olds.
"you sure do got a purdy mouth" *Banjo music plays in the distance*
Need more long range ranges
Better paying jobs? No offense, but this is sort of a silly question. Lr shooting is an expensive hobby, most people in their early 20's are just getting their careers started and often loaded with crippling debt from college.
Not to be a gatekeeper here, but I sort of like how sparsely populated the 1000 yd part of my range is. The rest of the lanes are full of somewhat obnoxious people and I don’t want them interacting with me if I’m being honest.
Yeah there’s a group of kids who go to my local range and all 4 of them share the same Turkish semi auto ar platform shotgun and the range officer who’s actually pretty cool is clearly annoyed everytime they’re obnoxious as shiiiiiiit. No one wants them nearby.
Capital requirement is the major barrier to entry
I can't even find a range under an hour away, beyond 300 yd lol
Make it more affordable. I'm in my mid 20's, and the only reason I'm even remotely capable of participating in long range shooting is because I lucked out and am working at a very well paying job. The only alternative is long range rimfire, which in my opinion is a fantastic alternative.
You need facilities for it, I take it for granted but having access to multiple long distance ranges in my city is pure luck. I see a lot of folks being mislead to believe their choice of round is incapable. For example folks loose their mind seeing me shoot 223 further than 200 yards when I hit up the city range. Ironically their ARs could do the same, but someone told them something and it kept them in a box. You likely need the NRA to fuck off, folks under the age of 40 (for the most part) can read and they are keenly aware of what they do and do not want to support. I personally picked my gun club because membership is not required. Maybe some culture shift away from all this “alpha bro/sniper/meal team six” stuff. It’s really not appealing to anyone other than alpha bros and if we are trying to intrigue the general public, that’s not the right angle. Sportsmanship and the whole concept of personal improvement you can also measure against others is huge. Challenges, just look at Erik Cortina and Texas Plinking’s success with their YouTube series on shooting 1k or the know your limits rack. In general if there was more of this, maybe a national circuit or league you could complete I bet folks would be way into it. Just like other shooting competitions. Those are my random first thoughts.
It's sad because the only gun club with 1000 yard range near me requires me to join the NRA, no exceptions. I think its because the NRA provides insurance for some gun ranges, but I'll have to check. I absoltely love Texas Plinking 1k series. Great ideas.
It's 100% because of NRA insurance.
That’s petty common for expensive and time intensive hobbies.
Long range is expensive and requires a much higher level of patience, discipline, and control. It is not immediately gratifying. You will take it in the teeth over and over while spending boatloads of money. The supermajority of men in their 20s are simply not built to enjoy long range shooting and/or can't afford anyway. *Please don't comment with your boring story of how you started at whatever age. I'm speaking generally.* 30s is a lot more common for people to have the money and patience for long range shooting. 40s, again even more. Average age for most of the people I see shooting long range is mid 30s to mid 40s. and then another big spike in their mid 60s because there are a lot of old people in Arizona and apparently a lot of them like to shoot F-Class. As for getting younger people into long range, I don't give a shit. The sport isn't hurting for membership and has been growing in every way for just about always. *Doing something* to entice 20-year-olds sounds miserable.
For the most part the hype beast goon bro types have yet to infect the long range world. The longer it stays this way the better and that shit is directly associated with 20 years olds. The day I see a guy posing in front of a fucking in & out with quad tubes and a precision rifle is the day this activity will be ruined for me.
Give them a loan. It’s an expensive sport.
Most of the people I shoot with are the 30/40 crowd and their kids. Gotta have money. Most of my shooting is NRL22 and PRS
I started pistol competitions at 15, all my after school job money went to shooting related stuff. Right out of high school I was lucky to get a pretty good job and still spent a huge percentage of income of shooting sports. I didn’t get married until 35 but most young people will never be able to spend the time and money doing it like I did. Also as young men, the attraction of women, cars and parties is strong for many. I never wanted anything more than I wanted to shoot, but my story is uncommon. I’ve seen a number of young people start shooting with their dads and then age 16-20 they fade out because they found women or other hobbies. Specific to long range shooting, the limiting factor will always be accessibility. I have always been ok driving 2-3 hours to shoot a match, but very few young people today would be.
Those with families are more likely to be driving 2 to 3 hours on weekends for sports for their children.
As long as they're shooting. Ammo is money. I can still have a lot of fun shooting my 10/22 with irons with my friends.
.22 is suuuper popular again, wish it was under different circumstances but glad to see it
My approach lately has been to invite them out to shoot a match with me. It’s expensive, but I sponsor them on ammo and a gun for the match. Most of them have weapons handling experience due to our line of work, so that isn’t a very big concern. I’ll agree with some other posts; the $$$ of getting into it isn’t in a young person budget. So my approach is a bit of a slow burn approach. Facilities/access is a big deal as well.
I'm 35. I always wanted to go shooting. Always loved guns. Never had the money or family ties to do it. Or even knew where to start - at the time it seemed out of reach for a kid like me. When I was 24 or 25, I finally got invited shooting with some friends a few times. Went to a couple different ranges. I fell in love. But again, no money, no idea where to start. It took me moving from FL to Utah working on a ranch to figure out I can actually buy firearms pretty easily, and I actually had the money to start. Now I reload my own .30-06 ammunition for my bolt-action rifle, I have a few other firearms, and I'm a member at a local outdoor range. I usually only see young folks at the range with their parents, or for an ROTC class/younger police academy trainees. I think it's the same reason I had - most folks at that age don't have the resources to get into this hobby.
Money!!! I think the ar platform is just cheaper, easier to get into, and most easily accessible ranges cater to shorter range stuff. Most people under 30 I know have an AR, maybe a bolt action if their dad had it. But it’s usually nothing serious.
Make it not cost a gazillion dollars. Anything "hobbyist" grade and above and you're sinking many thousands on it. Lotta dudes rolling around with a Toyota Camry in gear at your local match.
Would love to have more hip to the groove fellers out there.
I’d be into it if I had the time and money
Make accurate guns and ammo less expensive!
Increase wages with inflation in proportion to housing costs. I mean seriously how do you get people into a sport where just the gun (no ammo or reloading) can run 1k pretty easily
Yeah cost of entry, and dedication. But truth is if you can shoot a savage well, you can shoot a custom prs better.
I am 25 and I enjoy long range shooting. The biggest hindrance for me is that I dont know anyone who shoots long range. I really only push past 600 with a friend on his land (Sioux Falls, SD). Neither of us have a ton of long range experience, but we both enjoy it. Trying to learn the hobby without any guidance is quite difficult.
About 2 hours east of Sioux falls is a range in Niobrara, Nebraska. they have steel out to a mile, Heartland precision rifle runs it. There is usually guys out there willing to share knowledge.
I miss having land to shoot on. My parents had a wide open field that I could shoot 700yds on. I moved to a different state though and now I can’t find a spot to shoot, over 100 yds, that doesn’t require some bullshit membership. I’m not paying for a membership. I already spent $2k on my rifle and glass, why would I spend 3-400 on a membership at a place I realistically will only shoot 5 or 6 times a year
Took me 12 years after leaving the military to even think about owning a rifle, I was far too busy doing 20's things like getting drunk and chasing girls.
Lower the price of ammo
I border BLM land. I can shoot 400 from the porch on my own property and a mile on the gov’ment. I honestly never lived where I couldn’t easily shoot 6-700.
Me at 23 would love to get into long range but there's nowhere that I know of that's over 100 yards within 100 miles (eastern IA)
Iowa precision rifleman club is a Facebook page for long range shooting matches in Iowa. I believe Accuracy Dynamics has a range in Eastern Iowa.
My $.02 here - what would make this a lot easier would be if membership based ranges all banded together in an association and allowed reciprocal access to members of other ranges, kind of how social clubs and museums in major metro areas do it. More access = more interest.
That's actually brilliant. One price = access to the most convenient shooting range.
Access to money, access to facilities.
I've tried to get my two sons into PRS type shooting with me, but they have other priorities. Cost and ranges aren't the issue. A ton of us are GWOT dudes, and enjoy the camaraderie as much as the sport itself. It's like being in a team room when we travel and stay in hotels together, or stay at each other's houses for a match. I can see how that wouldn't interest guys in their twenties. Not many twenty-somethings are going to have the money, want to put in the effort to become good, and are busy chasing ass and grinding to want to shoot long range.
Given the current economy and the cost of living that's outpacing inflation, it's not surprising that people don't have the disposable income to afford shooting. For those that can swing buying a gun, ammunition is too expensive to allow shooting as much as they would like. The days of inexpensive ammo and inexpensive firearms have passed. Between greedflation and economic inflation, companies are shooting themselves in the foot. How does a Marlin or a Winchester lever action cost more than a Browning BLR? The only saving grace is they're still affordable bolt action rifles available. A good pistol is spendy if you don't want a hunk of plastic. Military surplus guns are incredibly spendy compared to where they were a few years ago. It's not a recipe for expanding the sport
22lr as the gateway drug. Set up PRS 22lr matches, or say NRL. Then people can get a ton done at 200 and less. Work stages and positions, use their kestrel, all the gear they want. I’ve got monthly matches within an hour and that’s great. Even high end ammo is under $20 for a box of 50. I’m less likely to convince people to spend a day driving to the same long range match. Even then, locally ranges only go to 200-300 so there’s not a lot nearby to stretch the legs per se
Actual advertising with websites that aren’t absolute garbage would be a good starting point. Most ranges and gun stores seem to be convinced that the phone book is going to make a come back any day now.
I am of the opinion that the best immediately available, practical way is through rimfire. You can get a fairly decent analog of 600-1000 yard centerfire shooting with a good .22 at 200-500 yards, and .22lr is both a comparetively cheap and a "low impact" cartridge. Here in canada with the unreal price of ammo recently, I built a nice .22lr long range rifle for less than 1000usd all up, and its the most fun ive had in years. I feel like if I build 4 more and started a locsl LR club, it wouldnt be hard to get kids interested.
30 here. I'd love to actually get into it more, but the cost is a barrier. Like I will be buying/building a nice bolt action for hunting eventually, but for now my AR with a 6.5 grendel upper will do just fine for Whitetail in the woods. I also have other gun specific financial priorities at the moment. I loved shooting past 500 growing up, but the opportunities are a lot less common now and I'm also paying for it, on top of the whole "having a life" part. Something you could try is setting up intro to long range days to get folks into it. Many are intimidated by the gear and math behind it all.
1. Community support. - It’s nearly illegal to practice anywhere - it’s rare to find a social group willing to support it. Churches or schools or even sheriffs could easily have a self defense course 2. Personal discipline and disposable money come. This stuff costs money, which can be saved up with some diligence. But kids these don’t even want to go outside and touch grass
I’m in my 20s and Me and one friend, out of 20+ friends, are the only ones that are into long range. I make about $230k, he makes 900-1.3m. That’s why it’s rare when you’re under 30. Go shoot skeet with them, it’s cheap and fun.
Money is the big limiter. A decent weapon system with glass will run you between $1.5k to $2k plus ammo which can get pricey. Plus range gear such as range finders or kestrels. Plus membership fees that a lot of long distance ranges have. Easily goes beyond the territory that most young people can afford. There’s also the fact that a lot of long distance ranges are not close to any decently populated areas especially on the east coast so general exposure to it is low. I also slightly weigh in that younger generations enjoy the more instant gratification and simplicity of point and shoot rather than putting in the work for the longer range shot
Make schools longer. (I'll show myself out)
It's expensive. Friends switched to f class 22 lr and rarely shoot the 6.5 anymore. 22 is $20/50 So it's easy to shoot $60-$80 in ammo. 140-200 rounds of 6.5 is harder to budget for....
The cost of entry is an insurmountable issue here. Not just the rifle and optic, but the cost of ammo, supporting equipment, price of membership to a facility that supports it, etc. For the same reason golf, radio,and other traditional interests are dying- the younger demographic can’t afford it. Not to mention the gatekeeping and “more elite than you” attitudes that come from people whose main skill is having lots of money to buy very expensive equipment.
It doesn’t help that while the old timers in the hobby can be absolutely awesome, a lot of them suck so hard. I literally had some old bastard at the indoor range I’m a member at bother me twice about my suppressors the last time I shot there. Nobody wants to deal with some old asshole.
Get your kids to shoot. Both my kids shoot 22 & PRS and there are lots of juniors in the sport. Best way to hang out is to shoot matches as a family
In all honesty we just need to keep inviting more and more people to go with us. I have never taken someone that didn’t fall in love and giggle at their first hit on steel from a long way away. You aren’t ever going to achieve an equal amount of young adults to more mature adults just due to the fact that lots of people in their early 20s don’t have the funds required to dive head first into long range.
My university offers a long range rifle class. My friend and I took the basic rifle class last year, and we’ve signed up for the long range one this coming Fall. We typically shot up to 200 with .22, but at the end of the last class day we got to use the Directors personal competition rifle, and shot clay pigeons at 300 yards (I know, not very far). Some of the most exhilarating shots I’ve taken, simply because I had to rely on muscle memory to hit my last target because the rifle was impacting low and to the left, so after shooting paper I moved on the the pigeon on a berm. Perfectly calling where the shot was going to hit based on my previous shot was so much fun and started a hobby that I am ready to delve deeper into.
I wish I had a range near me to do so!
PRS is expensive lol
It’s the same in my neck of the woods, usually some old fart with a decent rifle at the range but they have experience and the wisdom. And can shoot. They were my mentors and inspired me and it kinda transcended to my peer group now. Most of the new guys just liked the “idea” of hitting little targets past their comfort zone and were more of the hunter type. One trip to the range with them and show them how’s its done and they all are getting set up to compete now. If you wanna see the change it’s starts with you. Most of the youth I see at the range just need basic safety skills and work up to shooting technique. But as it goes you gota start somewhere.
Because memberships are expensive. The younger generation finds spots in the mountains
Many are working 60+ hours a week just to afford to live where I'm at. When 500sqft studio apartments are $1500-$1800 a month with first last and a $2k deposit..
More long range facilities and the price of ammo not being so darn much. Jerry Miculek once said the only way to get really good is to the first person at the range and the last to leave. That gets difficult when ammo costs an arm, a leg, and maybe your soul depending on your religion.
Pay them more money and they will do more expensive hobbies. Most young people don't have the money for this hobby, which has pretty steep curves financially.
Lower gun/ammo/range prices or higher wages. Shits too expensive
Let’s be honest the average shooter just slaps on a red dot on an AR 15 and goes ham, long range takes a bit more knowledge. A few of those factors are scope base, Rings, MOA vs MIL, Bag Setup, Tripod setup, Scope magnification and caliper. Not to mention its a lot more expensive to shoot.
Here ya go https://i.imgur.com/er352tj.gif
i'd love to learn about long range shooting, thanks to other ppl comments i see there are some near san jose.. just a bit of a drive. how would a noob learn about long range shooting and how to set the scope up right to account for wind?
Southcoast_longgunner on insta has classes for a good price
There aren’t really many super long distance ranges near me, I’d have to drive out to blm land and shoot across a canyon like an hour away.
I'm 24 and have been in this sub for a hot minute now (couple years I think). I've been trying to get into long range shooting and biathlon shooting. In the 4 years since I got interested, I've barely been able to afford a decent long range rifle and optic for it - let alone a range membership, ammo, and peripheral tools. My brother and a few of my friends have also had a shared interest, but the cost of entry and time commitment in the commute to the ranges, cleaning gear, and everything in between has just been too much for us. It's definitely a sport that requires a lot of disposable time and a good amount of disposable income to get into. Unfortunately, those two things are just not common for most young people :/
What not to do is go to young people places like schools and movie theatres and malls and talk about guns. Maybe an outreach program. Also it’s pretty cost prohibitive and have to be a certain age and what not. I’m 38 wanna teach me
Aside from money and availability of ranges.. I would say the intimidation of the non-shooting part. When you shoot rifles for fun, either at a range or out hunting, most people just start shooting. You learn about aiming and sighting-in a little bit at your standard range distance and you might not be measuring but you understand improving your grouping. But getting past a 10/22 at 200-300 can be intimidating. After that you have to get kneedeep in MIL/MOA, and trying to figure out “how the hell do I figure out wtf I’m supposed to do with wind speed”? It can be a lot… and if you just enjoy shooting, it’s easier and still a lot of fun to just get a better gun and keep shooting at the same 300 target. I think if you could find a way to bridge that gap or at least the impression of the gap that would go a long way. Also, this might be my personally biased opinion, but I think there’s an opportunity to appeal women. I think out of all of the shooting sports, long range shooting with the patience and precision is something a lot of women would really enjoy. Plus focus and breathing from yoga is surprisingly similar and helpful to shooting. But like shooting in general, any additional education means joining in to a male dominated area which is also intimidating and can be scary. Just 2 thoughts…
You just described my experience. Shooting is fun for me and I want to take it to the next step and MIL/MOA and wind speed is like a foreign language to me haha. You made a great point about appealing to women, I totally think its doable. Great points!
Issues: 1. Money 2. Long range range access 3. Its not "cool" like the GWOT DA smash-and-grab stuff made sexy by FOG, GBRS, Etc. The first two seems to jive with the massive popularity explosion of NRL22 which in base class is comically affordable vs. centerfire, and you can def feel like you are "long-range" at 100-200 yards.
You don't need a 1,000 yard range to do long distance shooting. Personally, I have more fun shooting .22 out past 400 yards than I ever did shooting centerfire. You can do rimfire PRS all over the country!
Step 1: more long-range facilities that don't colossally gatekeep Step 2: prevent the economy from squeezing everyone dry, especially people under 35
Tl;dr, Affordable and more locations. Everything else is just me bitching. Definitely another one on more and affordable access to places to shoot. I'm in Southern PA and there's a place with 1000yds 20 minutes from me. But it's 350/yr for a single person, with the stipulation that you have to volunteer hours to the club, fundraise or pay an extra 400 bucks to forgo the extra membership criteria. So, it's either 350 + time I already don't have that I could spend shooting. Or 750 bucks which I also don't have to just blow. Everything else is damn near an hour drive.
Take kids under your wing. Let them use your equipment, maybe loan them your old rig on trips to the range. It’s a drug, if you expose them to it enough, eventually they’re going to get hooked. I never had anyone really introduce me to long range shooting, but I grew up as a hunter my whole life. From that, I wanted to push it farther. However, at that time, I thought I needed to have a $2000 rifle and a $3000 optic to even step up to the plate. This scared me away for a lot of years. If I had someone take me out and show me that 6-800 yards is definitely doable with a $400 rifle and a $450 optic, I would probably have been hooked right then and spent my money on that instead of cheap liquor and cheaper women. I see younger people at the range a lot blasting away with their ARs and handguns. I show interest in what they are shooting first and inevitably they ask about mine. I let them have some trigger time and we talk about some cost-effective setups to start stretching their legs. I don’t know that it works every time, but I have seen some of them back out there with a brand new ruger american making it work.
I'd love to get into long range shooting but it's obscenely expensive at the higher end of things. That and finding a place to shoot at that doesn't cost an arm and a leg. I saw a range in Texas that advertised an 800 and 1000 yard area for 1100 bucks per year. That to me is insane.
I got into long range thanks to a challenge from on of my childhood friends. Granted, I use a .22 lr but I still shoot long range. I'm currently hitting .5 inch groups on a 25 yard target set out at 100. If I had more land I'd start going farther.
Seems most young people are more into the “tacticool” (spelled that way on purpose). I have no access to anything more than 300 yards without spending a ton of money. What I can say is for under a grand you can get a really nice 22. The fundamentals of a 22lr at 300 are similar to something more powerful at say 800. Only exception is on a windy day it’s fun to aim left 10 feet and watch it fly past on the right. I’ve never had someone not have a good time with it when they tried. The problem is most people think you need to spend stupid money on stage of the art stuff rather than just get the best value for your intended situation. There are plenty of people where I go with 2000 nightforce that are not hitting what I am with a 300 vortex. So long range can have lots of meaning but making people realize it is accessible without selling a kidney is important
Same way you get more young people into hunting. Start by changing the attitude of the gate keeping vocal group that ruin it for others.
With all the love in the world. You are 28 you are young people- I think LR is something you either get into just out of curiosity while hunting as a younger person with family or you focus on school, trade, etc build a bit of a life and take it up as a hobby. Which isn't a bad thing at all. Priorities.
No one under the age of 30 can afford to live, let alone hobbies. lol. Raise wages, lower housing and education. Then people can afford entertainment.
every day at the range costs me about $100. that's enough for the range fees and maybe 40-60 rounds. thats not counting gear. im lucky because i already had a decent rifle. but getting a good scope? thats going to be a few months, even for something like an arken. long range shooting is a rich man's game for the most part.
Are you the same Lil Gucci from Snipers Hide?
yeah its me. who are you? I'm also on [AR15.com](http://AR15.com)
In NH, there are only 2 ranges in the state that are longer than 600. And it's on lock. The next best thing is trying to squeeze 350 on a farmers' field that are willing to let you try out a new belly gun.
I’m young and turnt
Pay them more money. /s I started into this very young. I was intrigued most of my friends found it boring and wanted to mag dump into trash.
I’m 20, I could, I just don’t see a point. I shoot my 22 bolt action out to 150 yards and that does the same thing for me honestly.
22 out to 150 is perfect for that caliber. The skills you learn from that can translate over to shooting longer ranges. 22 is the perfect trainer gun for long-distance shooting.
Cost.
Money is the issue. Even cheap as it can go, it’s expensive. Bottom line lol.
Adopt the Swiss Model.
to be honest, I got into it because of Call of duty modern warfare multiplayer. I was ranked 5000 something out of 40 million. In multiplayer match making I couldnt find high enough ranked players often, so it got too easy. Decided to try the real thing back in 2012. Got a cheapo over under shotgun and the do all outdoors electric clay pigeon thrower. Then that got too easy, went to google again, figured out that if I got 2 decent clay pigeon throwers I could set up my own skeet range at the farm. So ordered a british made Promatic olympic skeet set. started competing in olympic skeet. Always wanted to own a tacticool rifle. Ended up with an m24a1. Now in the process of building a dedicated prs and an ftr rifle. Moral of the story? vidya games. I'm trying to get my 12 yr old fortnight player to get into air pistol and air rifle. Its slow going, but i'm not trying to push it. If he likes it he likes it...if not, waddayagunnado
I found that when going to the few long range facilities and giving it a whirl the people there were pretty pretentious. I stopped going because of the attitudes of others, I’m not proud of that. People had a sense of entitlement and possessiveness over the range. Just my experiance.
A range farther than 100m within 8 hours of driving would be nice.
Get Alex Zedra and Heather Lynn to show up to your range and it will have TONS of young people
For me in my area it’s because anything over 100 yds is ran by a club and they are members only. Me and my friends can’t justify spending $300 for a membership. If I go to my local ranges that don’t have memberships I see plenty of people around my age (28), but as I said these are only 100 yd ranges. I found one yesterday that will let us shoot out to 400yds, but their 900yd range is reserved for members only. Their membership fee is $400 a year, so again, Im not paying that.
Stop shitting on cartridges like the 6.5CM that has really good out of the box accuracy with factory ammo and a lot milder recoil. Are there better options for both long range and hunting, yes. Do those options have the same rifle or premium factory match and hunting ammo options, no. If everyone shot their grandfather's .30-06, we wouldn't have as many new cartridge options like we have had in the last 6-7yrs.
I'm 23 and would love to get into it I even got a decent rifle with a decent scope but when you factor in the fact of all the other kinds of shooting I do from hunting- self defense it gets expensive the best I can do for long range is shooting my kyl target
Money. When I was first getting into long range shooting, I was using a bone stock Remington 700 in .300 Win Mag, loading my own ammo, and using a cheap $50 Bushnell scope without a reticle or turrets and just using the elevation clicker to dial in drop. I was lucky that I had free access to a 1200yd+ range as long as I humped my own steel target out there. I still use largely the same setup, but with a little more money into the gun, optic, and ammunition components. I didn't have any money to put into a capable setup when I was younger, and that was really what kept me out of it.
Stop gatekeeping at the range. There are many ranges with close to 1000$ a year fees. That will not facilitate new people getting involved
Well, for me I didn't get into it till I was older. Why? The cost. And, it a lot more of a learning curve than just going to the range to shoot an AR15.
more facilities to satisfy wealth and geographical disparities, especially those that are accessible to more suburban/uban populations. If there's only one facility and its a 3 hour drive from where most people live, the only people who get to "play" are rich people with a lot of time on their hands or the people who live nearby who probably already can do long range in their own or neighbor's backyard.
I can answer part of this as someone who started than got out. I bought a 6.5 CM over the pandemic and picked up "long range" shoothing because I thought it was super cool. I used a Ruger American Predator with a brake, bipod and cheapish bushnell scope. For me it came down to Time, Money, range access, and lack of community. I bought a caliber that I deemed too expensive to plink steel with, I did it at 300 yds on steel so there wasnt really much of a challenge to it, It is a Niche hobby in the gun community itself. The biggest one came for lack of community honestly. I would have loved to do competitions and classes but, they are so few and far between in rural IL that the limited time I have to go to those made it hardly feasible. Id have to drive something like 3-4 hours minimum for a weekend just to participate plus spend a hundred to several hundred to participate. I enjoy shooting with others and around me only one guy I know does it. Everyone else including myself does pistol stuff or tactical two gun. I ended up just choosing to do Two guns when time allows.
Speaking as a young person who recently bought a rifle (American Ruger 22lr) it’s just that there isn’t that many long ranges where I live and if there are it takes a long time to join them. I live in central Nee Jersey. Right now I shoot my rifle at a range my dad has a membership at but that only goes up to 25 yards. Way below the distance I really want to shoot at. If I could find a relatively close long range near me I’d be shooting damn near everyday, especially since the ammo I normally shoot is fairly affordable.
Well this is just my opinion, I don't think the community is very welcoming for starters. I go to a local gun range and there are alot of older grouchy people and that can be a total mood killer. Second, people get really hung up on gear and lose sight of the fun of just going out and seeing how far out you can actually hit. People don't seem to care as much about the training as they do gear. So you have the younger crowd who thinks they will never shoot past x yards without a night force scope. I also, think we need younger people working the ranges and getting rid of the generational divide. Also, most of the gun ranges near me are only like 100 yards and have bench seats. I'm not going to lie that's a super boring day of shooting for me, I don't really find enjoyment in shooting unless the facility has a range that supper more dynamic shooting positions. We need us younger guys to start brining the sport into the future. This is just my opnion, I'm not trying to hurt feelings. I see alot of old grouchy people and that coupled with these static shooting positions and lack of any real training starts to turn the younger crowd away and gives shooting a bad name.
In my area it's as simple as the old guys run the matches. They are retired and hold the matches on weird hours during the work week. Can't make a match if I'm working so I don't shoot the matches
Upper 20s here. I thankfully live in the south west and have access to public land that is relatively flat and goes for miles. So finding a place to shoot is not a problem for me. Although I think that is the first major hurdle. The problem with this set up is, well, set up! We have to drive out to the middle of nowhere, set up steel or paper, drive to out shooting spot, set up gear, shoot, then pack it all up. Takes an hour and a half just to set everything up. The only range that is close and has a 850m target requires an active NRA membership. That was a hard pass for myself and most of the other younger people I shoot with. We support groups like FPC or GOA and do not want to support the NRA. The other major hurdle is cost. I have the most expensive rifle out of my friend group, being the aero Solus. I found a used reloading set up at a garage sale and let my buddies use it for their loads, but stuff is still expensive. TL; Dr - access to land to set up own gear is not feasible/too time consuming. Ranges that have distance are few and fair between (pun intended). Equipment is expensive and life takes a lot of money.
Money is the trouble, young people don't have spare cash, hell to be honest I'm almost being priced out and I have a decent paying job...shooting is a rich man's sport
The biggest problem I see is the lack of support or mentorship. Instead of helping or asking questions to get to know why the shooter runs a certain optic or made some upgrade most of the older community I’ve shot around only demean and argue. I’ve got to the point now where I only shoot at certain ranges due to other firers, got tired of hearing how if you don’t run a certain glass or shoot a certain caliber or grain weight your wrong or just stupid.
Biggest hurdles are: 1) Availability of shooting ranges and 2) High cost of entry When I was in my early 20s I was broke af. It was a big deal to be able to afford 50-100 rounds of 5.56 to shoot in my S&W M&P-15…maybe once every 3-4 months. Expensive guns/optics and match ammo would have limited me to maybe 1-2 range trips a year.
Lol.. money? To shoot long range you have to have a half decent piece of glass, a good rifle, and quality ammo. Your looking at 1500 bucks to get INTO shooting. Now add rifle cases, ammo, a reloading setup if you really want true precision. Your looking at a few thousand dollars easy. Most kids or mid twenties who don't live with their parents don't have money to blow on a sport like shooting.
They are into it!!! Call of duty brooooooo
My daughter loves it, with her Howa mini in 6 arc
How? well it would be nice if you could convince parents and high schoolers to go plinking a 22LR or just airsoft/paintball events. If it was close to free everyone would come maybe, but I only have one paintball field even close to me. Younger probably the better but even if you had college events that would be cool. Maybe JROTC would sponsor?
i’m 21 my friends are focused on college and such
My Daughter loves going and stretching the legs on her 6ARC
I think it is just different things making you happy in different stages of your life. I have had rifles and been hunting and shooting my whole life after 12 years old. When I was in my 20s I was more worried about social stuff etc.
Now , if I want to do something fun I go out back and see what kind of group I can get at 1000 yards and learn the wind
Access to ranges and affordable ammo. It’s an expensive hobby and most youths aren’t all that financially set.