This sounds like my oldest neice and nephew. Both have expressed an interest in at least going to shoot to dee what it is like. My dad used to keep a BB gun on the back deck for squirrelss and black bires in the yard. Mom used to talk about shooting cans in the yard when she was growing up. As the social view of firearms started to change and more young kids were in the family Mom eventually made Dad retire the BB gun and now pushes him to get rid of the shotguns & lever action .22 in the basement. As a result the neices and nephews are extremely hesitant to discuss firearms because they don’t want to get into trouble with their parents and Grandmother. To try to keep the peace we refer to non-existent video games to discuss guns. Now that the nephew has his driver’s lisence it isn’t out of place for him to be out n about on his own, we have plans this Spring to shoot. Meanwhile I keep working on getting my Dad to sell me the .22 (I’d like to look into getting it restored if needed and/or shoot it again myself).
Well here’s my story.
I’m 37 for about another month, so I’m in the oldest age group considered part of the “millennials”. I’m actually not sure how I got into guns because I come from a mostly anti-gun/non-gun/non-hunting family. I didn’t grow up around them at all.
I think I became interested about the time I was a freshman in high school, due to playing GoldenEye 007 for the Nintendo 64 and perusing the book “Weapons: The Diagram Group” in the school library. Although at this time I still knew almost nothing about them.
I.e. I didn’t realize that a handgun’s slide actually reciprocated for each shot and thought the slide serrations were some kind of “gas vent”.
By the time I was a junior I was solidly pro-gun though. Although I didn’t actually fire a real gun until I was 21 when I covertly bought an AK and secretly stored it disassembled in my bedroom at my parents house. My dad and stepmom had previously nixed my request for permission to buy a firearm, possibly more to motivate me to move out than out of any anti-gun sentiment though I think. So I just bought one anyway and didn’t tell them.
Once I graduated college moved out on my own a year later though I “came out” as a gun owner.
I did the same. The first few rifles I bought I was still I highschool. A Marlin 22lr semi auto, some sort of 12G pump, a pistol grip 410 and a Russian Mosin M38. Kept them hidden in the crawlspace then in my car which I drove everywhere and eventually in the garage where my dad ended up finding them
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Personally I think we, the gun community, have done a lot of it to ourselves. The attitudes in the gun community have changed just as much as the technology.
I can easily see how a lot of potential new shooters could be discouraged from dipping their toe into gun world when their guidance is from the internet as to navigating theses waters.
I imagine it’s quite a different perspective from the outside looking in. Double edged sword and all that.
Every time I go to the range it’s packed, and there is usually a wait. And this is in NJ!
I read through these comments and see many posters who don’t visit gun ranges. I don’t blame them. But, they are losing their perspective on this issue. I occasionally shoot at a multi-million dollar facility (Liberty Firearms Institute) with a well controlled indoor range and large pro shop. I see shoppers and shooters of all ages, at all times. When I stroll by the gun counter at Scheels or Cabelas, it’s generally swarmed by young men.
I started shooting because someone helped get me started. I started hunting because someone showed me the way. I’m 29, so it was the generation that most of you belonged to that helped me. Guns and hunting are largely generational. How many young men are you taking hunting or shooting? They don’t have to be family, but they will look at you as a father figure for life if you help get them started on this journey.
The more you ostracize millennials for being millennials, the less you give them a chance to break free from that mold.
My dad owned two guns that stayed locked up and never got shot. He died in an accident when I was 13, and I had never shot a gun. My mom was left to raise me, and she and her new husband were rabidly anti-gun (years later, I stopped by her house in uniform as a Police Officer and was asked to leave my gun in the car or leave the house). My grandpa took me under his wing, taught me gun safety over a weekend by having me carry an unloaded rifle around the house for a weekend and critiquing my safety habits. He started taking me shooting, and secretly gave a 30-06. I bought an 870 and a Saiga AK, joined the Marine Corps, and from there the gun sickness was set in.
Having never been hunting, I started talking to some of the cops I worked with after leaving the Corps about how to get started. I got my hunter safety at 26 with a class packed full of 8 year olds, bought a Citori and SBE2, and accompanied those guys on many upland and waterfowl trips.
Had it not been for my grandpa, who knows if I would even own a gun today. I can tell you I would have never been able to get into hunting on my own, and I am so thankful for those that have shown me the way. Now, I am always eager to find people, of any age, that I can convert to this lifestyle. Whether that is showing them M4C, helping them buy their first gun, teaching them to shoot, or taking them hunting. Most young men you meet, liberal or conservative, would probably take you up on the opportunity to shoot an SBR or suppressor…
This generation is eager and willing. Show them the way. Once the next gun scare happens, they will buy out the gun stores just like we all did during the last gun scares.
Ditto - Depending on the range used, I’m at the beginning of “Millennial”. Many friends of mine around the same age are some of the most ardent 2A people (could be me just unconsciously choosing who I associate with), but there’s a paradox I see, too. My age group is the most protective of 2A rights, but a lot more of us live in cities and those folks just aren’t big into guns and don’t see the impact of “common sense” gun laws and how the effect they have.
As someone else pointed out, there are too many guys with drool running out of the sides of their mouths that know it all working at gun stores. They really turn off people who are new to it and keep others from coming back.
That’s me. You could probably glean that I own guns from the various pages I “like”, but I’m loath to make any mention of owning guns, more so for PerSec than anything else. Same for those I associate with.
I’m 35 now. I purchased my first guns, a 1911and an M1A, right before graduating college and commissioning into the Air Force. I didn’t start getting “serious” until 2010 or so, thanks largely to this board.
I now work around a lot of well-educated twenty-somethings. I’ve put the offer out there for anyone to accompany me to the range. I’d say it’s a pretty even bell curve between “oh hell no, they terrify me” to “yeah, I’ll bring mine too.”
When I go to the range, it’s always busy with people of all ages. What actually concerns me more is the lack of participation in shooting sports. I think we, as a culture, keep making the barrier to entry higher and higher for people to get involved in meaningful ways. Depending on the group you talk to, you aren’t “serious” until you have $1500 rifle, $1000 optic, 30 magazies, load bearing gear, several cases of ammo, and three training classes under your belt. On the other hand, for competition, you don’t matter unless you have your $3000 match rifle, leather shooting jacket, and classification.
What happened to just getting people started in a friendly way?
That is exactly why I have a bunch of .22’s.
And when I take out new shooters, everyone’s favorite is either the suppressed Ruger MK IV 22/45, or the 1950’s Model 17 6" revolver. Both are tack drivers, and everyone loves them.
Folks have a fun safe intro, and go home proud of their targets with just a little coaching.
Here’s the big thing: Make sure they get a really good safety brief with the 4 rules, and set a return date before we leave the range. Those two weeks fly by, and it gives them something to really look forward to. Half the time, they bring another friend. 
Dude, your Grandpa was a boss!
And I agree about the millennial bashing, it drives me crazy. Every time I hear that, I ask the person “Excuse me, please tell who has been volunteering and dying in our country’s wars for the past 17 years?”
…crickets chirping…
Almost all of my minions at work are millennials. They bust their ass, and are very loyal to me. All they ever asked for is a chance.
One of them did an incredible job for me this year. He’s getting a very nice bonus, and a NIB Gen5 G19, with ammo and lessons from me.
So yeah, he’s a millennial…
Most people are confusing millennials with genZ. They think Millennials are college kids. Late teens to early 20s.
My minions vary in age from just turned 25 to 37 years old. Almost all of them are half my age or younger.
Yep and most are millennials. It’s not people who were born around the new millennium but those who hit the workforce. The typical birth years are 80-94 although some say 79-94, others 82-96. I’m 39 and depending on which dates you believe I fall at the end of genX or the beginning of Gen Millennials
“Phukin’ kids these days” has been a complaint throughout history.
The millennials I raised are fine adults and good contributors to society. I know dozens more just like them. There are shitbags in every generation.
Very good point. I see a decent amount of interest in guns from younger peeps, but it may be the company my boys keep. Even so, at the range I see kids interest. Lets just all keep our feet on the pedal and drive the agenda.
PB
I’m 31, and I’ve had an avid interest in all things guns since a very young age. Brace yourselves. I’m going back a couple generations to see where the foundation was laid.
My dad’s dad passed away when my dad was around 19 or 20 from ALS. He was in the Korean War, but outside of that, I don’t hear many stories of him hunting, fishing, or shooting. However, after he passed, my dad’s neighbor, who was 15-20 years older than dad took him under his wing. They hunted, fished, and camped together. I’ve heard countless stories of their exploits at the lake or the deer camp. To the best of my knowledge, this is where Dad’s interests in hunting and guns was fostered.
Fast forward to my childhood. Dad didn’t really hunt much anymore, but he always talked about it, and that always piqued my interest (I found out later it’s not my cup of tea). So, at 7 he gave me my first BB gun since I had to miss out on a scout trip where they were going to learn to shoot. Instead of a couple days of bb gun shooting, I was getting my own bb gun to shoot whenever I wanted to. Imagine my joy! We lived on 16 acres of woods, which bordered my uncle’s 9 acres, so I basically had free reign to explore, and that bb gun went with me everywhere. When I was 10, Santa brought me my first “real gun,” a Remington 597 .22.
We also had many friends that hunted and shot. One such family had about 100 acres up in the mountains bordering a state forest where we would regularly camp and shoot. As I grew up I frequently took new friends up there to shoot rifle targets and shoot skeet. As I’ve grown, my interests have gradually shifted from target shooting and hunting to self defense. I still try to introduce and foster an interest in shooting with my friends. I know of several off hand that I’ve hooked and have purchased numerous firearms since. Most aren’t as gung ho as me, but a couple really get it.
Millenials just need to get the eff over it. So youre the generational whipping boys(girls…etc?) Big deal, I grew up listening to all kinds of shit about how worthless “Gen X” was, many a news print article deidicated to examining thos “problems”. They even tried to christen a bunch of us “Gen why” to further illustrate our supposed worthlessness. So pick your chin up, youll be bashing the next cleverly named generation in no time at all.
And the whole “we fought terrorism” is a red herring. Whats the service rate in this country 2-3%… maybe 5 to be generous. So what about the other 95% +… just saying, its all cyclical. The biggest definer to me of millenials… is the bitching and whinning about being called millenials. Just be happy your TVs always had remotes, and Ill be glad I didnt grow up with social media
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That’s productive.