This concerns me

[Hummer]

Guns are expensive. Not many younger people can afford them.

There has to be motivation. Back in the day when my peers were blowing dough on 45 and 78 rpm vinyl records, I saved two years of lawn mowing money to buy an Anschutz Match 54 and Redfield International sights with all the accessories. Still have and shoot that rifle. I'll bet few of my old jr. and high school friends still use vinyl. Early on I developed a philosophy of buying/investing in quality and sticking with it. It's served me well.

I, too, am concerned about the lack of firearms education, a hunting heritage and a true conservation ethic in the current crops of young people. I believe that with increased urban populations and government control, we will lose our natural lands and native species, we will lose our freedoms, and we will lose America. I am not optimistic.

[Great-Kazoo]

Thanks for making me feel old. My oldest kid is within sight of 40 years old.

Our joke with the daughter is. If you mother got pregnant when we started dating you'd be 44. Which is weird, even with her turning 34 soon.

Guns are expensive. Not many younger people can afford them.

They can't afford $400 AR's? Younger folks have different priorities as well as income than others.

You read some of the threads here from people who have been members for a few months, or years, before owning an AR, or any semi auto. It's more to do with what they or anyone needs over ones wants.

I do concur the education system along with social media has turned an inanimate object in to something evil. Based on sterotyping rather than actual first hand experience.



Last item. I'm as old as Hbar's dad and young enough to be LaPorte Charlie or Blaster Bob's brother. Being almost everyone i deal with are youngsters

[00tec]

I dont think the folks that are in the market for $400 AR are the type that are willing to communicate to work out meeting details, drive an hour to meet, make sure it is in decent shape, then do the FFL thing.

Its just easier to click a button on PSA and have it shipped to your nearest shop.

I have played middleman for people my age that expressed interest in stuff here (they were not members, and I was not buying firearms for them), only to find out they suddenly couldnt afford or didnt budget for it properly. I buy the stuff anyway. The mentality of having quality stuff and doing fair business is being lost.

[Skip]

I dont think the folks that are in the market for $400 AR are the type that are willing to communicate to work out meeting details, drive an hour to meet, make sure it is in decent shape, then do the FFL thing.

Its just easier to click a button on PSA and have it shipped to your nearest shop.

[snip]

Valid assumptions IMHO. When I was younger I bought exclusively from brick and mortar shops and usually on the weekend (only time off I had). Only bought new because I wasn't comfortable doing anything other than shooting/cleaning.

As I got older I was more comfortable with private party and learned it's easier to take a long "lunch break" to do a transfer than go on the weekends and wait forever. Buying a used Sig and replacing all the springs isn't a big deal. Building an AR is cake.

Until age ~28 I had one AR (20"), a 870, and one P226. Yup, only three guns. Didn't have the time or income for anything else. Now things are different

This is a hobby (lifestyle?) that takes time if you don't grow up in it and a lot of the traditional ways to create interest with youth is going away; school hunter safety programs, scouting, etc.

[ray1970]

I also think the age demographic for who you meet up with when buying or selling has something to do with the merchandise changing hands.

In other words, if you're buying or selling a $1,000 revolver or a nice Garand the chance that the buyer or seller is going to be a little older and more financially established is probably greater than meeting someone to pick up a $450 Glock or a $250 shotgun.

[hurley842002]

I guess it depends on who you consider young OP. The height of my gun purchasing was from around the age of about 22 to around 28 or 29. Prior to 22 I was still trying to get my shit together and figure out what the heck I was going to do with my life, and didn't have extra money to spend.

Fast forward to post 29 and into my 30's I started a family, and while being gainfully employed, don't make enough to save for our future, emergencies, vacations AND toys, I choose to put toys on the backburner.

I'm 33 now, but I'll likely be your age OP, before I'm able to focus on toys or anything like that, and even then I'll be looking to retire, and dumping all "fun" money into that. To be honest, I've asked myself for awhile now, how some of you guys afford living life AND toys, apparently I'm in the wrong line of work...

[CS1983]

I guess it depends on who you consider young OP. The height of my gun purchasing was from around the age of about 22 to around 28 or 29. Prior to 22 I was still trying to get my shit together and figure out what the heck I was going to do with my life, and didn't have extra money to spend.

Fast forward to post 29 and into my 30's I started a family, and while being gainfully employed, don't make enough to save for our future, emergencies, vacations AND toys, I choose to put toys on the backburner.

I'm 33 now, but I'll likely be your age OP, before I'm able to focus on toys or anything like that, and even then I'll be looking to retire, and dumping all "fun" money into that. To be honest, I've asked myself for awhile now, how some of you guys afford living life AND toys, apparently I'm in the wrong line of work...

What do you do?

Keep in mind that some people are ok w/ debt levels that would give Dave Ramsey a heart attack and makes CC companies tumescent. Others have very good paying jobs.

I've never been made happier by things, though. Minimalism is appealing.

[Sawin]

I am 34 and got into the non-hunting use of firearms when I moved to CO 11 years, at the ripe old age of 23.

Being by myself with no family or community around me when I moved, self-reliance was a natural conclusion leading me to buy my first handgun and begin getting training. Fast forward to today and I now practice, instruct, or compete in one type of shooting sport or another, just about every weekend. This passion endures even after getting married and subsequently having two kids.... My wife is supportive, but knows she and the family remain my priority despite the lucky frequency I am still able to maintain. Sometimes I can only squeeze in an hour early one morning before spending the day doing chores and family things, but i still try to practice and continually improve.

The OPs observation about the age of involved shooters/enthusiasts is not wrong, but it's only a small fraction of the true picture. Our community here on this forum is not a valid representation of the shooting world at large. There are enormous amounts of young people gaining interest and actual competence in the use of a handgun for self defense, more than anything. What do you think the next step for those people is once they're bitten by the gun bug? They move into long rifles or shotguns... it's just a natural cycle, just as much as any other kind of interest or hobby.

I know literally dozens of 20 and 30 something's, each with their own families, friends, communities, etc. that share a common interest and appreciation for firearms, even if they don't get out and shoot as much as we might, but they're 2A supporters and they're on both sides of the political aisle.... We just need to empower individual liberty and self preservation/sufficiency, and gun rights will be fine... even if some of our more traditional shooting sports dwindle as generational interest in those sports fails to keep up.

[Great-Kazoo]

To be honest, I've asked myself for awhile now, how some of you guys afford living life AND toys, apparently I'm in the wrong line of work...

Low overhead, minimal to zero debt, started investing / buying firearms when FNC's, H&K's Polytec's were an average $350 - $800.


If i was your age with kids, guns or other toys would be at the bottom of the buying list. Especially with the housing market's pricing the last few years.

[izzy]

They can't afford $400 AR's? Younger folks have different priorities as well as income than others.

I know some younger kids that live near me they're 19 and 20. They both work and live on their own and yeah $400 for a rifle plus ammo to shoot it is a big deal to them. I've been shooting with them and they love it but the really can't afford to get their own stuff.