Howdy, I know this is an old thread, but I stumbled upon it this morning and your post stood out to me in regards to some thoughts I had yesterday...
“Perhaps when two generations pass away, but try it within the next couple of decades and there will be war on our soil. Americans won’t take this lying down.”
Your reply:
“Decent Americans need to work with kids and with young adults, giving them a chance to learn to shoot well and to like it. It is not enough to protect America for our lifetimes, we have to pass on freedom to all future generations. The thugs on the left plan long-term, and we need to do likewise.”
Yesterday, after having done some work on a rifle of mine, I decided to drive to one of the spots I frequently go to for some target practice. It’s one of those places at the end of the road that’s the edge of our National Forest. When I arrived there, another vehicle was already there, and a man I’ve seen around before was doing some target practice as well. I’d guess this guy is in his 70’s, or maybe even 80’s. We both talked for a while, he was telling me about a rifle he had built for him by a local gunsmith that I know as well. He mentioned how he thought the gunsmith was perhaps not doing much work anymore because both he and his wife were up there in years and having health problems. As the sun set and we finished jabbering and shooting, we both left.
As I was driving back towards my place, I started thinking about exactly what you suggested in your post: how we need to try and get more youth excited about shooting sports so that such can be ensured to be passed on for future generations. As I was driving, I realized how many of my range acquaintances have either passed away, or are getting near that time. I also realized that my closest friend and I are not getting any younger either, and when we do see the younger generations at the range, they may be shooting there, but they don’t have the same enthusiasm that my friends and I have shared through the years. Building rifles in wildcat calibers, playing with different loads, and basically trying out all kinds of formulations just to see how accurate, or fast, or just what would happen when trying out new things. It made me think how perhaps all the shortages of components these past years has been a deliberate effort to try and stifle our youth from *really* learning all the fundamentals and engineering that really goes into the sport. The kinds of things that require enthusiasm for learning. Not just buying a rifle, a box of ammo, and going out once a year for a hunt.
I’m not exactly sure what the solution is, but I definitely agree with you that we MUST pass this on to future generations, because like you said, the “left” thinks long term and will do all they can to get rid of this most fundamental right of ours. Anyway, just thought I’d share my agreement with you on this. Keep your powder dry!
Thank you!