Just wondering. I heard people are conserving ammo and going less often to the range. True? Silly rumor??

Good weather..... Other hobbies,.... family time..... spring clean-up..... outdoor ranges now comfortable to shoot at....

 

Indoor ranges get quieter during the good weather months....

I went to the bullet hole last night around 6:30 and my friend and I were the only ones on the range for a good while. Three more people had shown up by the time we'd finished, but it was pretty empty. Then again, I've never gone there on a friday night, plus the new GFH range just opened up.

This is like clockwork actually. =)

 

Something I have noticed over the past 4 years of actively shooting and running the forum. Springtime things slowdown a bit in terms of visitors, but also posting, as people go and do other hobbies, start taking vacations etc. Slows down and then picks up quite a bit starting in early Fall.

 

For the ranges... if it is raining, you will have plenty of people go to the indoor ranges.... otherwise, folks are doing more outdoors stuff... be it trap/skeet, fishing, or just shooting outdoors.

 

An ungodly amount of shooters also have motorcycles so quite a few are riding now as well.

 

 

 

Edit: I will add though.... outdoor shooting matches, will have a lot higher attendance. I would not be surprised to see Old Bridge USPSA matches hit OVER 100 this summer. We knocked on that door twice or three times last year.

 

Shooting out doors..... a lot better for the hearing and your health. (better ventilation).

I know I've stopped going to the range as often as I used to because of the ammo shortage and thir crazy prices when you can find it. At first I would still o an just shoot my 22 pistol and AR but now even 22lr ammo is ard to find.

I have delayed going due solely to ammo.

I was at Silver Eagle in sterling, va on Wednesday night. Beautiful spring night, youth baseball and spring soccer season an the place was packed! I guess it just depends on where you are.

Was at EFGA today, It wasn't packed, but it was the busiest I've ever seen it (in the 7 times I've gone). Not sure if the ammo situation has slowed people down or not, but in my case it has not. I've been able to fine a box of ammo here and there the last couple of months, so I usually enough to be able to go through a few boxes and still have some at home. The biggest adjustment I've made is I have been shooting three or four times more .22 then I have in the past, so I don't go through as much .40 and .45 and .223

I cant even find.22lr at a decent price!

I only go indoor shooting when I absolutely have to, otherwise I'm OUTSIDE year-round, shooting everything (rifles, pistols, shotguns, even an occaisional cannon) especially black powder and clay birds!

That's right, PPC and PCC are indoor events.............. We basically stopped using .22LR since we can't replace it. We only use ammo we can reload right now.

Was at bobs about 7 lanes were taken last night

This is like clockwork actually. =)

 

Something I have noticed over the past 4 years of actively shooting and running the forum. Springtime things slowdown a bit in terms of visitors, but also posting, as people go and do other hobbies, start taking vacations etc. Slows down and then picks up quite a bit starting in early Fall.

 

For the ranges... if it is raining, you will have plenty of people go to the indoor ranges.... otherwise, folks are doing more outdoors stuff... be it trap/skeet, fishing, or just shooting outdoors.

 

An ungodly amount of shooters also have motorcycles so quite a few are riding now as well.

 

 

 

Edit: I will add though.... outdoor shooting matches, will have a lot higher attendance. I would not be surprised to see Old Bridge USPSA matches hit OVER 100 this summer. We knocked on that door twice or three times last year.

 

Shooting out doors..... a lot better for the hearing and your health. (better ventilation).

 

And 10 home games in 11 days.

I haven't gone in a while. Mostly cause I dont feel like spending the money for more ammo.

personally, I'm one of those guys conserving ammo. I won't go shooting again until the prices of ammo go down again, or when this panic buying ends.

I also have been shooting significantly less due to not being able to replenish the ammo that I shoot.

I agree. Ammo shortage more then the weather is the cause of less frequent trips to the shooting range - at least for me, and then its mostly .22LR

I'm with the last 4 posts....haven't been going to the range just because sourcing and being able to afford replacement ammo is just too difficult right now.

Here is Florida where I live it is down. I now can go and shoot even on weekends and most of the lanes are free. For a few months during the peak of the panic the range was full all the time and they are not set up with a waiting area or even a waiting list. I did not shoot for a few months due to this but now it I can go any time and day and find an open lane. They even have ammo at or below online prices and if you figure that if you buy online you have to pay shipping, the range is actually cheaper. I can get 9mm for $24 a box there so I will buy from them rather than use my good stuff and some 9mm that CTD is selling for $70 a box.

$24 for 50 rounds of 9mm?

Well we had a kids shoot last weekend. It was free for the kids to shoot. I donated the .22, my buddy Ed donated 5.56 and another buddy Daryl donated the 20 gauge. We has 100 openings and 39 kids showed up. We gave away 2 guns, 12 jr NRA memberships and fed everyone. You would think that would have been a full house

Well we had a kids shoot last weekend. It was free for the kids to shoot. I donated the .22, my buddy Ed donated 5.56 and another buddy Daryl donated the 20 gauge. We has 100 openings and 39 kids showed up. We gave away 2 guns, 12 jr NRA memberships and fed everyone. You would think that would have been a full house

That's very admirable Shawn....but the question was "is range attendance down?" not "tell us how you pumped up your inflated ego at the range?" perhaps you posted in the wrong tread? It's Okay.....it happens.

I used to go all the time and shoot everything but I am trying to save ammo.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Lol...that was a joke...we all know me having less time to shoot is near impossible

I have been to the range once since the Sandy Hook shooting...

That's very admirable Shawn....but the question was "is range attendance down?" not "tell us how you pumped up your inflated ego at the range?" perhaps you posted in the wrong tread? It's Okay.....it happens.

 

Pumped my ego? I was the rso on the pistol range. No ego there. It was more about getting kids into the sport. With out the next generation shooting the sport will die. Range attendance is down. Especially with kids. We have noticed it out at our club and the neighboring one. So we are at least trying to do something about it. We are now up to 3 free events a year. Not including the savage day I posted. We have had many meetings discussing what the problems could be and how to fix them. We even donated money to get Eddie eagle back in the Salem county schools. If you get the kids wanting to shoot then that will get the parents shooting more. Now we see men sighting in and patterning around hunting season and that's about it. You use to see whole families at the ranges. We do a father son camp out every year and the attendance isn't what it use to be. To put it short people have their heads up Their heads up their asses.

 

 

Reasons we came up with

 

Price of ammo

Kids sports schedules

Kids spending weekends away (divorced parents, grand parents)

Guns being demonized by media

Its not a video game

To much of a hassle in nj

 

Pumped my ego? I was the rso on the pistol range. No ego there. It was more about getting kids into the sport. With out the next generation shooting the sport will die. Range attendance is down. Especially with kids. We have noticed it out at our club and the neighboring one. So we are at least trying to do something about it. We are now up to 3 free events a year. Not including the savage day I posted. We have had many meetings discussing what the problems could be and how to fix them. We even donated money to get Eddie eagle back in the Salem county schools. If you get the kids wanting to shoot then that will get the parents shooting more. Now we see men sighting in and patterning around hunting season and that's about it. You use to see whole families at the ranges. We do a father son camp out every year and the attendance isn't what it use to be. To put it short people have their heads up Their heads up their asses.

 

 

Reasons we came up with

 

Price of ammo

Kids sports schedules

Kids spending weekends away (divorced parents, grand parents)

Guns being demonized by media

Its not a video game

To much of a hassle in nj

 

Excellent....now that should have been your first post.......It comprehensively answers the OP's question.

I was describing an event that should have brought out 100 kids that didn't even get half that. When it comes to range attendance being down it proved a point. It is down. We had set out to do 50 from Salem county sportsmens club and 50 from quinton. We were hoping to get a nice showing. We spoke about possibly starting a kids league between the local clubs. This proved we aren't ready for that. Youth outdoor day and the fall NRA day hopefully have a better showing.

 

When you offer provided guns, free ammo, free food, free instructors and door prizes and still can't get a full house there is an issue. It was originally brought up to charge $5-$10 for this event but a couple of us stood up and paid for it just so it was free. Could you imagine how low attendance would have been if you had to pay? This is not good for our future.

I was describing an event that should have brought out 100 kids that didn't even get half that. When it comes to range attendance being down it proved a point. It is down. We had set out to do 50 from Salem county sportsmens club and 50 from quinton. We were hoping to get a nice showing. We spoke about possibly starting a kids league between the local clubs. This proved we aren't ready for that. Youth outdoor day and the fall NRA day hopefully have a better showing.

 

When you offer provided guns, free ammo, free food, free instructors and door prizes and still can't get a full house there is an issue. It was originally brought up to charge $5-$10 for this event but a couple of us stood up and paid for it just so it was free. Could you imagine how low attendance would have been if you had to pay? This is not good for our future.

Yet the 2 new premium ranges in the north is supposedly packing them in....so maybe they have identified what the new cadre of gun owners wants....the executive experience. slick,modern,indoors, air conditioned,full service,member's lounges,priority shooting,virtual shooting scenarios,urban landscape shooting games. the dusty,hot outdoor ranges may not appeal to this newer generation of gun owners. These noobs do seem to have the disposable income...... Just my opinion.

My range has a bar.

 

 

We aren't low on members we are low on range attendance. We are very strict on taking in members. Quinton takes anyone who meets the qualifications. A lot of our members only use the club for the beach. That's a good and bad thing. Ranges are never crowded but the lakers could swing any vote. They just never show up to vote. But we are looking at what's going on in this country with gun rights and trying to curve what we are seeing. We were hoping free events would get people off the beach and to the range.

"My range has a bar"

 

 

 

Somehow that doesn't surprise me.......