How to create more interest in traditional muzzleloading.

[Bob McBride]

I think the largest harvest to be made from the youth or younger folks is in those who are growing up or grew up with guns, who have fathers who hunt or shoot, and who have an interest in history. A more interesting way of doing something they already grew up doing, and will likely do their entire lives, is easy pickings, and they are the natural crop anyway. Sure, we can pick up other stragglers along the way but without a major ‘1976’ or Jeremiah Johnson moment, we’re just picking them by the ones and twos....

 

[Carbon 6]

Problem with young adults is finding them in a herd group.

I think that's an advantage, one on one is best IMO.
Younglings tend to get distracted or just plain stupid when in groups.
If you can't focus their attention, they won't have fun and neither will you.

I think the older they are the better the chance for retention. Why teach 10 to retain one, when I can teach one and retain one ? If you are going to put forth effort, it should be efficient in it's design.

 

[Dale Lilly]

Right. My needle means nothing. The total numbers mean nothing. The entire value of YouTube is the algorithm. No one is randomly shown anything (except in the beginning when you are shown click bait to see what can break your focus from what it is you were doing in the first place). When someone searches, buys, or views, anything at all on the entire Google platform they get shown related content in the sidebar of YouTube and their algorithm narrows. 99% of secondary views are generated on the sidebar. If you look up gun stuff, hunting, outdoors, and anything history, you will be exposed to a BP video within 100 views. The algorithm makes it more like, for the individual viewer that there are only 5k videos on the whole site. Now, the odds I’m ever shown a video about vegan recipes or some pop singer is exactly zero. Algorithm. Non gun, history, outdoors, hunting, or similar people will never be exposed to muzzleloading on YouTube, unless they’re specifically looking to be exposed to it.

Bob, that is really a shame. I wish more people could be exposed to your well-done and useful videos without searching specifically However, I am aware that the huge numbers of videos on you tube make it nearly impossible. Technology is great … sometimes .. other times

 

[Carbon 6]

[

Bob, that is really a shame. I wish more people could be exposed to your well-done and useful videos without searching specifically However, I am aware that the huge numbers of videos on you tube make it nearly impossible. Technology is great … sometimes .. other times View attachment 53376

Ain't no cat that can't be skinned, but you have to catch the cat first.

 

[Sparkitoff]

I'll bet if Mr. McBride had a young (late teens, early twenties) lady or man as the feature host of Black Powder TV the subscribership would increase dramatically. I watch for the information and I appreciate your efforts. However, I don't think a Millennial or Gen Z "kid" will relate to your age or persona. You and I are of similar age so I can relate to an extent. With a different host, I would still be interested in the information and I am watching for knowledge and don't care who the host is. The teen/young adult crowd might be more comfortable with a host they can relate to. It's "who do you want your audience to be". The Disney Channel has TV shows and movies featuring a cast of characters in the age range they want to reach. Family can be included. Not too many adults go to Disney Channel for their dose of reality TV or soap opera. If some "famous" folks would get into black powder and make it know they would draw some outside interest too. Brock Lessnor and Shawn Michaels are professional wrestlers. When they got on hunting TV shows a huge # of wrestling fans were intrigued and took up some hunting, at least casually for a time. Luke Bryan, Blake Shelton and Miranda Lambert brought country music fans to the hunting world and bowhunting in particular. Maybe one of these new Country artists like Luke Combs or Chris Stapleton will take up black powder shooting. If they post in on their feed, their followers will take note and indulge....

 

[Carbon 6]

I don't think a Millennial or Gen Z "kid" will relate to your age or persona. You and I are of similar age so I can relate to an extent. With a different host, I would still be interested in the information and I am watching for knowledge and don't care who the host is.

He could shave the beard and lose 20 years, I'll bet there's a Mel Gibson under there. .

 

[Bob McBride]

I'll bet if Mr. McBride had a young (late teens, early twenties) lady or man as the feature host of Black Powder TV the subscribership would increase dramatically. I watch for the information and I appreciate your efforts. However, I don't think a Millennial or Gen Z "kid" will relate to your age or persona. You and I are of similar age so I can relate to an extent. With a different host, I would still be interested in the information and I am watching for knowledge and don't care who the host is. The teen/young adult crowd might be more comfortable with a host they can relate to. It's "who do you want your audience to be". The Disney Channel has TV shows and movies featuring a cast of characters in the age range they want to reach. Family can be included. Not too many adults go to Disney Channel for their dose of reality TV or soap opera. If some "famous" folks would get into black powder and make it know they would draw some outside interest too. Brock Lessnor and Shawn Michaels are professional wrestlers. When they got on hunting TV shows a huge # of wrestling fans were intrigued and took up some hunting, at least casually for a time. Luke Bryan, Blake Shelton and Miranda Lambert brought country music fans to the hunting world and bowhunting in particular. Maybe one of these new Country artists like Luke Combs or Chris Stapleton will take up black powder shooting. If they post in on their feed, their followers will take note and indulge....

That’s a pretty darn funny post Sparkitoff. “My age and persona”. You cracked me up with that one. I literally had to wipe a tear. It undoubtedly would dramatically increase my viewers if I had a genx host (there’s one or two out there btw) and a celebrity with a faux southern drawl to point them my way. That said, and I’m less than a year old channel so take this for what it’s worth, but half my subs are under 40, the most involved in the comments and via email are under 30, and the largest group of my subs are under 30. The old guys watch a lot but actually rarely have YouTube accounts and sub and comment far less, except to suggest how I could do a better job and get more subs if I did it the way they would do it if they had a YouTube channel. Priceless stuff. I’ve got a quarter million views last year from old guys who don’t sub because it’s easier for them to google ‘Black Powder TV”, my number one search term, than log in and sub the channel. 70% of my views are Unsubbed. That’s those old guys. That’s all good, and god love em, but its the kids who are actually involved with the channel and asking for more new shooter videos and blowing up my email night and day, while the old guys moan and groan about why I’m making a video on the basics. Don’t I know they already know all that stuff? But seriously, if I played Luke Combs in the background, was 25 years old myself, and started every video with “Yo Yo Yo! Bob to the B in the house!” Would I get more viewers? Probably. In the meantime I’m fielding a dozen emails per day from millennials and gen z’ers just getting into BP, and I love it, and if I can get a kid into it enough that he starts his own black powder YouTube channel for you, then I win, and that’s good enough for me. Really, that was the best post I’ve read in weeks. Awesome.

 

[Bob McBride]

He could shave the beard and lose 20 years, I'll bet there's a Mel Gibson under there. .

View attachment 53377

I did that. Only lost 12 or so but at least I don’t look homeless anymore.

 

[Wild Tim]

Having a separate forum for modern muzzleloading is absolutely the worst way to create interest in traditional muzzleloading. These guys are already interested in muzzleloading. They just have to see how much prettier ours are and that they really are as effective on game and we could win them over. Sending them packing within two replies sure doesn't help any.

 

[Squatch84]

I'm 36 now in a month I'll be 37, I'll put down a few things that made me pick up a muzzleloader.
The Patriot (movie) was a big part of my teen years I loved that movie and it got me interested in ML. I watched the Mountain Men and Jeremiah Johnson also.
Picked up my first ML at 24 it was a Traditions percussion, .50 cal. It was a good shooter. I had no one to teach me though because I knew of no clubs in my area at the time.
I eventually got a Traditions kit that was in flintlock because that's what I really wanted to begin with but was kind of worried it was too difficult. I still have that one well the barrel anyways, I restocked it to look more appropriate.
Muzzeloaders are still my first love but getting into it can be daunting.
My thoughts are we need more clubs, and to be more accepting of new shooters, even if all they are using is a traditions deerhunter which is not Historically accurate, I've seen and been singled out because of that traditions I had when I first started.
Movies are the biggest draw for the sport though. There is so many stories and tales that could be used but Hollywood just isn't targeting that audience, my guess is because it might not be a blockbuster and we all know money is the motivator in Hollywood.
To end my rant, we just need to show how impassioned we are about our sport to others when the chance arises and be accepting of newer shooters.

 

[Bob McBride]

Having a separate forum for modern muzzleloading is absolutely the worst way to create interest in traditional muzzleloading. These guys are already interested in muzzleloading. They just have to see how much prettier ours are and that they really are as effective on game and we could win them over. Sending them packing within two replies sure doesn't help any.

I tend to agree with you Wild Tim, but I’m not sure how to do that logistically. I do certainly agree every new guy we shoo away without a second thought is a guy who’s newly into BP that just got singled out as a ‘less than’ and we’ve likely lost them for good, but I have no idea how to remedy that outside of having a welcoming committee made up of well trained car salesmen.

 

[Bob McBride]

Bob, that is really a shame. I wish more people could be exposed to your well-done and useful videos without searching specifically However, I am aware that the huge numbers of videos on you tube make it nearly impossible. Technology is great … sometimes .. other times View attachment 53376

It’s not so much they have to search specifically but they have to have done searches that makes the YouTube algorithm think they would be interested in my videos, ie hunting, shooting, history, gunsmithing, etc. It’s a narrow group, but really, if you think about it, the people who discover BP and find it interesting, 99% of the time, are those, interest wise, that can be screened by an algorithm from those wouldn’t find it interesting, so I think it’s as good as it can be.....

 

[Carbon 6]

Having a separate forum for modern muzzleloading is absolutely the worst way to create interest in traditional muzzleloading. These guys are already interested in muzzleloading. They just have to see how much prettier ours are and that they really are as effective on game and we could win them over. Sending them packing within two replies sure doesn't help any.

The decision to separate them was made years ago for good reason. It starts fights. It has rarely been a problem since, until the new owner of this forum acquired The Modern muzzleloader forum.
The problem also lies in the fact that this forum generates 10 times the volume of internet traffic that the other forum does which skews the google search algorithm for this site when someone types "muzzleloader forum".
Now please stop screwing up my topic by discussing modern muzzleloaders.

 

[Carbon 6]

Thank you all for your thoughts,
I am asking Zonie to close this topic, because it has strayed too far from what I originally intended.