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Do we have any sub 25 year old ml shooters here? Just curious. I hear lots of the well respected members of this forum state, with sadness, that the practitioners of this sport constantly grow fewer, and far between. Any young guys/gals that are avid muzzleloader maniacs? I am twenty-three by the way...
 
At 30 years aged I’m considered “old” for a young person.

I find it very depressing to see the trade shows, shoots, rondys, etc. and see a sea of white with virtually no new young blood to replace them.

But there’s some of us out here to carry on the old ways. It won’t be many, and I fear for the availability of good guns and supplies as the old builders die off and take the craft with them. I also hope black powder continues to be manufactured and sold at reasonable costs and that it not be banned by the powers that be.

Traditional Muzzleloading is in its waning days, or will be very soon. This is a fact, and no amount of wishful thinking will change it. I am doing all I can to try and take new friends my age and younger to shoot my black powders but frankly it’s an enthusiasts venture. Folks might enjoy doing it once or twice but its a labor of love that simply won’t bloom in many of the imaginations of my generation. We live in a fast paced, instant gratification, short attention span move to the next big thing society. Such is the antithesis of the values of our sport.

I’ll keep enjoying it though, as long as I can.

I’m in too deep.
 
At 30 years aged I’m considered “old” for a young person.

I find it very depressing to see the trade shows, shoots, rondys, etc. and see a sea of white with virtually no new young blood to replace them.

But there’s some of us out here to carry on the old ways. It won’t be many, and I fear for the availability of good guns and supplies as the old builders die off and take the craft with them. I also hope black powder continues to be manufactured and sold at reasonable costs and that it not be banned by the powers that be.

Traditional Muzzleloading is in its waning days, or will be very soon. This is a fact, and no amount of wishful thinking will change it. I am doing all I can to try and take new friends my age and younger to shoot my black powders but frankly it’s an enthusiasts venture. Folks might enjoy doing it once or twice but its a labor of love that simply won’t bloom in many of the imaginations of my generation. We live in a fast paced, instant gratification, short attention span move to the next big thing society. Such is the antithesis of the values of our sport.

I’ll keep enjoying it though, as long as I can.

I’m in too deep.
well said my friend...a lot to feel disheartened about
 
At 30 years aged I’m considered “old” for a young person.

I find it very depressing to see the trade shows, shoots, rondys, etc. and see a sea of white with virtually no new young blood to replace them.

But there’s some of us out here to carry on the old ways. It won’t be many, and I fear for the availability of good guns and supplies as the old builders die off and take the craft with them. I also hope black powder continues to be manufactured and sold at reasonable costs and that it not be banned by the powers that be.

Traditional Muzzleloading is in its waning days, or will be very soon. This is a fact, and no amount of wishful thinking will change it. I am doing all I can to try and take new friends my age and younger to shoot my black powders but frankly it’s an enthusiasts venture. Folks might enjoy doing it once or twice but its a labor of love that simply won’t bloom in many of the imaginations of my generation. We live in a fast paced, instant gratification, short attention span move to the next big thing society. Such is the antithesis of the values of our sport.

I’ll keep enjoying it though, as long as I can.

I’m in too deep.
With that attitude, you have a self fulfilling prophecy. Be proactive, take a kid shooting. Let them know these guns can be quite accurate and loads of fun. We have no one to blame but ourselves.
 
I wonder whatever happened to our friend "freekforge?" This thread brought him to mind. He was a young man who was with us back before I took my long hiatus from here back in 2014 or so. He was making handgonnes on a lathe he'd gotten from his grandpa (I think). I bought a couple from him and they are excellent. He was really gung-ho for a while and I was hoping he'd continue on in the hobby and maybe bring in some younger folks, but it looks like he hasn't been here since 2018. :(
 
With that attitude, you have a self fulfilling prophecy. Be proactive, take a kid shooting. Let them know these guns can be quite accurate and loads of fun. We have no one to blame but ourselves.

If only.

I’ve taken a few young folks shooting my cap and ball revolvers and Ohio rifle and always let others shoot them at the range. The initial reaction is quite positive, but often after I explain the loading process and cleaning regimen I get a blank stare. But I AM trying my friend and you must of glossed over that bit.
 
I'm 35 but feel like I'm 25. I've recruited about a dozen friends to come to rendezvous with me the years. About 9 still come regularly without me pushing them into it. That seems like a good batting average to me. We even created a intra-camp competition with the prize being a ridiculous golden turkey and other prizes.
 

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Do we have any sub 25 year old ml shooters here? Just curious. I hear lots of the well respected members of this forum state, with sadness, that the practitioners of this sport constantly grow fewer, and far between. Any young guys/gals that are avid muzzleloader maniacs? I am twenty-three by the way...
I'm 29 with experience........... 37 years experience........ :)
 
30% of my total viewers are under 30 and 5% are female. That’s pretty solid in my book. Of course, 50% are over 55, but by my back-woods finger counting arithmetic, that means a similar number are 54 364/365ths and under. Not too bad. :thumb:

Bob you are doing the sport a favor like no other man I know!
 
Bob you are doing the sport a favor like no other man I know!

That’s very kind Smoke but lots of folks are out there doing a great job rep-ing the sport in their own way. The channel is just mine. Gun channels on YouTube being so popular, I think between the 4-5 of us with BP centric channels we are putting out content in front of the best place to find new BP shooters, and that’s within the group of folks opening YouTube and typing ‘shooting’ or similar into the search bar. (Some older folks don’t realize that many people under 50 get something like 75% of their TV viewing straight off YouTube. I know I do. I watch duck hunting videos, gaming videos, and all sorts of other stuff in 20 min blocks. It’s the future of TV I think.)

Thanks though, that’s a nice compliment. Talking to Ethan over at the NMLRA and to Katherine Kibler, it does seem we’re seeing a bit of a mini boom as I’m seeing it with my channel as well.
 
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