Attracting Young members to gunclub

CZ455Mad

[/QUOTE]
It seems there is confusion as to what a gpa/gunclub is or more to the point what some of the posters think it is.
To answer the question above The reason you want to join a gunclub is to have the chance to go wildfowling or rough shooting.There are no all night parties or raves it is simply a group of individuals coming together to improve sport in their area.
In regard to the Facebook page what pictures and of what would you put on a facebook page. Most sport is enjoyed on your own except for the company of your dog.

Please do not disregard the X Box factor it is having an effect on all sports, young people are becoming more and more isolated from society and stuck in their bedrooms.

If you wish to join a club you will only get there through sheer determination,get to know as many club members as possible before you send in an application. You may only get one shot so make sure the deck is loaded in your favour.[/quote]

You have all fair point but what I'll have to pull you on is that anyone that is serious enough at a young age to take up shooting isn't looking for an all night rave or anything even remotely similar to that! I have several friends who are both members and non-members of local clubs and have no illusions of what they are doing when they go out shooting. So simpley put and not trying to offend but wait up and smell the coffee. Young shooters are few and far between and it's stereotyping young shooters that all they want out of a club is an " all night rave " is the EXACT reason that young shooters are few and far between.

No offence to be taken from anything I'm saying just voicing my opinion

grassroot1

CZ455Mad wrote: »

It seems there is confusion as to what a gpa/gunclub is or more to the point what some of the posters think it is.
To answer the question above The reason you want to join a gunclub is to have the chance to go wildfowling or rough shooting.There are no all night parties or raves it is simply a group of individuals coming together to improve sport in their area.
In regard to the Facebook page what pictures and of what would you put on a facebook page. Most sport is enjoyed on your own except for the company of your dog.

Please do not disregard the X Box factor it is having an effect on all sports, young people are becoming more and more isolated from society and stuck in their bedrooms.

If you wish to join a club you will only get there through sheer determination,get to know as many club members as possible before you send in an application. You may only get one shot so make sure the deck is loaded in your favour.[/quote]

You have all fair point but what I'll have to pull you on is that anyone that is serious enough at a young age to take up shooting isn't looking for an all night rave or anything even remotely similar to that! I have several friends who are both members and non-members of local clubs and have no illusions of what they are doing when they go out shooting. So simpley put and not trying to offend but wait up and smell the coffee. Young shooters are few and far between and it's stereotyping young shooters that all they want out of a club is an " all night rave " is the EXACT reason that young shooters are few and far between.

No offence to be taken from anything I'm saying just voicing my opinion[/QUOTE]

None taken,I was just highlighting that some expect more from clubs than is available.
I am all for youth recruitment and to be fair most young kids that are interested are no problem they have probably have been introduced by a parent though to be fair.
However there is a slightly older age group who expect everything to fall into place for them and they really have to work for it if they want to shoot which some are not prepared to do.

HappyShooter

Young shooters are clearly the minority in the shooting sports in Ireland. There are plenty of ways to increase the number of members of your club, by not just young people, but people of all ages.

It is all well and good to set up a Facebook page, but it needs to be done right. When you set one up (which you probably should), it needs to stand out. By this, I mean it needs to be flashy, well maintained and look relatively professional. Contact details should be available and relevant details should be published in the about section, such as what the club is about. Prospective members can also message the Facebook page to express their interest. Photos should be taken by the club and put on the page, don't use stock photos because they aren't directly related to your club. Sponsored posts on Facebook are a great way to target certain age groups, people with certain interests, etc. They cost a few euro but they come up in the target markets news feed giving you a much greater reach online.

Posters work well too, they also need to be flashy and colourful to catch young people eyes. There are far too many bland A4 size posters being put up on notice boards in shops nationwide, so make it look different with a photo and include contact details, etc.

This is how I would market a club to young people, others may do it differently. Obviously leave all the criticism of young people expressed here off the Facebook page and posters!

dodderangler

Never mind young people. From what I've heard it's hard enough for anyone of any age to get into a lot of clubs now and the rules are ridiculous. Only saying from what I've heard.
Will younger people help with the rearing and upkeep of pheasant rearing and pest control though or will they only join to be part of pheasant and duck seasons?

CZ455Mad

Speaking from my own side I'm 23 and am not a club member yet I do hatch pheasant eggs out my back using my chickens ðŸ‘

Larry60

Back in the eighties when I first started shooting and was living neat Bray in Co. Dublin there was a waiting list of thirty something waiting to join the local Gun Club and in the years I lived there I never got to join, however when I moved to the North West there was no problem joining the local gun club as they welcome new members.

dto001

Cheers for all the replies, one more question in regards to facebook pages: if I start one how do I stop all the anti crap that you see all the time as I wouldn't like people to get abuse and possibly targeted at home etc.? If it's a closed group then it would defeat the purpose of the whole exercise would it not?

HappyShooter

Don't set up a group, set up a page. This would make it easier to find, but the Anti's can find it just as easy! Best thing to do is wait until they post and when they do block them from the page. The two local clubs near me don't have a problem with anti hunting spam.

blackpearl

HappyShooter wrote: »

Don't set up a group, set up a page. This would make it easier to find, but the Anti's can find it just as easy! Best thing to do is wait until they post and when they do block them from the page. The two local clubs near me don't have a problem with anti hunting spam.

Some of the worst antis against hunting are people who use to hunt themselfs and for some reason gave it up .

Gravelly

blackpearl wrote: »

Some of the worst antis against hunting are people who use to hunt themselfs and for some reason gave it up .

Same with smoking, drinking, and religion!

jonnysnapshop

hey lads long story short, im 24 from the wicklow area but have been living in dublin for four years. im moving back at the end of the year and i want to take up hunting. have friends of my mother who shoot and hunt and have been giving me advice. iv got my safety cert the gun has been ordered and ill be getting a safe very soon but wont be going ahead obviously until im back in wicklow (no chance of getting licence here iv been told). the gun im getting is a ruger american chambered in .270. im looking to join a club in wicklow to learn to shoot and obviously help with obtaining my licence because as of yet i dont know any farmers with more than ten acres. if you guys could offer any help im technically a young person who is dying to get into it! much appreciated

Really Interested

123shooter wrote: »

But then you would have to purchase all for them........light the fags............open the bottles........and whatever with the drugs.

Not just because they are incapable and couldn't be bothered to learn, but because they are entitled and it is their right to have those things done for them.

The pussy generation would want you to hold gun, aim and pull trigger as they say 'fire'.

And you wonder why young people are not interested in your company.

From what I see the 18-25 year group are very active just look at any local gym or sports club. I am surprised that gun clubs dont use the internet, and advertise why pretend to shoot when you can feel a real gun in a safe environment.

Make it interesting and dont make young people feel they not wanted might be a good start.

Really Interested

jonnysnapshop wrote: »

hey lads long story short, im 24 from the wicklow area but have been living in dublin for four years. im moving back at the end of the year and i want to take up hunting. have friends of my mother who shoot and hunt and have been giving me advice. iv got my safety cert the gun has been ordered and ill be getting a safe very soon but wont be going ahead obviously until im back in wicklow (no chance of getting licence here iv been told). the gun im getting is a ruger american chambered in .270. im looking to join a club in wicklow to learn to shoot and obviously help with obtaining my licence because as of yet i dont know any farmers with more than ten acres. if you guys could offer any help im technically a young person who is dying to get into it! much appreciated

http://www.hilltopshootingsports.com/index.asp

If these guys are anywhere near you might be worth a shout just looked at their diary of events very spartan for August. It might be an idea if clubs arrange a once a month coffee or pub evening where members could give people advice on how to get licence put people in touch with farmers etc.

jonnysnapshop

thats a brilliant idea if there was a meet like that id be there

Really Interested

jonnysnapshop wrote: »

thats a brilliant idea if there was a meet like that id be there

If gun guys dont want the sport to literally die out they need to make it inviting to new members. From what I see it can be even more exclusive than certain golf clubs.

jonnysnapshop

i hope not that bad i hope im not wasting time annd money

Luckysasha

I have been shooting pistol and rifle for about a year now at my current range. A month ago I took up clay shooting there as well and since then I have received a few offers to go game shooting just from the lads I shoot clays with. Maybe this is a route some lads could go down even just to get some experience of shooting safety and etiquette before they go out in the field as such

jonnysnapshop

great idea thanks sasha . ghetting in contact with a local club now