Do Other Shooters Look Down At Airgun Owners???

[chris u'5]

Hello guys,

I've had airguns since I was a young lad and I would say I have around 25 years of experience with the sport, on and off admittedly, but during this time I feel I have built up a reasonable knowledge of the sport of airgun shooting.

I am in no way an expert but I have owned and handled lots of different air rifles over the years and over the past five years or so I have really tried to improve my knowledge and shooting ability (a big thanks goes out to the BBS members for helping me with this!)

Last weekend I was invited to go shooting with a shotgun owner over a large piece of land, obviously I jumped at the chance and was really looking forward to it but it ended up one of the worst days of shooting I can remember!

My companion was constantly telling me what to do, what I was doing wrong and basically treated me like an idiot.

I'm the kind of guy who keeps his mouth shut in these situations and lets the other person dig a hole for themselves while I pay close attention to their comments but in the end I was pretty pissed off as I'm sure you can imagine.

Anyway we parted ways at the end of the shoot and I decided that I will stick to hunting by myself which I have always done and enjoy much more. Then to my surprise a few days later I received an email from my weekend companion with 'tips' on how I can become a better shooter...now this email was the most patronising thing I have read in my life! I really couldn't believe it as this guy doesn't know me and we have never gone shooting together and he didn't witness me shooting as there was f-all to shoot on his permission. What was most annoying was that half of these 'tips' were complete rubbish

Personally I have respect for the entire shooting community and all the various disciplines but it got me thinking, are airgun owners treated as the 'poor cousins' in the shooting community?

I think a lot of people from a non-shooting background think of air rifles as the old rusty rifle found in grandad's shed or the cheap rifle they used to shoot tins cans with as a kid which I suppose is understandable but is there respect shown to the airgun community from shooters of other disciplines?

Of course there will always be exceptions to the rule and lots of people on here own shotguns, rifles and air rifles but is the attitude shown to me by my weekend shooting partner the 'norm' or is he just a knob?

I know all of the above doesn't really matter and I will continue to love airgun shooting and learning as much as I can about the sport but it has been bugging me the past few days (I know it shouldn't) so I wanted to get it off my chest...sorry for the 'rant' but thanks for reading and I'd really be interested to hear your thoughts on the subject.

All the best,

Chris

[madcarlos]

Hello guys,

I've had airguns since I was a young lad and I would say I have around 25 years of experience with the sport, on and off admittedly, but during this time I feel I have built up a reasonable knowledge of the sport of airgun shooting.

I am in no way an expert but I have owned and handled lots of different air rifles over the years and over the past five years or so I have really tried to improve my knowledge and shooting ability (a big thanks goes out to the BBS members for helping me with this!)

Last weekend I was invited to go shooting with a shotgun owner over a large piece of land, obviously I jumped at the chance and was really looking forward to it but it ended up one of the worst days of shooting I can remember!

My companion was constantly telling me what to do, what I was doing wrong and basically treated me like an idiot.

I'm the kind of guy who keeps his mouth shut in these situations and lets the other person dig a hole for themselves while I pay close attention to their comments but in the end I was pretty pissed off as I'm sure you can imagine.

Anyway we parted ways at the end of the shoot and I decided that I will stick to hunting by myself which I have always done and enjoy much more. Then to my surprise a few days later I received an email from my weekend companion with 'tips' on how I can become a better shooter...now this email was the most patronising thing I have read in my life! I really couldn't believe it as this guy doesn't know me and we have never gone shooting together and he didn't witness me shooting as there was f-all to shoot on his permission. What was most annoying I think that half of these 'tips' were complete rubbish

Personally I have respect for the entire shooting community and all the various disciplines but it got me thinking, are airgun owners treated as the 'poor cousins' in the shooting community?

I think a lot of people from a non-shooting background think of air rifles as the old rusty rifle found in grandad's shed or the cheap rifle they used to shoot tins cans with as a kid which I suppose is understandable but is there respect shown to the airgun community from shooters of other disciplines?

Of course there will always be exceptions to the rule and lots of people on here own shotguns, rifles and air rifles but is the attitude shown to me by my weekend shooting partner the 'norm' or is he just a knob?

I know all of the above doesn't really matter and I will continue to love airgun shooting and learning as much as I can about the sport but it has been bugging me the past few days (I know it shouldn't) so I wanted to get it off my chest...sorry for the 'rant' but thanks for reading and I'd really be interested to hear your thoughts on the subject.

All the best,

Chris

Seems to me you were unlucky enough to have gone with a bell end,

[bighit]

it will never stop Chris. same as mountain bikers and road bikers .motorbike riders and moped riders or motocross and enduro motorbike riders.

not all in those groups are bad but there is some that look down on others as you found.

my old boss mocked full bore target shooters. said they were failed hunters that could only hit stationary targets. he was a syndicate owner and also shot rifles at deer and foxes.


it happens in all disciplines of sports or hobbies.

and I don't think it will ever change . be good if they all stuck together and got together when the nimby's *came for them .


* nimby's. not in my back yard.

[chris u'5]

Maybe the thing with this guy is my problem?? I'm not sure but I don't think so to be honest. I'm delighted to take advice from fellow shooters as you will see from my various posts here on BBS but I think it the fact that the advice this guy was giving was just plain wrong and as an airgun owner I feel like he thought I was an idiot!

[rhyslightnin]

To be honest I like being "bottom of the pile" as when you meet others in your sport there is less competitive nature ("keeping up with the Joneses) and more down to earth people talking about the sport they love

Rhys
PS: I think he was just a non! Lol

[phil384]

I'm afraid the simple truth is airgun shooters are just less manly. Maybe the noise of proper guns frighten you?

[Rich]

I think you're right, we are sometimes dismissed as playing with boy's toys.

Even the NSRA - and I'm a member - could do more to integrate air into some of the disciplines that are shot with rimfires. I can't see any reason why we can't have a 25 yard (or metre) prone comp that admits air rifles. I came fourth at Bisley in the NSRA ELEY LSR comp two years ago and my prize was 500 rounds of Eley rimfire ammo. Firstly, my S410 isn't chambered for 22RF and secondly I don't have a ticket to hold 22 ammo. The organisers never expected an air rifle to be in contention.

Last week on polling day I was on duty as a poll clerk and I had my coffee mug on the desk with the name of my club emblazoned on it. A chap came in to vote and asked about the mug. Do you shoot, he enquired? Yes, sub 12 fpe air. Can't call that shooting he replied, I'm a qualified marksman with a 0.46 calibre Barrett, shoots a mile or more, that's real shooting. I gave him an invitation to our club as we'd be keen to see how proficient he was.

[tinbum]

Maybe the thing with this guy is my problem?? I'm not sure but I don't think so to be honest. I'm delighted to take advice from fellow shooters as you will see from my various posts here on BBS but I think it the fact that the advice this guy was giving was just plain wrong and as an airgun owner I feel like he thought I was an idiot!

Last year at a local gunshop and old boy took interest in some HW or the other I was buying. His sage advice was that air rifles are ok, but to get the best out of them you need to tune them. He recommended an Ox spring. I just smiled and bowed to his superior knowledge.

[oldskoolzzz]

Hello guys,

I've had airguns since I was a young lad and I would say I have around 25 years of experience with the sport, on and off admittedly, but during this time I feel I have built up a reasonable knowledge of the sport of airgun shooting.

I am in no way an expert but I have owned and handled lots of different air rifles over the years and over the past five years or so I have really tried to improve my knowledge and shooting ability (a big thanks goes out to the BBS members for helping me with this!)

Last weekend I was invited to go shooting with a shotgun owner over a large piece of land, obviously I jumped at the chance and was really looking forward to it but it ended up one of the worst days of shooting I can remember!

My companion was constantly telling me what to do, what I was doing wrong and basically treated me like an idiot.

I'm the kind of guy who keeps his mouth shut in these situations and lets the other person dig a hole for themselves while I pay close attention to their comments but in the end I was pretty pissed off as I'm sure you can imagine.

Anyway we parted ways at the end of the shoot and I decided that I will stick to hunting by myself which I have always done and enjoy much more. Then to my surprise a few days later I received an email from my weekend companion with 'tips' on how I can become a better shooter...now this email was the most patronising thing I have read in my life! I really couldn't believe it as this guy doesn't know me and we have never gone shooting together and he didn't witness me shooting as there was f-all to shoot on his permission. What was most annoying was that half of these 'tips' were complete rubbish

Personally I have respect for the entire shooting community and all the various disciplines but it got me thinking, are airgun owners treated as the 'poor cousins' in the shooting community?

I think a lot of people from a non-shooting background think of air rifles as the old rusty rifle found in grandad's shed or the cheap rifle they used to shoot tins cans with as a kid which I suppose is understandable but is there respect shown to the airgun community from shooters of other disciplines?

Of course there will always be exceptions to the rule and lots of people on here own shotguns, rifles and air rifles but is the attitude shown to me by my weekend shooting partner the 'norm' or is he just a knob?

I know all of the above doesn't really matter and I will continue to love airgun shooting and learning as much as I can about the sport but it has been bugging me the past few days (I know it shouldn't) so I wanted to get it off my chest...sorry for the 'rant' but thanks for reading and I'd really be interested to hear your thoughts on the subject.

All the best,

Chris

I'm intrigued to know what his email tips were go on post them up so we can see what a 'proper' hunter has to say

On a serious note I know exactly where your coming from, I honestly think airgunners are starting to be taken slightly more seriously now than even just a few years ago although most gunshops still think your the weirdo if you head straight to the Airguns on display instead of checking out those non pop guns

Plenty of shooters that I know from my club attend both Airgun and bullet gun side of the club and certainly don't belittle the airgunner.

I can only think of one time where I've had a heated argument with a bullet gun shooter who looked down on me as an airgunner but I truely believe he was more annoyed that my Airgun knowledge left him for dead and he wasn't expecting it.

[chris u'5]

I'm glad it isn't just me then but it's disappointing how fractured the shooting community seems to be.

Surely the sensible thing would be for the entire shooting community in the UK to stick together and support each other.

If we are all only interested in protecting our own disciplines and belittling the others it makes it easier for Government to continue to pick away at the sport?

[mickson]

As in all sports shooting has a cross section of society, so you will always get some "Plonkers" I've shot all kind of rifles/pistols some twerp will always whinge what ever type you are shooting. I like to shut them up by out shooting them with my "inferior" kit. ...mike...

[Muskett]

Its all about ego.
Some reason game shooting brings out some pretty terrible traits. Most is harmless, but wow can it be annoying. Some is pure enthusiasm to pass on the passion.
There is both the over cautious and the cavalier, but also a whole lot of lack of confidence masked by some pretty poor antics.

Yes, shotgun shooters can look down on air rifle shooters. You get it in gunshops that are run by shotgun shooters. Some of it is pure ignorance some to the point of defensiveness because they know they haven't got a clue. Find all kinds, though it seems some places its pretty bad. I've shot most shooting systems to the highest level. From antitank weapons to airsoft, and everything in between. They all have their merit and skill to master; non are "better" than another. Personal conduct, marksmanship, safety, and ethics. Each one I enjoy; love my air rifles which can be well tricky to shoot and taskmasters to master.

Safety, and the responsibility that goes with shooting, even the act of taking life of another living creature, all adds to the dramatic mix. Those with experience and confidence might be less intense. What makes it worse is the amount of pure baloney spouted. We all do a bit, some people excessively so. Inflated egos... confidence... enthusiasm... sure.


Stay calm, good manners, move on. Have fun, be safe.

[chris u'5]

Thanks guys

I'll be completely honest with you, the situation did shake my confidence slightly and I was starting to think "maybe I don't know what I'm doing?" and there's no doubt he made me feel stupid but after reading your posts it has made me even more determined to continue to learn, improve and enjoy the sport I love.

[russian sniper]

Even the guys who go deer stalking argue about Calibre and bullets...
If you haven't got a level 2 qualification - you don't know what you're doing!
Think every part of shooting sports is fractured!

Just shoot whatever gun you enjoy

Daz

[Zomboid]

I'd take this theory further and say that shooters in the same discipline look down on other shooters. Be it gender, age or equipment someone is always going to think they are better than you AND then tell you why in great deal. Or give you a sarky comment when they'd be better placed to either help out or shut up.

Shooting is rife with them. As for airguns being regarded as lesser, perhaps even toys. Yes they are unfortunately. This is also probably why thugs/idiots use them for shooting at swans etc... No respect for the skill or the equipment.

As for the email .... post post post post post...