Do Other Shooters Look Down At Airgun Owners???

[Charlts]

I had a similar day last week Chris. 3 Hours mooching around the woods looking for the Branchers. Got 12 altogether plus 2 unlucky, nosey Squirrels and a pigeon. It wasn't the hunting side of it that i enjoyed but the sense of tranquility about being in there, on my own after a full day at work. It's amazing what you think about whilst crouching in a holly bush waiting for the birds to land. In that 3 hours i saw a young Badger, deer (but couldn't tell whether Roe or Fallow due to the thickness of the bushes), Pheasant, Guinea fowl, barn owl, woodpecker, rook, jackdaw plus a shedload of finches and tits......and i suspect a Woodcock.

Got to love being outside watching tits buddy!

[ChrisC]

Got to love being outside watching tits buddy!

fnaar, fnaar

[vestlenning]

Got to love being outside watching tits buddy!

Hear, hear!

[jumbuck]

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.

You are right about the bikers, I have been riding for over 30 years on the road and 40 years riding in total. Done farm riding to compatition motocross I've had big sports bikes and small bike and for the last few years riding an XR250R D reg old girl. Absolutely love riding it and great fun unyet everything on two wheels with an engine has to get past me regardless off sanity and saftey Big bikers have to show how fast they can go as I only have a smaller bike than then... The small bikes look silly struggling to keep up
I ride and shoot for me and what I enjoy regardless of size!!!!!!

[abellringer]

I think the comments so far are just oh so true and sad it is too. A fractured sport is easy pickings, look at the USA where shooters combine and become ultra powerful as a voice for themselves, sadly the bureaucrats running each discipline think they are the gods or dogs******** and possibly could be fearing for their positions if we had a unified body.
On a personal note I owned airguns from about the age of 7[ish] [mid 50's] but got my part one ticket around 1970; I owned and shot full bore pistols and rifles [target only]; I then had a shotgun licence and hunted more than I shot clays [and pretty poor I was at both]. I found the full bore costs a bit too high and began smallbore shooting again pistol and rifle; I found a two way snobbery very evident, the full bore guys deriding the smallbore guys because their 'bang' was puny; the smallbore guys had a downer on the fullbore guys because their targets were the size of a barn door and they couldn't really shoot with any accuracy, plus they were only interested in the 'big bangs'. Eventually I arrived at a 'new' to me small bore club due to a loss of venue by my existing club; I found an unparalleled level of snobbery and clique-ism, I was in lots of comps and better than most other club members, but such was the degree of offhandedness; that to this day [some 40 years on] I still don't know who my team mates were. Then in 1971 my local paper had an advert for an Air Rifle Club opening at Bilston Town Baths; curiosity eventually got the better of me and after a couple of months I ventured down to have a look. BLOODY HELL, THEY ALL NEW EACH OTHERS NAME, greeted everyone like a long lost pal and extended the same courtesy to me from the moment I entered, I later found out that this came from National and Olympic level shooters. What went on, on that night changed my shooting perspective for ever; not too many years later I had no firearms and didn't miss them or the snobbery that went with them. To this day I still find airgun shooters the most friendly and helpful people you could wish to meet and I would like to think over 40 years later, that I can be ranked as amongst the more friendly and helpful group.
So yes there is and always has been a snobbery in shooting be it the 'you'll never hit anything with that, you need one of these' attitudes or the my bang is louder so I'm better variety.
There are always the good guys in any branch of our sport, meet them and become their friend, but like wise there will always be snobs, you'll soon pick them out, be polite nod, etc. then go off and find the good guy again.
AN AIRGUNNER AND OHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO PROUD TO BE.!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
ATVB
abellringer

[Hsing-ee]

I have shot full-bore rifle in NRA matches, alot more .22 rimfire in NSRA matches, a little bit of 12 bore shotgun at clays, some .22 rimfire pistol and a little bit of full-bore pistol.

Shooting air-rifle, e.g. HFT is easily the most fun. The others, and match air rifle and pistol, all have their nuances and challenges, but for actual enjoyment outdoor air-rifle is King.

And its cheap so you can do lots of it. So let people look down on it, more fool them.

Imagine being an enthusiast who needs to get his kicks shooting a .50 calibre BMG rifle? Only two or three ranges in the UK to shoot on and at £3.50 a bang you better get zero'd using a bore-sighter. And what for? You'd have 85% of the fun with a .25 HW80!

[series2a]

Us Blackpowder shooters look down on everyone. Lol

[Hsing-ee]

Us Blackpowder shooters look down on everyone. Lol

You're 'aving a laugh. How can you do that through the clouds of thick smoke, burning toilet roll and Vaseline fallout?

[Charlts]

From most of the posts it sounds like being part of clubs and shooting formal comps is the problem. There are knob heads everywhere in shooting, it does strange things to people. Who cares if you're Shooting loads of comps with your Airgun or plinking with your mates and your full bores, it's just shooting. Everyone else thinks we're all odd anyway.