Fear & Loading: Who Are the Real New Firearm Enthusiasts?

by
posted on September 16, 2016
** When you buy products through the links on our site, we may earn a commission that supports NRA's mission to protect, preserve and defend the Second Amendment. **
senior_shooter.jpg

Most assume the record-setting gun-sales trend is fueled exclusively by a young generation of enthusiasts. Anecdotal evidence, which includes comments from store owners and the success of an all-new style of shooting ranges often called “Guntry Clubs,” support the claims, but senior citizens are also a growing part of the market.

Let’s face facts. Baby boomers are retiring and not all of them are interested in knitting or bingo.  A recent story in the Kansas City Star detailed one of that area’s gun ranges, where senior citizens line up for early morning firing lanes. Shooters interviewed in the article list a variety of reasons for their enthusiasm, including self-defense.

Gun ownership and training by Social Security recipients is paying huge dividends. Several recent incidents highlight the trend. In New Mexico, a 70-year-old man neutralized a criminal threat  by trumping a bad guy’s hockey stick with his .38 Spl. A 91-year-old Michigan man was forced to shoot an alleged robber outside a Rite Aid. No one was injured in this South Carolina incident, but the 80-year-old great grandfather is undoubtedly happy he didn’t forget his .25 ACP handgun that day.

If you know a senior citizen who expresses concern about their safety, it’s a great opportunity to politely bring up these stories and suggest quality NRA training. I had that chance last week when a woman—who retired 10 years ago from government service—was one of the people on my flight with an overnight delay. The flight attendant asked me to help her get to the hotel, I obliged, and the conversation in the shuttle was interesting. She brought up the subject of increasing crime in her neighborhood. Her husband owns guns, but “He said if I used one the robber would only grab it and use it on me,” she explained.

I told her criminals neutralize the primary threat first, in this case her husband, and that delay often leaves the spouse with a temporary advantage. I cited several instances, but here’s a recent case just in case you run into the same rebuttal.

No one should be injured or killed in a criminal attack, and no family deserves to lose a grandparent or loved one that way. I closed the conversation, as I always do, with the advice that if gun ownership and training isn’t an option, attending one of the NRA’s Refuse To Be A Victim seminars is a great way to minimize risk and exposure.     

Latest

Hearing Healthy
Hearing Healthy

Summer Suppressor Deals On Now

Whether it is a BOGO deal from SIG or free tax stamps from Guns.com and Silencer Central, there's plenty of hearing-safe savings to be had this summer.

Rifleman Report: Defending Freedom For 250 Years

"Anyone who claims not to understand the plain and simple intent of the Second Amendment—especially if that person happens to be a constitutional law professor, Supreme Court justice, congressman, senator or president—is likely hiding nefarious intent: to strip individual liberty from American citizens for the express purpose of making them susceptible to a tyrannical government."

Book Review: 2025 Traveler’s Guide To The Firearms Laws Of The Fifty States

Newly updated for 2025, the 29th edition of the Traveler’s Guide To The Firearm Laws Of The Fifty States is packed with all the need-to-know information for cross-country trekkers seeking to bring their arms along with them and remain legal in all localities.

Springfield Kuna: A PDW For The Masses

Small, yet fierce, the namesake of Springfield Armory’s latest large-format pistol is a revered forest dweller in the land of its Croatian manufacturing partner, HS Produkt. The new Kuna is poised to be just as welcome in America.

The Armed Citizen® June 30, 2025

Read today's "The Armed Citizen" entry for real stories of law-abiding citizens, past and present, who used their firearms to save lives.

Book Review: Clockwork Basilisk: The Early Revolvers Of Elisha Collier & Artemas Wheeler

The result of a decade of research, Clockwork Basilisk is a comprehensive, two-volume history of the rare revolvers that preceded the development of the well-known Colt guns of the 1830s.

Interests



Get the best of American Rifleman delivered to your inbox.