Black Americans and guns

Now that I think about it, I have only seen one black guy at a shooting range ever in my life. This was at an indoor range in Seatle my brother took me to while I was visitng. The guy was pretty good too.

On a comical note;
Look at it this way, The shooting sports are the last bastion for us slow, abdominally challenged, non jumping white guys. the last thing we need is a Tiger Woods in the IDPA box:D :eek: ........"whaaat!?"......
 
I find this comical first off the gun don't care what finger is on the trigger. When at the range all I care about is that the other shooters are using firearms safely. Why some one choose to miss out on such a relaxing sport and the friendships that form that is thier misfortune. I don't really care what the other shooters looks like (unless she is really hot) butthat every one is being safe so every one can have a good time.
 
Please close this thread, it is offensive. And stupid
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Reason?

I will say I've noticed a definite lack of black firearms enthusiasts. I think it may or may not be important to question why this would be.
 
Please close this thread, it is offensive. And stupid
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I disagree with your unwillingess to have this topic open. I think some people's comments have bordered on good taste, but have been more a matter of phrasing than anything else.

I think this thread poses an important question: why do we not see a sample of a distinguishable subset of the American Population at the range proportional to their representation? I hope it isn't the question that is offensive to you, as I'm interested in the experiences of other shooters on the board, whether they sync with mine or not.
 
The Gunshop-range I currently shoot at is heavily patronized by black
shooting enthusiasts, it reflects the local population. Obviously it is subject
to public accomodation laws, and as businessmen the owners are interested
in the bottom line and as long as people bring legal tender there they are not
that concerned with the color of the hands that bring so long as it's long green.
Conversely there is a private gun club about 25 minutes from my home which I gave up trying to join 25 years ago, I found the people there not all that friendly-that was the only place I ever encountered rudeness and hostility from another shooter, and I note that they vote -in a secret ballot-on admitting new members-and I was told there was an incident where a black
man-a doctor-was "blackballed". Why go where you are not wanted or welcome?
I also note that many Black Americans are growing up in weak and dysfunctional fatherless families-just like Old Whitebread SIGSHR, I grew up fatherless
due to divorce, my first exposure to proper firearms instruction was in Boy
Scouts at age 13. To use the current "in" word, they have no mentors, no role models and I think we all agree that the nature of shooting sports does
not let itself to casual acquisition like sandlot baseball or shooting baskets.
Backyard plinking is pretty much a thing of the past. Legal restrictions on firearms ownership and ammunition purchases by those under legal age plus
hostile legal environments contribute heavily to non participation, in short
if you don't grow up exposed to the shooting sports, if you have no family to
show you the way, how do you learn?
 
I also note that many Black Americans are growing up in weak and dysfunctional fatherless families-just like Old Whitebread SIGSHR, I grew up fatherless due to divorce, my first exposure to proper firearms instruction was in Boy Scouts at age 13.
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Yeah, I grew up with a single mom and no dad in sight...and had nothing to do with firearms.

in short if you don't grow up exposed to the shooting sports, if you have no family to show you the way, how do you learn?
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For me, it was the Army.
 
I think we all agree that the nature of shooting sports does
not let itself to casual acquisition like sandlot baseball or shooting baskets
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The shooting sports used to be different. I remember randomly walking into the middle of a rifle-team practice when I was a teenager. They practiced in the basement of the local basketball court / National Guard Armory / poolhall building and I kept hearing these mysterious popping noises. I went to investigate and the rest is history... I've been shooting in competition ever since.

That range was shut down a few years ago because of lead contamination. There will be no more random introductions of the shooting sports to kids at that location.

Every time shooters are pushed further and further out into the stix, urban kids lose access to a healthy introduction to firearms.
 
Why do people shy away and get all anxious when there's a discussion about something based on race? If anything, all this PC crap is racist in itself, because apparently we're not allowed to talk about black people. They might just bust a cap in your skull.

Better to confront such issues than to pretend they don't exist. I think it has to do with the perception, truthful or otherwise, that black people are violent. It's an emotional reaction to link the violence and the tools used, so using a gun makes you another black criminal on the 11 o'clock news.

I blame mainstream media.
 
My thoughts after reading this thread
ya know, until this thread I never really thought about it, but out of the three gun ranges I attend (two in Houston and one in Monroe Louisiana) I see VERY few black people shooting there compared to whites and others. Both Houston and especially Monroe have a fair sized black population. In Houston along with Mexicans and other Hispanics, blacks are the largest minority population. In Monroe they are THE largest minority population.
In fact, in Houston, I think I see more oriental people at the ranges shooting than black folks. There is one black man at the indoor range I attend (in fact...ironic as it may seem to this thread's subject...I think he is the manager and I thinka CHL instructor)
The outdoor range I sometimes go to in Houston has, last time I was there, mostly Hispanic and Oriental range officers. Five years ago or so I remember when ti seemed like it was nothing but rednecks shouting at everybody like they were drill sergents (has a lot of people out there and a lot of rules to enforce...which is why I typically don't go there)

But as far as black shooters at the range, never stopped to look specifically for this or that race, I don't think I do see very many blacks.

The one black man I ever did notice at the indoor range was a middle aged man in plain clothes wearing a police duty belt with what looked like a M-66 revolver. (he was carring a wheelgun and had a police holster which is what caught my attention)

I seem to remember reading an article in Southern Partisan magazine a few years ago that discussed how much Hunting was a key part of Southern Culture among not only whites but blacks too. How the southerners, black and white, preserve the tradition of hunting and see the value in it as being in touch with nature and being a key part of growth as a man.

I would guess that urban blacks (where most live....indeed most of the american population in general has been urbanized over the past 50 years) who mostly live in the slums and ghettes experiencing black on black crime and such every night of the week would lean towards being anti gun (and as they are poor I would guess you wouldn't find them paying range fees and buying guns in the stores) Middle class urban blacks, like most urbanites, would probably be less favored towards guns.

Rural blacks on the other hand, like rural whites, who live in the country and have their own land in the South, I would think would likely be favorable towards guns and the hunting culture.
 
^ Interesting. If that distinction held, then whether or not there was a statistically significant black effect given urban vs. rural might be in question. I don't know how many "city folk" I've seen at my range. Would be interesting if that urban/rural divide, correlated with black/white population distributions, helped explain various folks observations.
 
The indoor range I use has a racial mix of shooters roughly proportionate to the local population. However, I hardly ever see black shooters at the public range I use in a nearby national forest. One thing I have noticed is a reluctance on the part of many blacks to casually discuss their interest in shooting unless they are among close friends.
 
Interesting comments about mentors and reluctance to discuss interest. I don't think costs are a big concern for many.

I know that one gun shop in San Leandro used to be heavily frequented by African American customers. I would assume that a reasonable number of those individuals are buying however they don't come to the range or participate in recreational activities.

I would like to do what I can one individual at a time to help get the SF Bay area less of a thorn for gun owners. The black community can be very influential and just seems to be the most difficult nut to crack.

Thinking it through, the black community's stance in this area is probably just consistent with the more shrill anti-gun ideals of the Bay area. What is interesting is that the individuals I've spoken to seem to have an even more hysterical attitude towards black gun owners than white. I think that most I've spoken with live in or near the Oakland area and that may be part of the reason. I've not had occasion to get into discussion with black neighbors in the 'suburbs'. Their attitude may be different.

Part of my question, too, is whether they feel welcome at ranges and if not, why not. Feeling labeled like some Asian shooters seem to fear right now? Have the idea that the knuckle dragging whites that the antis describe as the standard gun owner overrun the ranges?

At this point I would say my questions are rhetorical as I'll really just have to figure it out as I work with each individual. I also found some notes I have from a similar thread a few years ago.
 
Guy

First of all, you would likely sooner find a chapter of Pink Pistols than a Black person at your range. The shooting sports are dissuaded by Black "leaders" and the Black community in general.

There is an animus among Blacks that has been instilled by Black on Black crime. Do you remember Jesse Jackson's comment about how, when he hears footsteps behind him in a dark parking garage, he is relieved when he turns and the person is a White guy?

Your observation on attitude with Blacks and firearms is dead on. There is also the daily drumbeat by Black "leaders" like Sharpton and Jackson on the evils of firearms and their ownership. You are merely observing the result of that drumbeat.
 
The problem is that the so-called black leaders (J. Jackson, Sharpton, etc.) are rabidly anti-gun & anti-freedom, as is the NAACP for some reason - nevermind the racist roots of "gun control". To the extent that folks of a particular minority follow their views blindly, they are going to be led to the slaughter - we need to marginalize and silence those jokers, and marginalize the NAACP as the extremist group which it is, to the extent possible.
 
It's interesting that the lack of representation is not limited to California but is also not uniform. One has to wonder why Atlanta Georgia has a higher participation than Houston, Oakland, Richmond, etc. I suspect it may be part of the local culture involving gun rights, hunting and historical reasons.

...we need to marginalize and silence those jokers, and marginalize the NAACP as the extremist group which it is, to the extent possible.
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While I might be inclined to agree that certain self-promoting "spokesmen" for the black community would better serve that community by zipping their lips, I disagree about the NAACP. It is, I think, in need of a good overhaul to support its constituents, building coalitions with businesses, churches and local governments so they can provide resources and build self-reliance and educate new leaders.
 
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