shooting
I can't prove this, but I suspect that the quality of the typical U.S. shooter, and by that I mean the guy that owns a few guns, small game and deer hunts a bit, may be has a CC permit, has declined over the years. And before I am accused of too much ego for myself, I will state right now that I am not the shot I was 10 yrs ago, and certainly not 20 years ago.
With that out of the way......I am amazed at the deer missed or hit and lost that I hear about. Just this evening, guy said to me he'd hit and lost a deer (doe) on such and such a field from the shooting house. My first thought (unspoken) was "how in the heck did he do that?" I know the place, only 75 yds in either direction that one can see or shoot, and, there's a railing/ledge to rest the rifle on.......stuff happens I suppose, but , makes me wonder. Another guy I keep up with took a pal to another spot I am familiar with, both of them had tripods or shooting sticks and were seated on folding stools. BOTH of them hit deer that trip, 100-150 yds and did not recover them. I could go on and on......
I've got a cowbell .22 target (get one, their a hoot) about 100 yds from the house. We routinely shoot .22's. at it, I keep a scoped .22 and an old .44 US Mossberg w/ factory peep zeroed "on" at 100 just for that purpose. I miss it far more often than I used to shooting unsupported.. I can still ding it fairly regularly shooting supported from sticks or propped against the big whiteoak that stands where we shoot from. Of course, if friends are over that shoot, everybody wants to give it a try. Results are not encouraging. Over at my shooting club, and especially at the public range nearby, shooting seems to some more about rate of fire and noise making. Spent 9mm and .223 brass abounds. Berm blasting seems the rage. I once went to the opening of a LE training center, and they had a range with moving targets, and FREE ammo to anybody that wanted to try it. Must have been 30-40 officers there, myself and two or three other guys gave it a whirl. Nobody else present seemed to have enough confidence in their shooting to shoot in front of the group. It was pitiful.
When I was a kid, their were .22 leagues, sponsored by the Legion or VFW and local sportsman clubs. All those places had ranges, one of the vets ranges was even indoors. Heck, I even took a .22 target pistol class in college (bet they dropped that course!). It was a badge of honor among your peers and to some extent the community, to be known as a good shot.
In all the years I hunted with him , I can remember my uncle missing one deer, and misses by the group of fellas we hunted with, almost all WWII or Korea vets, were seldom (well, at least they'd admit to). My Dad, bless his soul, cross dominant and largely untrained, was an admittedly poor shot, but he sure encouraged me and provided opportunity to both hunt and shoot.
I've tried hard to to the same w/ bamaboy, now a grown young man. But I wonder if the decline of opportunities, the rise of technology, (everybody shoots well in a video game!) the increasing urban and suburban landscape, and the lack of elders for instruction, have poisoned our collective marksmanship?