The sad truth (statistical poll analysis)

[S.R.Custom]

Gentlemen... When Sprue started the Average Age poll, I began the Starting Age poll out of curiosity to see whether or not the trend lines would would match. You know, to see whether or not bullet casting was just a cranky old man thing. Well, now that we have a pretty good sampling of both, these polls actually tell a very distressing story...

Starting with the Average age poll-- Of the participants in this poll, it appears that the average age of bullet casters here is somewhere in the neighborhood of 57, with the vast majority of us --82% in fact-- above the age of forty. So, it would appear that bullet casting is indeed a cranky old man activity.

But...

When we look at the Starting Age poll, we see that the average starting age of bullet casters is close to 22, with the vast majority of us --80%-- beginning to cast before the age of 40.

What does this tell us? It would seem that the kids aren't taking up casting. If they were, we would have a much greater number of Average Age casters below the age of 40. In fact, that trend line should be flat across the age groups. But it's not. Under-40 casters are almost non-existent, comprising only 20% of the total bullet casting population. In other words, the Brotherhood of the Silver Stream is dying off.

Thoughts?

[JSnover]

To take a kid shooting is a great idea. Why not go a step further and take a kid casting? I plan on teaching two of the neighbors' kids this summer. They're already plenty interested after seeing my collection and trying a few of my guns.
If no one steps up and shows them how much fun this is they'll get lost in all the other distractions.
Teach a kid to cast.

[35remington]

I've often wondered if participation in casting has something to do with raising children.

Many of my friends just don't have time to both cast AND shoot, given the realities of family life, so they've got to make choices. Most buy cast commercial bullets and use what little free time they have to load and shoot.

I know guys who've dabbled a little in casting, pre-marriage, drop it due to lack of time while married (or never start, conversely due to lack of time), and take it up full time when the kids are off to college.

And of course the older fellas, retirees and those almost there cast and shoot like mad.

Got a friend started recently when his kids were all old enough to be in school, but the youngest is eight while the oldest is seventeen. For those seventeen years, and many more, he's watched me cast and I've sent some his way, but no time existed until now, and there's still precious little of it for him. It's still a choice between casting and shooting, but now he's hooked and willing to cut into his shooting time a little.

Probably a rare case. Most will choose to shoot instead, I think.

[KCSO]

All of the shooting sports are dying off as it becomes more and more difficult for the young people to participate. My son nearly gave up hunting because he had no where witin 50 miles to shoot and he had to drive 100 miles to hunt, and this is in the midwest. By the same token he could SHOOT with video games at home. ye average age of our muzzleloading club is 52 years old! The PPC matches that were so popular 30 years ago are about gone in this area and the younger fellows consider RANGE a chore. And at ever session some young INSTRUCTOR tells them how they are risking their ears, how the LEAD is going to kill them if they don't wash their hands after every session. We are passing laws every day to take evil guns from the hands of our young folks. Who wants to go shooting if you have to hunt for a spot and then have Daddy buy you some ammo. Hunters ed classes are getting smaller every year too. This year the Pheasants Forever, Youth Mentor Hunt had to beg for kids to go hunting. We sometimes refer to ourselves as dinosaurs and we just may be.

[JSnover]

It is true that there just aren't as many places to do it anymore and that situation isn't going to improve.
35remington's post was interesting though. I think a lot of people try it when they're young and just don't have time for it until they're into their 40s when they pick it up again.

[DragoonDrake]

I reloaded with my father when i was 7-8 i don't know, but did not start casting until this past summer when I got into CAS.

Was always told lead was bad for your guns, because of leading. So i just shoot copper. God what a waste, wish I had started this about 4 years ago.

When I have kids I will get them into casting when about 12 or so, I still think lead is bad for you. My doctor says it is and in December my lead level came back 28.3. I guess shooting for 18 years will do that to you.

Adam

[AZ-Stew]

Doesn't tell us anything unless all casters are enrolled here and participate in the polls.

It may be that the younger casters haven't discovered this site yet, or are too busy shooting to participate in the discussions and polls.

All this tells us is what the assembled gang of Boolit Casters participating actively in this site looks like, demographically.

Regards,

Stew

[Slow Elk 45/70]

I think the very best we can all do as folks that believe in our rights and love to shoot and hunt, we have to keep kids in the game. The primary goal should be to introduce the young people into these sports and be sure they get the proper training in handling firearms and the responsibility that goes with this. Safety, safety,safety.

I also agree that the casting of boolits is something they should be introduced to , as part of their introduction to these sports, or hobbies as you please. Most of them will grow up in a vastly different environment than we did. if we provide a good basis of knowledge for these young people, some of them will take continue our passion for the CB.

As stated above most young people that aren't lucky enough to grow up on a farm or ranch will not have the time for or the place to cast boolits. This is part of their life that will come after they have a family, have served in the Military or at least settled down a bit and know who they are.

Educate and innatate the young people and the CB will live long.

[cattleskinner]

And that also means...........when all you old farts are gone I will have less competition when rounding up wheel weights [smilie=1:

~Amos :castmine:

[trickyasafox]

its tough convincing younger shooters to cast. (even reload!)

the group of guys I shoot with are all between 23-25, I'm the only reloader and caster. I've got a few of them interested in reloading (one actually tried my stuff out to see if he liked it) and others are actively saving brass, but reloading and casting is relatively time intense.

I go to school and work part time- I have the ability to invest a few hours into each hobby that some of the guys I shoot with dont. A lot of the guys I shoot with will either go out on the weekend and have a few drinks, or try to pick up a little side work to help make ends meet.

they are happy to come to the range with me, but when their 1 box of centerfire is gone, (2 on a good day) they have no choice but to call it an early day.

I think the price surge in ammo over the last few years has driven home the practicality of reloading. I bet you'll see more and more younger guys participating in the hobby soon.

[danski26]

I'm 35 and started casting about 4 or 5 years ago. I guess i am in the minority here or at least of the people that participated in the poll. I also see that my generation are afraid of handloading and casting. I have shooting buddies that no matter what i say will not try handloading. "what if i make a mistake" they say. What if you make a mistake while driving to work one morning i tell them? That could be very bad too. I'm not sure what the answer is.

[IcerUSA]

I would think that the younger group is busy with raising a family , I know I was and I wouldn't have been able to afford to cast or have much time to shoot .

Keith

[BIGGUNGOBOOM]

I'm 31, started reloading when I was 14, being the son of the Sheriff didn't allow me to hang with the wrong crowd, and being in a small town I only had a few friends. so my summers and winter were spent learn how to reload with the ol man. years later when I moved away to college I still reloaded all the time. Now I have friends begging me to teach them, but they also lose interest very quickly. some of them ask how can I afford to blast 100 rounds of 500 S&W and 454 Casull and other expensive rounds. I explain that reloading cuts your costs dramatically. but they still don't understand.

I started casting at that age also but soon lost interest in it because quality boolits were cheap in those days. these days are a different story. now I cast for 500/454/ 7mm and others. its the only way I can blast as many rounds as I can

I think that the interests in these "hobbies" is dieing because our sport is dieing, plus this newer generation doesn't want to put the effort into making something of their own.
I remember my first deer I ever shot with my OWN hand loaded and tested rounds. that got me hooked right their

ICER is also right, I am raising a family, with one young boy, I work swing shift and my time is limited. so I reload at night when the boy and wife are sleeping and cast in the morning when they are gone. its hard to juggle everything, but the wife is understanding and knows that shooting and reloading is my hobbies.

[Ithaca1911]

hey, you got a new 25 yr old caster(me) who just got his 21 yr old buddy hooked, all is not lost.
(do sinkers count? if so, my grampa got me hooked when I was about 6.

[Recluse]

I started reloading in 1970 with my dad. He talked alot about "reloaders who cast their own bullets," but with that was also the common myth that "casting was dangerous as hell." Because of all the myths, my daddy never got seriously interested in it. But I always remembered him speaking almost in awe of boolit casters--he considered them the ultimate reloaders and shooters. But the lead fumes and "danger myths" always spooked him enough to keep from trying it.

This Father's Day, I'm going to set him up with a complete smelting and casting setup. He's been retired for quite some time now, keeps getting in my momma's hair, and has the time and is a world-class scrounger/pack rat himself. He's taken an interest in it watching me and all--now it's time for him to go for it. If he decides he doesn't like it, I reckon I'll pick up yet another furnace and more moulds and the such.

What got ME interested in casting, then a lifelong devotee was the fact that it is one more step towards a greater degree of self-reliance and independence so far as manufacturering my own ammunition goes. I keep a large backstock of primers and powder--I can't make those, and not sure I'd even want to try. But I CAN and DO scrounge brass like a madman, and I CAN and DO cast and keep a very sizeable backstock of cast/sized/lubed boolits on hand.

In just the past year, I will have introduced and taught four different young shooters (under the age of 30) the art and science of reloading--but not one of them is interested in casting. Like the above examples, they are busy getting their careers and marriages going and casting represents a chunk of time they'd rather spend doing otherwise. The reloading aspect makes good practical sense, but for them, casting doesn't make as much sense. . . at least not yet.

I'm working with an under-20 guy on reloading, and he is VERY interested in learning how to cast--to which I'll gladly be his mentor. And in the next two weeks, I'll be teaching a recent retiree (66 years old) how to reload--he just got in all his equipment this past week.

My advantage is that I retired from the corporate rat race some years ago, and no working part-time for my healthcare benefits, I have a bit more time on my hands to cast and load and tinker and shoot.

But back during my "I gotta make a zillion dollars a year" career phase, I barely had time to shoot.

:coffee:

[S.R.Custom]

Doesn't tell us anything unless all casters are enrolled here and participate in the polls.... All this tells us is what the assembled gang of Boolit Casters participating actively in this site looks like, demographically.

This is true. I made some assumptions, the biggest one being that if you're computer savvy and into bullet casting, you'll find your way here at some point. So the polls here, in my mind anyway, serve as a small sampling of the broader casting culture, much the same way a phone poll of a few thousand voters seems to fairly accurately assess the political climate in an election cycle...


I'm 35 and... I also see that my generation are afraid of handloading and casting. I have shooting buddies that no matter what i say will not try handloading. "what if i make a mistake" they say...

Indeed. I'm 44, and here in the epicenter of gun country, I know about 20 people who cast bullets. Every one of them is at least 10 years older than me, and I have not met a single person in my life my age or younger who casts. And maybe only three or four my age or younger who handload. Wherever I have lived or worked --and that's quite a few places, actually-- I was always the gun nut. And mentioning casting and reloading to my peer group always seems to bring out what I call the "Big Fear," of guns in general as well as the type of thing danski26 mentions.


I would think that the younger group is busy with raising a family, I know I was and I wouldn't have been able to afford to cast or have much time to shoot.

This is true to a certain extent, but I don't think it's pervasive enough to explain the data. While yes, raising a family is time and money intensive, we all still find time to pursue our interests, even if it's just every now and then... Going back to my age group here in Salmon, they may be raising families, but they also have time for golf, rafting, fishing, watching movies, fantasy football leagues... the list goes on and on. (But does not seem to include handloading or casting.) And I'm constantly amazed at how many my age are perfectly contented to waste an entire sunny Sunday playing video games. I'm talking men in their forties!

When I look at the attitudes and values of the older guys who I cast and shoot with, and compare them to the attitudes and values of the guys I grew up with, I see a marked difference. There is a serious generational difference, and I don't know that simply "teaching a kid to cast" is going to fix it. Sure, the kid is going to dig it, but how's he going to feel when he gets home and Mom says she doesn't want Timmy hanging out at Uncle Jim Bulletcaster's any more because it's dangerous? How much of an outcast is he going to feel like being bombarded by the anti-gun media culture that all his friends are blindly buying into? And will Dad stand up to Mom and defend Uncle Jim? Will he nurture Timmy's interest? Or, in the interest of family harmony, will Dad cop out and get Timmy a Nintendo instead? How much of a chance does an experimentally inclined kid today stand of being able to cast a bullet in a wood block and use a kitchen match for a primer and not get branded a juvenile terrorist?

No, I'm thinking the Brotherhood of the Silver Stream is a modern version of the Knights of the Round Table. It's not going to be too long before we all recede into the fog of history. And someone is going to run across an old Lyman 358009 at a yard sale and ask, "What's that?" And the owner will say, "Oh that was Grandpa's. He used to cast bullets." And the shopper will reply, "Wow, they were hardcore violent back then... it's a good thing they banned lead." And the mould, even though it's priced at just $1, will sit on the table unsold, later to find its way to the dump...

[sav300]

SuperMag,well stated.I cannot name six casters in my area,and maybe 5 or 6 that come here.
Australia wide.

Lionel

[Maximilian225]

The two polls though only represent 2% and 3.5% of the membership here respectively and have no way to take into account lurkers.

I was introduced to casting by a member here when I was in my late twenties. I in turn have introduced a nephew in his mid twenties recently.

But as I am fond of telling my oldest son (who cast his first boolits last week).

"1 is not a sample"

The last sentence in the Supermag's last post is profound, I would say it is bordering on prophetic.

[beemer]

I started casting at 23 and will be 57 next week so I guess I am close to average. Most younger reloaders that I know only reload enough to support their hunting. Still that is better than nothing, maybe when they get a little older.

beemer

[Down South]

In my neck of the woods there are not that many reloaders that I know of. I occasionally hear of one. Reloading supplies in my area are scarce because there is just not much of a market for them. The only caster that I know of within a 50 mile range of me is Jr. On rare occasions I get out to our only public range. There is one old reloader I see there a lot and he has been reloading and shooting for a long time. He mostly is at the range scrounging spent brass but I’ve questioned him a time or two about local casters and he doesn’t know of the first one.
I have introduced casting and reloading to two of my grandsons and one of my son-in-laws. They seem to enjoy the casting part but haven’t shown much interest in reloading with the exception of my youngest grandson. Given time I think that my youngest grandson will take over my casting and reloading equipment. He has a deep love for hunting and shooting.

[Tom Herman]

Hi Folks,

OK, here's a way to increase the ranks of casters of all ages el quicko... Take out ads in the local papers (free papers, plus the ones you have to pay for) and advertise free classes for casting bullets...
You can use hooks like "become more independent, and learn how to make affordable, high quality handgun bullets and ammunition for less than ten cents a round, and rifle ammunition for slightly more".
I think that you'll have people standing in line... Have a syllabus ready, but nothing too complicated. Hit the safety aspects, how to safely melt and flux, what to melt, what alloy is right for what job, how to cast, size, and lubricate, and how to reload.
With today's uncertainty and troubled times, this should be a big hit with a lot of folks.
As an example, we have a large LDS community in the area at large, and I think if we get a few interested, many many more will follow.
We couild easily see this grow.

Happy Shootin'! -Tom

[badgeredd]

One thing that I've noticed here over the last year is the geographical distribution of the forum members.

Notice that there are pockets of casters/shooters. The rural midwest, the rural northeast the southwest and the south. I've lived in the south and the midwest most of my 61 years. Hunters and shooter were in abundance. Rarely have I use a shooting range. The ethics of the above areas, seem to be more about self-reliance and independence from the government.

I would be interested in a true poll of four things:
one how old are we as a group;
second, when and why we started reloading/loading ammo;
third, when and why we started casting;
and lastly, where do we live.

I believe all of these have been covered at one time or another in the past, but I'd find it interesting to see it all together.

I also thought while reading this thread, wouldn't it be nice if more sites linked to this forum? Like the NRA and GOA. It seems that if more pro-gun sites, linked here we would see more reloading and casting interest nationally. Just a thought...............

Edd

[klcarroll]

As several others have pointed out, ….you have to be careful when generating statistics. Care is required when collecting your data to avoid “short” or “Biased” samplings.

Personally, ……I think that SuperMag “hit the nail on the head”! In many areas of the country, our sport and hobby is dying because of the consistently negative image the “spin-doctors” bombard the public with. If the public comes to believe that “Guns Are Evil”, then obviously the gun related activities will also be seen as undesirable.

I believe that THIS is where we need to direct our attention and efforts! We need to provide a more balanced picture for the public to consider; ……And this will be no easy task! It will require all of us to convey a positive image to people who may currently hold anti-gun attitudes. Simply “preaching to the choir” on forums like this won’t really do much!

….And a big part of this “Image Makeover” will involve “cleaning our own house”! We need to address the irresponsible actions by some of the “shooting fraternity” that contribute to the negative public attitude! …….How many road signs have you seen that have been “decorated” with multiple bullet holes??? That sort of moronic behavior plays right into the hands of those who wish to revoke the 2nd Amendment! ….Every time some jerk puts a hole through a road sign, or “pops” an insulator on a utility pole, he is giving “ammunition” to our enemies.

Kent

[leadeye]

I fit 35 Remington's description. I started casting at 20 and stopped after my sons were born. I picked it back up after they moved out and retirement. I took my kids shooting and they both have thier own guns, but casting went into a box and into the closet simply because of time available and how I chose to use it.

When I was a kid I would build plastic and balsa models of ships and planes. I wonder how many young kids do that anymore. There is not much room for time and patience these days. I could be wrong here as I only use computers and don't actually work on the software, something that looks like it would take patience.

Much has changed about the assumption of risk. I don't think anybody here would say that casting is a risk free activity. Molten lead is hot and just like the shooting activity it supports, it can hurt you. Things have changed in 30 years and now people are told that everything should come risk free. I think the only groups that have profited from that are lawyers and the government.

On the positive side, I see more young people interested in casting recently because of the high cost of ammo. Shooting a big pistol caliber like 45lc can get expensive in a hurry if you don't reload and cast, so I think if more young people are attracted to shooting sports, we will see another generation of "cranky old casters". :-D

[mtgrs737]

The way it worked for me was that at the start I needed a way to reduce the cost of reloading my ammo, and casting was it. I was 18 when I started casting to save money so I could shoot more. That phase lasted about 8 years, then came the child rearing phase and little to no casting for 25 years. Now I am back into casting for fun and cost reduction, only God knows how long this phase of my life will last. I must say that this phase is more enjoyable as I have more funds and time to spend on it. This forum is also exposing me to the technical side of casting and has been responsible for a technical knowledge expansion on my part which has kept me interested and contributed to casting equiptment purchases. I have noticed this same sort of thing in other areas like woodworking, gardening and woodcutting just to name a few.

[shooterg]

This site is growing in numbers, hopefully 10,000 by this summer and probably that many lurkers. Hopefully that means that interest is growing at same rate in the general population.
My first casting was round balls for a Navy .36 replica as a teenager, it came with a mold and we had plumber's ingots around. After college, I just bought and shot commercial. Didn't really start reloading until I got too old for softball and took up High Power. Then one day i stumbled on this site...lurked for a couple years(only had PC at work), retired at 55, now I, too, am addicted and may have to attend Lead Anonymous meetings to stay married !
Even swaging some now, and have taught 2 younger folks some of the ABC's of reloading/et al lately. Expect many are reluctant to expose youngsters to hot lead and fumes, although never too early to learn how to do it safely, even if just watching. I borrowed a 4" cast iron fry pan from Mom's kitchen and the old man's propane torch along with a couple cinderblocks to cast those first round balls in the basement - with no gloves/mask/ventilation ! Wish I had a mentor back then and look for opportunities to be one now. Maybe we could hook newbies here up with other site members as mentors ? Although just by reading on the site, most, like me, can glean a world of knowledge.

[waksupi]

It seems most of the shooters I know in this area are reloaders, and many cast their own boolits. I don't know how reliable a sampling that is though, as there are certainly many shooters I don't know. I guess I just hang out with people who ARE serious shooters.
I started casting when I was 19, and the first deer I ever killed was with a round ball I had cast myself, from a Bedford County Pennsylvania rifle.

[Sprue]

Past experience has shown that if you get 10% participation you're doing great, and as for the polls we're not even close to those numbers.

But yes, I'm surprized at the numbers thus far.

I do know that when I was young and first married (even before) there is no way that I could have pruchased any reloading equipment, tools, all the needed accessories etc., much less shooting irons even in that day and time.

Leaving personal time out of the equation, I would lean more towards financial status and/or geographical location perhaps being the reason for the resultant consensus vs the hobbists general age group. But then again, the Poll participation level is quite shrewd in comparison to 8k plus members. But still thats the only data that can be referenced.

Going forward, no doubt that the anti's & PC do have a direct crucial impact on this hobby. Therefore, the only way to lower the Average Age of these polls while increasing interest in this arena would simply be to open up more Clubs and Ranges via promotion and education tactics. You have to get people/families invovled in shooting sports first to bare any fruit in reloading or in this case, Casting.

[Wayne Smith]

There are a lot of shooters in this area, all professional. Local Police, Seal Team 6, USN Masters at Arms, US Marines, etc. and all shooting on the government's dime. We won't see most of them until they retire and have to scrounge their own ammo.

[twotrees]

I got into shooting at the ripe old age of 8 (!) went to a summer camp and spent every dime I had on 22 shells. I came in 2nd to a 13 year old kid, after a 6 round shoot off with him.

When I came home I got my Dad to get his old Ranger 22 out and I went over all the parts and gun safety that I had learned. After that it was OK for me to take the 22 when I went on my woods walks.

Got into reloading to keep the cost of shooting my 30-06 and 243 in the early 60's. Had cast some round balls for my homemade creations about the same time, with my homemade Black Powder.

A friend lent me his Seaco 20 LB pot and a bunch of molds and I spent the summer making mistakes, but cast a LOT of bullets. When I gave his stuff back, I bought my own gear. I was working a LOT of overtime and had a deal with the wife, that I could buy 1 thing a month, that I needed (guns or gear)so that when the overtime ended, I would have something to show for all that work. She agreed, and that started the ball rolling.

I built some rifles and got my FFl in the early 70's, when the ATF started with the late night, visits I dropped the FFL and sold my milling machine and lathe.

I brought all my gear to Ga in 1985 and still use most of those things I bought, from the "overtime money".

I can't get my son interested in loading or casting, but my Granddaughter shows a lot of intrest. Being only 6 I'll have to wait a bit before I get her started casting and loading.

Both my son and my wife will gladly shoot up what I load and cast, so that is keeping me busy. (63 this June).

[Kraschenbirn]

I've belonged to the same rifle & pistol club for going on thiry years and have watched the number of reloaders steadily decline. And, among those, I'm only aware of two or three other members who cast their own. The handgunners who do reload shoot commercial cast and we've only a (very) few longgun shooters...other than myself...who shoot home-cast their BP rifles and MLs. Of our 200+ members, so far as I'm aware, only myself and two others...one a fellow member of this forum and the other a casting "newbie" that I'm mentoring...shoot cast in modern CF rifles.

Bill

[Char-Gar]

There are several cultural/generational changes that show up in the poll. In my younger years, American was a rural/small town outdoor culture. We lived in small towns and communities and spend much of our time outdoors.

Today, America is dominated by urban areas and urban sprawl. Folks sit inside, with the computors, games and electronic toys.

"Times they are a changing"... in 1900 the shooting was the most popular sport in American with ranges and competition being just about everywhere. When I was a kid, it was still a big things with clubs, ranges and competition just about everywhere. I have watched it die off. Silly-wet, IPSCH, Cowboy and others came along to give a boost. These also represent a shift in our thinking.

We now want to see action. A target must fall, or look like a bad guy to get out interest. We must run round, jump up and down, squat etc. to have fun shooting. Action and movement is what is is all about. Not much interest these days in the hard discipline of riflecraft and positiion shooting.

"Times they are achanging!"

[JSnover]

No, I'm thinking the Brotherhood of the Silver Stream is a modern version of the Knights of the Round Table. It's not going to be too long before we all recede into the fog of history. And someone is going to run across an old Lyman 358009 at a yard sale and ask, "What's that?" And the owner will say, "Oh that was Grandpa's. He used to cast bullets." And the shopper will reply, "Wow, they were hardcore violent back then... it's a good thing they banned lead." And the mould, even though it's priced at just $1, will sit on the table unsold, later to find its way to the dump...

I think you're right. Political and social climate change are much more real and much more of a threat to us than that other kind. Maybe we are looking at the last best years but look at it this way; Cast lead projectiles have been around for over 1000 years. People have been launching those projectiles with gunpowder for close to 500 years.
It's been a pretty good run. Enjoy the rest of it as much as we can.

[.45Cole]

:castmine:"Keepin' The Faith" people like to shoot and will do good if with a decent mentor/advisor. Graduating college and go with many of my friends. When I let them kick off their arm w/ hot .45 Colts and then show them the BB gun plink of a puny .45 Colt next, they want to reload. .45 Colts go for $0.50 a piece here and we shoot 50 rds and I tell them the .22LR rounds were more expensive ($18/500) they beg to be taught and run through cost analysis. Many are applying to grad schools (like 3 poeple, but that's a lot) if the people respect you, the shooting sports "ambassator," they will consider what you have to say about the sport. I think that we need to be on our toes when we represent our sport.
:castmine:<-- official as of last week.
PS 25yrs old reloading since 17 and casting since 25

[part_timer]

I also believe that the way the world thinks is changing. When grandpa and dad were young 10 or 12 they would take the 22 and go off to the woods for the day and no one thought anything about it.

when I was a kid mom threw a fit when I went deer hunting with a bow on my own at 15.

Toady if you sent your kid to the woods with a 22 for the day and a neighbor saw it they would call the cops and throw you in jail for child endangerment.

I started casting at when i was in my early 20's thanks to a good friend. I dropped it for a while when the kids were younger but now that they are old enough to learn I find that there is more time to teach them.