I have quit shooting.

[Conan The Librarian]

With one in college and another headed for college next year, I've shut down a lot of expenses. My fishing is just local. I don't hunt as much. I don't go target shooting. I've cut other things. I hope I'll be able to get back to them again. But for now, I can't even bear to open my gun safe or look at my reloading bench. Priorities, I guess. 

[guzzijohn]

Sometimes you just have to do what you have to do. Hope the kids make you glad you did it however.
GuzziJohn

[Shu]

This is exactly why, 99% of my shooting is done with 22 lr. 1 carton of 22 ammo, 20 dollars and a trip to the desert 1 gallon of fuel cost. Fishing is 28 dollars for a license and the closest place to fish is 60 miles away.
 
22 shooting- Set up empty shotgun shells from 10 to 30 yards and play "mini-sniping"
Shooting an old brake drum at 100 yards for the gong effect. You may want to use some spray paint to keep it visible.
Shoot an old golf ball -how many times can you hit it before it dissapears.
Paper targets or a couple of old brake drums from 100 to 400 yards. 400 yard targets with a 22 lr takes a tad bit of skill.
 
My point being shooting is still cheap.

[Silvertp]

I hear ya Conan.  The college years were lean around my house too.  Gotta say though it was worth the sacrifices.   Both my sons have great jobs / careers as a result and it does my heart good to know they are well prepared as a result of their education.

Silvertp

[yellowtail3]

Inspiring post, Shu; I need to get a .22 (well, a better one) and start using it... it'll cost less than 7.62x54 & 30-30. Plus, my girls could shoot it.

[Old Syko]

If cash is a concern the lowly 22 can't be beat as far as I'm concerned.  Even though I can shoot pretty much anything I want, (kids are grown and out of the house and doing great) I'm returning to the 22s in a big way.  The older I get the less recoil I feel I need to absorb and I have less and less to prove because I know what I'm capable of and that is all that matters.  Besides, everything you do with that little 22 carries over quite well to anything else you choose to shoot.

[rockbilly]

Hang in there; you will be back shooting sooner than you think.

Last week I ran into an old friend at an Optimist Club meeting, I use to see him at gun shows and the range on occasion but it’s been several years now.  I asked why he hasn’t been out to the range lately and his reply, “I can’t afford it, I have two kids in ACU, one in McMurry and another at Harding Simmons.  With four in collage and a eight year old at home I’m sure he is strapped for funds but if the kids get through school it will be worth it. All of the older kids hold jobs to help with the expenses.

[Brett]

I can sympathize with you Conan.  I'm currently under employed which beets unemployed but we are still strapped for cash and living pay check to pay check.  Discretionary income is something I dream about.   

[powderman]

Like Shu said, 22lr bulk pks. 99% of my shooting anymore is with my 22s, love em. I just walk out back and I'm at the range, or the side yard, or wherever I want. POWDERMAN. 

[eye shot]

So on an average how many years do you all plan on paying for there college, 5, 10, 15, or even 20?

[Spirithawk]

Send them to College of the Ozarks here in Missouri. It's a very highly acredited college and students work their way through it, jobs provided by the college. Many learn careers such as buiseness management, agriculture  related careers, engineering, ect. hands on. They even earn modest salaries too.

[teamnelson]

Conan, I'm nearly in that situation; one at an academy (no tuition or board to pay, but the plane tickets from CT to HI were a years worth of tuition), and a senior, who has finished HS and will be going FT to college next semester to get his EMT Cert before he enlists. He's enlisting to pay for his own BS one day, and for a host of much nobler reasons, but I told him I'd help him get a skill so he could always feed a family. We're raising adults - its worth it!


My daughter made the combat shooting team; they're sponsored by Sig Sauer. She shoots 2-3 times a week (glad I'm not buying her ammo), and I don't shoot at all. But when she comes home over christmas break, were breaking out the .22 pistols and heading to the range!

[PowPow]

I've got one on a full scholarship at Alabama and it still costs alot. The other one is deferring college til she knows what she wants to be when she grows up. I appreciate her not spending a bunch of my money finding out what she doesn't want to be; know a lot of those.



I was loading to shoot and shooting to load, and realized that what I was spending a ton on reloading supplies and not seeing any tremendous improvement in accuracy. Used some that money to buy some different 22's, and have been having a blast working on my shooting skills, mostly stuff on Shu's list.


Add to Shu's list; tennis ball hanging from a string. Its a target that reacts when when you hit it, but eventually resets itself.

[mauser98us]

I'm putting the youngest thru ASU, and raising 3 grandkids. I can relate.

[magooch]

My shooting has taken a back seat to kayaking and I don't see that ever changing.  Caution--kayaking is extremely addicting.

[Conan The Librarian]

I've seen kayaking becoming popular in some areas, but can't understand why. Can you explain why it is addicting?
 
I figure that if I'm out in a 14 foot aluminum boat, I can stand, stretch my legs, walk around in the boat, see better for fishing, carry a guest and a dog, etc. Then there's ease of transport. Just hitch up the trailer and go. And there's propulsion: use oars, a push pole, or an outboard. Draft is shallow enough to handle just a few inches of water, probably less draft than a kayak in fact. Seaworthiness is another factor. I've personally rescued two kayakers in distress because the conditions had changed and their boats had become unsafe. They wind and current were working against them and they were in some real danger. Another time I helped a kayaker right his boat after it had capsized. He was treading water in murky salt water that I had been successfully shark fishing in. I used to have a car top canoe and got tired of the long set up time, dings in my car's finish, and inflexibility, so I sold it.
 
I will say that I like the concept of the Hobie foot-powered kayaks, but don't like the price. If I had one, I'd have to have a trailer to haul it with, or a pickup truck with a long bed to carry it in. I'm never going back to a car topper.
 
I live in an area where kayaks are getting popular for fishing, but I still think my aluminum utility boat is the best. To each his own, I guess.

[yellowtail3]

Much of my kayaking has resulting in me getting wet.

[OldSchoolRanger]

Much of my kayaking has resulting in me getting wet.

That's because your opinions are all wet! 

Hey YT, don't take it as an insult, just breaking your chops. 

I live in an area where kayaks are getting popular for fishing, but I still think my aluminum utility boat is the best. To each his own, I guess.

And as you said, much safer!

[DEACONLLB]

An old friend used to say when you are in a canoe make sure you cap is streight and your gum is in center of your mouth or you are going to get wet   lets face it even when they are out of house out of school and all have good jobs they will still call home for a little cash to get through to next payday, there is always that new and latest and just got to have or I will die thing.
 
Deaconllb

[Old Syko]

  lets face it even when they are out of house out of school and all have good jobs they will still call home for a little cash to get through to next payday, there is always that new and latest and just got to have or I will die thing.
 
Deaconllb

Maybe in your case but not in mine.  My kids ages 30 and 35 were raised better than that.  As an example, my son came to me one evening when he was in his early 20s and ask to borrow $500.  He said he would give it back in 10 days.  I told him I'd do him one better and just give him the money.  At this point he practically came unglued and told me I could convert that money to change and shove it up my #%&^*%^^ first.    Once he calmed down I handed him the money and he left.  He paid it back 4 days later.  If you do your job right it pays off in spades.

[magooch]

I've seen kayaking becoming popular in some areas, but can't understand why. Can you explain why it is addicting?
 
I figure that if I'm out in a 14 foot aluminum boat, I can stand, stretch my legs, walk around in the boat, see better for fishing, carry a guest and a dog, etc. Then there's ease of transport. Just hitch up the trailer and go. And there's propulsion: use oars, a push pole, or an outboard. Draft is shallow enough to handle just a few inches of water, probably less draft than a kayak in fact. Seaworthiness is another factor. I've personally rescued two kayakers in distress because the conditions had changed and their boats had become unsafe. They wind and current were working against them and they were in some real danger. Another time I helped a kayaker right his boat after it had capsized. He was treading water in murky salt water that I had been successfully shark fishing in. I used to have a car top canoe and got tired of the long set up time, dings in my car's finish, and inflexibility, so I sold it.
 
I will say that I like the concept of the Hobie foot-powered kayaks, but don't like the price. If I had one, I'd have to have a trailer to haul it with, or a pickup truck with a long bed to carry it in. I'm never going back to a car topper.
 
I live in an area where kayaks are getting popular for fishing, but I still think my aluminum utility boat is the best. To each his own, I guess.

Actually I don't know if I can adequately explain why kayaking is addicting and this is probably not the right thread, but what the hell.
 
First, paddling is always an adventure; you never know what conditions, etc. that you might encounter.  To some degree you are at the mercy of the environment, so it is a challenge for you to use your skills and knowledge to prevail.  Paddling also can be a great form of physical exercise--if you don't overdo it and hurt yourself.
 
There are lots of different categories of kayaking and types of boats.  My deal is primarily sea kayaking, but I also do quite a bit of recreational paddling.  Generally, sea kayaks are longer and narrower and faster than the other categories.  And a proper sea kayak in the right hands can be amazingly seaworthy.  Waves of almost any size are fair game to the very experienced paddlers.  I am definitley not an adrenalin freak, but I will say that I am quite comfortable in conditions in my sea kayaks where I sure wouldn't want to be in an open row boat, or even some open power boats.
 
It might be that in a paddle powered craft, you aren't dependent on an engine, or sails, or wind, or anything but your conditioning and of course your trusty kayak and paddle--both of which you become very fond of and attached to.  Hey, at 68 years of age, I have endurance and strength that I doubt I would be able to maintain if it weren't for sea kayaking.
 
That probably doesn't begin to explain it, but I've been hooked on it for years and I never get tired of it.  And those graceful, beautiful shapely sea kayaks are the next best thing to ... I can't remember what else there is.

[Conan The Librarian]

Magooch:
 
Thanks! That, in fact, does explain it very well. I never thought of it that way, but it's similar to some of my hiking projects. I was looking at kayaking from a fishing-centric point of view. I can easily picture myself kayaking to explore some of the waters and back waters that interest me. In my area of Florida, sit-upon kayaks are the standard. I don't think I've ever seen a sea kayak except in Minnesota, on lake Superior, where they are pretty popular these days.
 
I'm glad you found this. It seems like a really great way to spend a day. I'll bet you've seen a lot of cool things while on that beautiful water. Thanks for sharing!

[magooch]

I really need to stress the caution about sea kayaking--it ain't necessarily cheap.  Like anything else, if you get bit by the bug, there is no end to what you just have to have.  When I first started, I thought I could get by with a very moderately priced boat and paddle.  But then I got bit.  Hey, have you ever heard the song "I got high" by Afroman?  That's what started playing in my mind as I typed, "then I got bit."  By the way, the song is very dirty, but also very catchy.
 
Anyway, I now have 4 kayaks, 10 paddles, several spray skirts and pfd's and all sorts of special apparel and other gear; there is no end to it.  Really good sea kayaks are up into the thousands of dollars and good paddles start at around $250 and up.   
 
Don't say you weren't warned.

[Conan The Librarian]

TM7. Great idea. I was just in the process of setting up an indoor pellet range. I'll let you know how it goes. I do have a pellet pistol that I haven't used in a long time.

[Brett]

I love both Kayaking and canoeing.   I disagree that a kayak is inherently any more dangerous than a johnboat.  I've seen both vessels swamped by fools.   An experienced kayaker with proper equipment can traverse waters where no johnboat would dream of going.   A sea kayak with floatation bags and a spray skirt will bob around like a cork in open seas with 6' swells or better with ease.  I wouldn't try that with a johnboat.   I've watched folks riding the surf on Sit On Top kayaks.  I've also seen sailfish landed by anglers on SOTs.    Try that from a johnboat.

There are a lot of prose to paddling: 

1) Stealth:  I have crept up closer to fish, birds and wildlife than I've ever been able to in the past    when using a johnboat with electric trolling motor.

2) Symplicity:  No gas or batteries to lug, No dead batteries or running out of gas, no props fouled with weeds or broken props, no tune ups, etc.

3) Low operating cost:  No gas and oil to buy, no tune ups, no expensive batteries to replace, maintenance cost is practically nil. 

4) Exercise:  Paddling provides great cardio' exercise.

5) Green:  No co² emmisions, no gas or oil spills.

Magooch, I am on board with you buddy.  Paddling is great.

[45-70.gov]

My shooting has taken a back seat to kayaking and I don't see that ever changing.  Caution--kayaking is extremely addicting.

last week we kayaked  into a nice swamp
saw  a car hit deer at the launch site...[huge doe]
got the go ahead to hunt this property
i think  the  45-70 shorty  will make a nice kayak gun


i have lost interest  in shooting a few times in my life
i almost sold a few guns.....just for the money.......[selling to upgrade doesn't count]
but  i resisted   and have no  ''sllers remorse''  since  my teen years


my son bought a new  ar-15  and  357 ruger black hawk
he  is in college....and  never ask for money anymore
as  mush taxes  as i pay.........let those liberals  give him scholarships
i feel  he  too  will be in a high tax bracket  in a few years

[spikehorn]

Spikehorn Jr. just started Pre Med this fall. All I can say is thank God for sports scholarships!

[bilmac]

I'm not a natural when it comes to shooting, I have to practice to keep the skill level up. I plink just about like SHU says. Since I always do it off hand, I think it is the best way to keep tuned up. I do it with 38's, I cast my own bullets so the cost is about the same as 22's. As shaky as the world is these days, I think it best to be able to shoot good.

Another reason to shoot is because it is good for your soul. When I was going to college I used to think I couldn't afford to shoot. I would go for a few weeks at a time without getting outdoors, and my stomach would start killing me. I learned that if I got out to the range for a few hours a week, my outlook and my stomach were way better off. Even when I didn't have many bullets to shoot, I would pick up brass, or bullets to remelt from the butts, and the time out there was the best medicine.   

[Hit or Miss]

We were lucky, both our girls put themselves through school and are doing very well.  We helped a little with insurance and such but they did it on their own.  We're very proud of them and they are kicking butt and taking names every day! 


I don't know about no kayaking, we couldn't float a toothpick on the surface water around here! 

[buffermop]

I am from the old school. The kid wants to go to colledge, let them earn there own way. its alarming how many colledge kids with degrees today flipping burgers!!!