Who is today's gun owner?

One of the great things about traveling and attending events is getting to meet new people. Inevitably, people ask what I do for a living. It's an innocent enough question, but if you could only see the wide array of looks I've received over the years upon providing my answer. The one thing I've learned from those experiences though is to never try and predict what an individual's reaction will be. I had nearly got to a point where I would be preparing a comeback in my head, but was pleasantly surprised to learn this person shared the same passion for firearms that I had.

As we kick off the NSSF's National Shooting Sports month and its focus on bringing someone new to the range, my wheels began turning. What exactly does a gun owner in today's world look like? I think too many times, we (myself included) have a picture in our mind of what that person should look like. It's easy to default to the "tacticool" image that we see across our industry.

I want to stress there's absolutely nothing wrong with that style, but I believe we need to look beyond that stereotype. The more I travel, the more conversations I have, and the more events I attend, it's become more apparent than ever that there's no one specific look of a gun owner.

Everywhere I go I am hearing about people who have recently purchased their first firearm, been to the range for their first time, or asking more questions about how to get involved in shooting. I love these conversations but even more than that there's a tremendous level of satisfaction that comes with helping people get move involved in shooting.

I feel like it is on us, as current gun owners, to make sure we are creating a welcoming and inviting atmosphere for those new shooters. For some, making that leap to become a firearm owner is intimidating but us being willing to answer questions can make that barrier to entry so much easier. It's important to remember we were all beginners once too so there truly is no such thing as a dumb question, but I think we can all agree if we aren't careful there can be dumb answers.

Many of us not only remember that first trip to the range but can recall who it was with, the caliber, and the exact model of firearm. The shooting sports is unique in this way. Let's make sure we all pay it forward this August to help honor National Shooting Sports Month.