I used to be a shooting sports instructor for the BSA for three summers deep in the heart of Colorado. I taught Archery as a program director the first year and then moved on to being an instructor at the rifle range. I really enjoyed my tenure there as just under two thousand students passed through my supervision and instruction.

I learned that while I was still very bad at archery I had one hell of a knack for teaching it. I'm still proud to say that I've got a lot of scouts shooting more articulately and more constantly than I ever could. I also began to understand why teachers who love their work do love it so.

That said I think my most enjoyable and productive time was when I was at the rifle range. I could do more than talk form and technique. I could demonstrate it. One of those years I got to teach along side a junior Olympic rifleman.
Some days we'd have enough time to shoot a few targets and boy did it feel good to give him a run for his money.

The best feeling in the world, so far as I can tell, is watching a less mature student failing to grasp the concept you spend no less than an hour a day drilling into them all week until the very last day and qualifying with a couple minutes to spare. The smile on their faces can't match mine.

Anyway. Thought I'd share something very dear to me to you all. Shooting sports thread go!

Good thread! I think shooting sports are one of the relaxing sports. The focus becomes a sort of intense meditation. It must've been great to teach shooters for the first time - for most I suppose it'll have just been a fun thing to do over summer, but for some it'll be something they remember their entire life! I know the feeling of being almost immediately outshot by someone you're teaching, too! I always wonder if some people have some sort of genetic predisposition to it, maybe muscular or something.

I used to do both archery and target rifle when I was younger, but when I got to university I decided to join the rifle club rather than the archery club as I hadn't done as much shooting, so thought the experience would be more interesting. Both of them are very enjoyable though. Here in the UK .22LR and .308 Target Rifle are the most common disciplines - they're challenging, but when you're shooting well in them it definitely feels like a payoff. I've still never managed to fit a sling in a way that doesn't feel like a tourniquet after the round, though.

The simplicity of airguns is nice. Nothing like a whole afternoon plinking in the back garden just for the cost of a tin of pellets!

I always thought Archery was cool but I heard it takes quite a bit of physical strength as well, which is something I don't have and can't be bothered to obtain.

I've only done recreational shooting. My roommate got me a a replica of an 1893 (or something) italian revolver and I conceal carry it everywhere I go. I've gone to the range with it a few times and I wish I could spend the whole day there. We're waiting to save up for a full-year membership so that I can go very often.

I will go to the shooting range soon. As a German this is quite special, since we have basically no gun culture and very few people (especially the younger population) have actually ever shot a real gun ever.
It's a very niche thing hobby and some will even criticise you for it. I'm positively excited nonetheless. I shot guns for the first time in my life last year and it was an amazing experience. Seeing guns in media like movies and video games makes them quasi omni present and yet they're shunned here. Feeling and hearing how very different a gun is in real life than on screens is a valuable experience for me. It's also just pure fun and thrill. I hope my groupings will be better than last time though.