Why Do People Quit Shooting Sporting Clays?

Do you remember the people you met when you started participating in sporting clays? I recently wrote a blog entry concerning the top ten reasons why we shoot sporting clays. Rereading this article caused me to stop and think about what I had written. If sporting clays is so much "fun", then why do so many participants quit? Some of the reasons seem self-evident, while others may point out weaknesses in the structure and presentation of the sport by site owners. Here is the list I jotted down to think about.     1. Cost - The price of ammunition, guns, transportation, and clothing has increased drastically. Many participants may have lost their jobs due to the recent economy.       2. Pressures of Competition - I read an article that stated many people drop out of a "fun" sport when it becomes too competitive. What started out as fun, learning new techniques and improving skills, became a chore when they felt the pressure of competition.       3. Time - Younger shooters have more family and job responsibilities than older shooters. It is difficult for some participants to feel the freedom to devote so much time to one activity.       4.  Aging and Health - Eek! This event will happen to all of us eventually.       5.  Availability of Shooting Sites - Some close by sites may close due to some sort of circumstances and require the shooter to travel longer distances and spend a lot more time and money.       6.  Plateaus or Lower Scores - If you reach a level of scoring where you never seem to be able to improve your shooting prowess or your scores drop drastically for a period of time, frustration sets in leading to loss of participation.       7.  Lack of Confidence: Fear of Failure - Have you heard this? " I don't really care about my score. I will never be a good clay shooters anyway." We all rationalize our fear of failing and because of this losing attitude we are set up to fail.       8.  Too Difficult a Course - Many sporting clay site owners bend to the wishes of the fewer in number "tournament" shooters to provide a myriad of rising, falling, and curving distant targets so they can show off. Bitter as I seem, an old friend says: " I come to break birds, not be challenged to the point of utter frustration!" Why would first time or novice shooters ever want to come back to their site? A tournament is not an every week event.       9. Friendliness and Acceptance - Some site owners feel that you are there for them, not vice-versa. A warm, dry clubhouse equipped with food and beverages and comrades will bring back shooters regularly. Some shooters will not shoot with you and feel they "own" the course or are above you. Part of the fun is joking, teasing, and talking about guns, dogs, and hunting. No one likes to deal with attitudes!       10.   Interest - Let's face it; we are a fickle race, and our interests change daily.       This is the list I came up with.  What do you think?  Am I all wrong or is sporting clays not that important? (Or any other sport.)  Thanks for reading this blog and remember:  "Words that soak into your ears are wispered, not yelled."        "Show me someone who doesn't want you to have guns, and I'll show you that someone has an armed bodyguard!"