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There's "new", and there's "new to practical shooting".

Personally, I believe that it's more important to bring non-shooters into our world, than it is to get them into competitive shooting.

Here's one big barrier that IDPA, USPSA, IPSC, etc., will never overcome: newbies just need to shoot. They don't need competition.

I've had newbies who fired 50 rounds, hit the target perhaps half the time, and pointed excitedly at the one round in the 9 ring, because they "almost hit the bullseye!"

Those of us who grew up shooting, who have always been comfortable with guns, have a hard time placing ourselves in the shoes of someone who has reached adulthood (or at least the teen years) without ever handling a gun.

They fear the unknown. Their overwhelming point of reference is Hollywood exaggeration. They're afraid of recoil, of noise, of the gun flying out of their hands and going on a murderous rampage all on its own, and of trying to remember just how to work the darn gun while under stress.

They compensate for that fear in lots of ways; young men want to play gangsta and have something to brag about. Women want to be safe and be persuaded that shooting is safe and fun. Each new shooter presents new and very individual challenges.

Quick feedback is very important to new shooters. "Shoot-N-C" targets are great. Most ranges ban plinking, but if you can get someone out to the gravel pit and kill some soda cans, they'll have way more fun than they'd have trying to remember a course of fire.

In short, I think letting the neighborhood kids blast milk jugs with .22 rifles will do more to assure the future of gun rights, than pesuading their parents to try IDPA.

Kevin