There’s a quiet revolution happening among us.
It’s not reckless.
It’s focused, precise, and disciplined.
According to RCMP data, Possession and Acquisition License (PAL) applications jumped 11 per cent for people between the ages of 10 and 19 between 2023 and 2024, where a total of 11,432 new firearms users (9,654 males, 1,778 females) applied for their firearms license.[i]
“RCMP data also shows applications are up 3 per cent for those aged 20 to 29, and 2.5 per cent for people 30 and older. That translated into almost 60,000 new gun owners last year — close to 7,500 of them under the age of 30.”
These young people are drawn to our longstanding culture of safety and personal responsibility – attributes they’re not finding in other areas of their lives.
It’s not about politics, as some would have you believe. It’s about purpose.
These young sports shooters are proving that Canadians have been fed a dangerous lie:
“Responsibility is dangerous.”
Guns Aren’t Toys, They’re Tools, and Mastery Is the Standard
At an Ontario shooting range, 23-year-old Emma Carter (not her real name) isn’t waving a banner or shouting slogans.
She’s focused on tightening her shot group through mental discipline. She knows that accuracy requires mastery of her mind and her body.
Mental Skills Required for Mastery
- Focus: Distraction is a luxury. A master marksman anchors the mind to the shot in front of them.
- Emotional Regulation: Calm is the foundation of precision. No fear. No rage. No panic.
- Situational Awareness: Wind, lighting, terrain. Everything matters. Always.
- Discipline & Patience: Thousands of rounds. Countless hours. No shortcuts.
- Visualization: Every perfect shot is taken twice, once in the mind, then on the line.
- Decision-Making Under Stress: You don’t rise to the occasion. You fall to your level of training.
Physical Skills Required for Precision
- Fine Motor Control: Trigger discipline, breath control, and sight alignment all depend on steady, refined movement.
- Hand-Eye Coordination: Accurate shooting is a symphony of what you see and how your body responds to that stimulus.
- Core Stability And Balance: Stable shooting positions (standing, prone, kneeling) require core strength and balance.
- Breath Control: Proper breathing stabilizes your aim and calms your nervous system.
- Visual Precision: Marksmen regularly train eye focus and sight alignment.
Life Skills That Separate the Amateurs from the Artists
Yes, these young gun owners are focused on becoming excellent shots. But what you may not understand is that to become an excellent shot requires the individual to live a life of integrity.
This is what draws young people to the shooting community. It’s the only place they find other people committed to living a life of purpose, and that’s what they desire most.
Integrity – in the shooting discipline – means
- Building and maintaining a consistent routine
- Ownership of every shot they take
- Being curiosity and coachable
- Making ethical decisions
- Keeping records to track what works and what doesn’t
These young people are not adrenaline junkies. They’re students of excellence with a simple motto.
“Every shot tells the truth.”
The Marksmanship Mindset
A master marksman isn’t just good with a gun.
They lead themselves.
They discipline their body, control their emotions, and sharpen their mind with four simple phrases.
- Calm heart.
- Steady hands.
- Focused eyes.
- Uncompromising ethics.
It goes to the core of what it means to be part of Canada’s firearms community. It’s not a “hobby.” It’s a way of life.
These young gun owners model the attributes to which we should all aspire: responsibility, integrity, and discipline.
These young gun owners aren’t just shooting well.
They’re living well. And in a world that wants to disarm us of both our guns and our wisdom, that’s the most revolutionary thing of all.
[i] https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/gun-ownership-young-men-bans-politics-1.7504247
