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Hi full-Bore members, My name is Meg.

I have applied to join this forum for research purposes.
I am working on a project to create a new shotgun cartridge. I am being supported by the Princes Trust Foundation and they are mentoring me through the process. As a startup business with a totally new concept I need to gather market research in order to gain statistics and a good understanding of buying patterns etc within the industry. In order to gain my market research I have created a questionnaire to send out to people in the shooting community.
I have been surrounded by shooting my whole life, my father regularly shoots both clays & game and my mum works our dog on rough shoots. I have managed to gain a few replies to my questionnaire through friends and family, however I haven't been able to get the numbers I require for my market research to be deemed a success. I have been recommended by my mentor to reach out to the community through forums.

I am totally aware not everyone will be willing to fill out my survey and many not wish to give away any information into their shooting tenancies. This is not a problem at all and I can understand the uncertainty especially with so many people out there desperate to give the shooting community a bad name!

If you are happy to complete my questionnaire I would be most grateful. My email address is megquestion@outlook.com- please email me your responses, the information I gather will be kept anonymous therefore I don't want people posting there replies on this forum.

Thank you so much for your time,
Meg

Hi Meg. Good luck with your project.

If you set it up on one of he free online survey tools and posted a link people could click on, you will get a lot more results.

Many many people only use the forum on their phones these days, they won’t want to download a document, fill it in, figure out how to send it etc etc ...

Good luck!

I agree, something like Surveymonkey would be a benefit for gaining more responses. I certainly wouldn't open random word documents from Unknowns.

Thank you for your replies.
I totally understand, but I have a very limited budget at the moment and a lot of survey host websites require payment in order for you to be able to access the questionnaire.
Would it be easier if I was to post the actual questions on this forum and then you can email me the replies that way?
That may help with the issue of people using their phones and not wanting to open a word document??
Thanks,
Meg

Or put the questions up and allow people to answer on here.

Presumably you are the same Meg who posted this on Pigeonwatch on the 7th of February and was rebuffed; with good reason, there:

Hi,

I am looking for some help from anyone in the shooting community to fill out my Questionnaire.

I am currently working on a project at university looking into shooting patterns and behaviours. I shoot myself but very rarely and therefore I am struggling to find enough people to fill out my Questionnaire for me.

I would be so grateful if anyone would spare a minute to fill out my quick survey. If you could then email it to me at megaslett@outlook.com that would be very much appreciated.

Thank you for your time

Questionnaire No1.docx

As your intro is nothing if not inconsistent, I would be loathe to provide any details.

Done.
I hope it's of some use in your endeavour.

Hmmm, suspicious.com

I am the same Meg that posted on Pigeonwatch. I can totally understand the suspicion!

I have only recently (this week) applied for my copyright on this cartridge design. When I posted on Pigeonwatch I was totally unprotected with no legal backing on my idea at all and therefore my mentor advised me to be VERY vague about why I was doing the questionnaire and to claim its for a 'project'.
I am so sorry if you feel deceived in any way! I had no alternative and I cant make progress without market research so I was forced to cover my back a bit... its been very frustrating!

Thank you so much for those who have completed the questionnaire, its such a help!

Here is the questionnaire, I hope this makes it easier for people to complete-

The purpose of this survey is to gather information as part of research into shooting patterns. Your participation is greatly appreciated and the survey should take no longer than 10 minutes to complete. All responses will remain totally anonymous and the information gathered will be used to gain a more detailed understanding of people’s preferences in shooting as a sport. Please answer these questions as honestly as possible.

1. How old are you?
2. What is your occupation?
3. How long have you been shooting?
4. How often do you shoot?
5. What months of the year do you shoot?
6. On average, how much do you spend annually on shooting?
7. Is shooting a hobby or a profession? If a profession, please name your job title.
8. If you do not shoot, how likely is it you would try the sport? Please circle: very unlikely/not likely/likely/very likely/don’t know.
9. If you do not shoot, what is your reasoning for this?
10. Do you own your own gun?
11. Do you shoot over water? Please circle: lakes / rivers / reservoirs / estuaries / along the coast / waterways
12. What cartridges do you most regularly use?
13. What company do you buy your cartridges from?
14. Approximately how many cartridges do you purchase a year?
15. Do you shoot with lead shot? If not please specify the shot material you use.