deadeyemike
Silver $$ Contributor
Braxton County Gun Owners , We are located in Flatwoods, WV We shoot sanctioned UBR matches and also IR50/50 Rimfire matches..
Where all all the shooters???
- Thread starter JEFFPPC
- Start date
Shooter13
Gold $$ Contributor
When I lived in the big city of Inez, KY we traveled to Huntington for weekend fun and Charleston for concerts!!
In my area there is NRA leg matches or BPCR Silhouette - and nothing else.
No 3 gun, no 2 gun, no F-class, no benchrest, no action pistol, no nothing. Not an NRA member - so no scores and tons of hate. I stopped looking.
No 3 gun, no 2 gun, no F-class, no benchrest, no action pistol, no nothing. Not an NRA member - so no scores and tons of hate. I stopped looking.
I shoot 1000 yd matches just north of you at Whitehorse.
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deadeyemike
Silver $$ Contributor
I have a friend that has Handgun matches at Whitehorse. His name is Joe Robinson. Also friends with your friend Bob Davis. He is a member of our club.
Dusty Stevens
Shiner
Most wont compete because they think theyre not good enough or their scope is lacking or they dont have a joystick rest or a $1000 scale. All the shit people talk around here about equipment makes alot of folks insecure when they cant dump $10k all at once
dgeesaman
Gold $$ Contributor
I'm on the cusp of trying competition. I have not entered yet and these are my reasons (excuses)
I really hate long drives. I have limited time to reload and shoot, and with a range 5 minutes from my house, both the reloading and the shooting can fit into openings in my schedule. So getting in the car for a couple of hours, spending most of the day there, and a couple of hour drive home just doesn't feel relaxing. I used to race Autocross, where it would take most of a day for 4 1-minute course runs. I gave that up and now I'd rather go for a 3 hour bicycle ride where it only takes me a total of four hours of my day.
I have usable equipment. They are very accurate rifles not built for competition. However I know if I get to competing I will mentally justify spending thousands more. Should it be on short range benchrest, groundhog, long range benchrest, F-Class, 1000y, PRS? The shooting/reloading rabbit hole has cost me greatly and competition is the rabbit hole within the rabbit hole. It doesn't help that each style of shooting involves different rifle specs and that these rifles are only useful for competition shooting.
I do enjoy the actual shooting and working out the best performance from a given rifle. It's like an endless puzzle.
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Shooter13
Gold $$ Contributor
No, it not because I'm smart, Heck I didn't even think of weight! Everything I started with was used (some very used) the gun came without a barrel and I got luck and was able to get Ronnie Long to chamber it (didn't even know I had Mike Ezell @gunsandgunsmithing only a few hours away). The action, stock and trigger weight about 9-10 lbs so I just ran with what I had. Sometimes you just get lucky. All that changed as the year went on. Now like a dummy I'll have the one heavy gun and a custom class (13.5 lbs). So I'm asking for trouble.
DR_2297
Silver $$ Contributor
Well I am here lurking I guess. Just a knuckle dragging turd shooter that sometimes identifies as a mid and long range T/R shooter and match director. I typically put enough record rounds down range a year with the Service Rifle to roach a button rifled barrel in a season.
my XTC matches are pretty well attended averaging 35-45 competitors. These are long days but we try our best to put on a good well run match and we keep fees low ($25 for an 80, $35 for an EIC). My reduced course and CMP games matches can be hit and miss, 5 - 20 competitors. These are cheap @ $10 a match.
Local mid range matches are a little light with mostly F class competitors. I think some of it happens to be that matches are on Sundays and there have been some etarget growing pains.
my XTC matches are pretty well attended averaging 35-45 competitors. These are long days but we try our best to put on a good well run match and we keep fees low ($25 for an 80, $35 for an EIC). My reduced course and CMP games matches can be hit and miss, 5 - 20 competitors. These are cheap @ $10 a match.
Local mid range matches are a little light with mostly F class competitors. I think some of it happens to be that matches are on Sundays and there have been some etarget growing pains.
JEFFPPC
Gold $$ Contributor
Dusty you are correct I think, this lack of .confidence people have and the unwillingness to take a chance seems to blend right into the socialism being pounded into our society, it's sad. But on another note, like many, this thread had wandered away from its origin but it has pretty much all been positive. A lot of back and forth on matches that are available which hopefully increase arrendence in some. Now if we could each get one other shooter started this year think how that would help all our clubs and organizations. I believe we often overwhelm prospective shooter with talk of national organizations and events. I think if we pushed the fun, compaianship, and technical help available at local club shoots and left new shooters then drift to the National scene on there own we might have better recruiting results. Thanks for you who have participated in this thread, I'm out of it I need to load for a 100 yd match at Vandergrift Sportsman in Pa on Saturday, google it, its a new shoot starting up I am sure they would enjoy seeing you all there.
CaptainMal
Silver $$ Contributor
Back to share the expense idea. I am part of the team that puts on the IBS shoots at Manatee each winter season. We use a public range, Manatee Gun and Archery Club located East of Bradenton, Florida. They charge all shooters to use the facility and barely cover expenses to keep the doors open. Members pay $200 a year and $7 each visit. Non-members pay $27 each visit. We HAVE to pay those fees for each shooter in the competition each day they shoot.
Now our benchrest group is non-profit, unlike some ranges that run IBS or other shoots for their profit. All our labor, a LOT, is at our expense, including travel and equipment. We just try to pay the bills and break even. To help visitors and encourage IBS shooting on our upcoming shoot in February, we charge members $10 each day and then reduce non-member fees to $20. We actually pay to bring in visitors and encourage people to shoot IBS.
Next fee is the IBS fee of $6 for each shoot each day. Then I just yesterday paid Pistoleer over $310 for another 500 targets as we were down to just 200 left. The 8 targets to be shot in the upcoming shoot costs us about just over $5 for each shooter.
We buy and maintain all target frames, chloroplast target boards, weldements in the ground, clamps, steel plates ( bought by us at our expense), straps and chains for sighters and paint. Don't laugh at paint as cheap paint to cover the sighter plates does not work. We have to buy $5 cans of primer/paint to work well and use near a case at each shoot.
Now add on the trophies we buy for the winners. On this upcoming shoot we have multiple and giant awards to present IN ADDITION TO the IBS awards and points. We buy and maintain the PA. system , all forms and materials needed to run the shoots, quads and trailers to move things, scoring and computer equipment, paying people to actually attend and do that plus a target crew, buy wind flags and a WHOLE LOT MORE.
Many of us ACTUALLY DONATE money to be used as prizes. Hundreds of dollars come from our shooters. We solicit, at our expense, companies to maybe donate prizes for out table. BT1 has a list. I have some prizes here at the house solicited from both Vortex and Hornady. We spend hundreds to thousands of dollars just so shooters have the opportunity to do shoots here. NO PROFIT at all. For us, it is all EXPENSE to promote shooting.
So how much do we charge to participate? Well you do the math. You would think we should charge way over $100 a day or or more for each shoot. We are like 1/2 that because of our sacrifice, labor and donation to shooting. NO PROFIT and hopefully no major loss. You just cannot offer the opportunity to shoot in a match any cheaper with all the rewards participation provides. Many shoots around the country are like this. Sure some are done for profit on private ranges but they still provide the opportunity.
Just reminding you that organized shooting events are not free for both the shooters and the organizers. We sure would appreciate participation to make the sacrifices worthwhile to put these on. I flat out hate competition yet have coached and participated in shooting competitions for maybe 50 years. To me winning is participation and all those involved are the "winners". Those of you not participating must think of what is involved and make a personal decision to support or be absent.
You can't support shooting if you are not there.
Now our benchrest group is non-profit, unlike some ranges that run IBS or other shoots for their profit. All our labor, a LOT, is at our expense, including travel and equipment. We just try to pay the bills and break even. To help visitors and encourage IBS shooting on our upcoming shoot in February, we charge members $10 each day and then reduce non-member fees to $20. We actually pay to bring in visitors and encourage people to shoot IBS.
Next fee is the IBS fee of $6 for each shoot each day. Then I just yesterday paid Pistoleer over $310 for another 500 targets as we were down to just 200 left. The 8 targets to be shot in the upcoming shoot costs us about just over $5 for each shooter.
We buy and maintain all target frames, chloroplast target boards, weldements in the ground, clamps, steel plates ( bought by us at our expense), straps and chains for sighters and paint. Don't laugh at paint as cheap paint to cover the sighter plates does not work. We have to buy $5 cans of primer/paint to work well and use near a case at each shoot.
Now add on the trophies we buy for the winners. On this upcoming shoot we have multiple and giant awards to present IN ADDITION TO the IBS awards and points. We buy and maintain the PA. system , all forms and materials needed to run the shoots, quads and trailers to move things, scoring and computer equipment, paying people to actually attend and do that plus a target crew, buy wind flags and a WHOLE LOT MORE.
Many of us ACTUALLY DONATE money to be used as prizes. Hundreds of dollars come from our shooters. We solicit, at our expense, companies to maybe donate prizes for out table. BT1 has a list. I have some prizes here at the house solicited from both Vortex and Hornady. We spend hundreds to thousands of dollars just so shooters have the opportunity to do shoots here. NO PROFIT at all. For us, it is all EXPENSE to promote shooting.
So how much do we charge to participate? Well you do the math. You would think we should charge way over $100 a day or or more for each shoot. We are like 1/2 that because of our sacrifice, labor and donation to shooting. NO PROFIT and hopefully no major loss. You just cannot offer the opportunity to shoot in a match any cheaper with all the rewards participation provides. Many shoots around the country are like this. Sure some are done for profit on private ranges but they still provide the opportunity.
Just reminding you that organized shooting events are not free for both the shooters and the organizers. We sure would appreciate participation to make the sacrifices worthwhile to put these on. I flat out hate competition yet have coached and participated in shooting competitions for maybe 50 years. To me winning is participation and all those involved are the "winners". Those of you not participating must think of what is involved and make a personal decision to support or be absent.
You can't support shooting if you are not there.
a lot is the cost of everything barrels stocks scopes gunsmiths if you have a job and a family you just can not afford to spend that kind of money on your hobbies
dgeesaman
Gold $$ Contributor
I think you’ve hit on a fundamental challenge for the sport. The literal arms race keeps escalating in cost and time for a skilled participant to be a true competitor.
If we can’t or choose not to limit the cost of being competitive, the shooting competitions should be promoted for the value they add to regular joe’s shooting activities. PRS, F-Class, and defensive pistol shooting build relatively obvious skills of value. Benchrest has much less, since the sport has migrated away from varminting rifles on sandbags. I’m not saying it’s lost its way, but it’s the Formula 1 of shooting technology and that just isn’t for everyone.
Shooter13
Gold $$ Contributor
Okay, we agree.......mostly. I think if we have a factory class and it is a true factory weight should not matter BUT as we said in drag racing "run what you brung", stay with a factory trigger and all the rest, limit the rest to something like the 3 legged ones and a rear squeeze bag. Let everyone reload and I'm sure a lot of you that have been in this can add a LOT to this list but the simpler it is the better off we would be, scope limited to a certain power, just maybe there is already a class like this, I don't know. What are your thoughts?
JEFFPPC
Gold $$ Contributor
John you are correct, when I had a young family I dropped out of competition for about 5 years while I chamged jobs several times until I could afford to compete again. I competed for about 30 years before I ever had a custom rifle. Yes family obligations come first but when there is a will there is a way, at least until the socialists take over completely. This is not directed at you John but I often hear guys say I can't afford it who sneer at my 10 yr old vehicle as they get out of their new 60.000 dollar pickup. Most of us have to decide what's important to us and were we chose to spend our money. Yes shooting is not cheap but neither is buying a handful of lottery tickets every week or 3 nights a week at the bar with buddies. Our life is what we make it with the opportunities we either have or create for ourselves.
The depreciation on that new 60,000.00 pick up the first year would buy you the best gun money can buy.......
I really don't think that is the problem, it is the work involved. The young. for sure would rather do things on the internet, I saw it so many times as long as someone is doing the work they will shoot. They loose interest as soon as they need to do the work themselves.... It is so nice to see a young kid getting involved instead of hanging out and what that leads to. The older ones try to justify not competing and spend more time dreaming up excuses not to.
When I hang it up I hope I can find somebody that wants to compete and I will set them up ...... jim
I really don't think that is the problem, it is the work involved. The young. for sure would rather do things on the internet, I saw it so many times as long as someone is doing the work they will shoot. They loose interest as soon as they need to do the work themselves.... It is so nice to see a young kid getting involved instead of hanging out and what that leads to. The older ones try to justify not competing and spend more time dreaming up excuses not to.
When I hang it up I hope I can find somebody that wants to compete and I will set them up ...... jim
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Yes!
This exactly. I would like to see a strict $$$ limit, not equipment, imposed by class. Lets say $750, $1250, $2000, and unlimited. This INCLUDES the price of the optic. That would give the person shooting their hunting rifle a realistic chance. THAT is a class I would compete in. Then I could build something that I want and can use for more than just a range queen.
For $750 I can get a Ruger American, Savage Axis, Mossberg Patriot, TC Venture, or what have you in XXX caliber, a set of rings for cheap, a bipod, a bag, and a scope in 4-16 or maybe even 6-24. Work up a load and compete.
NEVER going to happen... But a fella can dream.
It would be hard to police the entries in such a class to make sure all rifles are within the budget specified in the rules.....UNLESS....one does a 'claims' rule stating that any rifle competing could be purchased by a fellow competitor for a specified sum...perhaps 20% above the budget limit in the rules
. That would be interesting. I've competed in motocross events years back that had a claims rule in the novice class to keep high budget bikes out. I've also was race director in karting races that had a class for 'supposedly' box stock engines...we had to resort to a claims rule to cut down on competitors making modifications on/adding racing internals to the engines. The usual suspects suddenly quit showing up to the events (chalked that one up in the win column
).Robin
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