Barry,
You make a very good point, and I hope some potential sponsors, particularly some of the bigger companies such as ATK,RCBS, CCI, Alliant, Federal), Hornady, and Remington take note.
I want to give credit where credit is due though -- Savage donated a rifle for auction. Jerry Stiller donated an action a while back. We're working with BAT on a product trade for sponsorship. Gary Eliseo donated a tube gun kit for auction and Sightron has donated a scope. Lapua/Vihtavuori has contributed significantly to the site.
The challenge seems to be dealing with some of the large companies. Ironically, some smaller operators, such as Clay Spencer, Greg Tannel, and Mike Lucas have been steadfast supporters of the site from the start. Some of the key retail product vendors such as Sinclair Int'l, Midsouth, MidwayUSA, and Graf's have been very supportive. Berger and Krieger have been solid supporters. Yet it seems as though some of the biggest enterprises with Marketing Execs and big budgets have done virtually nothing. One individual donor in California has contributed more to this site than have RCBS, CCI, Alliant, Hornady, Speer, Federal, Norma, Remington, Nosler, Redding, Leupold, and Weaver combined.
I haven't yet figured that one out yet, but it could be that the bigger companies let ad agencies dictate their marketing decisions and those ad folks: a) are not shooters; and b) still don't understand the power and influence of the internet.
In any case I applaud those companies who have "stepped up to the plate" and hope that we can continue to bring new sponsors aboard. What you see here is still mostly a one-person operation. It's my dream that we could boost revenues enough to support a full-time assistant who can help with testing and who can travel to matches and interview top shooters. To a great extent Jason Baney, German Salazar, and Robert Whitley have served as de facto "Testing editors". But not only have those men volunteered many, many hours of service,without pay), but they have all actually donated from their own pockets to help pay the bills. It's remarkable to consider that level of individual dedication when you contrast it with the attitudes of certain big companies who have benefitted enormously from our tests/reviews/research but which have never contributed a penny to the site.
I know every little bit helps and a $5 or a $10 wouldn't be much. We pi$$ that much away on beer and smokes etc!
