I am sure this has been beat to death already, but what is going on here? I am attending my first National Matches at Atterbury and upon arriving, was told there is no commercial row because the base wanted a cut or a fee from the vendors....WTH? While I am understanding that this about shooting and not buying, it was still part of the tradition or attraction. Is it me or are we losing a part of the entire National Match experiance? I know attendance is down for High Power, I have to assume the same goes for the Palma/Long range crowd. I am just here to shoot the ELR match since I am no longer a sling and jacket guy and they dont shoot F class in these matches. It seems as if a huge part of our sport is fading into history. When you mentioned "The Nationals", or "Perry" it was with a sense of awe and fond memories of stories told around the card table, tail gate, stoop of the base lodging, etc. " Tubb went clean that relay...again".. it was like hearing your heros talk. Now, its like any other match, you show up, you shoot you go home....no real community on the base, no place to find that great deal on the jacket you wanted or the barrel you are needing...nothing but a very hot range on a base that really did not want you there to begin with. Who the hell thought this was a great choice?
Atterbury disappointment
- Thread starter sapper299
- Start date
Having clear bias, I will refrain from comment on the rest, but you are speaking out of turn on the "Base not wanting you there" comment.
The guys in Range Control, and the Base Commander, have gone WELL out of their way to make this even an option for you to be there. It happens to be my home range, and it is a great facility with great people.
The guys in Range Control, and the Base Commander, have gone WELL out of their way to make this even an option for you to be there. It happens to be my home range, and it is a great facility with great people.
Albany Mountain
Silver $$ Contributor
Blame the decline of shooters, probably starting at the local level.
How I see it, not necessarily how it really is but...
There has not been a decline in shooters. They line up and gladly lay down $250-$450 per slot to shoot ninja games and they sell out in minutes. There has been a decline in shooters at NRA matches. Splitting with the CMP was a huge mistake. IMO the NRA's treatment of competitive shooting as an afterthought is coming back to bite them. Adding a half dozen new rifle categories and you get what we are seeing. A long snow death of bullseye shooting.
Moving the National Championship away from Camp Perry was a mistake. I don't think it has anything to do with Atterbury. Any place that isn't Perry is going to be criticized just because it's not Perry. That said, the NRA should have considered the heat and mean age of those shooting in hardback coats. Perry, even 3 weeks later, is 20+° cooler most years. It was 97° in Nashville today. They show 95°with 50% humidity Saturday at Atterbury. They better have the ambulances ready.
I have no comment about retail row except that it should be there, however with the decline in highpower shooting where do they go. Atterbury? Perry? Whittington? I wonder if this CMP split could be a contributor?
There has not been a decline in shooters. They line up and gladly lay down $250-$450 per slot to shoot ninja games and they sell out in minutes. There has been a decline in shooters at NRA matches. Splitting with the CMP was a huge mistake. IMO the NRA's treatment of competitive shooting as an afterthought is coming back to bite them. Adding a half dozen new rifle categories and you get what we are seeing. A long snow death of bullseye shooting.
Moving the National Championship away from Camp Perry was a mistake. I don't think it has anything to do with Atterbury. Any place that isn't Perry is going to be criticized just because it's not Perry. That said, the NRA should have considered the heat and mean age of those shooting in hardback coats. Perry, even 3 weeks later, is 20+° cooler most years. It was 97° in Nashville today. They show 95°with 50% humidity Saturday at Atterbury. They better have the ambulances ready.
I have no comment about retail row except that it should be there, however with the decline in highpower shooting where do they go. Atterbury? Perry? Whittington? I wonder if this CMP split could be a contributor?
Can't argue that one. Atterbury can be absolutely scorching, and Long Range will be a very good example of that if NOAA is correct.
I don't know what heat index values it takes to see declines in scores, but I'd think this would be close.
I felt that way about Camp Perry the last time I shot there. I haven't shot any nationals of any kind since then, and that was probably 8 to 10 years ago. I don't miss it.
I shot at Atterbury last year , I will gladly go back to the nationals if it is back in Camp Perry where it has been for a hundred years , Ive started going in 1990 and have always been back up to this year, but I will not return to Atterbury. I will shoot service rifle at Camp Perry in 2 weeks, see you there. Dave k.
I shoot long range at Camp Atterbury and appreciate the hospitality of the organization. I have stayed in their quarters over a club match weekend and they are a bargain. The base restaurant is convenient for an early breakfast at a reasonable price. Our club matches are run on Silver Mountain Targets and, yes, they have their peculiarities but it certainly helps in the heat.
I shot the NRA long range last year and after the target numbering travesty the NRA came up with I decided not to participate this year. I shot at Camp Perry in 1972 & 1973. There was nothing mystical about the experience nor the memory.
Tom Alves
I shot the NRA long range last year and after the target numbering travesty the NRA came up with I decided not to participate this year. I shot at Camp Perry in 1972 & 1973. There was nothing mystical about the experience nor the memory.
Tom Alves
+1.
I shot on and off from 1982 through 2008 (or so). XTC in the early years, and prone from about 1988 through whenever I stopped. That being said, I do miss the people I met there.
I have shot at Perry from the early 90's to the early 20's before I moved. I do not miss the frequent cease fires because of careless or protesting boaters and flyby eagles. I don't miss the silly rules for the trolleys not being stationed at the pits; you could walk faster to the 1000yd line by walking from the pits. Did they ever rebuild a replacement chow hall? I don't miss the torrential deluges creating moats around firing points. I do miss commercial row.
Having just finished shooting XTC for 5 days I can say that the base has been very accommodating. Yes it was hot, no, there was no commercial row, but Aaron Farmer and the entire crew of range staff ran a pretty good match. the first day of the 2400 agg was a little slow due to Comm issues but they were resolved. the target carriers that had issues last year were addressed and worked fine. we were off the range by 2:30 most days and were able to go back to our rooms and chill out. after a little cool down time we were able to go out and fire up the grills just hang out, just like the huts at Perry. the awards ceremony was great with food provided. I will be going back next year
Who eats SOS by choice?
what made camp Perry work for me and a lot of other people was the dates, It was after innerservice, and the cmp phase ran into the NRA hipower championship, this allowed all the military people who were all ready there and the jr shooters who were shooting the cmp matches, smallarms school, and us other shooters who had 2 weeks vacation time, to do both with out traveling a extra 600 miles or more round trip 2 weeks later ? One would shoot the cmp matches , support the jr team matches, fire in the other team matches and you could at the least shoot the NRA rumbold team matches because it was at the start of the championships one could find people to shoot a pickup team with , before traveling home, I couldn't find any people to shoot a pickup team with last year at Atterbury, that was 2 days of being there and not shooting, how many jr teams shot this year? and last year ? Is that not the number one reason why we give back to this program ? The jr shooters are at Camp Perry so that is where the NRA needs to be with the National Championships. Dave k.
I am not saying the Match folks, the NRA or the local club guys who support the matches are doing anything wrong.quite the opposite, they do a phenomenal job and I applaud all the hard work. However, I happen to know a Battalion level commander who has mentioned that anyone he's talked with that is at the base full time, has nothing nice to say about the several weeks they have to "accommodate" the civilians using the ranges over the past couple years. He mentioned I was going to the matches and he said it was like everyone just wished they would cancel them and go somewhere else. That's why I said it seemed that we were not wanted there. As a former military person, I know that what is said to civilians is often not the same as how things are discussed among military personnel. I know he is an honest guy, so I have to take him at his word. Maybe this will change, I hope it does. I plan on coming back next year, but I am a little bummed it was not the same as it used to be, in my opinion.
"The Interservice" matches are not held at Camp Perry. They are at Quantico, and Ft. Benning. The CMP has created too many "Games" and the NRA had to go elsewhere. The NRA is being squeezed out.
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