Does anyone still shoot service rifle?

[rlporter507]

Ive shot these ranges for the last 2 years after a long hiatus, and there has not been less than 10 at any of the matches for XTC. usually that low number is around a holiday. most of the time its 15-20. not sure when the last time you were there, if your referring to non distinguished shooters at a leg match, then your number is about right.
Most everyone still shooting around here is distinguished. But i have to respectively disagree with your 5 shooters number.
BCGC 4/24-15, 5/24-15, 6/15-11, 8/24-18, 9/24-15,
CRC 5/24-17, 6/24-19, 9/24-17
this is just the results i have, there were a few more matches. not your 50-100 showing up for PRS but still alive.

 

[DarkStar]

The usrifleteams forum as mentioned above.

Most serious about XTC have moved on to an optic.

There are junior teams who start the kiddos on irons. My kids junior team, if they provide the rifle instead of the family, has them start out for at least two years on irons. One year if the kid quickly makes it into the Expert class.

Are you just trying to sell the rifle or other equipment as well?

 

[Hengehold]

Lots of XTC service rifle shooters in VA.
CMP national matches have a pretty good showing with around 900 shooters for the service rifle XTC events such as Presidents100, NAtional Trophy Individual, NTIT, etc.

About 99percent of the SR shooters use a scope Since the rules allow a 4x scope now.

 

[jthor]

Ive shot these ranges for the last 2 years after a long hiatus, and there has not been less than 10 at any of the matches for XTC. usually that low number is around a holiday. most of the time its 15-20. not sure when the last time you were there, if your referring to non distinguished shooters at a leg match, then your number is about right.
Most everyone still shooting around here is distinguished. But i have to respectively disagree with your 5 shooters number.
BCGC 4/24-15, 5/24-15, 6/15-11, 8/24-18, 9/24-15,
CRC 5/24-17, 6/24-19, 9/24-17
this is just the results i have, there were a few more matches. not your 50-100 showing up for PRS but still alive.

the region has a hard time getting enough shooters to give out leg points. That’s dead, not alive.

 

[Shurefire]

What part of the country?

Phoenix, AZ.

 

[Shurefire]

All but dead in the Colorado area. Not be stopped trying here. 5 people showing up to matches is depressing and not fun. On the other hand we have 50-100 people showing up for 1 day PRS matches.

I go to Bailey (Buffalo Creek GC) every July 4th. We have 40 shooters for the 4 day state championships.

 

[rlporter507]

the region has a hard time getting enough shooters to give out leg points. That’s dead, not alive.

the region has a hard time getting enough shooters to give out leg points. That’s dead, not alive.

I still disagree. your post of not worth traveling to gives the impression that there is no XTC at all, and people in southern Neb and western Ks would not consider coming. We do have people from Kansas that come to our any any matches. Like i said most people around here are already distinguished, and there pretty good. If people would travel to our matches that were not distinguished, we could give out more legs. There were about 50 competitors at the 4th of July match at Buffalo Creek.
Just because there is a lack of non distinguished shooters does not make XTC dead in Colorado!
What is dead is people that are not willing to travel to a match to chase leg points.

 

[jthor]

I still disagree. your post of not worth traveling to gives the impression that there is no XTC at all, and people in southern Neb and western Ks would not consider coming. We do have people from Kansas that come to our any any matches. Like i said most people around here are already distinguished, and there pretty good. If people would travel to our matches that were not distinguished, we could give out more legs. There were about 50 competitors at the 4th of July match at Buffalo Creek.
Just because there is a lack of non distinguished shooters does not make XTC dead in Colorado!
What is dead is people that are not willing to travel to a match to chase leg points.

I believe you’re in denial of the death that is slowly happening to SR, especially in your region.
Not having enough non-distinguished shooters showing up means you have a severe lack of new shooters coming into the sport, which will result in its death and the death that’s already apparent in this region. You have no one to replace the shooters who leave. This topic is comes up all the time on the rifle team forum and it’s not just about the sport dying at the regional level, but national level too. Camp Perry is also on a slow decline that has been very consistent over time for quite a while now and commercial row has also been dying.

I came to SR from PRS and I’m not impressed with the community one bit other than a few shooters. The community as a whole spends more time arguing how they are better than other disciplines and complaining about F-Class and PRS shooters than trying to grow their sport or save it. I’ve seen this at Camp Perry and the regional level at almost every match. They argue how “SR is practical” when it isn’t and practically none of the gear used in SR is usable in the field.

 

[Steve K]

I've been shooting SR for about 30 years, but my local club is considering to discontinue the even because of a lack of participation. Attendance has been dwindling to where we have only five steady shooters. This may be our last year.

 

[rlporter507]

Well I agree with some of what you are saying, but I am sensitive to remarks that do not help exactly the point your trying to make. your first post said it is not worth traveling to the match with only 5 shooters, that gave the impression that there were only 5 shooters. If you would have stated that there is a lack of non distinguished shooters in this areas matches we would not be where we are now. We do have a lack of new shooters, F-Class and PRS has taken some shooters, and Jr's are just not interested in XTC as well. We had a good Jr program and fielded a 6 man Jr team at Perry for years, sometimes 2. There has not been one in recent years. Our Jr air and smallbore program used to have 30+ kids, and now were lucky to have 12.
I do believe the attendance at Perry for HP has risen in the last couple years, but is still down from when I first started going in 2000 for HP. SR has changed over the years and I believe that has happened to keep people in the sport, allowing scopes for the older eyes was a big help. SR, PRS, F-class are all different games, but come from the same roots. Ford guys don't like chevy guys, there both at fault.

 

[DarkStar]

Jr's are just not interested in XTC as well. We had a good Jr program and fielded a 6 man Jr team at Perry for years, sometimes 2. There has not been one in recent years. Our Jr air and smallbore program used to have 30+ kids, and now were lucky to have 12.

Since the thread has slid somewhat, I'll help it slide a little more.

The North Carolina 4H shooting sports program has 300-400 kids show up for the Eastern Regional. The rifle portion is basically CMP Rimfire Sporter (4H rulebook even references CMP's). There's three regionals in NC.

If you start asking these kids or their parents about something like Highpower, they have no idea. Some are interested and I've got a few on the hook. Many of these kids/families wanted to find some kind of shooting sports, and 4H was the only one that was easily found.

It's positional shooting, so one would think that’s a ready-made audience for selling something like Highpower.

The folks in Highpower and the big organizations over it (CMP and NRA) don't do a very good job at promoting/marketing to fresh blood.

Highpower isn't really practical. It's refined fundamental marksmanship over different positions/distances. There's some folks who will be attracted to that over other shooting sports. . . But not if they don't know about it's existence.

 

[cavedweller60]

Well I agree with some of what you are saying, but I am sensitive to remarks that do not help exactly the point your trying to make. your first post said it is not worth traveling to the match with only 5 shooters, that gave the impression that there were only 5 shooters. If you would have stated that there is a lack of non distinguished shooters in this areas matches we would not be where we are now. We do have a lack of new shooters, F-Class and PRS has taken some shooters, and Jr's are just not interested in XTC as well. We had a good Jr program and fielded a 6 man Jr team at Perry for years, sometimes 2. There has not been one in recent years. Our Jr air and smallbore program used to have 30+ kids, and now were lucky to have 12.
I do believe the attendance at Perry for HP has risen in the last couple years, but is still down from when I first started going in 2000 for HP. SR has changed over the years and I believe that has happened to keep people in the sport, allowing scopes for the older eyes was a big help. SR, PRS, F-class are all different games, but come from the same roots. Ford guys don't like chevy guys, there both at fault.

Has the attendance for XTC risen or, are the higher numbers because of AR-tac? That seems to be where or XTC shooters have gone in my region. Very few shoot XTC but, many that used to have switched to AR-Tac or f-class. There are also a few new F-class shooters each season but I don't think there are any new XTC shooters....at least it is pretty rare.

 

[asyoung]

We are short on real Service Rifle shooters as well. I mean REAL service rifle. None of this self contained cartridge crap. Paper patched ball flintlocks.
Scott

 

[DR1586]

I believe you’re in denial of the death that is slowly happening to SR, especially in your region.
Not having enough non-distinguished shooters showing up means you have a severe lack of new shooters coming into the sport, which will result in its death and the death that’s already apparent in this region. You have no one to replace the shooters who leave. This topic is comes up all the time on the rifle team forum and it’s not just about the sport dying at the regional level, but national level too. Camp Perry is also on a slow decline that has been very consistent over time for quite a while now and commercial row has also been dying.

I came to SR from PRS and I’m not impressed with the community one bit other than a few shooters. The community as a whole spends more time arguing how they are better than other disciplines and complaining about F-Class and PRS shooters than trying to grow their sport or save it. I’ve seen this at Camp Perry and the regional level at almost every match. They argue how “SR is practical” when it isn’t and practically none of the gear used in SR is usable in the field.

The sport certainly has seen its peak, but I don’t agree with your assessment of the HP community. Not sure how long you’ve been shooting XTC, but I’ve been at it for roughly 25 years now at some level or another. What I’ve noticed is that the desire to work, practice, and compete is not what it once was. XTC is not easy, and to honor shoot Master or HM level scores takes work, and a lot of people just aren’t willing to do it. It’s their choice, but I think it’s sad.

As far as your impression of the greater HP community, I hope that maybe you’ve just seen a few poor examples of the HP crowd or that maybe it’s misinterpreted. As a rule, the sling shooters poke fun at the F-Class folks, the F-Class folks poke fun at the knuckle dragging sling shooters, but we all have a good time and even if we don’t see eye to eye on XTC vs F-Class, we try and respect one another. I have seen clubs in the past where bad blood exists and a lot of that stemmed from the rather sudden boom in F-Class that we saw in the early 2000’s. F-Class grew tremendously and for the most part was welcomed into the MR/LR prone clubs. Over time, tempers flared over match schedules, formats, range usage, etc. That left a sour taste in some folks mouths. It’s unfortunate, but it happened and it happened in more than one club across the US.

As for complaining about PRS, I can honestly say that very seldom does PRS come up at a HP match other than how can we cooperate with them to let them come shoot if they want to. I couldn’t care less if someone picks PRS over HP.

I’m sorry that some of our folks may not have been welcoming, may have had poor attitudes, or whatever. So if you’re not happy with the sport, quit. If you are happy and want to see it grow, help.

 

[cavedweller60]

The usrifleteams forum as mentioned above.

Most serious about XTC have moved on to an optic.

There are junior teams who start the kiddos on irons. My kids junior team, if they provide the rifle instead of the family, has them start out for at least two years on irons. One year if the kid quickly makes it into the Expert class.

Are you just trying to sell the rifle or other equipment as well?

I have a couple nice uppers, a scope stand similar to the old Creedmoor stands, a nearly new hardback jacket, sleds, etc.

 

[danny]

The sport certainly has seen its peak, but I don’t agree with your assessment of the HP community. Not sure how long you’ve been shooting XTC, but I’ve been at it for roughly 25 years now at some level or another. What I’ve noticed is that the desire to work, practice, and compete is not what it once was. XTC is not easy, and to honor shoot Master or HM level scores takes work, and a lot of people just aren’t willing to do it. It’s their choice, but I think it’s sad.

As far as your impression of the greater HP community, I hope that maybe you’ve just seen a few poor examples of the HP crowd or that maybe it’s misinterpreted. As a rule, the sling shooters poke fun at the F-Class folks, the F-Class folks poke fun at the knuckle dragging sling shooters, but we all have a good time and even if we don’t see eye to eye on XTC vs F-Class, we try and respect one another. I have seen clubs in the past where bad blood exists and a lot of that stemmed from the rather sudden boom in F-Class that we saw in the early 2000’s. F-Class grew tremendously and for the most part was welcomed into the MR/LR prone clubs. Over time, tempers flared over match schedules, formats, range usage, etc. That left a sour taste in some folks mouths. It’s unfortunate, but it happened and it happened in more than one club across the US.

As for complaining about PRS, I can honestly say that very seldom does PRS come up at a HP match other than how can we cooperate with them to let them come shoot if they want to. I couldn’t care less if someone picks PRS over HP.

I’m sorry that some of our folks may not have been welcoming, may have had poor attitudes, or whatever. So if you’re not happy with the sport, quit. If you are happy and want to see it grow, help.

I fear that F Class shooters will eventually kick Highpower Rifle competitors from the F-Class discipline's ranges, leagues, matches, etc. Then where will we shoot?

Danny

 

[cavedweller60]

The sport certainly has seen its peak, but I don’t agree with your assessment of the HP community. Not sure how long you’ve been shooting XTC, but I’ve been at it for roughly 25 years now at some level or another. What I’ve noticed is that the desire to work, practice, and compete is not what it once was. XTC is not easy, and to honor shoot Master or HM level scores takes work, and a lot of people just aren’t willing to do it. It’s their choice, but I think it’s sad.

As far as your impression of the greater HP community, I hope that maybe you’ve just seen a few poor examples of the HP crowd or that maybe it’s misinterpreted. As a rule, the sling shooters poke fun at the F-Class folks, the F-Class folks poke fun at the knuckle dragging sling shooters, but we all have a good time and even if we don’t see eye to eye on XTC vs F-Class, we try and respect one another. I have seen clubs in the past where bad blood exists and a lot of that stemmed from the rather sudden boom in F-Class that we saw in the early 2000’s. F-Class grew tremendously and for the most part was welcomed into the MR/LR prone clubs. Over time, tempers flared over match schedules, formats, range usage, etc. That left a sour taste in some folks mouths. It’s unfortunate, but it happened and it happened in more than one club across the US.

As for complaining about PRS, I can honestly say that very seldom does PRS come up at a HP match other than how can we cooperate with them to let them come shoot if they want to. I couldn’t care less if someone picks PRS over HP.

I’m sorry that some of our folks may not have been welcoming, may have had poor attitudes, or whatever. So if you’re not happy with the sport, quit. If you are happy and want to see it grow, help.

Sadly, I think that all of the, lets say, "non-exciting" shooting sports have peaked and are in decline. My wife shoots bullseye at a fairly high level. When she started 10 years ago, there would be 30 people at a one day 2700, now, it is a big day if 15 show up. We host a regional bullseye match and in 2017 or so, we would have multiple relays and several of the military teams would show up. Now, we are VERY lucky to get one full relay. I saw the same thing happen with XTC and positional smallbore. Now everyone wants to shoot the fast moving instant gratification games...steel challenge, 3 gun, IDPA and, to a lesser extent, the long range rifle games. Very few people seemingly want to put tons of work into punching holes in paper.

 

[DR1586]

I fear that F Class shooters will eventually kick Highpower Rifle competitors from the F-Class discipline's ranges, leagues, matches, etc.

Danny

I’m sure it’s happened, but if there is even a fear then it’s time to start building rapport with the F-Class guys and get HP shooters on the club boards.

 

[jimhelmuth]

Yes. My M1 and M1a are my favorite rifles. Very challenging

 

[danny]

if there is even a fear then it’s time to start building rapport with the F-Class guys.

Absolutely blanking not ..

Danny