It's been ever more clear over the past 20+yrs that the NRA's priorities have shifted almost completely away from competitive shooting, to concentrating more on political issues. With the political anti-gun pressures we're all subjected to, that's not really a surprise. But when I joined the NRA in '68, the American Rifleman magazine was chock full of articles on high power, smallbore, & bullseye pistol shooting, the art of bullet casting, and reloading. The editorial staff back then was comprised of a lot of competitive shooters, including a number of retired military shooters. Today's AR magazine comes across pretty lacking in competition content compared to the old days. The Camp Perry report has shrunk in size & content to the point where you might as well forget reading about it in the Rifleman.
Combine that with the fall-off in numbers of shooters who attend NRA-run Nationals at Perry - especially when compared to the numbers the CMP's matches generate - and it's no surprise that the CMP has earned priority with dates at Perry. Look at the numbers of shooters who travel to compete in the various CMP Games matches around the country - I think it's fair to say that the CMP has done a lot more to promote competitive shooting over the past 10yrs than the NRA has. I'm not particularly blaming the NRA - where would we be today without their constant vigilance on threats to our 2nd Amendment rights? In fact, I believe it's likely that the constant attacks on the 2nd Amendment by liberal elements of the mainstream media are probably partially responsible for some of the decline in participation in NRA-sponsored competitions.
In short, none of us can afford to forget that there are still legions of anti-2nd Amendment people in this country who would like nothing more than to see a dispute between two of the major shooting organizations in the U.S. cause splits between shooting factions. Hang together, or we will most certainly hang alone.
Combine that with the fall-off in numbers of shooters who attend NRA-run Nationals at Perry - especially when compared to the numbers the CMP's matches generate - and it's no surprise that the CMP has earned priority with dates at Perry. Look at the numbers of shooters who travel to compete in the various CMP Games matches around the country - I think it's fair to say that the CMP has done a lot more to promote competitive shooting over the past 10yrs than the NRA has. I'm not particularly blaming the NRA - where would we be today without their constant vigilance on threats to our 2nd Amendment rights? In fact, I believe it's likely that the constant attacks on the 2nd Amendment by liberal elements of the mainstream media are probably partially responsible for some of the decline in participation in NRA-sponsored competitions.
In short, none of us can afford to forget that there are still legions of anti-2nd Amendment people in this country who would like nothing more than to see a dispute between two of the major shooting organizations in the U.S. cause splits between shooting factions. Hang together, or we will most certainly hang alone.
