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Top pay for a shooting event and yearly gross

Didn't know these were still going on. Air cannon pigeons?
I knew a guy that had one next to a 7 trap ring. Watched a guy that tried out for Olympic team miss 5 in a row. LOL. Fun times.

One year I won $3500 at the Western Grand in Reno with a 98. I got beat by a 99 but he didn't play the options.. My Perazzi paid for itself over a few years. We had a club money shoot every Thursday night and 3 trap clubs within 40 minutes. Lots of shooting back then.
 
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Last year at the NRA Across the Course Nationals, I was 3rd place overall (2nd Match Rifle), 1st High Master and won the Army Cup (a 600 yard stage trophy). Think it was a whopping $170.00 award money for everything. I hadn't even thought about award money until NRA sent me the check.

264 rounds (240 record+sighters) fired. Then all the associated costs of travel, lodging, etc.

Definitely not a game to support a family of four on. :p
Did you get a picture of the trophy too?
 
I shot an ASA pro/am in Gainsville FL and was in the group with one of the owners of the ASA. He had 2 pieces of clear tape on his glasses that he was using to range find the targets. Almost a year later he was finally called out for cheating, his position protected him for a long time.
 
Hmmmm.... I must be doing something wrong. I have a you tube channel and I have a billboard on my shirt. Now to be fair, I am only $16,742 dollars short of a profit for this year.

View attachment 1703561
I've always wanted one of your shirts !
Too cool !
I'm the same. 2 new barrels, 2k bullets, 400 new brass, 2 8lb jugs of powder, 10k in primers & countless hrs at the bench...... Just to win a fakewood plaque (& lately most time i don't win that )
 
Did you get a picture of the trophy too?

Yep. As per NRA tradition, got to carry home a plaque with a picture of the trophy. That's all I thought they were giving out. Completely forgot that they do give out a little $$.

My oldest kid in the picture with me. He was the high Expert.

Did get a picture with the actual Army Cup trophy itself. Couldn't sneak it out, though.

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So we spend tons of money in a sport of no return of money for the most part. Anyone wonder why there's so much money in golf? Most who play golf suck at it. They spend tons of money on equipment. Hire shitty coaches. Have no discipline to get better. But they can drink and tell fishing stories to make up for their score. The professionals can make one heck of a living. Even archery has a better $$$ return at all levels. So ask yourself why we don't?
 
So we spend tons of money in a sport of no return of money for the most part. Anyone wonder why there's so much money in golf? Most who play golf suck at it. They spend tons of money on equipment. Hire shitty coaches. Have no discipline to get better. But they can drink and tell fishing stories to make up for their score. The professionals can make one heck of a living. Even archery has a better $$$ return at all levels. So ask yourself why we don't?
I’m not sure what your point is other than trash talking people who play golf for fun.

I am asking myself why you’re here saying this bit of nastiness rather than actually proposing something or discussing what you want to see happen in the shooting sports.

I look at professional golf, basketball, football and see why I don’t want the shooting sports to go that way. Paying people to play games for others entertainment really changes the entire focus of the endeavor.

When I went to the Rendezvous in June, I brought a 22 PPC that had been shooting phenomenally for me because I wanted to see how it stacked up. It is capable of being competitive but was not the most likely barrel I have to win. When they were handing out the prize money, I couldn’t help but feel like I should have brought the hummer 6.5x47 I had on the shelf instead to maybe have helped pay for the trip there if I could win something. The motive was changing from discovery and challenging myself to winning for the sake of making money. Next year I am still bringing the barrel I want to explore, not the barrel that gives me the best chance at winning money because that is my principled approach to this hobby that makes me happy. I don’t intend this as any slight on Tom or the fabulous event he puts on. The Rendezvous is wonderful fun and I plan to attend it anytime he puts it on.
 
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So we spend tons of money in a sport of no return of money for the most part. Anyone wonder why there's so much money in golf? Most who play golf suck at it. They spend tons of money on equipment. Hire shitty coaches. Have no discipline to get better. But they can drink and tell fishing stories to make up for their score. The professionals can make one heck of a living. Even archery has a better $$$ return at all levels. So ask yourself why we don't?
You probably don’t want to know the answer that the masses will give you.
 

Don't have an answer for any of your questions but consider this:

If you want to make a small fortune in the shooting sports, start with a large fortune.

Jerry Miculek - Pro shooter since 1989 - Probably has made more $$$ in a year from sponsor endorsements, YouTube, and TV contracts/residuals than all shooting competitions combined for any given year.

You should add that Jerry has his own business - a shooting range.
 
So we spend tons of money in a sport of no return of money for the most part. Anyone wonder why there's so much money in golf? Most who play golf suck at it. They spend tons of money on equipment. Hire shitty coaches. Have no discipline to get better. But they can drink and tell fishing stories to make up for their score. The professionals can make one heck of a living. Even archery has a better $$$ return at all levels. So ask yourself why we don't?
A better question is: Why do we?

If you don't know the answer, there's no point in having the discussion.
 
Not picking on golfers or anyone. Sure there are going to be cheaters. I'm not here to piss you off. But money brings people from all over. The world archery festival bring 4 plus thousand shooters. Where do firearm shooters gather this big?
 
Not picking on golfers or anyone. Sure there are going to be cheaters. I'm not here to piss you off. But money brings people from all over. The world archery festival bring 4 plus thousand shooters. Where do firearm shooters gather this big?
So what? Does it matter?
 
I am into 1K BR for enjoyment. I enjoy building, loading and pride myself on my acheivements within. Now, if I was looking to make money at it, one, I would go broke, two...it will NOT be enjoyable. Don't get me wrong, I love winning and that keeps me plugging away constantly trying to get better. But that is just the bonus...
 
So we spend tons of money in a sport of no return of money for the most part. Anyone wonder why there's so much money in golf? Most who play golf suck at it. They spend tons of money on equipment. Hire shitty coaches. Have no discipline to get better. But they can drink and tell fishing stories to make up for their score. The professionals can make one heck of a living. Even archery has a better $$$ return at all levels. So ask yourself why we don't?
Hahahahaha! Let me take a breath...hahahaha!

I was a paid professional crew member racing sailboats for many years. I got paid for my skill plus room and dinner every night of racing. Entry fees and just showing up in competitive form costs lots of money for the boat owner. Sure, Rolex sponsors a lot of events, but only the boat owner gets a watch and the skipper get a crystal pickle dish. "Sponsorship" exists only as a write off or disposable income for boat owners.

NASCAR is another famously money hungry sport. Both sailing and motor sports, if you want to make a million bucks, start with 10 million bucks.

Golf is a spectator driven sport. Non-golfers can follow it. Hit the ball from here into the little hole over there. Least hits wins. Spectators pay to watch it. They play it. They pay to see the expert ball-hitters hit balls. Thats where the money is. Spectators. Thats why shotgun sports pay as well as they do. You can stand back, watch the bird get hit or missed, and calculate your wins/losses as you go. I have a friend of a friend who his entire living is traveling and shooting trap/skeet/sporting clays. Betters pay his entry fees to get him to shoot and give him a cut. He'll make 5-10K at a decent shoot.

Spectatorship puts money in the pockets of competitors, not organizers or sponsors.
 
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Golf is a spectator driven sport. Non-golfers can follow it. Hit the ball from here into the little hole over there. Least hits wins. Spectators pay to watch it. They play it. They pay to see the expert ball-hitters hit balls. Thats where the money is. Spectators. Thats why shotgun sports pay as well as they do. You can stand back, watch the bird get hit or missed, and calculate your wins/losses as you go. I have a friend of a friend who his entire living is traveling and shooting trap/skeet/sporting clays. Betters pay his entry fees to get him to shoot and give him a cut. He'll make 5-10K at a decent shoot.

Spectatorship puts money in the pockets of competitors, not organizers or sponsors.
I've seen the spectator side of shotgun v. rifle, especially in the kids 4H shooting sports. Parents watch the shotgun kids bust clays. The rifle kids parents don't get to see the target til it's over. . . Unless they have their own spotting scopes (95% that I've seen don't).

Now, the CMP's Kongsberg electronic targets have a live website. I think they've had it for a bit, but it seemed to really get noticed this year for the Eastern Cup and CMP Nationals/National Trophy.

Anybody with internet access and a screen can watch competitors shots impact in real time.

This year I was walking the road between Viale and Rodriguez ranges during the NTI, me and the wife(who was almost 800 miles away) on the phone with each other, watching our son's target. If you can envision a football fan letting out a whoop when a TD is made or the "awww" at a fumble, I think that was me walking down that road when he'd hit an X or drop points. He's got 16 of 30 Distinguished points and was hoping to get 10 more.

Those live update e-targets are about the most exciting thing that's happened to Highpower in the last few years. At least as far as spectatorship goes.

I was kinda surprised hearing about the number of non-shooting folks watching their friends or family's targets.
 
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