Low Attendance

[Another Dang 9]

Of course you realize that comes from a person that asks "Shoes? Who needs stinkin' shoes?"

Innocent

Mary......P.U. Don't the fire ants nip at your toes!

[Innocent]

AD9...naw I just crunch them tween my toes.

Innocent

[Snake]

I bought and paid for the animals at my club myself and they always ask " How much" did silhouette bring in. Even if its $2 its more than the trap guys make. It was calculated out that they get .13 cents per shooter if you figure in birds and the electric bill to keep it going.

I can't agree more. Fortunately my club simply requires that any discipline break even...we are a not for profit corp...I provided the 1st 40 animals at our range (including the rails!)...the rest the club bought with the funds I managed to accrue from the matches (sometimes there were no awards).....low attendance creates problems in as much as we pay target setters who are on workers comp and we are insured etc. etc. EVERY other discipline has been in the hole simply because of the match director's policies and spending habits....most of the other match directors are compensated (O'Malley and I are not) and I believe you will discover that the trap and skeet folks don't work for free.

[silhouette13]

it is really looking like silhouettes will die at my club after this years last match, only 3 people in the membership shoot at all regularly at silo, my work schedule will not allow me to commit to running the program, one of us is a farmer who already has to work another job on top of the farm and the other is strecthed out and already half running the program at his other club. the fine gentleman who has run the stat shack and organized everything has done so for 8 years with out a break and is so burnt he doesnt even want to shoot it after he steps down, he hasnt shot for record in years. a shame.

i have a significant investment in the game, the only reason i am a member of this club was for silos. i may have to accept the writing on the wall and devote myself to 3D again, that seems to be thriving.

dave

[Another Dang 9]

I really think its a combination of things that is killing the sport. Between gas, the economy, TV shows about how to be the ultimate "sniper" with out the bugs, dust and dirt to kids just having to many other distractions to be bothered to do something that takes lots of time and practice to master. I drive to Pennsylvania about once a month from Mass. to shoot HP and now I have to drive my car just so I don't go broke to do it. My Camper is getting way to expensive to drive all that way and noone wants to split the gas to go...crap. Flea bag hotel here I come.

[BCloninger]

AD9, you are so right!

How many of us remember spending entire days outside while growing up? Hot, cold, wet, whatever we rode bikes, played ball or until meal time nearly every day. Many of my weekends were spent at the family farm just roaming with a pellet rifle (when very young) or, later, .22's; bugs dirt, and heat were just part of the package. My sons, on the other hand, grew up inside with cable TV, computers internet, game consoles and central heat & air. They aren't conditioned to the heat and probably never will be, so there is little chance of them shooting an all-day match outside.

It's easier for me to sympathize with this since I'm trying to rebuild heat tolerance. Matches are (probably) still out, but I appreciate how hard acclimation is even when you're motivated and know you can. Real, outside shooting sports have no mass appeal in the U.S. today, and our target audience - youngsters with leisure time and disposable income - may be so poorly conditioned they cannot compete.

I believe our best chance at survival is to nurture indoor air rifle matches that are more accessible to urban populations. Hopefully that would spark interest in a few folks to pursue small bore and high power silhouette, and become a feeder program. Shooting sports have become an alien culture for many, so creating an easier introduction might help. And yes, they'll expect to see the "Black Guns", so we probably need to deal with that, too.

[Another Dang 9]

I was actually shocked once when I suggested to a co-worker that he should take his daughters to the range and teach them to shoot. He is a hunter since a kid himself so I thought it a natural progression to teach his kids. He basically called me an idiot for even suggesting such an idea. I think people don't have the trust in their own children to be responsible to handle it but the opposite is true, they just need to be given the chance. Also our society has been telling these kids and parents guns are only good for killing not fun, even to say they are for fun is so alien to them they just freak out. I have been noticing when I teach the local boy scouts that the kids get very interested in shooting as soon as you hand them the gun for the first time. Its like some one is telling them they are getting closer to adulthood.

[Snake]

I was actually shocked once when I suggested to a co-worker that he should take his daughters to the range and teach them to shoot. He is a hunter since a kid himself so I thought it a natural progression to teach his kids. He basically called me an idiot for even suggesting such an idea. I think people don't have the trust in their own children to be responsible to handle it but the opposite is true, they just need to be given the chance. Also our society has been telling these kids and parents guns are only good for killing not fun, even to say they are for fun is so alien to them they just freak out. I have been noticing when I teach the local boy scouts that the kids get very interested in shooting as soon as you hand them the gun for the first time. Its like some one is telling them they are getting closer to adulthood.

Now that's a perfect example of the "culture war". Likewise the progressives have created a dishonest characterization of gun ownership as a prelude to violence...(if you own a gun you are going to hurt or kill someone) and any gun owner is on the psychological fringe...teetering between slobbering psychopathy and bed wetting. It is the propagation of the "big lie"....don't trust your family or neighbors trust the government. It used to be that we trusted one another and so the fact that your neighbor hunted or had firearms was no concern....Perhaps the only solution is counter-culture...never refer to a gun as a weapon, always promote the sporting aspect and down play the defense/warfare aspect, and brag on the skills displayed/needed etc and drag your kid along

[Innocent]

AD9...suggested a similar thing to a fellow colleague that was a major in the Egypitan army....was informed that his daughter was "too girly" and that his wife would never let his daughter become a shooter. We need to focus on more on the women understanding the values of the fine art of precision rifle shooting and the many positive attributes it gives anyone who really tries it.

Mary

[1armoured]

Maybe it's time we infiltrated the 'powers that be' to rectify the situation.

Encourage more women shooters to breed.
Send the boys out to procreate and increase the numbers.
Give the 'long haired General' a 'guns allowance' instead of for shoes and handbags !

We need to explore every avenue that we can.
Unfortunately, it seems that the shooting sports in general are falling off, (except maybe the 'black guns'.)
There seem to be less youngsters filling the gaps as us 'old'uns' retire.
Too many other distractions for them, esp X-Box video games et al !

Here in the Antipodes, from a population of around 3 million souls in the 80's, we had some hundreds of silhouette shooters.
Now with 4 million we are reduced to a few dozen, and we are not alone, except maybe for our pistol fraternity and their CAS and Action shooting.
All Pistol silhouette is also struggling.

We have an limited programme in some of the better schools with Olympic style smallbore, air pistol and shotgun, and in the Scouts and cadets, but they don't carry on after, or into other disciplines.
There isn't much cross discipline shooting here.
Each just stick to their own.
I'm happy to shoot anything, and always have,
but then I was brought up in Africa, in an era where shooting skills were considered as a necessary part of life, and encouraged.

What to do ?
You have the NRA. They should be doing something ???
Give them a bit of a shake up !

cheers,
SS

[Bob259]

Maybe it's time we infiltrated the 'powers that be' to rectify the situation....
Encourage more women shooters to breed.
Send the boys out to procreate and increase the numbers.
............................cheers,
SS

I like it

[Innocent]

My dear Sean....shoes and handbags have never been an interest of mine. Now as for the breeding part, my answer would not be acceptable on this side of the berm.
As for our NRA, with all due respect sir, the leaders sold us out long ago for the right to make "money" in the name of fundraising for non profits, if you don't believe that look long and hard at their budget, if you can get it released (as required by law). Having been a student of that end of society, it is interesting to see what is being taught and pushed by the powers to be in the education system and the complacency of the parents that are paying for the 'education'.
The late Harlon Carter was a 'no comprimise' man and had an undersanding of the balance between politics and what the people wanted for training and competitions side of the sport, the current leaders of the NRA are out for themselves only, and if that includes 'compromising' with the other side to save their 'job' they will do that. And the way the elections for a board memeber in the NRA developed over the years, polietly put is now 'less than fair and next to impopssible to through out the current group'.

Mary Watkins

[Snake]

.
Unfortunately, it seems that the shooting sports in general are falling off, (except maybe the 'black guns'.)
There seem to be less youngsters filling the gaps as us 'old'uns' retire.
Too many other distractions for them, esp X-Box video games et al !

Here in the Antipodes, from a population of around 3 million souls in the 80's, we had some hundreds of silhouette shooters.
Now with 4 million we are reduced to a few dozen, and we are not alone, except maybe for our pistol fraternity and their CAS and Action shooting.
All Pistol silhouette is also struggling.
,
SS

What is strange is that conventional high-power and pistol are doing just fine. Camp Perry begins Jul1 and will go through August. Their numbers have been on the up swing especially after the addition of the M1A match..so 'splain to me, Lucy! Their game is older, more traditional and involves the military somewhere...thus alleviating the usual lefty propagated "gun stigma"

[Another Dang 9]

Camp perry is also supported in part by the CMP which is selling great guns at great prices to keep camp perry going strong as well as the military involment and Hornady's in the sport. Were else in the world can you compete with the top military and civilian competitors at the same time. And yes The NRA should do more to get younger shooters involved even if it means going to the local schools to start scolarship programs to get them to see "the other" side of the sport. In the end they will get more members and keep this country safer.

[Snake]

Camp perry is also supported in part by the CMP which is selling great guns at great prices to keep camp perry going strong as well as the military involment and Hornady's in the sport. Were else in the world can you compete with the top military and civilian competitors at the same time.

The CMP sells a lot of vintage/surplus arms to encourage civilian marksmanship....I agree. But Camp Perry has very few (if any) M1/Springfield/Carbine matches....the high power and long range feature real "space guns" like the Tubb 2000. Its not CMP that makes conventional high power.......I think its anonimity ...targets are scored and posted but you can't see the shooter screw up like silhouette. In our game a one-eyed fat man can see how you're doing without optics....I think a lot of folks are afraid to not look like Daniel boone