Boosting attendance through referral incentives

[Trent]

Ladies and Gentlemen, (and I use those terms loosely... McAlice and Beckley, I'm talking to you.)

I've been racking my brain lately about how to boost attendance at silhouette matches (especially HP) and I think I may have an idea that I wanted to bounce off everyone and maybe see if some match directors would step up and give it a try. Maybe it's been done already but I've not heard of it. A lot of match directors give new shooters their first match for free, which I think is a great thing but I wonder if we could do more. What if we rethought our perspective and instead of rewarding the new shooter we rewarded the veterans that entice new shooters to come out and shoot. I am talking about a referral program that would encourage silhouette competitors to bring out new shooters. When a current competitor brings a new shooter to their local match then they (the veteran) shoot for free that day. I think that this does a few things;

1) It encourages us to bring out new shooters.
2) Although it might seem like it would be costly it would bring in more new shooters which in the long run would boost the number of paying competitors.
3) Ideally it would somewhat revive our sport and increase attendance at local matches and in turn larger matches as well.

What ye all thinks?

[KidCulpepper]

What ye all thinks?

Is that some kind of Coloradian or Arizonese way of saying "y'all"? We are gonna have to set aside some time for grammar lessons!

BTW, I think your idea is a good one - kinda like the "with me" credits that the NRA tried to act like they were using to increase participation at Camp Perry (except not f'ed up since managed by the individual match directors at the local level).

Now if we can only get some HP silhouette in the South (working on it)....

Kid

[Innocent]

Kid, get the HP range going, and you'll have some FL shooters there! Trent, I say try the idea some, usually when I get newbie to appear at a match I end up not shooting but lending equipment/coaching but it is worth a try. I still feel that there needs to be awards, many just use money, but a lot of the newbies here love the little silhouette pins with a cup and MW, or 1st or 2nd on them. R&S enterprises in AZ, sells them, cheap enough.

Mary

[Dee]

There is no shortage of effort in trying to get new people to come out and give it a try. The problem is you can offer someone a custom rifle with free ammo and free match fees and they STILL don't seem to be interested. I have come to the conclusion that people like to sit on their ass and shoot most of all these days. It is easy to feel like a good shooter when the rifle is doing 95% of the shooting for you and people want to feel like they can shoot even if they know it's only because they are using a 25 lb rifle on a return to battery setup.

This is a game that you have to want to shoot and be challenged by over the long run.

As for HP ranges in the South we have one in the works right now and just located some targets. Rails, berms and a shooting line are the only things we need to make happen now.

Dee

[Trent]

Dee, I think we like to tell ourselves that everyone tries to bring out new shooters but I just don't see it. I see the same few people that do actually put in a concerted effort to bring new people in but overall I just don't see an overwhelming effort. I feel like we can ALL try harder, me included. Maybe an incentive would entice us.

The theory above would be an incentive to drag new people out. Heck, if a person tried hard enough they could theoretically shoot for free every match (locally). I'm thinking if we switched the incentive and paid the veteran shooter that brought the newbie we'd have more effort put forth to bring them. I look back at my very first match that I shot in for free and while I appreciate the gesture overall I could have cared less. It's $15… I spend that much on my lunch. Now on the otherhand, if the shooter that brought me out had also brought out 9 other shooters that year, heck that's $150 bucks in hand. Now that's something that can be useful. That is three bricks of Std+.

When I was a newbie I wanted the recognition at the end of the match, not the free hand out at the beginning. That's just how my brain works though.

[Trent]

No other opinions on this? Come on folks, seems like the only content we've had on this site lately is busting Baby Huey's balls or bickering over the "best" cartridge for HP Silhouette. Both of which are nonsensical. Even if you completely disagree with this idea at least say it. This forum is boring as of late. Maybe we've said everything there is to say about silhouette.

[Trent]

What ye all thinks?

Is that some kind of Coloradian or Arizonese way of saying "y'all"? We are gonna have to set aside some time for grammar lessons!

Now if we can only get some HP silhouette in the South (working on it)....

Kid

Eh boy, you cee dem DAR cheekin's over dere? Now choot'em!

How's that? Ha… I'm just a dumb Yankee!

[Innocent]

When I was a newbie I wanted the recognition at the end of the match, not the free hand out at the beginning.

Trent, you hit it on the head, people want recognition for their shooting, back to some kind of awards, such as pins, certificates etc. Even those of us that don't care about another dust collector still relish the first pin in a new discipline.

Mary

[Dee]

I am literally out of people to ask if they want to come give it a try. I was thinking about getting a table at a local gun show to see if that might be a viable way to get new shooters. I've built a website and have it linked on the State Shooting Association website as well.

Lots of people I know hunt but down here they aren't really shooters so to say. They are simply meat hunters and telling people that never take even rested shots much over 50 yards for deer that the Ram target is 550 yards away oh and you shoot it offhand is just a mental killer for people it seems. The one's I talk to can't even fathom being able to hit a target so far away. Many will even say off a bench they don't think they can. When the first person to think they have lost before they even start is a potential new shooter the odds of them coming out are slim to none. I've put more rounds through my new HP rifle since I got it earlier this year than most of the hunters I know I will shoot their rifles combined the rest of their lives.

In this game odds are you are going to somewhat suck right out the gate but most everyone improves or strives to at least. How fast you get better is all on you. When I watch these guys chucking rounds into a BR Rifle and popping 5 shots off as fast as they can I get why they are doing it so quickly, but I don't get why they are doing it at all to begin with. I see nothing but utter boredom doing that kind of shooting with no challenge beyond conditions. But these types of matches get lots of people to attend because people can pay to shoot what is considered decent overall scores nearly right out of the gate.

Personally I got invited to shoot silhouette for the first time while attending my 1st informal Field Target Match where everyone was sitting on their ass with straps and knee and thigh rests to shoot huge solid face plates like silhouette. They weren't even using the typical targets with the kill zone holes. They asked if I wanted to sit down and I said no I'll shoot them offhand and went 32/34 IIRC. That's when Jeaux asked if I ever tried silhouettes. The rest is history still in the making


Dee

[Trent]

I think that introduction to silhouette has changed and people are more likely to shoot smallbore first and then trickle into HP later if it is available. That's a change from yesteryear when HP was king of the hill and people would venture from HP silhouette to smallbore for a little extra practice.

At the next local matches I am going to run this idea past the match directors and see what they think. As far as I know they aren't regulars on SteelChickens.

[Bob Mc Alice]

OK, I will chime in.
First, FIFTEEN BUCKS for lunch.!!! really ??

We had this very discussion at Lander after Saturdays match was over. How to attract new shooters to this game. We had only 8 SB shooters and 8 HP shooters show up for a state match. Piss poor. In general we tossed around several ideas but came to no real answer. Dave and I talked at length on the way home about this and we will try to bring at least two more with us next year. I am still convinced that a feature article in the American Rifleman on rifle silhouette would bring in a land slide of interest.

Trent, you are a silhouette success story I wish was easy to repeat over and over. Ever since Kevin saw you posting in the lonely hearts section on Rimfire Central , " new guy to Colorado looking for some action"...well, thanks Kevin. You took to small bore and did real well right off. After awhile it was easy to lure you into trying HP. "Here kid, try out my Remchester 7-08 on the big targets". It was love at first chicken slam. Alright, we got a new HP shooter , then you move away. That's the way it is. They come and they go. Small bore is doing OK here in CO but HP is on life support. There was a time we had 25 show up to a monthly match. Now there are only twelve known HP shooters within a large metropolitan area. It is rare to get more than six at any monthly match lately. That is disgusting.

Back in '02 me and Tom B. put on a new shooter/silhouette demonstration clinic at CRC. It was advertised well in advance in the club newsletter. We set up the entire range and provided lunch, rifles and ammo. NOT ONE PERSON SHOWED UP. Back then the club membership was at about 450 members. I plan on repeating this event next spring one last time. The club now has a website and the membership has doubled since then. Maybe we will have better luck drawing some folks to check it out. The popular shooting games now at CRC are Long Range Precision Rifle (belly and bipod shooters) and Three Gun. Might be a hard sell getting people to try shooting offhand.

To end, future HP shooters most likely will come from the small bore ranks. Any of you CO small bore shooters reading this please feel free to ask me for a loaner HP rifle and ammo. Come out to a HP match and give it a try.

[Trent]

OK, I will chime in.
First, FIFTEEN BUCKS for lunch.!!! really ??

I don't always eat off the dollar menu at McDonald's.

Ever since Kevin saw you posting in the lonely hearts section on Rimfire Central , " new guy to Colorado looking for some action"

That is freaking classic!

[Trent]

Hey Bob, check out my post on page 6 of this thread over on SnipersHide that I just made. These are the guys that shoot in the LR Precision matches on the silhouette range. How do you like that?!! Think I'll get any takers?

http://www.snipershide.com/forum/ubbthr ... 599&page=1

[AddictedToSB]

I know I'd take you up on it if I was near that range!

I wanted to jump on the "need more recognition for shooters" bandwagon. But with only 5-10 shooters per month at our local SB match , it's hard to justify anything more than a certificate for the winner of each class. We are thinking about starting to use a handicap system, with a special "overall winner" prize, possibly a side-pot with a $1 buy-in, a small "trophy". I think it will help keep relatively new shooters from being discouraged so quickly if they have a chance to beat the high-level shooters.

Of course, we may have to give Pharr a "reverse handicap" to level the playing field even more.

[Dee]

You never see a Silhouette shooting piece on Shooting USA TV show or any of the others for that matter. It is always people running around hiding behind plywood walls shooting steel pizza trays at 10 yards with pistols or all 3 guns etc. That seems to be about all they cover it is either that end of the spectrum or some old codgers shooting smoke poles for the Annual battle of the bucket or some such name.

They need to do an hour and have it be 1/2 F-Class or Mid Range Benchrest and then switch over to Silhouette to compare and contrast the two.

I guess if Smith and Wesson, Ruger, and others aren't in the game then it gets no play on shows because they only seem to play up those shooting sports that put a premium on buying crap and shooting lotssssssss of ammo. Remington wouldn't even notice a blip on their rifle line if HP shooters suddenly increased 10x that sell so many already.

I still think raise the match fee a bit and hire some Hooter's girls or Local Artistic Dancers and have them reset targets in bikinis. Not only would it draw in a lot more people but it would probably increase scores since unhit targets wouldn't need to be reset. I can imagine all the spotting going on between relays. To check on conditions of course


Dee