Low Attedance

[Snake]

So you see Dee....why I don't bother sanctioning a state match! I suppose the fellas that are in that sorry organization like talking to each other...obviously they are too stupid or simple to try to develop or grow or even to understand that competition improves firearm ownership and helps us keep our rights

[dustinflint]

I like the 3 day match idea Pat. But I don't shoot that John Wayne class stuff.

You eventually need to overcome your fear and just shoot it.

If it was HP I would be all over it.

If we had a range that could support it, HP would be included.

Pat and I have kicked this around as part of our discussion regarding the LaTex Cup - we dont know what the LaTex Cup will be yet, all we have for sure is the name.

Dustin

[cedestech]

I like the 3 day match idea Pat. But I don't shoot that John Wayne class stuff. If it was HP I would be all over it. That would be a lot of rifles to bring especially if you ride with guys that insist on shooting two rifles for SB and HP. At least the Cowboy guns are skinny and don't take up as much room. I might still go anyway and give the Shit Kicker Class a go.


Dee

CLA is FUN! Cowboy action, where they dress up and talk funny.... well, I have definite opinions on that which I won't share....

[teetertotter]

I might have low attendance this year due to .22 shortage. I emailed one of our competitors to ask if he wanted to help this Saturday's match and get some required club hours in. He said he would be shooting if he had ammunition. I told him I have some extra ammo or four boxes he could have. I'm waiting to hear back. Because we have had only 4 shooters the past two weeks when normally have 7, I'm wondering if ammo shortage is effecting some. I know 5 people that buy a brick or two at a time as can only afford. I venture they aren't buying as pricing is to high or can't find. Maybe they don't or think to check the internet either. If can't find in our local stores, why bother any further? It will be interesting how many come to this Saturday's Tournament. I emailed everyone our 2014 schedule and might have to send reminders out tomorrow of our Saturday's Tournament.

[malinois]

I plan on attending the Smallbore match in Tenn in August...but also can attend the HP in Baton Rouge in Sep...whats the name of that club I would like to get away and shoot with you all over there...I am not able to attend the Dawsonville club til Dec..

[Another Dang 9]

the hoarders are going to kill this sport.
I think I have two boxes of every brand of ammo ever made.

[chuckjordan2]

I've taken the time to read everyone's comments, here's mine:

1) US Silhouette was started sometime in the late 70's or early 80's?? I'm asking, seems here it started early 1900s: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metallic_ ... e_shooting
the reason for the above (if started late 70's) what was the popular shooting sports in the 1940's-1960's? Scheutzen was in decline, smallbore rifle matches were popular and so was bullseye. Anything else? The reason of this question is some other sport proceeded silhouette. Maybe that sport has died out? I can't find 3P (that caters to adults) within 125 miles of me (I had to qualify that as there is a very nice range 10 miles from my house that has a USNA instructor teaching 3P and shooting....to HS and College kids only (no adults can attend, and you wonder why the shooting sports in general is dying).

2) Shooting associations are like the cancer associations, they want your money and give you nothing but hope ( ) in return.

3) we just had a SB match today and had 5 shooters (3 were scheduled). but we made the best of it and had a good time.

I'm mid 50's now and can remember shooting on farms and country areas when I was young. My grandfather/ & father took me to smallbore rifle training sessions when I was young. We as a family shot together. I don't see any of that now.

Just as there were other shooting disciplines prior to silhouette, maybe the shooting sports is evolving? I'd bet that the olde-time sheutzen shooters (from the 1920's-1930's, earlier too) thought the new-fangled silhouette matches wouldn't last long. Something to ponder.

[dustinflint]

Wow, there are some Debbie Downers on this thread...

Perhaps if everyone did their part to start a match/introduce new shooters/promote the game instead of predicting doom on the internet the sport would grow a bit faster than it has lately.

Be the change you seek (or however that old saying goes).

Dustin

[cedestech]

/introduce new shooters/promote the game instead of predicting doom on the internet the sport would grow a bit faster than it has lately.

I was actually thinking about this and brought it up to Pat today. Silhouette is hard. You are judged (by the game) very critically and score taken. You shoot, you hit or miss. That is all. I find that most of the people I meet that enjoy silhouette have competed in other sports at other times in their lives or have vocations that are judged critically. The vast majority of Americans don't like that and I am afraid the trend is more the same. People don't like to be judged, they want a reset, a do over, a respawn, in life and in play.... Then again, maybe I am over thinking it....

[dustinflint]

Sporting clays is hard. It's hit-or-miss and the shooter is judged critically. It's also incredibly expensive with $30,000 shotguns and thousands of shells-and there is no type of shooting facility more expensive to build and maintain than a trap/skeet/clays range. Despite all that difficulty and expense, sporting clays is popular enough to support a PRO-TOUR with nationally televised events giving away $100K purses!!!

The difference between silhouette and sporting clays is that everyone knows what skeet is and no one knows what silhouette is, even outside the competitive shooting community. Therefore, clay shooting gets thousands of new shooters trying it, talking about it, reading about it, and watching it on TV. Silhouette is so poorly promoted that I have to show people YouTube videos to give them any clue about what we do. People just don't know about this game - everybody knows what skeet shooting is.

Sure, there are always the people that come out and get frustrated or intimidated and don't come back; but every sport requires a certain type of person to get into it. There are lots of people that would love this game but do not know that it exists. I was one of those people 3.5 years ago. If a couple more million people around the country new about this game, I bet we would have a good infusion of new shooters that love it and the game would get a lot more popular. Our problem is the complete lack of promotion from the people who are supposed to be promoting it. Greg Connor literally does not know how to send an email! This is the guy that we count on to promote our game! The NRA needs to get out of the business of putting on matches and get into the business of getting more people out shooting the shooting sports. That means promoting all of the competitive sports, including silhouette.

Dustin

[Snake]

The downer for sporting clays is the lead clean up....the remediation is a night mare and around here sporting clay ranges are quietly disappearing. Trap and skeet concentrate the lead fallout and reclamation is reasonably easy. Further shotguns have always been more 'acceptable' to the general public. As far as promoting is concerned we have offered rifles and ammo to newbies to come try the game...even offering hunting rifles with lower powered scopes. Very very few takers....it seems that shooting past 200 meters befuddles some....Just tell me how to get the existing guys to show

[cedestech]

Just tell me how to get the existing guys to show

That.

[Snake]

As far as I'm concerned we play the greatest shooting game there is. We are true riflemen and all of us need to advocate this sport. More shooters just makes us better.

[bigmike6970]

Today at the Aurora CO club, monthly match we had 32 shooters with 6 new unclassified shooters, we ran 2 matches 1 Smallbore and 1 hunter and we had 3 relays. This is the most that we have at the monthly match in a while but we normally have about 15 to 20 shooters on a normal month.

[snaketail2]

Just a suggestion- and, yes, I am quiet bias.

The St. Louis club's Cowboy Lever Action Silhouette match had more shooters than the High Power last weekend (several of the Lever Action shooters had just finished the High Power match).
The week before the range in Benton Arkansas had a very nice turn out - and some of us drove 7 hours to get there.
Next moth a boat-load of us are going to Oklahoma City for the regional Matches (OKC Gun Club announced that there are no more spaces available for the match).
Perhaps more lever action silhouette matches is the solution.

Just offering an alternative.
M