Bullseye Losing Interest?

Improvements to my clubs pistol range for Bullseye are being denide. The reason I have been told is BULLSEYE game is dying. The "CHL/CCW" crowd is taking over in popularity. Is this true?..

Bullseye is not as popular as the other gun games, they require less skill and less dedication so many like them better.

DavidR wrote:Bullseye is not as popular as the other gun games, they require less skill and less dedication so many like them better.

Different skill sets, but not necessarily less.

Bullseye is a bit more experienced crowd on average. I think a lot of the run and gun shooters will wind up as bullseye shooters.

Its loosing interest because no one shoots one handed on TV or in the movies. Oh wait, media has no influence on society...what so ever.

We could try and impress the Police "L" match.

You can use one or two hands.

All shots at 25 yds using the the standard bullseye routine but the target is a little bit larger.

It is fun to shoot.

.22 and centerfire pistols, no real need for a .45 if you dont want to.

Clarence

Well, lets be honest about bullseye shooting - it is boring to do and boring to watch. It is very difficult to achieve master level, it requires "special" guns to compete effectively and there is not much being done to promote it.

I suspect what draws people into bullseye is the difficulty level of it and as such, only those with the patience to deal with it migrate towards it. I would like to try some sort of action shooting, however, being old and very out of shape prevents me from even considering it. But, being old and out of shape doesn't hamper me too much with bullseye so I can compete at a fairly high level.

I hope the sport doesn't fad away, but I suspect that the current generation of competitive action shooters will eventually get old and out of shape and no longer will be able to have fun. When that happens I suspect there will be a resurgence of bullseye.

Chris

If you think it is "boring to do" your not doing it right!

Dave C.

I can see how some may think bullseye is boring. However if you really look at what it takes to be good, it is a real challenge.

I wish I had more time to be bored shooting!

The reward from consistent practice, develping a shot process and finding out what works for you and being the best that you can physically and mentally be on demand is overwhelming!

The friendships you develop and the support from your peers is something I just don't see in other shooting sports.

I always had a low self esteem, little self confidence and was not a very outgoing person. Then I stumbled into bullseye shooting, found something I had a fair natural ability to do and raised me self esteem and confidence level dramatically! This has carried into other parts of my life and improved my quality of life.

So boring as some may see it, it has been a life changer for me!

Chris_D wrote:Well, lets be honest about bullseye shooting - it is boring to do and boring to watch. It is very difficult to achieve master level, it requires "special" guns to compete effectively and there is not much being done to promote it.
.........
Chris

Some of what you said could apply to golf.

That being said, my wife was bored out of her mind watching me shoot a 2700.

As someone who has competed in a wide variety of handgun competitions over the years, I don't think that it is boring. Boring activities to me are so easy that one tends to loose interest and wish one was doing something else. There is a different feeling when shooting bullseye or international pistol. There is a feeling of great satisfaction when one performs well. On the other hand, shooting action pistol, for example, is more exhilarating or fun (a higher high), if one is skilled enough to hit the targets consistently, can change mags and run through the course quickly.

The big drawback in action pistol type shooting is the down time. At least in bullseye or international pistol, one is shooting all the time. As bullseye has received less and less support from the military and isn't considered "relevant" to the real world by the newer crop of gun owners, I fear that it's popularity will continue to wane. I don't agree and I think that our strong argument for it's relevancy is to point out how fundamental it is to learn the basics and bullseye teaches the basics.

On other gun boards, I see new handgun shooters talk about not being able to shoot groups at a few feet. They have no conception of the basics of pistol marksmanship. This is where we need to point out the value of our sport.

When a sport gets boring its mostly because you have reached a level you cant pass and get tired of trying. This is a pitfall of many expert level bullseye shooters. You can get to expert with good equipment and a little skill but you are not going to make master unless you step up your game considerably. I will agree it is not the best spectator sport so most spouses will not enjoy watching, save yourself the grief and give them some cash and tell them to enjoy a day of shopping another sport that is not fun to watch.

I have not seen many spouses at the run and gun events. Who are you kidding the action events at the lower levels are just as boring.

For what it is worth the average BE shooters that come to run and gun perform at a much higher level then we did when we tried BE for the 1st time. Teach a BE shooter that dropping a mag in the dirt is not a sin and to load while he is running and they are lights out most times

I try to tell other shooters how much shooting in a weekly bullseye league has made me a much better marksmen, even with a rifle.

I'll admit I almost didn't go back after that first night of bullseye several years ago. I really didn't know what it was. "50 yards with a pistol are you kidding me". I'd been so brainwashed by other shooters who had so many excuses. Combat accuracy, 3-7 yards, blah blah blah. I was embarrassed. I barely got all my shots on paper. Instead of giving up, I listened and learned. I've since seen lots of others who don't come back after the first time.

There is rarely a full line of 10 at my club but, they have to turn people away from defensive pistol shoots.

As a fairly crumby shooter, new to bullseye, I'll mention one thing that is really hurting attendance at Bullseye events where I live. Within 125 - 150 mi of my house there are 4 or 5 clubs with indoor ranges that have matches in the winter. But it's almost impossible for me to find out when they are. Their web sites have no current information on events, except for maybe one club. I was taken to a match last weekend and we left before any scores were posted. I was curious the scores (not about mine, I knew what they were like) so I went to the club's website. The home page was dated 2009 and there was no information about any matches, no club calendar, no scores.

I have to depend on shooters who have been around a while who have friends at these clubs or find out about them I-don't-know-how. Usually when I hear about one, it's after the fact: "Did you go to the match at X last week?" I would have had I known about it.

Most everyone I've met involved in Bullseye has been kind and helpfull, but from the outside it looks like a closed circle and I had to really work to find people involved in it and events to attend. Still working at it.

Spence

We just started an indoor .22 300 league. 25-50'. Interest and participation is there and I am trying to turn as many as possible on to this site. I'm 52, been shooting since I was 5. I am only NOW learning how to properly shoot a pistol. I think it's an intensely fun shooting game that has the ability to drive one insane. I love a challenge. I spent over 20 years shooting recurve and longbows using the instinctive method so I know what Zen shooting is and have had the pleasure of occasionally experiencing its magic. I will do my part to keep it alive!

I'm a diehard competitive ATA trapshooter..

that being said, I shoot Bullseye for the excitement....

Like this ^^^^^^^

Just an update, the indoor league I mentioned in a previous post only shoots the second Friday night of the month. We invited those in attendance to come in on the remaining Fridays for some layed back practice. (I do the 50-50-50 drill) and to my surprise, over half of the shooters have been showing up. We've been pulling resources to keep ourselves in .22 ammo, trying each others pistols and having some good fun. Some of these folks have been around the club for years and we are all getting to know each other because of this "new" shooting game that we've started. I've been charged with running the league and I'm just interested in keeping it fun, competitive and well attended. I've referred anyone who'll listen to this site.

I love Bullseye, I just can't get to enough matches due to my work schedule. I'll never win but I use it as an internal test of my pistol fundamentals. Each time I shoot I think I get a little better but sometimes its not reflected in the final score!

Bruce

gimble88 wrote:As a fairly crumby shooter, new to bullseye, I'll mention one thing that is really hurting attendance at Bullseye events where I live. Within 125 - 150 mi of my house there are 4 or 5 clubs with indoor ranges that have matches in the winter. But it's almost impossible for me to find out when they are. Their web sites have no current information on events, except for maybe one club. I was taken to a match last weekend and we left before any scores were posted. I was curious the scores (not about mine, I knew what they were like) so I went to the club's website. The home page was dated 2009 and there was no information about any matches, no club calendar, no scores.

I have to depend on shooters who have been around a while who have friends at these clubs or find out about them I-don't-know-how. Usually when I hear about one, it's after the fact: "Did you go to the match at X last week?" I would have had I known about it.

Most everyone I've met involved in Bullseye has been kind and helpfull, but from the outside it looks like a closed circle and I had to really work to find people involved in it and events to attend. Still working at it.

Spence

This is much the same as I have found. Its tough to find "the loop" much less get into it. granted a lot probably has to be being a newer shooter, and not someone thats been around the ranges/shops for many years. Im also not the most outgoing person in the world, and not the type to just show up at a leage, or match.

Usually when you find a club that has strong participation there is a strong leader there. There may be a core group but still there is that one person, the ring leader, the guy we all want to be around.
No question BE is more of a challenge than the speed stuff. How many of those guys will shoot a 3.3" 10 ring @ 50 yds? I am continually amazed to see the no of shooters who blaze away at the 10 yd line! RO's often assume you want a spot @ the 10 when they see you checking in with a pistol at our range.
Really amazing, is the no of guys who shoot an AR at the 10?! About the longest a lot of them shoot is 25 yds which makes zero sense to me.
I do hope the pendulum swings back towards BE in the future. There is little more satisfiing than a clean breaking shot (especially .45) landing in the 50 yd X unless it's another...or more!!
Ron

There is a lot of excitement in the staid world of bullseye pistol competition. A couple of interesting changes in the NRA rules: there is a provisional two hand course of fire and the 'Made in the USA' course of fire allows a .22LR to be used for all three guns in a 2700. Is your club offering these options during Bullseye competitions?

Finding a way to draw more folks into the sport has always been our challenge. My two youngest just started (after the ammo prices jumped!!!) and are interested because of the camaraderie at the shoots and the Winchester Qualification Program (kids like patches, pins and certificates). I am working on a friend who started shooting last year, but he may be more interested in the steel plate stuff. What are you doing to expand our sport?

The personal commitment to rise above expert is the challenge in our sport. Coaches and Mentors can help with this, but there are far too few of these folks out there. The need for consistent mentors for our new shooters is one way to both improve our shooting and retain these new competitors. Is there someone you can coach or mentor?

And a way of sharing what works (and remediating what did not work) like this forum help, too.

As long as folks do not have to choose between the 'Bang-Clank' or the real defensive applications in other pistol sports and our basic pistol fundamentals, Bullseye competition should remain. But, as said above, to the extent the money is forced into other sports and out of Bullseye, there may be a significant constriction in our sport.

gimble88 wrote:As a fairly crumby shooter, new to bullseye, I'll mention one thing that is really hurting attendance at Bullseye events where I live. Within 125 - 150 mi of my house there are 4 or 5 clubs with indoor ranges that have matches in the winter. But it's almost impossible for me to find out when they are. Their web sites have no current information on events, except for  maybe one club. I was taken to a match last weekend and we left before any scores were posted. I was curious the scores (not about mine, I knew what they were like) so I went to the club's website. The home page was dated 2009 and there was no information about any matches, no club calendar, no scores.  

I have to depend on shooters who have been around a while who have friends at these clubs or find out about them I-don't-know-how. Usually when I hear about one, it's after the fact: "Did you go to the match at X last week?" I would have had I known about it.

Most everyone I've met involved in Bullseye has been kind and helpfull, but from the outside it looks like a closed circle and I had to really work to find people involved in it and events to attend. Still working at it.

Spence

Dear Spence:

I agree with you 100%

I read your post and while we have a very active shooting community here in the Lansing Michigan area, the six teams in our league have very limited information on their websites.  the league website, Central Michigan Rifle and Pistol League, does have more information but...... 

With that being said, anybody here that wants to shoot bullseye in the Lansing Michigan area, shoot me a pm, drop me a post, or email me at crankythunder at yahoo dot com and I will get ya started.  Since we always shoot a couple lines you can use my equipment to get started as well.  

We got a spot on the line for ya!

Regards,
Cranky