New Competitors’ Committee

First topic message reminder :

I’d like to address all my friends who shoot bullseye pistol.
 
The past eight months have had several pivotal moments unique to our sport. From this past July to the present, the Competitions Division of the NRA has attempted several major initiatives, for the sport and the National Matches. Some of which perplexed a large portion of our community.
 
It’s unclear what the NRA’s goals have been over the past few months. What arrived in the wake of their initiatives generated what many perceived as little more than machinations on the part of the Association.  Unintentional intrigue or possibly careless execution from our governing body has caused many competitors to express their outrage and lack of confidence. Those concerns were openly made in public media, such as the Bullseye-L Forum and Facebook. It has reminded many of us something we all suspected for a long time: Declining participation is far worse than most of us would have expected.

As such, these circumstances place our sport in peril. It’s rich history and traditions could potentially be severely damaged or lost.
 
I and several others, who have great respect for our sport, have taken the position the NRA needs feedback and guidance from the competitors. Currently there is no such process or mechanism in place. Keep in mind I’m not referring to individual communications, but one that is collective.

I’m suggesting that we organize a committee that would represent the desires and interests of our community in the form of a single voice directed at the Association. I believe that we as competitors can assist the Association in overcoming some of these ongoing issues.

The following are some of the recently pronounced but long-term issues that appear to be either unresolved or neglected:


• The absence of commercial sponsorship at local matches and the National Matches
• Currently there is no branding or national marketing program to recruit new participants
• The NRA’s current lack of operational support for registered matches 
• Several individuals have openly called for us to castoff the NRA and form our own governing body
• The status of electronic targets at the National Matches


In essence, I think it would be wise for us to have our representation based upon regional areas of the country.
 
The following individuals have graciously volunteered to help represent us: Phil Hemphill will represent the Deep South; Brian Zins will represent the Mid-West; Rob Kovach for the Great Lakes Region; Frank Greco and me for the Mid-Atlantic; and John Zurek for the South West.

Additional volunteers for committee members are needed to represent the Mountain States, West Coast and New England regions.

Committee members will be required to reach out to local bullseye shooters to determine their temperament on various issues that relate to the sport. They may be called upon from time to time, to meet with officials of the NRA. And as well, the committee might reach out to the shooting community for assistance in advancing the community’s goals and desires.

The primary purpose of the committee is fairly obvious. Competitors are the sport, and their input for its future direction and scope should have high priority.

Should you have a desire to participate as a member of the committee, please contact me directly by email at: b754020@aol.com

Once the committee is adequately formed and prepared to work, routine updates will be posted on the Bullseye-L Forum.
 



Tony Brong

orpheoet wrote: A simple easy to navigate site with upcoming events and information relevant to new shooters would be a great start in my opinion.

+1

I can remember starting  at a local club who did 3 gun NMC events at 15 and 25 yards..we had quite a few police officers in those days who shot.. lots of different firearms and not too many were true BE pistols.. my whole family shot at those matches.. My wife and I were the only ones who ventured into true BE matches..

I shoot BE in 4 different leagues during the year. Every year the number of participants gets smaller except at one club. They opened it up to two handed shooters and now have more 2 handed shooters shooting BE than one handed. Lots of women and teenagers trying out the sport as well as the old guys that shake too much to shoot one handed any more with some action guys trying to develop some trigger control. They are all smiles when at the line and it has been a big boost to this club. They have their own group that they compete against so at the end of the season they have both 1 and 2 handed winners. Just something to think about for the future of the sport.

Two handed shooting is a fine option for local leagues. Encourage your league shooters to ride along with you to your next registered or approved 1 handed match and give them the itch to move beyond the leagues.

Wisconsin Bullseye shooting is growing. We are starting to get full matches that fill up weeks in advance.

We are even adding more matches and getting good turn outs.

All we do is collect email addresses of shooters and offer carpool to matches.

We can grow our ranks by doing this across the country.

Rob, 

How old are the new shooters in WI? We are starting to see some people come back to Bullseye after not competing for a few years (the lure of the 22 Distinguished badge may be part of it). But at a recent match, I was the second youngest person on the line and I am 51.

Rob Kovach wrote:Two handed shooting is a fine option for local leagues. Encourage your league shooters to ride along with you to your next registered or approved 1 handed match and give them the itch to move beyond the leagues.

Wisconsin Bullseye shooting is growing.  We are starting to get full matches that fill up weeks in advance.

We are even adding more matches and getting good turn outs.

All we do is collect email addresses of shooters and offer carpool to matches.

We can grow our ranks by doing this across the country.

Enthusiasm will help interest. Encourage shooters of all ages & levels of both skill & equipment to join your practices. Talk up the matches and the guns used, with an emphasis on the cheaper stuff so as not to let high $$ scare them off. Once they're hooked, the nicer/better guns etc sell themselves. Those that already have target pistol(s)  should be persuaded the BE game is a chance to use them.

Rob's giving them a ride should be a big motivation. Encourage goal setting . I just shot my 1st match in some time, only .22 but I did enjoy it. Restricted to the .22 due to age and severe shoulder problems I find myself wishing I were a lad like Rob!!? I see several mistakes  I hope to correct............... Now if I can just get over 800............

Ron Habegger

Thanks Ron! Hang in there and shoot as much .22 as you can.

Jmdavis,
In the new match we hosted in June, I think we had over 20 juniors.

I wholly reject the worry that bullseye shooters are getting too old.

There are 300 million people in this country, and many of them are handgun owners. It really doesn't matter what age they are as long as they have fun.

Rob Kovach wrote:Thanks Ron! Hang in there and shoot as much .22 as you can.

Jmdavis,
In the new match we hosted in June, I think we had over 20 juniors.

I wholly reject the worry that bullseye shooters are getting too old.

There are 300 million people in this country, and many of them are handgun owners. It really doesn't matter what age they are as long as they have fun.

That's great, 2 juniors would make me happy.

We should take the positive view, this is just a cycle. It looks as if NRA & CMP are  takin off in every direction at once w/ production classes, all .22 matches, and the if some officer in Podunktu in 1952 carried it, it can be used in EIC.

If anything should be resistant to change it should be the 30 shot NTI and the leg matches shot around the country!!

Make the matches/practices fun. Include the new guys in it. Shooters want to be part of a group that enjoys themselves.

Ron Habegger