Pistol League?

Is this a common occurrence? I've been around competitive shooting since the late 80s and every league I have seen, has been on a night at a time that makes sense to accommodate rather than exclude. I find out that the local club has a pistol league and I really want to participate. 

Then I find out that the line goes hot at 5:30pm and they only shoot one relay.  Like a lot of people, I have a job and kids.  

Are they afraid of missing the early bird special at Bonanza? I'm thinking there is literally no one of working age that shoots in the league. Every time I have ever come across stuff like this, it makes me want to stear clear.

B

Our leagues are on Sundays. Start about 9:00 and shoot until everyone has fired two 900's. Last three years we have had a match on Super Bowl Sunday. Better have a DVR

LenV wrote:Our leagues are on Sundays. Start about 9:00 and shoot until everyone has fired two 900's. Last three years we have had a match on Super Bowl Sunday. Better have a DVR

 
Yeah I have seen stuff like that in the leagues I've participated in. Mostly it's been a mistake, but three years in a row sounds like it's by design.

This league is a 30 shot NMC and a 30 shot sport pistol match (15 slow and 15 rapid).

B

Years ago I was involved in my company's rifle and pistol club.  We had a weekly match at our club range in downtown Seattle.  These matches were just 30 shots.  No prizes just bragging rights and all at 50 feet.  In and done in less than an hour.  Most of us lived in the suburbs and had to drive 15 or 20 miles to get to the range.  After a year of this I asked if we could shoot twice over the course just to get more shooting.  We did that and we occasionally spiced it up with some center fire.  Leagues are weird like this and maybe if you speak up it might change.

I've seen clubs where the "legacy" members set the rules to please themselves, then whine when they can't recruit new members to do all the  hard work of range maintenance and repair.

Our club league tries to get first shots downrange by 6pm (Wednesday and Thursday). Usually two lines and they shoot 2 a second 30 shot match afterward. A fair number of the guys like it to start 'early' so that they can shoot after work and before they go home for the night.

Bruce

Yeah I wish I could get them to modify the start time. I live in a community that is spread out over a large area and I just don't see this happening. 

I'll be able to shoot the monthly matches but it's a disappointment not being able to do somthing every week. 

B

"Yeah I have seen stuff like that in the leagues I've participated in. Mostly it's been a mistake, but three years in a row sounds like it's by design"

I don't think the NFL is doing it deliberately. Our league is older then Super Bowls so they could schedule around us.

I shoot one League that starts at 7 for a 900 with one relay. Another runs a 600 (2 slow, timed and rapid). Their first relay is at 4 and the last at 9 unless there needs to be a 10pm relay. Each is 1 hour away.

I shot twice in a 5:30-7:30 league.  At 7:30 the action pistol crowd took over the range.  It was mostly gray hairs, perhaps all retired?  The third time I traveled an hour and 15 across town, I was so stressed out from traffic that I turned around and drove home without even stopping at the club.   That time only makes sense for people working close by.

Unfortunately in this large Metro area that is the only league.  It was well run and the people were friendly (2xNMC/night).

The club I belong to has an indoor league at 9 am on Tuesdays......I guess they're trying to get the retired/ independently wealthy crowd.

At my club, Cincinnati Revolver Club, we shoot on Wednesdays at 10am (mostly retired guys), 5pm and 6:30pm. We shoot 900 points at 50 feet.

Vern wrote:At my club, Cincinnati Revolver Club, we shoot on Wednesdays at 10am (mostly retired guys), 5pm and 6:30pm. We shoot 900 points at 50 feet.

Options are good. I'm sure the early relay frees things up so you can accommodate more shooters.  Shooting a 900 is a lot better than a NMC. 

B

Maybe you could offer to run another league at another time slot?

When we officially formed our league, it was set for 6:00 on Tuesday night, two 900 Indoor relays, three if needed.  Most of the participants are from 60+ minutes away, through a mountainous country/little village setting.  It gradually moved earlier and now the first relay starts gathering around 4:00.  If the line is full (only six points), it will even start earlier.  It takes less than an hour to shoot the course.  We swap targets normally at ten shots and score at the end of the relay.  It's not rushed, but most of the shooters only use about three minutes for slow fire and 50 ft doesn't take up much walking time.  Now, we're often finished shooting by 6:30.

Like someone else mentioned, find a nearby range with some comfortable open time, set up a league and see where it goes.  You don't really need to formalize anything but, possibly an agreement with the range.  You can start out by simply shooting an informal 900 with a couple of other interested shooters.  If it looks workable, form it into a regular gathering and see if there's enough interest to formalize it further.

Our League WVPL ( Willamette Valley Pistol League) was started in the late 1940's. Currently we have 8 teams from Oregon and Washington with 6 available ranges and a roster of over 100 shooters. League matches are on a Sunday every month starting in January. Practice time in Corvallis is every Friday after 5:00. All shooters from all skill levels are invited to shoot. The matches are not NRA sanctioned but NRA rules apply. These are all .22 only matches.
 A full 900 is shot against every other team over the length of the season. We have 2 categories of competition. The scratch scores of the top 4 shooters in each match is used for the scratch competition. The handicap match uses a formula to determine a handicap factor for each shooter based on their current average. New shooters that shoot better every match are welcome/needed to help with the handicap match. Higher average shooters also contribute to the handicap match if they shoot over their average. Just like the scratch match only the top 4 handicap scores are used to determine the winner. There currently is no maximum shooters that can shoot for any team.

Handicap formula:   900- Average= X   75 divided by X = Factor

Example 1  600 ave     900-600= 300  75 divided by 300 = .25 
 If example 1 shooter fires a 650 (50 over average) his Handicap score is 50x.25   score 12.5

Example 2  825 ave     900-Ave=75    75 divided by 75 = 1
 If example 2 shooter fires a 840 (15 over average) his score would be 15x1      score 15

Probably more info then you need but it is a neat way to run a league.
                            -

Run it yourself. I used a recording for timed and rapid so i could shoot.

Indoor 12 position 50  ft.   30 shots course.

Used this handicap scoring system.

LenV wrote:I don't think the NFL is doing it deliberately. Our league is older then Super Bowls so they could schedule around us.

Ha ha, I see what you did there. 

B

davekp wrote:Maybe you could offer to run another league at another time slot?

I like this, I might offer to run a seperate relay after they go home. Have to get the range commands down though. 

B

bpm990 wrote:
Are they afraid of missing the early bird special at Bonanza? I'm thinking there is literally no one of working age that shoots in the league. Every time I have ever come across stuff like this, it makes me want to stear clear.

B

I shoot with some early birds too.  Match starts at 4:00 on Thursdays!  It is just a few retirees and they don't care if anyone shows up other than the few regulars. I have asked the regulars about changing the times, but they won't do it.

I asked the store/range owner and he won't change because he doesn't want the range open after store hours.  Yet, they have an IDPA league that shoots at 7:00 after the store closes.  When questioned about that he said, "Well, more people show up because it's after work."

OMG, you can't make this stuff up. 

Sounds like they are just happy with the small cliché they already have..  Early start, and only one line, just shows they don't want to grow it at all.. So if a person drive there, and the line is full your SOL right?  That a good way to make people not go back.

The club I belong to shoots indoor from October till April. Every Tuesday from 5:00PM till 9:00PM

50', 10 shots slow, 2 strings of 5 shot timed fire, 2 strings of 5 shot rapid fire. Repeat again for 60 shot total. It is a league competition.

Makes it easy for folks still working, as well as us old retired guys.

The pistol club I recently joined hosted a weeknight Bullseye league for the first time last winter. 25 yard indoor 300. They had around 8 shooters weekly. It's the reason I joined the club. Well, the "regulars" got their butts handed to them by a few of us "outsiders". Not that I'm any good, but just a bit better than the "regular" crowd. They are not even going to have a Bullseye league this winter. I may be wrong, but I suspect a bit of the "good old boy" shenanigans going on here.

So, they are extending their PPC league this winter. Little do they know, I'm better at PPC than I am Bullseye!

Mike38, where are you???
Warhorse and you?

james r chapman wrote:Mike38, where are you???
Warhorse and you?

I don't know a "Warhorse".

I'm from Illinois.

I think three of us stepped on some toes last winter, so it looks like no Bullseye league for us this year.