Prizes

[Don McDowell]

With the shooting season getting up and to going in full force, here's something to ponder.
In the fall meeting of the NRA at the Creedmoor matches in 1879 , Jackson was the first place shooter. His prize take was something just over 300$ Ever stopped to figure out how much money that was for that time frame , or even converted it to todays dollars.

[Kurt]

$300 of 1874 dollars would be worth: $6,250.00 in 2015

$300 of 2015 dollars would be worth $14.40 in 1874

[Don McDowell]

That’s a sweet pile of change

[Kurt]

That $300. is a years wages for a Ranch hand back then.

[Don McDowell]

Close to 2 years wages at that time

[Freedom]

Don, I believe this is exactly why our BPCR is the ONLY shooting sport not growing by leaps and bounds. If you win the National Airgun 100 yard championship they hand you a $5,000 check! I think 36 people showed up to shoot for the $5K prize in 2016!!!!!!! BPCR Matches charging $30, $50, to even over $100++ in entry fee's with ZERO$ paid out to contestants boarders on criminal.

[Don McDowell]

Wes at the BPCRS nationals, they hand out thousands of dollars worth of prizes, rings, and trophies to several places in most classes for an entry fee of around 100$. At the BPTR matches entry is 200+, and we get a printed piece of paper and a medal, in 2016 the medals were wearing 2015 neck bands.
The other shooting sports have major sponsors from most of the manufacturers so that's where a lot of the prize money comes from. BPCR simply doesn't have enough corporate sponsors to do that.
A lot of the reason Creedmoor and the like died out in the 1880's it was danged expensive to shoot, and folks just didn't have the money to do it. Not a lot of difference now days. A single rifle costing 2K, a set of sights costing something close to 700, enough ammunition to shoot 200 rounds, and all the rest that goes into it, it's simply so very expensive for people to do.
Roberts opined in his Schuetzen rifle book said that was why the big interest in Schuetzen type matches in the 1880's , all a person needed was a rifle and 4 cases, and the powder and bullets and you were good to go, compared with the 100's of rounds of prepared ammo to shoot the other matches.
If you look at the way the 22 bpcr matches are expanding so rapidly, we see much the same thing, for 300$ or so a person can buy enough ammo to shoot for a couple of years. Compare that with the cost of loading 200 rounds of 45-90's..

[Freedom]

Yeah, I suppose the reason that I like this game so much, is the same reason why there is no big cooperate dollars to throw around.
Most of us enjoy making our own stuff so much and getting the rifles to shoot takes a lot more than Hornady sending me ammo and Ruger mailing me there latest and greatest. I guess there is very little that a sponsor could benefit from.

But I'd still would wager to bet that the NRA could promote BP sports and make it HUGE. And if $50K or $100K was on the table, The TV folks would show up, bringing with them, plenty of big sponsor names.

Within just few years nationals would be by invitation/qualification only because shooters would surely join to share in $250,000 in cash and prizes.

[Don McDowell]

Back in 07 or there about, Shiloh and Goex were going to sponsor a creedmoor match on Kenny's traditional steel targets. Entry fee was 100$ and there was some serious prize money being offered. They had to cancel it because there was only about 3 or 4 shooters that signed up.
There are a bunch of bpcr matches that aren't being held anymore because the attendance is down so far the clubs have trouble justifying tying up the range for a weekend for 20-30 shooters or less, when they've got several times that many wanting to run their black guns. There are a lot of handgun silhouette matches that are gone now too. Folks mostly want to show up bang on some steel targets and leave.
I'm hoping the new management in NRA competitions will do more to promote the various bpcr venues, but if folks don't show up it's pretty hard for them to justify it.

[Freedom]

Well it is fun to fantasize about 2 years salary for winning a match!

I just hope to assemble enough ca$h and time ( at the same time) to come see some of you fine folks this summer at a few matches.

Laughing with all of you is the best "Prize" in the world anyway!!.

Plussss, I can sometimes win shooting against you'all...Cooperate sponsored shooters would surely put an end to my little pipe-dream real quick!!