Good news and bad news

[Don McDowell]

for bpcr silhouette.. http://www.ssusa.org/articles/2015/12/28...uary-2016/

[Lumpy Grits]

for bpcr silhouette..http://www.ssusa.org/articles/2015/12/28/competitors-corner-january-2016/

Not able to get the link to open.
Gary

[Don McDowell]

Copy and paste it into your browser.

[Lumpy Grits]

Copy and paste it into your browser.

Well-Now your link is in blue letters and loads right up.
THX,
Gary

[Don McDowell]

Very interesting that they are deleting any comments that don't bow down sufficiently enough....

[Nuclearcricket]

I don't know how you guys all feel about this but I kind of feel its a good idea since there are a lot of people that just can't travel to the south west. Ridgway is a very nice range and they are very experienced with dealing with large numbers of competitors. I also think it will be a good experience for some of the shooters that will make the effort to show up to shoot. When you shoot the same range all the time against the same people you can kind of get into a rut. When you add new people to the mix, you not only get to make new friends but the level of competition will be raised.
If this is going to happen in 16, there is a very good chance that I will throw my hat into the ring to help out at the range just as long as I dont get tagged as a target sitter, I am just getting too damn old for that job.
If it does happen, I do hope to have the opportunity to get to meet some of the fine folks from this board.
And incase some might be wondering, I only live an hour or so from the Ridgway Range.
SAm

[Don McDowell]

Lot of misconceptions you folks back east have about shooting Raton. You state that it's good to shoot a different range.. Well yes it is, but you guys seem to be totally oblivious to the simple fact that with the exception of less than a dozen shooters, nobody lives any closer to Raton than a couple hundred miles. Very few shooters shoot at Raton other than the once a year when they go to the nationals.
To hold 2 national championship matches means there is NO national championship. There can only be 1 national match and if the NRA doesn't want to have it at Raton, at the facility the NRA built so it "will always have a world class facility , to have championship matches", then they need to pick another range and have a National Championship.
They say there MIGHT be a POSSIBLE East/West invitational match somewhere sometime. What will the qualifications be to get into this match. Will someone who "qualifies" spotter be able to attend and shoot? Like it or not, any of these matches is a team effort, and that's why folks shoot together at the same match every chance they get. What about the timing of this possible invitational match? As it stands now the Ridgeway regional match is late in September, that means this fictional invitational match would be sometime in October. A time of the year that if folks aren't gone hunting, they're not to likely to want to take off on a cross country trip due the very good chance of getting caught in a fall blizzard someplace.
If the national match is moved to the east coast, you can just about forget about any shooters from the mountain and pacific time zones. Most are already traveling 500+ miles to get to Raton, and if you tack another 1700 on top of that... don't look for a very good turn out.
The way they have things configured now, is almost a guaranteed death of the bpcr matches as a national event.
Once again if the NRA competitions doesn't want to be bothered with having the National Matches at Raton then they need to find a centrally located club to host the match and be done with it.
And those of you who want to compete on a national level, need to take the initiative to attend that national match.

[Kevin Alexander]

I’m sorry but the NRA is full of idiots. There I said it. It baffles the mind that they think, or they want people to think, that the reason the numbers at Raton are dwindling is due to the fact of the unwillingness for people to drive the distance for a National Championship. Hogwash.
Example: (if my numbers are correct)
2005 competitors were 309 from the states. 67 of which were from east of the Mississippi. That’s a little over 21% coming from what I call the “East”.
2015 competitors were 64 from the states. 11 of which were from east of the Mississippi. That’s a little over 17% coming from the “East”
Not much of a percentage difference there.
I would look into what the dynamics are involved as to why the numbers went from 309 in 2005 down to just 152 competitors in 2010. That’s over 50% drop in 5 years. It then went from 152 competitors in 2010 down to just 64 in 2015. That’s a 58% drop in another 5 years.
Another point I’d like to make. Arizona had no competitors in 2015. That’s a neighboring state! They had 15 competitors in 2005, dropped to 7 in 2006, the very next year, a 50% reduction the very next year.
Something happened to the attendance for the Nationals.
I thought maybe it’s because the dates were changed a bit. Or prizes weren’t what people expected from a “National Championship”. Or maybe the recognition for a “Champion” wasn’t good enough. I really don’t know. It’s not that people aren’t shooting these guns anymore. Just ask how long the wait for a new gun from Shiloh or CPA is. Maybe look at the attendance at the Quigley or other big matches around the country. Just ask all the vendors if sales have dropped 80% in the last 10 years. I doubt it has. I’m sure sales are down some due to the economy.
I’m just getting started in shooting Silhouettes and hopefully some long range in the future no matter what the NRA does. It’s a shame that they can’t figure this out. These guns, the heritage and the people who shoot them are what made the NRA years ago. To preserve these iconic matches lies solely at the feet of the competitors. Attend all local matches you can. Attend all regional matches you can. Attend the Nationals if you can. Because if the National goes away, you can bet the NRA will not take the blame, it will be from poor attendance on the competitor’s part. In my opinion, if only 2 competitors showed up to shoot the Nationals, it should still be held. It all started with only a few competitors, and given its history, should live on as long as there are competitors, no matter the number. Profits aren’t everything, heritage is. Once the NRA gives that up, enough said.
Sorry for the rant. Just my opinion.
Kevin

[Kurt]

What I hear when I ask "are you going to the Nationals" the answer mostly no cant afford the cost going to it. This includes the expense going, staying and entrance fees and the complaints after the nationals. Those are not my words but these are the answers I get when I ask.
To me is makes no difference if I go to Raton or Ridgeway it's close to the same distance either way. Personally I would sooner go to Raton and not have to drive the traffic that is east of me.

[Don McDowell]

I don't care so much whether they hold the BPCRS national match in Raton, Shxtstixz Pa, or Bumfiddle Mt. what I do care about is that only one of those matches is designated as the National Championship. There can't be two national championships for the same venue in the same year...