Continuing from a deleted thread.

Con

Several times, you have used the word "Boring" in your describing of Benchrest.
I have to ask. Do you Compete in Registered Benchrest Competition???.
The reason I ask is I have, over my life, compeated, and won, in endevours such as APBA Powerboat Racing and Drag Bike Racing.
Benchrest is one of the more difficult endevours I have ever participated in when it comes to winning. In fact, it is one of the most intence things I have ever done as far as taxing your mental capacities........jackie
 
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Jackie and I are totally united on this one!!

Jeez Con, thanks for making us all feel like a bunch of losers that need that one last twinkle, that one last glimmer in our lives. I think I need a nap after your exciting assessment of the sport.

We should be able to pull in bunch of new (but old & boring) blood into the sport after that post.

Mustafa
 
Con

I agree with Jackie. While Benchrest may not be much of a spectator sport, it is the most difficult and challenging sport I've ever been involved in.
BA
 
Hmmmm

the gist of the post wasn't to say its a sport for has beens it was to get people to look at reality.Our bodies deteriorate quicker than our mind,Physically.Look down the line what is the average age,to young kids its a game that ranks up there with watching paint dry.Before I let someone put rounds on my barrel I would rather see them shoot their hunting rifle and at least show they have some interest in shooting then by all means.They may be welcome to use one of my guns.The draw for loading benches was just a subtle idea to see how changes to etiquette are accepted not even a rule change .The rules don't need changing but small things to help new guys may.
 
j mckinnie said:
the gist of the post wasn't to say its a sport for has beens it was to get people to look at reality.Our bodies deteriorate quicker than our mind,Physically.Look down the line what is the average age,to young kids its a game that ranks up there with watching paint dry.
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Gentleman, this part posted by Mr. J. McKinnie is the true and brutal reality.

Gentleman, the most what can happen to a BR shooter apart from not winning is that he makes two holes in the paper instead of one. What a big deal. There will be tomorrow and no harm to you.

Mr. Jackie Schmidt, what about racing road motorbikes? Like superbikes for instance. 200 hp, 190 mph, dry or wet, tyres, corners and other 30 win hungry ruthless gentleman around you who have nothing else on their mind than to beat anybody at any cost.
Any mistake by you or anybody else, you crash, you break bones, you get nice stainless steel pins, plates and bolts inserted and guess what? Your thoughtful caring sponsors want you to race ASAP like the next race with the pins, plates and bolts. How lovely, if you don't there are dozens of others waiting who will.

Mr. Jackie Schmidt how would you fancy that after you've lost your mentally stressful match by drilling a second hole in the paper, that now you would have to have few bones broken as well? Would you be looking forward to line up in the next match if you knew this is going to happen to you two or three times per year?

Gentleman don't be mistaking and think, that superbike racing is just riding fast. It's an absolute madness one constant controlled slide from start to finish. Ice like feeling. If one can't push that hard, there's no room for him in any sponsored team.
Mr.Schmidt would you agree that kind of sport may be just little bit more stressful perhaps?

Gentleman, the difference here is not just the average age, but the excitment, the adrenalin, the money and the glamour. The pain and the fear is quickly forgoten with the excitement. There are thousands of kids World wide waiting for the opportunity to come. Unfortunately the vacancies are very strictly limited. Competitive racing superbike is about 25 times more the BR rifle. The anual budget is about 200-300 times more. The prize and endorsement money? I wouldn't even try to guess.

Gentleman the crucial key element here is for the BR to get the numbers up first. After the BR have the numbers they want, then the BR can choose what age they want the members to be.

Con
 
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Mustafa, I think I've run into you at a Supershoot and at Midland...

We gotta take the travel out of the game. It ain't about the RVs...
 
Wilbur said:
That when Jackie makes two holes in the paper it grieves him no end....
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Mr. Jackie Schmidt if this is true I would recomend you to have some kind of professional stress managment crash course. Seriously.

Con
 
Con

I have done the things you are talking about. I went off of a High Great Only Fuel Harley Drag Bike in the early '80's and came about as close to killing myself as I could without actually doing it. I am reminded of it every morning when I get out of bed, one piece at a time.

Through the '70's, when I was really insane, I raced in the American Power Boat Association races. That was 5 lap competition on a 1 mile course, 3 laps on a mile and 2/3 course. Occasionally, on courses that were set up in locations such as Lake Havasua at Parker Dam, they would just drop a Buoy in the water, go about 3/4 mile down river, drop another, and say, "there is your course".

One of the funny things is I used to run into the same senario with the Boat as we do our Rifles. We had a place out on the San Jacinto River that we used to test. People would line the banks and watch us blast out accross the water.
Occasionally, some character with a hot, (looking), Ski Boat would ask how fast we could go. When we would would tell him, "about 110 mph, race ready', he would invaribly say, "why, my ski boat will do that".
Of course, what he thought was 100+ on the water was really about 50, and if he ever went 100+, and then had to turn it at the end of that straight a way, he would crap in his pants.

But he did not want to do that. Much like the shooter who spends thousands of dollars on Rifles that are just as exotic as any Benchrest Rifle, but will never Compete. It is simply not part of their makeup. There is nothing wrong with that. Every individule has a comfort zone that brings satisfaction.
There are those of us who would rather go fast for 10 minutes, and enjoy the thrill, than go slow, and safe, for an entire lifetime, and die wondering what it was like.



You will find that there are quite a few shooters in Benchrest who, in their younger years, took on very difficult and competitive challenges. The need to satisfy that competitive urge is still with us, even though our physical skills have erroded to the point to where we have to depend on our mind, not our body. I wish I could still depend on physical skills, because I can "go stupid" at the bench at the drop of a hat.

You did not answer my question. Do you shoot Competitive Benchrest at the Registered Level?? .......jackie
 
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Hi Chuck,

Chuck Bogardus said:
Mustafa, I think I've run into you at a Supershoot and at Midland...

We gotta take the travel out of the game. It ain't about the RVs...
Click to expand...

It probably was the Supershoot some years back. Haven't been able to get back there since. Travel, time and money are definite issues many people have with BR. One thing is to concentrate our efforts to increase participation and attendance at local levels, by working the traditional centers where BR has a good history and showing. But with any outreach program, there needs to be a 2-prong approach to both new and existing members.

As far as traveling goes, at times I feel like I have traveled to another world after reading some of the posts here. I think Con may be Jackie's alter ego from Bizzaro world. Mustafa
 
NBRSA Mission

"To assist and encourage". Though I want to become a member and compete with everyone, I find it very discouraging to read so many negative things about this sport and game.
 
words of encouragement to RStiefel…

RStiefel:

Whether you participate or not, most BR shooters would encourage you to attend a nearby match to experience it first hand. Talk to the shooters and see first hand who you could be spending time with. Frankly, I have almost always found those individuals to be open, helpful, supportive, and not representative of many of the personalities who participate in this forum. You will be in a better position to make a judgement as to your involvement and the state of the sport itself.

Hold your final judgement till that time. In the meantime, if you post your location, maybe someone here can assist you with a club schedule and logistics. Good luck.

Mustafa
 
Mustafa

Thanks for the response. I have not expressed a judgement call, but rather an observation. I live in Southern Ca. Dana Point. Thanks again.
 
RStiefel

I am afraid that you are being mis-lead and mis-informed by persons who really don't have a clue what the present day short-range BR sport is, in fact I will bet that many of negative comments are from people who do not compete. Let me give you some advice, if possible find a benchrest shooter that you can actually speak to and please go to a match. You should try to go a day early so you can actually talk to the shooters when they are not under the strain of competition. I believe you will be amazed at how well you will be recieved and the time shooters will give you in answering your questions, but get ready someone will offer you a rifle and encourage you to give it a try.

I think if you will just take those steps you will find that a lot of what you have read here in the last couple of weeks is just not true or so isolated events as to be considered anomolies.

I wager to say that I can speak for a lot of BR competitors here, we all face a lot of negativity and unpleasent people in our daily lives and business, why would we subject ourselves to those conditions in BR? Think about it.

Mustafa typed quicker than I did.
 
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I have been reading this thread with great interest. The original point was the need to encourage new shooters into benchrest shooting.

If I was to encourage you into a new sport and told you that it is extremely difficult, tedious and boring and that as well you need to be at an advanced age and you need to purchase expensive and unique equipment to be useful in that sport, how would you feel? Would you be encouraged to join or just find something else that was enjoyable and fun in which to participate?

I respectfully ask: Do you really want new participants in benchrest shooting that will disrupt the status quo? Please read through the posts to this thread again and with the mindset of one that is interested in benchrest shooting, what impression do you get?
 
RSteifel

Your name seems kinda familiar. Do I know you?

In any event, as you know being from Dana Point, there are not many ranges left in So Cal and presently none have registered matches. The loss of ranges has hurt all the shooting disciplines in our area. I've been shooting in the LA area for about 20 years. During that time, we lost El Toro, Kentucky Shooting Area and the only "local" venue for registered benchrest competition, San Gabriel. There are probably others I've left out or never knew about as well. I predict the Redlands range will be next due to its proximity to houses and efforts by developers to get rid of it.

Three years ago, upon reading your post, I'd have said come up to San Gabriel on the 2nd Sunday of any month. Just let me know you're comming and I'll set you up with all the equipment you need to shoot with us. Well, that's not possible now. But, I will extend an invitation to meet with me at Angeles Shooting Range at a mutually convenient time to shoot some informal "practice" groups.

There is hope on the horizon. Angeles is supposedly getting close to building a BR range. It's taken two years to get this far, so who knows how far off it still may be, but hope springs eternal. Drop me a line sometime and we can chat. ppcbrshooter@hotmail.com
 
Rangerat
I may be wrong but I think that the negative comments are not from true BR shooters, but people who want the sport changed for themselves. I don't think 1 BR shooter will tell you this is a boring or tedious sport and you must be a certain age to participate; every activity from bowling to golf to baseball etc... has its own equipment to single out BR is nonsense.
 
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Status Quo??

Rangerat, exactly what is this "status quo" that is not to be disrupted.
Benchrest is brutally simple. You sit down at the Bench, the man says commence fire, you have a certain amount of time to shoot a group. You do this five times, they average the groups, the shooter with the smallest average wins the yardage.
What part of that do you want to "disrupt".
I have heard those who actually shoot Benchrest say that it is Tedious, and Difficult, but I have never heard a shooter who actually participates in Benchrest say it is Boring.
Once again, it seems we get the most criticle critique from those who know very little about Benchrest at the Registered Match Level........jackie
 
Thank you

Dwight and Mike.

Mike, I will contact you to meet at a time acceptable for us both.
 
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