"Fishing" for new shooters

For a Christmas present to ourselves why dont at least 15-20 posters write a thoughtful letter to Winchester and Remington strongly requesting match grade ammo.

Would be interesting to read the responses or duplicate response.
 
Just a couple things to help clear up what happened that night King. The range has a last shot time because of some neighbors that have complained and it was our first night to enforce it, on top of being the most competitors ever, thing seemed rush for a lot of folks. Normally it is a bit more laid back. As for the 6pm start time, I have trouble getting there after work too, I wish the traffic was a bit better through Ashland.

I hope you can make it back soon. If anyone in the Ashland, Ky area would like to compete or watch a non-sanctioned ARA target match, it will be this Saturday at 6pm at NEFKG.



King Ghidora said:
I knew exactly one person from that club before I went there. He was very helpful but asking someone to drive 25 miles to pick you up and another 10 to pick up your friend and then to take us both home would be a tremendous burden on that person. I had no opportunity at all to even see the range ahead of time even though I tried. I went by the range and it was locked up tight.

There's just no way I could expect anyone to do the things you mentioned. I don't want to burden someone else for anything although I'm sure some would be willing to do it. It's just not something I could feel comfortable doing.

I will be able to go the range myself after I join the club, which should be very soon. I already picked up the rules for the shoot. They were simple. What wasn't simple was getting setup to shoot well. When the match is run through quickly there's only so many questions you can ask before people get antsy. The people there were very friendly but I could tell they were in a hurry. You might think it's the directors responsiblity to run the match as advertised but when the match is run like a race you will have a lot of people who get discouraged because they didn't have time to get setup. I would have been there early if I had a chance but at 6 that just isn't possible for me and I suspect a lot of other people.

These are just suggestions on my part. I'm not complaining. I have a plan to get accustomed to the range. I'm just saying the situation I faced could lead a lot of people away from that range. When you shoot far below your capability most people don't like that. If you say anything about it you come off like a whiner or someone who is making claims they can't back up. Believe me I got exactly that treatment from people on this board.

But again the people at the club were very helpful. They were just in a hurry when they didn't really need to be IMO. I can certainly see that people have lives to go home to but if it's new shooters you want then some allowance should be made for their needs. There was a record crowd at the factory rifle shoot I attended so I'm guessing there were others who were pretty new to the experience. Most of them probably did have someone they could go to the range with early or on a different day. But I didn't. I was just trying to make the point that new shooters need some time to get set up and putting them on a stool and giving them 30 seconds to get ready isn't really conducive to letting those people get comfortable. Maybe they did need to run the match quickly for the regular shooters but some allowances needed to be made in my case and in the case of others I suspect. But like I said I will have that worked out soon. And I will attend sanctioned ARA events before I attempt to shoot there but that will be after I get a new gun.

Again my only purpose for making these comments was as a suggestion for things that might make newbies feel more comfortable. No one wants to show up and shoot really badly because they weren't ready and they weren't given a chance to get ready. The people at the shoot were very helpful and friendly but time was a definite issue.

For those members who shoot at the club please don't think I'm complaining. I'm not. I will be back. I really enjoyed being there.
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King,

Evening matches are tough as far as scheduling goes. As said, you are usually fighting daylight and work hours. Sat. or Sun. matches are usually a little more relaxed. I like to be at the range about 1 1/2 hours before the start. That said, you can set up in 20 minutes if need be, without rushing too much. The more you set up, the quicker and more comforable you'll be.

Typically I have time to sign in, drink a cup of coffee, eat a donut, BS a little, wander around, park somewhere near my bench, set up my stuff, set flags, adjust my flags, sit at the bench, adjust my flags again, hang a towell to keep the sun out of my eyes, adjust my flags again, sit at the bench and wonder if we're ever going to start. Things will get better for you. You're right, most of the guys will be friendly and cut a newbie some slack. However, the tight time requirements of an evening match makes it hard for everyone.

Hang in there.

Ken
 
That explains a lot Adam. I didn't know about the time limitation. And I'm sure it will be better for me the next time because I will be joining the club and will hopefully have some range time in by then. It was just a problem with my being new anyway. I'm sure it wasn't that much of a problem for the people that have been there many times.

BTW are you talking about the ARA shoot being today or is that next Saturday?
 
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