Gordon,
It was at the 2000 Nationals in Charlotte, NC when the falling out became apparent.
And as for how many shot the Sporter Class: everybody but just a few participated in the Sporter Class, so my guess would be 120+ shooters shot the Sporter, and I think it was either Scotty Hamilton or H.L. Wickham who won it that year.
I don't remember the exact number of attendees as the Club had also scheduled a High Power Rapid Fire Pistol event on the range immediately to our right, and only ±100 feet off of bench #40 from where we were shooting. We all had to utilize the same parking lot so it was super tight, the noise was deafening, and they were relying on our food truck for their food, so there was no where near enough food or drink for everyone as we hadn't planned on the extra 60 to 80 shooters utilizing our food source, plus they were using our Port-A-Potties, which meant everything either ran out or filled up fast. It was crazy, and hot. Plus, it had rained heavily for a few days before we got started, and where everything is clay down there the water didn't sink in so at times there was a fog from all the water evaporating as we went along.
By the end of the weekend we had all been informed in one way or another how the RBA was coming into play before the next season.
It's a much longer story that, but I won't go into it here as there are some who wouldn't appreciate it in the least. And at this point in time, what would be gained by doing so.
And as for Milt, you had to know the man to appreciate where he was coming from. He and I had spent many a hour on the phone sharing ideas (venting so to speak), so maybe some of it was my fault?
Dave Shattuck