Nbrsa

L

Lou Murdica

Member
The NBRSA has turned a corner and come into a new time. I have recently been shooting at the range in Grand Junction, CO, Visalia, CA and Phoenix, AZ and at each one the members got together for a discussion on where to go from this last couple of years of anger and discontent. We all came to the decision that the NBRSA is fundamentally a great organization and we want to fix the negative issues, get some new blood on the Board of Directors, support the ranges we have left and encourage new memberships.
The past is behind us. Let’s move forward in a positive direction and build the NBRSA into a better organization that reflects the good will and camaraderie that we have always had.
Spread the word!
 
Lou, like the just finished mid-term election just proved "all politics are local". Our local NBRSA range closed because of local a happening. When I first shot the NBRSA local match in 1999 at Unaka we had 64 shooters. Our NBRSA support, Unaka club president Mike Murray passed away. We were shut down at Unaka, not because of Mikes passing but our last NBRSA shoot there we had 13 shooters. Why?? Dunno. Our other local benchrest club that had shot both IBS and NBRSA from about 1982 to 1996 we spent some $85,000 to upgrade the range only to find no one willing to run the Group matches there. I even took the expired Unaka crew to meet with Kettlefoot management but no go from the range crew.

Since 1960 I have participated in several sanctioned shooting sports, IHMSA, NRA 2700, ATA, NBRSA, IBS, IR 50/50 and ARA and others. All have been cyclic, up and down on attendance. Centerfire Group benchrest just requires too much non-shooter help to run....moving backers and fixed backers mostly.

The answer? Dunno. MY problem now I just turned 80 and have all the guns from all those involvements and I need to sell them.

Good luck in finding answers.


.
 
I'm all for it Lou! Can't see how we can overcome the cost of attending a match but we can approach those that cost doesn't matter so much. Can't see how we can significantly reduce the cost of hosting a group match but that's just me and maybe somebody has a better idea. It's a chicken and egg thing and the eggs are currently winning....but when the eggs finally win....well.....

I'll add this before the thought is gone - The problems the NBRSA faces were there long before the recent "upset" we experienced. It simply costs too much to attend an NBRSA group match, the overhead is too great, and the members don't seem to care one way or the other. It's of no fault of the directors other than they didn't try to come up with a workable solution years ago to promote group shooting. I'm including you and myself in that sordid ball of wax as the problem began then as opposed to recently. While I thought I was doing good...I wasn't doing anything at all to try and prevent this upcoming "problem" and I should have seen it coming. Sure, I promoted group Benchrest shooting with all I had but I did not specifically realize the problem.
 
Lou Murdica said:
The NBRSA has turned a corner and come into a new time. I have recently been shooting at the range in Grand Junction, CO, Visalia, CA and Phoenix, AZ and at each one the members got together for a discussion on where to go from this last couple of years of anger and discontent. We all came to the decision that the NBRSA is fundamentally a great organization and we want to fix the negative issues, get some new blood on the Board of Directors, support the ranges we have left and encourage new memberships.
The past is behind us. Let’s move forward in a positive direction and build the NBRSA into a better organization that reflects the good will and camaraderie that we have always had.
Spread the word!
Click to expand...

Maybe it's just a matter of perception. I have been around for the last couple of years and have not personally felt any anger or discontent towards anyone in our sport. I have always felt that the NBRSA president (Dennis and Gene and now Terry)and board of directors(past and present) have acted to the best of their ability to preserve our freedom to compete in registered(meaningful) BR competition.
The situation with Rodney Brown was unfortunate and could have been handled differently by everybody involved, including himself, but it wasn't. Nobody is perfect.
So here we are. Some club members have elected to operate independantly or with IBS affiliation to thumb their nose at the NBRSA leadership team and to allow Rodney to compete, but they have in effect "cut off their nose to spite their face". Now they only get to compete against each other. The same 30 shooters at the same 5 clubs over and over and over. These guys are too good, too competitive, to continue to isolate themselves away from the top shooters, national events and international competitions that the NBRSA has to offer.
I would hope that in the year to come these members and clubs would return to the NBRSA. We all want to compete against the best.
I would hope that Rodney would reconsider his situation and become an NBRSA member again.
I would hope that the NBRSA leadership team would allow this to happen.
Joel
 
Well said Nader and Lou.

Opportunities to resolve the situation were given and not taken.

Time to move on.

Later
Dave
 
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A letter was sent to Rodney after the directors meeting at Holton and to the clubs that had dropped out. This letter states basically that he is welcome to rejoin the NBRSA with full rights and privileges. No probationary membership or anything of the kind. If he wants to rejoin or not rejoin, it’s all up to him and is his decision. I agree with Joel as to the draw of benchrest is the competing with the best shooters in the nation.
 
Lou Murdica said:
The NBRSA has turned a corner and come into a new time....[W]e want to fix the negative issues, get some new blood on the Board of Directors.
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I don't see that any positive change has been effected or that most of the members "want to fix the negative issues [and] get new blood on the [BOD]." IMO, all of last year's members of the BOD are partly responsible for the negative issues. This year, half of the US-based director positions were up for election and only one non-incumbent challenger was nominated -- and he lost. The BOD then amended the by-laws to prevent that challenger from running in the next election.

I think it's ironic that the BOD offered to let Rodney back in with no probation -- after Rodney had been denied his place on the World Team. That "magnanimous" gesture came WAY too late.

Dave thinks it's time to move on; Rodney has done that. It will be interesting to see where the NBRSA goes.
 
The NBRSA

In my humble opinion what we should all try to do as members, going forward is to promote the NBRSA in a positive light and try to recruit new member participants to both group and score shooting. We can keep hashing this s%$# out forever and all its doing is harming this sport and driving people away. No one is going to change what happened yesterday, but if we try we can affect tomorrow. So lets all try to bring a new shooter to a match in 2019 and help them all we can.

Kelly Ellis
 
pipeline60 said:
In my humble opinion what we should all try to do as members, going forward is to promote the NBRSA in a positive light and try to recruit new member participants to both group and score shooting. We can keep hashing this s%$# out forever and all its doing is harming this sport and driving people away. No one is going to change what happened yesterday, but if we try we can affect tomorrow. So lets all try to bring a new shooter to a match in 2019 and help them all we can.

Kelly Ellis
Click to expand...

Perfect
 
Out here in my neck of the woods your close neighbor would be 1 or 2 miles away. Promoting benchrest has been challenging to say the least. But it can be done! Right now I have gotten 3 new shooters involved and have a few more on the fence. I love showing guys little groups and hear them say no way! I tell them to come on down and I will put them behind a tuned up gun on a nice day and just wait for the "WOW" I think I enjoy teaching just as much as shooting. What's the use of getting somebody interested and then leave them swinging in the wind? It just takes one on one to get them shooting and alot more to keep them interested until they have a handle on it.
That's my take on it anyways.

Richard
 
Here's an idea...

Maybe take the time to help a new guy when he shows up at a match instead of being self absorbed in your own ventures. If you do that, maybe the new guy will actually come back.
 
jimmymac said:
Maybe take the time to help a new guy when he shows up at a match instead of being self absorbed in your own ventures. If you do that, maybe the new guy will actually come back.
Click to expand...

Multitudes of shooters do that.

Sometimes I think it is the worse thing you can do. When I am explaining to a fellow shooter all that is involved in being competitive at Benchrest, and he sees that the entire back of my truck is full of equipment, he sees the flags, the bench equipment, the loading equipment, the care I take with every movement either while loading or at the bench, this can often be a huge turnoff.

Many shooter's attitude is...."I would love to do that, but good grief.........."

I have no answer for that. It would be nice to toss the Rifle in the truck, stop at at the local store and pick up some ammo, and go and shoot. And I suppose you could could do that if your goal was just to participate.

But that is not what Benchrest is all about. Benchrest is about removing any variable that will keep a bullet from taking the exact same path as the one before, and the one before, and the one before. If it takes a truckload of equipment and self discipline to accomplish that, you have to be willing to load the truck and head to the range.
 
New Shooters

If you just recently walked in the door to a great sport/hobby, my advice is, be an explorer. The tourist days are just about over. You’ve made a decision to take the plunge. Along with that decision comes responsibility. What I mean is, Self motivation. Start asking a lot of questions. I still ask questions after being around close to 20 years. Ask 10 different people and you will likely get ten different answers. Do the research. Read the Books. The key is learning how to process all this information. I have learned that there are no short cuts to success in this sport.

Now...Every Competitor has his/her own definition of what success is in this game. One thing is certain, success is not cheap. Trigger Time and money are mandatory investments.

If you just like the challenge of competition in a recreational Sport, the fun, the people, etc,
The choice is yours. If you discover that you are really good at this game and you choose to take it to a higher level, again the choice is yours. There are no losers.

I recruited two brand new competitors in 2018. They are heavily invested in the Sport(Materially). Both attended registered matches this year. I introduced both these guys to Mike Bryant. Mike has been a helpful source of information for equipment selection/preparation. Both of these guys commented about how much fun it was to meet new people and compete against the best in the Sport.

Here in the Gulf Coast Region,I watched Gary Bristow Progress from a New Shooter to a top level competitor and World team member with many teen aggs to his credit. Gary says, Buy the best equipment and spend lots of time on the Rifle Range.


For the Veteran Competitors out there. How many new shooters have you introduced to the Sport?. The survival of the Sport depends on the next generation of Shooters.

Dont pass up an opportunity to bring a new Shooter to next match.




Glenn
 
jackie schmidt said:
Multitudes of shooters do that.
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I obviously went to the wrong group match then Jackie. I have all the gear. Gear isn't an issue. I was already in the rabbit hole. My main reason for attending was to further my knowledge and up my game by interacting with top tier shooters. After 2 days of practice and 2 days of competition the biggest thing I learned is that it's every man for himself and you are either part of the inner circle or you are on the outside looking in. Whatever I learned there I learned on my own. In spite of that, I had a pretty good time anyway just seeing how I stacked up against the experts. I just re-upped my membership for next year, so I'll see how it goes.
 
jimmymac said:
I obviously went to the wrong group match then Jackie. I have all the gear. Gear isn't an issue. I was already in the rabbit hole. My main reason for attending was to further my knowledge and up my game by interacting with top tier shooters. After 2 days of practice and 2 days of competition the biggest thing I learned is that it's every man for himself and you are either part of the inner circle or you are on the outside looking in. Whatever I learned there I learned on my own. In spite of that, I had a pretty good time anyway just seeing how I stacked up against the experts. I just re-upped my membership for next year, so I'll see how it goes.
Click to expand...


Good for you Jimmymac! That's the right attitude to take. Good luck with your shooting.

Sincerely,

Gene Beggs
 
jimmymac said:
I obviously went to the wrong group match then Jackie. I have all the gear. Gear isn't an issue. I was already in the rabbit hole. My main reason for attending was to further my knowledge and up my game by interacting with top tier shooters. After 2 days of practice and 2 days of competition the biggest thing I learned is that it's every man for himself and you are either part of the inner circle or you are on the outside looking in. Whatever I learned there I learned on my own. In spite of that, I had a pretty good time anyway just seeing how I stacked up against the experts. I just re-upped my membership for next year, so I'll see how it goes.
Click to expand...

I wasn't talking about at Matches. I was talking about when I am at my local club testing and practicing.
 
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jackie schmidt said:
I wasn't talking about at Matches. I was talking about when I am at my local club testing and practicing.
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Jimmy was specific in stating that he showed up for a match, a big match as I recall, and was pretty much ignored by those who already had a handle on what was going on. Frequently those who have an interest in our sport don't have anyone at their local club to learn from and their only option is to attend a match. I believe the kind of attitude he encountered is common among Benchrest (capital B) shooters and is one of the major reason the sport is stagnant. If we want our sport to grow it is crucial that each of us act as an ambassador. If you are not actively helping and encouraging new shooters you are not being part of the solution.


Rick
 
jimmymac said:
Maybe take the time to help a new guy when he shows up at a match instead of being self absorbed in your own ventures. If you do that, maybe the new guy will actually come back.
Click to expand...

Jimmy there's a lot of watchers.
At the matches, It's hard to tell a watcher or a shooter....Then there's the phone call out of the blue......Then there are your own club members....they all like to talk. And I talk to them all.....it's funny at the "Club Show and Tell". Talk to 50 people. And the kids sound more interested...can't get the parents to drive the kids out to the club.....

And Yes. I have helped a lot of guys git in to Benchrest.

I have come to the conclusion, that the "Family(WIVES)" have the most to do with low participation.....the common reason for not showing up is the Wife had something to do.....if there is nothing on the calendar, then the husband can go out to the club.....
Even though the shooting calendar is made out in January.....

Yep. I am a little burned out. Trying to get new guys in the sport.
Last guy. Sold him one of my good rifles. Then he hooks up with the other "Rifle Committee" guys.
At this club. Benchrest is called Precision Shooting, so we compete against the other Rifle guys...
Man, that rifle tracked great.....

JMHO

By the way. I am a member at 3 clubs and shoot at 6 or 7 through out the year.....Run Score Matches at WWCCA and help with Group...
 
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