tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8293484.post5634388295862627610..comments2024-03-28T06:11:55.879-06:00Comments on The Michael Bane Blog: Getting Beyond Catch & ReleaseMichael Banehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16630187848984050478noreply@blogger.comBlogger21125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8293484.post-53820295465560329222008-10-05T09:43:00.000-06:002008-10-05T09:43:00.000-06:00Retention is definitely the bigger issue, and it h...Retention is definitely the bigger issue, and it has probably been considered but some sort of handicap system along the lines of golf would help to allow people to compete with themselves as well as others at the same level of proficiency, and a Seniors level, as everyone over 40 develops eyesight and strength issues, again to keep it relatively competitive. And while most would like to gain Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8293484.post-69628951846904314802008-10-01T20:26:00.000-06:002008-10-01T20:26:00.000-06:00My husband and I took our son trap shooting when h...My husband and I took our son trap shooting when he was about 11. But he fell in love with rifle at BSA camp. They loved the rifle range and placed little toy dinosaurs and soldiers on top of the poles and shot them. THAT WAS FUN for 12-15 year old boys.<BR/><BR/>Then he went to jamboree in 2004 and he did not like the lines so spent a lot of time with shotgun and the soldier that threw their Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8293484.post-69946602357737151952008-10-01T17:37:00.000-06:002008-10-01T17:37:00.000-06:00A few things: 1. From a marketing perspective, it'...A few things: <BR/><BR/>1. From a marketing perspective, it's been proven again and again that you'll get a much higher return on investment (ROI) over the long haul if you spend your money making sure you retain your current customers rather than trying to constantly acquire new ones. <BR/><BR/>2. As for competitive shooting, look at your barriers to entry. Assume a new shooter has a 9mm for Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8293484.post-87126613570002995232008-10-01T13:09:00.000-06:002008-10-01T13:09:00.000-06:00I think that a large problem with recruitment into...<I>I think that a large problem with recruitment into the action pistol sports is the myth of the equipment race. USPSA is best known for it's Open division. I run into people all the time who may not recognize the acronym but do know the sport when you explain it. Almost universally they have no idea that Limited exists much less Production. I think that if the coverage of USPSA gave half to Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8293484.post-8360262691046109382008-09-29T17:29:00.000-06:002008-09-29T17:29:00.000-06:00Not everybody is competitive. I find it annoying w...Not everybody is competitive. I find it annoying when I'm repeatedly challenged by a competitive-obsessive. I quit playing the trombone in band because it was a downer and I sucked at it. I went to UCSC where we didn't even have grades. My golf clubs are twenty years old and my bike is older. I WON'T go bicycling in Spandex or buy goofy bicycle-shoes. I play golf without keeping score at NotClauswitzhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14358707844087117280noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8293484.post-74806030241566978922008-09-29T14:03:00.000-06:002008-09-29T14:03:00.000-06:00Not so sure about Mike M's comment: "And I agree w...Not so sure about Mike M's comment: "And I agree with the idea of making a serious outreach effort to minorities and women. The NRA has been making some good headway with the latter..."<BR/><BR/>The NRA did have a good women's gun magazine for a few years, but it quit coming with no explanation, and the NRA started sending their political magazine in its place.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8293484.post-15871985579600980862008-09-29T07:10:00.000-06:002008-09-29T07:10:00.000-06:00Everything that has been said, is probably "correc...Everything that has been said, is probably "correct". The one negative factor the shooting sports face, including hunting, is the growing (and fashionable) public sentitiment that "Guns are for killing things, mainly people." I think that we need to address those thoughts and work there. Recruiting new shooters is also part of it, but many people shy away fro shooting and even admitting that theyAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8293484.post-42780796438126617552008-09-28T20:18:00.000-06:002008-09-28T20:18:00.000-06:00Let’s consider some numbers for a moment.The follo...Let’s consider some numbers for a moment.<BR/><BR/>The following from Wiki Answers:<BR/><B><BR/>Number of guns and gun owners in USA. <BR/>Most estimates range between 39% and 50% of US households having at least one gun (that’s about 43-55 million households). The estimates for the number of privately owned guns range from 190 million to 300 million. Removed those that skew the stats for their Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8293484.post-70426985217671559852008-09-28T20:03:00.000-06:002008-09-28T20:03:00.000-06:00anon@ 7:39Everything is competition. Its called Da...anon@ 7:39<BR/><BR/>Everything is competition. Its called Darwinism but just without the killing. That nerd who isn't on the track team and didn't debate but was tops in the class was competing. He/she was competing against you and everybody else in the class...and won.<BR/><BR/>The guys stat stayed home from the games playing dungeons and dragons were competitive. They now play World of WarcraftAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8293484.post-189932460901571112008-09-28T20:00:00.000-06:002008-09-28T20:00:00.000-06:00mike m.Use of airsoft and such lets people experie...mike m.<BR/><BR/>Use of airsoft and such lets people experience shooting in a fashion, but they still haven't shot a real gun. More ranges - that are professionally run - are the answer. If airsoft is our primary focus we make the argument for elimination of firearms and ranges all together. We could go to paintball instead.<BR/><BR/>Coverage of USPSA, Steel Challenge and IDPA are important. TheyAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8293484.post-85043610512460068142008-09-28T16:11:00.000-06:002008-09-28T16:11:00.000-06:00Question:Just how many new, never shot a gun peopl...Question:<BR/><BR/>Just how many new, never shot a gun people does IPSC or IDPA or whatever REALLY recruit into shooting? My hunch is very few as I suspect most people who sign up to shoot competitively are already shooters.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8293484.post-33628958375032875752008-09-28T11:45:00.000-06:002008-09-28T11:45:00.000-06:00Another vote for finding ways to make shooting fun...Another vote for finding ways to make shooting fun. What was the real advantage of the olden days when we could easily shoot on our own outside the city? Was it just a convenient way to duplicate today's range environment, shooting paper targets from a fixed position? For me it was shooting things that moved. Chasing a can across the desert with a .22 is classic shooting fun.<BR/><BR/>I find Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8293484.post-43174011702307827892008-09-28T09:35:00.000-06:002008-09-28T09:35:00.000-06:00More ranges? maybe some places, but I've seen a w...More ranges? maybe some places, but I've seen a whole lot of existing ranges that are pretty empty. <BR/><BR/>I think that in order to get people to get in and stay in the shooting sports it needs to be fun. Very rarely are competitions fun for people trying to learn a new sport.<BR/><BR/>The television and internet media do a decent job of communicating the fun aspect of shooting, but the Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8293484.post-13514714029924781682008-09-28T09:12:00.000-06:002008-09-28T09:12:00.000-06:00Hmm...I think there are several factors at work, a...Hmm...<BR/><BR/>I think there are several factors at work, and several solutions available.<BR/><BR/>First, I think the shooting sports are INCREASING in acceptance. There may be some hyper-leftist areas where this is not true, but in general, things are improving.<BR/><BR/>The range issue is a problem. I think the solution will be increasing use of air rifles and pistols. They might not be asAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8293484.post-25556801493572267962008-09-28T07:39:00.000-06:002008-09-28T07:39:00.000-06:00anon@4:53Everyone is competitive? Afraid not. Thin...anon@4:53<BR/><BR/>Everyone is competitive? Afraid not. Think back to your high school and college days. What % of the student body was involved in competetive athletics? The debate team? A very small percentage I'd wager.<BR/><BR/>Competition shooters make the mistake of thinking everyone thinks and acts as they do and that isn't the case.<BR/><BR/>http://www.idpa.com/default.asp<BR/><BR/>IDPA Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8293484.post-46795439812748519332008-09-27T22:47:00.000-06:002008-09-27T22:47:00.000-06:00Well, here's my two cents:I think a dramatic attit...Well, here's my two cents:<BR/>I think a dramatic attitude change needs to occur within our sport, specifically at the shooting range. In my area there are two ranges that I really have difficulty justifying the time to go to because of the attitude of the people who run them. What I see is mostly retirees who have nothing better to do than to worry about things like if you are shooting too fast.Georgehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05474580244868535609noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8293484.post-32822100153753074812008-09-27T22:19:00.000-06:002008-09-27T22:19:00.000-06:00Lately I have noticed that the availability of ran...Lately I have noticed that the availability of ranges is a major factor. Admittedly I am from Southern California so it may well be atypical, but 15 years ago there where 6 indoor pistol and rimfire rifle ranges within a 30 minute drive, 10 years ago there where 2, and now there is 1, and it will probably be closed due to a homicide a couple of weeks ago (looks like a suicide from what I dehakalhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07304597986579257143noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8293484.post-26085572896966806732008-09-27T20:17:00.000-06:002008-09-27T20:17:00.000-06:00I think that a large problem with recruitment into...I think that a large problem with recruitment into the action pistol sports is the myth of the equipment race. USPSA is best known for it's Open division. I run into people all the time who may not recognize the acronym but do know the sport when you explain it. Almost universally they have no idea that Limited exists much less Production. I think that if the coverage of USPSA gave half to Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8293484.post-21615562904427587382008-09-27T16:53:00.000-06:002008-09-27T16:53:00.000-06:00I can't disagree more with the theory that com...I can't disagree more with the theory that competitive shooting cannot grow. Everybody is competitive. Everybody. And everything is an equipment race. Golf. Cycling. Hell, even competitive cooking is an equipment race if you watch any of the shows on the Food Network. That's a piss poor argument against competitive shooting.<BR/><BR/>Competition at the highest level is exciting and Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8293484.post-10963800620177286672008-09-27T12:24:00.000-06:002008-09-27T12:24:00.000-06:00To begin with, forget about getting people into co...To begin with, forget about getting people into competitive shooting. The competitive shooting sports almost always degenerate into an equipment race. Not to mention the childish "mind games" so many competitors play.<BR/><BR/>Skeet was invented to simulate hunting, or so I have read. As it is now shot it is all about shooting tubed O/U's and is boring as hell. Trap is also as exciting as Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8293484.post-59282393001696142372008-09-27T09:32:00.000-06:002008-09-27T09:32:00.000-06:00My own experiences with shooting go back to when I...My own experiences with shooting go back to when I was kid living in a rural area. I could shoot 100 yards from my house in an open field. Neighbors understood and no complaints. Now in a suburban home I would be literally arrested if I even took my archery gear out to the backyard. I now have to drive 40 minutes on highways to get to a club that costs me 350 dollars a year for membership. So to Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com