Why is the attendance at SxS events down?

[John Liles]

Originally Posted by Mills Morrison

This is an interesting thread from my perspective of running Parker's part of the Spring Southern.

For the Fall Southern, we take the top 5 shooters and then the top youth shooter, lady shooter, senior shooter, super senior shooter and then a random shooter from those in the qualifying round

I hear ya Mills, as the same guy for the LC Smith team in the Fall. I've been associated with the Southern SXS events since I picked up my first shotgun of any flavor about ten years ago. Maybe I've not been paying attention, (not very likely) but I've never seen many of this threads posters at a single one of these shoots since I've been going. As for the same guns from the same folks for displays at the Southern, I've been tasked with that very thing for the last several years, and while it might not be fashionable for those of the one ilk to peruse the display of the other ilk, if they had they'd see that for at least the last couple of years(and for the foreseeable future if I have my way) we're showing average members guns with other than average characteristics. Hell, our shining star last spring was a beat-up, low grade Market Hunters gun complete with pictures of the original owner and the gun in front of rafts of hanging ducks waiting for rail transport to market. Included with the gun was also a picture of the current owner, (grand child if I recall correctly) in a darn diaper, sitting on the floor with the gun in the foreground. Pretty darn cool in my way of seeing things and pretty far removed from the dynamic pitched earlier in this thread.
The way I see things, feel good, everybody gets a trophy, the hell with scores, is great for those who don't spend the time to get good enough to be competitive, or whose skill level in their mind is directly tied to their ability to write a check for a gun that most could never afford.
I'll shut up in just a second.
Some folks are primarily collectors, and some folks are primarily shooters. Some folks are primarily BOTH.
Those that primarily collect, will always be happy to just show off their guns, and curse the wind, target setter, or solar anomaly that caused them to miss entirely too many targets today.
The primarily shooter contingent will always take these competitions too seriously, and dream all year of beating those rapscallions that bested them the last time out. (count me in on this category!)
Those that collect and shoot, and I'll not mention any names from either Team Parker or Team Smith, are the ones that love the guns, shoot for score, and look forward to the next outing whether they won or lost the last outing.
Sorry, as I know that I've pissed some folks off with my thoughts, and if I get banished...oh well.
Hope to see the rest of Team Parker at either the Fall Southern in a couple of weeks, or in Sanford in the Spring.
John

[Mills]

Well said, John. There will be a great display of Parker 28 gauges at the Fall Southern this year that most, if not all, fall into the "never seen before and maybe never seen again" category. It will be a great time and you are missing something if you don't come on down.

[John Liles]

Hey there Mills, ya just had to go there didn't ya! I tell ya what, you gather up as many 28 ga Parkers as you can find, and I'll gather up all the 28 ga Elsies that I can find.....and the team with the fewest 28 gauges WINS! Ha!
See you in Georgetown, and prayers for those that live there in light of the storm churning that way as of this writing.
John

[Bill Graham]

Originally Posted by Mills Morrison

My collecting and participation in shooting events would be much greater if it were not for raising (and paying for) my kids and family. I think a lot of folks in my generation are in the same boat.

Certainly in the same boat. We've got two kids, and one income. At 50 I'm not a collector but a fix-r-upper. The Southern SxS is local to me, and I love going, but generally can't afford much of anything there, and only shoot one class due to the cost. Looking forward to shooting more in general, and engaging more in the double gun culture as resources allow.

[Bill Graham]

Originally Posted by Rich Anderson

Look at the Parker/Smith challenge it seems to me it has become more about winning and less about the fun. it's the same people for the most part competing every year. Years ago I mentioned that it would be nice to have teams made up of different classed shooters to make it more fun, and fair to everyone who wanted to try to make a team.

I think this is a great idea. I was test firing my basket case Parker yesterday and was wondering how a person could get on the team. Recognizing that I'm not likely to be good enough, the idea of a team being comprised of various skill levels sounds collaborative and fun, and also a good way for newer shooters to learn from the experienced ones.