Why is the attendance at SxS events down?

[Cold Spring]

Just my two cents: I’ve seen these vintage shoots evolve over recent years as more and more NSCA Master and AA class shooters are getting older and less competitive against younger shooters with better eyesight and reflexes. I know many such gents who I used to see at registered tournaments and now are mainly doing SxS shoots; and let's face it, the average Tom, Dick & Harry SxS shooter is going to get his clock cleaned on any of the gauge venues unless he has a very good day and the top shelf shooters have bad ones. I think Craig’s questions are good ones. Why set up a vintage SxS event for those few top level shooters? It seems the majority of SxS shooters are hunters, casual shooters and collectors, and at any given event they will be shooting multiple guns with different stock dimensions and weights. And despite trying to do well when shooting their pet guns along with friends - it's usually at the tail end of the course when they “get into” that particular gun. The same thing happens over again at the next gauge event and with a different gun. $1.00 per target for this majority is way too much. I understand that scorers must be paid and that, in part, adds to what the club must charge for targets. Another cost factor that comes into play at times is that the club may have rented extra traps from firms in that business.

Although I’ve balked at it in the past I think that having a named “scorer” who is also a shooter on each squad, is the way to go. That concept includes having at least four or five shooters per squad, and not all from the same family group. Of course there will still be some cheating by guys who just have to come in with a good score no matter what, but it will be minimized. That would eliminate the expense of paid scorekeepers and if the club hasn’t rented extra traps for the event, the cost/target might be just a nominal increase over the regular rate that applies before or after the SxS event. That increase would pay for the admin expenses of advertising, soliciting vendors, arranging for food, keeping track of the scores, posting, etc. Also for the extra roving help on event days to get broken traps cleared or fixed in a hurry to avoid backups. The club is of course in business and must make a decent profit, and that should happen due to the larger number of shooters drawn to the event to reconnect with and shoot multiple rounds with friends, and to sell/trade/buy with good SxS oriented vendors who have paid for tables.

I also think the club should offer a separate SxS venue for those top shelf shooters who want to participate, that’s scored by referees who have taken the NSCA test. That can be something like a Make a Break, Long Range birds or a tournament style 5-stand. Here those shooters will pay a higher rate/target for those dedicated traps and the scorekeepers. This can include a purse to be paid out to winners.

All told, these are personal thoughts and I certainly value others. We’re all in this together. But like Craig, I am alarmed when I know of many SxS shooters within a few hours of a vintage venue who can easily make a day trip to same but choose not to come. frank

[Opening Day]

Well said Frank, I go to the shoots to have fun, I will never make it in the top ten and I don't care. I shoot some guns that at 14" lop and others that are 15'lop because I want to shoot all of my guns pistol grip, English, POW don't care I want to shoot them all.... Most of the times we don't even take a score sheet we are just shooting and having a great time!

Now the timing that is a problem, you start getting into mid Sept and you are hitting hunting season in many of the northern states, so this is a major problem. Also when two great shoots post their shoots on the same weekend, knowing full well they are dividing a very small group of SXS shooters, plus dividing the vendors and making them choose which shoot, this is where egos are coming into play and this must Stop. For the sake of SxS shooting this ego thing has got to go, discuss it privately and setup your shoots so everyone has a chance to go, shooters and vendors to both of the shoots not just one Ok that was my rant and now I'll shut up

[C.O.B.]

I don't know if the target prices are really that out of line but it's not inexpensive either. When I was shooting registered skeet it was $35 per 100 targets (or more depending on the venue) plus purse fees per gauge and that was almost 15 years ago. I stopped shooting registered birds due to the fact that IMHO there were to many shooters who would drop a bird or two to get into a class where they could win money.

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.

Lets put the fun back in these shoots. One of the nicest things about shooting at Drake's Landing is we are all out for the same thing...a good time with friends. As Eric mentioned most times there are no score cards involved, you don't need a score sheet to tell you if you have had a good round or not.

[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.