ihmsa forums

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forest341 wrote: Fri Apr 07, 2023 9:13 pm I keep seeing the same question come up on this forum again and again, how can we attract new & younger shooters to our sport?

First we have to acknowledge that our sport is not a spectator sport.

It is a day long event that we don't know who won what. We go home and in a few days we get the results on this forum, maybe.
Typically everyone leaves when each one is done shooting because they don't want to wait for a couple more hours to maybe hear some verbal results.
There is no satisfaction or sense of accomplishment in that.
There is no prize or tangible evidence to show for all the effort.
To do all that work and end up knowing almost nothing is not a competition.
To ask a new shooter to come out and shoot with us to see how their skills compare, but tell him/her to go home and if they search on a forum you might find out in a couple of days how they did, is about as anti-climatic as you can get.

Our sport is structured to be a series of matches used as preparation for championship matches.
Not everyone has plans to travel across the country to shoot a championship match, especially a new shooter.
New shooters just want to try it out and see how they "stack up" with others. They want to see results, and get an "at-a-boy" of some sort.
Our matches are currently just opportunities for us to record another entry to be eligible for a state, regional, or international match.

To get new shooters into our sport, we need to draw them in with some excitement, competition, reward, and something that gets the heart beating faster with anticipation.

Any spectator watching our current matches will walk away thinking that is boring, takes too long, and in the end, there is no winner. Why would they want to ever return & try it out.

Our best source of new shooters will come from spectators that for some reason happen to be at a match to see what it is we are doing. If they see something exciting, they will want try it too. If they see something boring, with no obvious winner, they will walk away wonder how can we stay involved in something with no goal or reward.

If we don't streamline the matches, add some clear cut, head to head competition to make it feel like we beat some else, and not just ourselves, then they will continue to walk away, as they have for the last 20 years.

I can't disagree with any of your above post. It is very much true. But when I joined IHMSA in 1980 what you described above was the same back then. I can remember matches that started at 7:30 AM and shootoffs had to be aided with the headlights of pickup trucks. Winners weren't sometimes known till after sunset. Yet we had as many as 150 guns run through the course at monthly matches in a single day. (with only three categories)
So the question we have to ask ourselves is "What changed?". Why was IHMSA so popular then and not so popular now. The way I see it, the answer is society changed. Life is MUCH faster paced today. Popular guns today don't work very well for silhouette. Today's gun enthusiasts burn more ammunition in 30 minutes than an IHMSA shooter burns in a day. I don't see any way we can change what we have done in our sport for so many years into something to attract a significant number of new shooters. Maybe all we can do is make small changes to stop the bleeding and make it easier for any prospective inductees to join us and stay for a while.

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I could enjoy a match like that. But how many new shooters are you going to attract when you can't walk into a gun shop today and buy a gun that can compete at targets set at 100 yards? People want to compete with the gun they already have. And for the past 20 years the move has been to tactical type guns. The popular shooting games today attract people wanting to see how fast they can empty a magazine.....at face to face distances. I like the idea of 20 shot, shootoff style matches. It may bring new life to the current IHMSA membership. But I'm not sure it will attract a meaningful number of new shooters who will stick around for very long. At least in my area of the country, there are no spectator type shooting events of any kind.

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Well stated forest341

A lot of suggestions in the last few posts. Some have already been tried without success.

Carry gun matches already have a multitude of host events. Steel Challenge is very popular here, the Area 5 match draws 350 entries in a 3-day weekend, at an average price of $60 per entry. It has Production class, the farthest target is a torso size rectangle at 35 yards. I've talked with those guys, they have no interest in shooting a 9mm at 100y except as a novelty to empty a mag at the end of their day. Their attempt is usually preceded by the words "try and hit it".

Our shooters today play this game because they like shooting and hitting targets. Sometimes their eyes and health get in the way, let's address that. And let's gear the game to the demographic we're trying to entice, as well as the aging demographic that we already have.

Can we think outside the box for a while? Bear with me.... If we were starting this today, I'm not sure I would have knockdown targets. Way too labor intensive. How many MD's have we lost to that reason? Virtually all of them. Shoot swingers, have a Range Officer or honest spotter to confirm hits, and/or using impact lights at long distances. For ranges with KD targets, it's a bonus. But the more labor required, the less likely it will enjoy long term success.

Given the popularity of optics, would we have open sight events? UAS is popular, no question about it. So is Practical Hunter at some clubs. Should we embrace that? We search for aftermarket sights on a guns, why not just use a scope that is easily mounted on every gun out there including the Charger.

Within minutes of adopting UAS at Oak Ridge in the mid 90's, discussion began among some shooters on how to limit it. One discussion was to limit the number of 40"s you could shoot, then you were advanced (and limited to) 1/5 scale or 1/2 scale, no different than the progression from B class to International. Shooting perfect scores should be a challenge and reward, not a routine.

So how do we make it attractive to younger generation(s) but still keep us old farts in the game? How would we balance the equipment with the course of fire, and the ability to run a match with minimum labor?

If Production, Revolver, and Unlimited were all optics, what would the course of fire be? For .22, how about 5 regular targets, followed by 5 fifth scale targets? BB the same, 5 full sized targets and then 5 Half-scale targets. How would YOU score? Is that challenge enough? Does anyone use their Browning, 10" TC, or Ruger revolver for small targets? would that make it a challenge? Limit the scope to 6x,and eliminate PH because now you have 6 more optic guns to shoot. Keep open sights in Standing, Fifth scale and Half scale categories.

Anyone out there that wants to set up a practice match under these conditions and report back? I'm begging you, don't make me the only one to try this...

Here is an idea that will raise some hackles! As an ex-match director whose club closed due to lack of volunteer workers due to age and disabilities, the hard work is big bore. Eliminate 200 meter competition and you remove the really hard work. Replace with half scale targets at 100 yards. Replace Half Scale with heavy duty 1/5 or 1/10 scale. FP & SB remain the same.

Flack jacket on. Fire away!

Steve W.

19 Turkeys wrote: Tue Apr 11, 2023 10:48 am Here is an idea that will raise some hackles! As an ex-match director whose club closed due to lack of volunteer workers due to age and disabilities, the hard work is big bore. Eliminate 200 meter competition and you remove the really hard work. Replace with half scale targets at 100 yards. Replace Half Scale with heavy duty 1/5 or 1/10 scale. FP & SB remain the same.

Flack jacket on. Fire away!

Steve W.

No flaming from me. Your suggestion is well worth considering. The only issue I see is that much of the equipment long time shooters have on hand is quite a bit over powered for half scale at 100. The bad news is some reworking of existing loads and guns for the new distance. The good news is not nearly as much horsepower would be needed. The balancing act required with any reboot in the format is to find a balance between attracting new shooters while not running off the current shooters. Plus, acquiring new heavier gauge small targets might strain cash strapped clubs.

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