RISE AND FALL OF IHMSA

[KickBass]

A teacher in IHMSA? I thought I was the only one! Great ideas submitted… the electronic medium is the way things are going, IHMSA must follow suit. That is just the way younger society now gets their information.

[braud357]

Promo videos exist --- I know of someone that filmed some match footage and ran it on a continuous loop at his local gun show. He received little interest, and this was probably 15-16 years ago.

[ole95]

A teacher in IHMSA? I thought I was the only one!

oh no tell me it an't so Joe we've let school teachers in
Now I know why were headed to self destruction next you'll tell me we let a over the hill guitar player from a 70's rock band in

[19 Turkeys]

Promo videos exist --- I know of someone that filmed some match footage and ran it on a continuous loop at his local gun show. He received little interest, and this was probably 15-16 years ago.

I have a video professionally shot of all 5 days of the 2010 West Coast on DVD.

Steve W.

[IHMSA80x80]

Gerald - when I started in IHMSA - there were only 3 categories !! (1980). It was a much simpler time ! Fast-forward 34 years - if IHMSA had continued with that basic premise - I would have quit a long time ago. My diminished eyesight is the cause - I personally think that the scope categories have RETAINED membership that would have been otherwise lost ! Too many categories is not our problem - a changed shooter demographic is ! ---- Philip Braud

I agree with Philip. The scoped categories were created with the idea of helping a lot of the long-time IHMSA members, who had vision problems due to aging and had quit because they couldn't focus on the iron sights, return to shooting steel, and to allow the hunters, who had been using scoped guns, to have a place to shoot them. This action DID get many new shooters and returning older shooters back into IHMSA. At our matches, Walt and I are about the only two who shoot iron sights any more. Everyone else uses scopes. IHMSA would have been long dead if it weren't for those new categories.

[260 Striker]

Think about IHMSA this way. Back when it started most of us we young gun nuts looking for some venue where we could all shoot handguns and have a new challenge. IHMSA filled the bill in spades and we all have been keeping it alive. Today's young gun nuts are also looking for some new exciting venue to shoot handguns but today's new venues are the run and gun games with handguns and even the new three gun events which probably draw in some shotgun shooters who then have to learn to shoot handguns and rifles. One of our club members made some videos about IHMSA and they can be found floating around on the Internet. We had another IHMSA shooter who attends gun shows for a living and he would play those videos at gun shows but I can't think of any new members as a result of those videos. I think IHMSA needs MORE visibility through advertising or online coverage but that probably won't attract as many new shooters as we would all like. We are the handgun version of benchrest rifle shooting. Look at the average age of benchrest rifle shooters. They are probably old hard core shooters like us. Our sports just don't have the flash and appeal as the new handgun and rifle venues. We appeal to a special group of handgun shooters who prefer accuracy over speed. Now trying to attract more shooters who have the same interests is our current challenge.

[Hosspower]

I was at a rifle range on Friday trying to get sight settings on full size paper silhouette targets I made. One of the guys there came up to me and said 'looks like you are doing some silhouette shooting, is IHMSA still alive and well?' I said its alive but....... He said yea I used to read about it in magazines, thought it was neat but I haven't see anything about it in years. He said his local range in McDonald, PA used to be setup for it. That would be a little shorter drive for me.

Has any board members tried to get in contact with any handgun magazines or american rifleman about a writeup on the internationals/world match coming up? Or even printing results?

[260 Striker]

I just went to ShootingUSA.com and emailed Jim Scoutten asking his team to cover the IHMSA World Championships in OK this month. I also asked him to add the IHMSA.org link to their "Links" page. I hope I didn't step on anyone's toes here at IHMSA but thought it wouldn't hurt to personally ask Jim Scoutten to cover our event. I would respectfully suggest to all IHMSA members reading this topic to also email Jim Scoutten to generate more interest in our World Championship event. Go to ShootingUSA.com and click "Contact Us". You will then see an email option to contact Jim. The more emails he receives might motivate them to cover our match. Might be too late at this point but never hurts to try. I would also like to suggest that some IHMSA HQ official try to contact Jim directly if they have not already done so. I have never seen IHMSA coverage on the Shooting USA program and that would be a plus for us too. Let's hope this works.

[Rodent]

Steve, I think we are talking apples compared to oranges here. Doesnt
3 gun competition pay MONEY? IHMSA does not!

If you are looking for money then you are doing this for the wrong reason.


Mike

[IHMSA80x80]

I have never seen IHMSA coverage on the Shooting USA program and that would be a plus for us too. Let's hope this works.

Jim Scoutten did cover the Internationals in 1998 when he was hosting American Shooter, the predecessor to Shooting USA. I have it on tape.