ihmsa forums

willk wrote:That's a good point, having a something for the family to do while the shooter is shooting,

A related problem we had before we lost our range, we were so far from anyplace that had food to eat, we made it a point to have lunch available as part of the entry fee. (of course, anyone who showed up was welcome to eat whether they were shooting or not) Most of the places we shoot, finding a place to eat is not a problem. At our range it was.

Maybe having something for the shooter's family to do might entice more folks to attend our local matches. (besides setting targets )

Any thoughts? Games, drawings, prizes.

OKCGC shuts down from shooting from about noon to 1:00, we have all you can eat with drink for $3.00. That`s give the target setter`s a brake from the
heat or cold and they eat free.

LOCKHART wrote:The people out in Ft. Stockton LOVE having the shooters come to town. I dont think we should just walk away from these nice people if its determined that the Internationals will continue.

Even if IHMSA looses money there?

Steve W.

No, I dont mean at the expense of IHMSA, of course. Anywhere we have it, is gonna be
a hardship for SOMEONE to travel there. Just the fact that Ft. Stockton has the range
already set up, dont have to completely revamp a NEW range, like was done at Tusco, seems
like I remember alot of money being spent on that, dont know how much IHMSA put into it,
but seemed like alot of work had to be done with it. If you guys, who have been more involved
with running IHMSA think that we should drop the Internationals, I'm with you. I have only been
to one of em, anyway. I just cant afford the travel expenses, at this time in my life, and, I'm sure
lots of others cant either.

LOCKHART wrote:The people out in Ft. Stockton LOVE having the shooters come to town. We had our Texas
State Championship match out there, in 1985 and I believe 1988, and the one in 1985 set a record
for Texas championship matches, think there were over 500 entries. I know some of the folks from
the northern areas probably arent used to the heat, but we in Texas arent used to the cold, either!
But, the city and county out there has kept the berms up, kept the range clean, and put in the
restrooms. The last time I was there, in 1997, there were only port-o-potties. This is a nice range,
with great contrast between berms and targets. I dont think we should just walk away from these
nice people if its determined that the Internationals will continue.

Can't be that great if you haven't made it down there in over 15 years.

You know, all this talk about killing the internationals is really bumming me out. It is the crowning event that brings all shooters from around the world together to shoot. It's like the Olympics-hell, that never makes any money, but countries bid for it 10 years in advance. The internationals are the only shoot national puts on for us, for that matter the only thing IHMSA does for us. The WCC and the ECC are sponsored by locals. I don't care if it loses money. Bottom line, it doesn't lose as much money as the IHMSA news, or the overhead expenses our membership fees pay for. I would have never met the Aussies, the Kiwis from NZ, the South Americans, et al, if there wasn't the international shoot. For those of you who can't afford it, that sucks. I can't afford it either. For the last 3 years I have driven 12 hours to shoot six guns in two days and driven 12 hours back home to make it to work on Tuesday. Not a real chance of winning, with no spotter and no chance for shoot-offs. But hell, it was internationals! It was the shoot! It was the match I was paying for all of these overpriced practice matches to attend. That's why I think a certain amount of sanction fees should be allocated to the international match. Anyway, I would much rather lose money on a world championship match in Ft. Stockton than throw another two grand to the bottom line to fund a bloated administration.

Troy, I agree with what you say. But, can we still afford to do this if no one shows up ?

The fact that people fly half-way around the world to attend answers the question for me.

True enough Troy, but that is sadly not enough (in my opinion) ! What will happen if we continue on the same course, and the money runs out ?

Kickbass, I havent been back out there because I cant AFFORD it. If I had
the extra funds to do so, I certainly would be there, because Texas is my
home! I have noticed some of the sorta snide remarks about Ft Stockton
being a "hell hole", well, its in the middle of a DESERT! You would think
people that say stuff like that, would have KNOWN that before they entered
the match. I sorta agree with Steve and some others, that if we dont do
something, IHMSA is gone! If we only have something like 1100 members, it
doesnt take a genius to figure that we dont have much longer to exist
as a viable group. Whats the answer? I dont really know. Some things
just come and then go. I would hate to see our organization bite the
dust, but it sure looks like its coming.

TEFREY wrote:The fact that people fly half-way around the world to attend answers the question for me.

Those people get all their expenses paid for by their countries. If someone paid all my expenses, I would be there every year.