The Firing Line Forums - View Single Post

Dr. Strangelove · September 26, 2010, 11:36 PM

I shot my first rifle match since the Boy Scouts today at my local club. It was fun, a great group of people, etc.

It was four people in one category, seven in another, shooting three stations at time in both categories. Fifteen shots total per person, and the match took 4.5 hours altogether. There was a "sight-in station" (it was an informal deer season warm-up) as well.

I'm new to matches, but by my estimation, removing the sight-in table would have limited the match to 7 shooting evolutions, limiting those to 5 minutes separated by 5 minutes of scoring would have meant 70 minutes of shooting & scoring time plus pre and post activities. We could have been done in 2.5 hours easily.

I'm not knocking the folks who set it up, they volunteered their time and all that, I helped break down the range, and I enjoyed it, but... it could have been much quicker.

My question is - is this normal? One guy had to leave because of family commitments, he was finished shooting, but the match wasn't over. I'm 37, and the guy that left is about my age. The rest of the members were much older, our club is mostly older, but we do have many new young members who I believe would come out to these event if they didn't take all afternoon.

I'm a relatively new member in this club, (one year) so I don't want to be the new guy trying to change everything, but the time management aspect of the match seemed to be, well... lacking.

So I am wrong in this? I like the chit-chat and admiring each others firearms as much as the next guy, but I have other commitments in my life and I'd like to get the match done in a reasonable amount of time without hurrying anyone. I think many of the newer club members would come out for these matches if the time was managed more reasonably.

How would I approach club management about this, as well as possibly emailing members about the matches? From what I understand, the club management is vehemently opposed to email, though that's how myself and many of the younger members would prefer to be contacted, as opposed to a sporadic newsletter that comes out now.

Thoughts?

September 26, 2010, 11:36 PM	#1
Dr. Strangelove Senior Member Join Date: August 1, 2008 Location: Athens, GA Posts: 1,436	Match time question? I shot my first rifle match since the Boy Scouts today at my local club. It was fun, a great group of people, etc. It was four people in one category, seven in another, shooting three stations at time in both categories. Fifteen shots total per person, and the match took 4.5 hours altogether. There was a "sight-in station" (it was an informal deer season warm-up) as well. I'm new to matches, but by my estimation, removing the sight-in table would have limited the match to 7 shooting evolutions, limiting those to 5 minutes separated by 5 minutes of scoring would have meant 70 minutes of shooting & scoring time plus pre and post activities. We could have been done in 2.5 hours easily. I'm not knocking the folks who set it up, they volunteered their time and all that, I helped break down the range, and I enjoyed it, but... it could have been much quicker. My question is - is this normal? One guy had to leave because of family commitments, he was finished shooting, but the match wasn't over. I'm 37, and the guy that left is about my age. The rest of the members were much older, our club is mostly older, but we do have many new young members who I believe would come out to these event if they didn't take all afternoon. I'm a relatively new member in this club, (one year) so I don't want to be the new guy trying to change everything, but the time management aspect of the match seemed to be, well... lacking. So I am wrong in this? I like the chit-chat and admiring each others firearms as much as the next guy, but I have other commitments in my life and I'd like to get the match done in a reasonable amount of time without hurrying anyone. I think many of the newer club members would come out for these matches if the time was managed more reasonably. How would I approach club management about this, as well as possibly emailing members about the matches? From what I understand, the club management is vehemently opposed to email, though that's how myself and many of the younger members would prefer to be contacted, as opposed to a sporadic newsletter that comes out now. Thoughts?