Is BE coming to an end?

As I was googling I noticed a lack of bullseye sites and related information.

Is BE loosing its popularity?
Do you think it will go away?
If so why because of IDPA and other more glamorous shooting sports?

John

Seems to be attracting new shooters here.

Chip

Bullseye is pretty active in the Northeast

our gun club just added this discipline last month

No.

Casey,

Don't come to the conclusion that a 100 year old sport with 2 names (NRA Conventional Pistol/Bullseye) with neither name that google's very well, is struggling because of a lack of internet presence.

1750 members on the forum now.  More new members every day.

I belong to 2 clubs and both have it  with a fair amount of members participating. Yiogo

At my club the bulls eye group were and are my mentors. Taking a new shooter to new heights in shooting and giving me an appreciation of good shooting each and every time I meet and shoot with them.

I am in a 6 team league and it definitely is not a growing sport.

Our league used to have 10 teams 20 years ago.

Of the remaining six teams, one is struggling to field a team and a second team is down to a handful of shooters. Three teams appear stable although the average age is about 50 years old. Only one team has a high number of shooters but they are able to mine them from the nearby university which operates their home court range.

We are always on the lookout for new shooters and I personally have mentored a dozen or so the last couple years. Some newbies stick with it, some don't, and some probably will come back to it when they get more time/funds/ambition.

With that being said, if anybody is in the Lansing Michigan area and wants to see what bullseye is all about, drop me a line. We will get you a good start in the bullseye community.

regards,
Cranky

The number of shooters in our postal league has increased.  We had 12 members last year, 4 of them did not return this year.  We now have 15 shooters, adding 7 new shooters.  I see a lot of enthusiasm and some great shooters in the new bunch.  Average age of the new shooter is between 45-50, with 2 women joining the ranks.  It also looks like there is going to be a good turnout for the Maine Indoor Sectional and State match in the next 2 months, Feb 3rd and March 3rd in Blue Hill, Maine.

It's just that the internet needs us to promote the sport better  it's hard to find good updated info   The best source for most info on the sport is bullseye encyclopedia.com

Ive had the hardest time getting into bullseye shooting. It took me 3 years to get enough info to shoot in a local indoor winter league. There is one club in an hr of my house that shoots 2 conventional pistol matches a year. On top of that i have noticed that the bullseye comunity is not as warm and welcoming as some of the other shooting sports. When i started shooting highpower i got all kinds of help and loaned gear from people i didnt even know. Most bullseye shooters i met just come to shoot there targets and leave.

Our 3 gun league added some new shooters, and I think we do a good job of welcoming new shooters, and lending guns and ammo to those without all 3 guns.

Our .22 league seems to have some new faces also.

We have about a dozen or so regulars in our club.  Mostly middle-age guys.  I am the youngest shooter, and I am nearly 40.

Our 22 BE league has 10 teams from 9 different clubs. We get nearly 200 shooters each week showing up at the 5 matches. We shoot 27 matches for the season. I would estimate the average age to be in the mid to late 50's. I am 50 and I have competitively shot one discipline or another since I was less than 10. My 30's and early 40's were busy with work and a young family. There was no time for a sport like bullseye which demands some regular practice to achieve satisfying scores.  Match fees and equipment costs are not the problem. Bullseye is not a yuk it up fun game like trap, skeet, sporting clays, or action pistol games can be. 
Bullseye matches have a more serious atmosphere which appeals to a different demographic. Many of our older shooters remain active just for a weekly social activity and they don't care much about the scores. They have fun shooting but really look forward to a cup of coffee and a doughnut while bs-ing with friends after they shoot.

Looks like some cups are half empty, and others half full.

Bullseye is not coming to an end anytime soon.

Rob Kovach wrote:Looks like some cups are half empty, and others half full.

Bullseye is not coming to an end anytime soon.

Or perhaps the cup is twice as large as it needs to be?   

aloreman wrote:.....On top of that i have noticed that the bullseye comunity is not as warm and welcoming as some of the other shooting sports.....

Can't be any worse than the fly fishing community.   

aloreman wrote:Ive had the hardest time getting into bullseye shooting.  It took me 3 years to get enough info to shoot in a local indoor winter league.  There is one club in an hr of my house that shoots 2 conventional pistol matches a year. On top of that i have noticed that the bullseye comunity is not as warm and welcoming as some of the other shooting sports.    When i started shooting highpower i got all kinds of help and loaned gear from people i didnt even know.  Most bullseye shooters i met just come to shoot there targets and leave.  

You just live in the wrong area, here everyone helps the new guys. As for bullseye people being not warm, thats hogwash, i have approached several national champions and many masters and high masters and not one has ever not been friendly and willing to talk or give advise. If you are not getting these results then the problem may lie closer to home 

I agree that most of the shooters involved with indoor bullseye leagues are in their mid-fifties.  This due to the the fact that most "younger" men or women have families and their time is stretched during the winter months.  Almost all of the members of my pistol team have children that are grown.  This allows for much more free time.  I am in my late thirties and can balance family and shooting time.

And are not commercial ranges primarily action/defence shooting.  Bullseye ranges seem to be getting farther away all the time.

Jack H wrote:And are not commercial ranges primarily action/defence shooting.  Bullseye ranges seem to be getting farther away all the time.

I don't know of any commercial ranges/clubs in my area (R.I) that have a pistol team.  All of the clubs are private, requiring a membership.

If this forum is indicative of the type of reception I should expect in the "real world" then I consider BE shooters to be very warm and inviting. The amount of help I have received on here in both the forum and private messages goes way above and beyond what I expected. The amount of time many of these guys have given to help me is priceless.

Bullseye10X wrote:If this forum is indicative of the type of reception I should expect in the "real world" then I consider BE shooters to be very warm and inviting.  The amount of help I have received on here in both the forum and private messages goes way above and beyond what I expected.  The amount of time many of these guys have given to help me is priceless.

I can't agree more!