Attracting More Shooters

I belong to a small club and run the Bullseye League.  Like many clubs I am having a difficult time attracting new shooters.   We were shooting two National Match Courses in the evening and people did not like the Long Line.  They were not die hard BE people, same would shoot Glock 17s  or 19s.  I even had one elderly man show up with a Ruger Bearcat.  All of those shooters dropped out.  In order to stimulate participation I changed the course of fire a few times.  The last change was to shooting three NMC at the short line using a .22, centerfire and .45 or use a .22 for the entire match.   Participation rose, but then dropped off.  Last season only two of us shot.  Any suggestions about how to increase participation?

I'm all ears on this one.

I have considered opening it up to two hand shooters for a two match limit to try to generate interest. Possibly even allowing two hands to just fill empty spaces with the understanding that one hand shooters take precedence as far as available space.

People just want EZ.

Unfortunately, newer shooters just don't "get it" that the Fundamentals Of Marksmanship and the practice thereof, are the ONLY way to make a mediocre shooter into an excellent shooter.

Even some of our best combat shooters from Tier 1 units have competed in bullseye pistol shooting. How can we translate that into enticing more shooters into bullseye?

There are podcasts galore from these guys and even talk about competition and the impact it has on their abilities to "run and gun". If you follow them or subscribe, mention bullseye competition in their comments. Even if they don't reply or act on the comments, their followers will at least see it and if 1% does try bullseye then what have we lost?

Building comradely is key. Figuring out how to help/coach the group improve helps too. Both of these things are not easy. For example coaching shooters (regardless of level of proficiency) is extremely difficult, arguably harder than self improvement. This is a game where people will often try and buy proficiency with equipment (myself included), and then get discouraged when improvement is fleeting if at all.

The reality is that this game isn’t for everyone. It is hard, equipment often gets expensive and is not really easy to get (think cost/availability of powder, primers, bullets, ect.). Another sad reality is that some participants can be less than welcoming to newcomers, which honestly hurts participation the most.

Here are some things that I do for a league setting:
1) Keep the atmosphere light, this is supposed to be fun
2) Do everything you can to help a new shooter (lend them equipment, ammo, ect)
3) Don’t expect newcomers to know how the game works and make sure everyone conducts themselves in a safe manor. Typically I find it takes several weeks for new participants to understand the format. For example the load command can be taken as “load 5 rounds in to the magazine” rather than “insert the magazine into the gun”. If you have a group of regulars who know the game well, a buddy system approach helps mitigate some of this.

The important thing when running a league is that you are providing the opportunity for people to shoot. If you are able to make it an enjoyable experience for all participants, that sort of thing become contagious in a way.

Watching with interest.

I have been struggling with this for years (decades?).

I don't think it's any one thing; I think it's a lot of little things. We got a rebound in NorCal post-pandemic, because people wanted to get back out of the house and shoot. I do not believe that watering down the sport is the path to higher participation.

Things that seem to be working for us right now (we've had some ebbs and flows):
- Run matches. I run at least 26 a year between leagues and 2700s.
- Have a centralized place for regional match info. Rudy has been doing a great job at https://www.califpistolmatches.org/scheduled-matches . Get the word out.
- Have a cadre of high-level shooters that show up at most of the matches and motivate other shooters to see what they can do beyond your local matches (this one is tough, and I can't take much credit for it, but we've definitely seen a bump with Oglethorpe Trophy and President's 1 coming back to CA)
- Run matches.

Further thoughts, if you can find/recruit help to keep things running. Often times leagues go away because no one is willing to step up. I have found it is far easier if you have 2-3 people working together to run/coordinate a league.

JB. The link to your match info webpage does not work for me? Typo?

RoyDean wrote:JB. The link to your match info webpage does not work for me? Typo?

The period at the end of the sentence appended to the link.  Try this:  

https://www.califpistolmatches.org/scheduled-matches

Here in Prescott, AZ we shoot once a month from March through November weather permitting.

All shooting is at 25 yards using reduced targets for slow fire.

We shoot two relays with first relay usually .22LR, but if someone wants to shoot a center fire they are welcome to so so.  Second relay is generally center fire, but if someone wants to shoot the .22LR they are welcome to do so.

Some folks shoot only first relay, others only second relay.

We have separate classes for one-handed and two-handed shooters.

Costs are nominal with members paying $10 (I think) and non-members a couple of dollars more.

We generally host about a half dozen shooters but have had as many as 10 or 12.

Like most clubs, we are also struggling to attract more folks.  While we all like to compete we keep it low key and relaxed so newer shooters are not intimidated.  Most of us also talk up or matches at every opportunity.

I wish I had more to say, but precision shooting is tough and apparently not everyone is up for the challenge.

Dennis, aka Dulcmrman

The thing with bullseye is either you “have the bug” or you don’t.  If I was to change the sport to attract more participants, I might try to allow two hands for up to “SharpShooter” class or say 2400/2700, all at 25 yards, and have sharpshooters and below shoot on 25T&R targets with Experts and higher shoot on B16 targets.  I’m not sure that it would help, but it might help? Dunno??

JHHolliday wrote:

RoyDean wrote:JB. The link to your match info webpage does not work for me? Typo?

The period at the end of the sentence appended to the link.  Try this:  

https://www.califpistolmatches.org/scheduled-matches

Thanks; fixed.

Our club runs a Bullseye Clinic once a year in early Spring prior to the leagues starting up.  They start with a classroom session from safe handling of firearms, through the course of fire, and how to score.  Then a practical session on the range where the students fire and score slow, timed, and rapid.  They hear the commands and get a sense of the timing.  For the range session each one or two students has an experienced shooter keeping an eye on them and offering additional instruction.  It's pretty condensed, but they at least get a sense of what's happening and are not starting out cold the first time they show up for a match or league night.  You run ten or twelve through the class and maybe get two or three who show interest and come back and shoot.

Dulcmrman wrote: While we all like to compete we keep it low key and relaxed so newer shooters are not intimidated.  

We try to do the same, as I have heard comments about being intimidated by others scores. I constantly tell shooters to just look at it as an opportunity to come out and work on improving your shooting skills with others with the same interest. Compete with yourself, not with others. The advantage to doing so is that the range provides everything needed. Cardboard, targets, staplers, score cards, pencils, etc., so it is the perfect opportunity.

I am always willing to help other shooters, but have learned not to do so unless asked...

I like the idea of holding a class type event to try to introduce others to the sport. Over 1000 members and we get three to five shooters each month for the match.

Thanks!

As a relatively new BE shooter perhaps my experience the last few years may provide some ideas.

I came into the BE sphere straight up badge hunting for the Army, and looking for a lower impact sport to age into.  I was looking at both high power and BE.  I do shoot both though this season am not doing high power really as the time constraints to properly practice.  This is one advantage of BE, generally speaking ranges or substitutes are more available.  Proper 600yd ranges are few and far between.  Both, of course, have high entry barrier costs; if one does the 22 game for BE this is probably the lowest hurdle.  What I did was buy a decent airpistol (Hammerli AP20) which is still pricey, but it allowed me to evaluate how much I did or did not suck before I started dropping cash to get involved [Also Air pistol and the Olympic aspect of AP and RF etc perhaps should be highlighted] .  I do think this is perhaps an under reported barrier to entry, ego and how much of a jump in competition it is-- especially for military guys.  For example I've been double expert for years, but for both High Power and BE currently struggle to get to point minimum scores.  This is off putting for many military guys as they've been thinking for years "I'm great."  Now this isn't a sport problem, its an individual problem: but, warning people that hey this stuff is a jump up and take practice; and that it's normal is a good thing.  There are a few youtube or other online resources out there where some guys have gone all in on shooting sports, get to the next level realize that "boy I suck in comparison" and then just drop off the face of the earth.  For military folks, letting people that we get involved that the skill jump is fairly large is in our best interest to soften the blow to the ego.  It's like the difference between HS athletics and D1 or then to pro.  Or my favorite example is look at state champion gymnasts-- who are impressive, and compare them to an Olympian; it's a completely different thing.

My first event was a SAFS M9 event.  25yd only.  I totally sucked but had fun: I had go home and make sure I kept a learning mindset.  The issue pistol at 25yds was a good thing.  Also had the carrot on the stick of 4 EIC points for those of us that are badge hunting.  Now, the long line is a barrier too as this is where pistol/ammo/combo really comes into play.  I'm not saying get rid of long line, but events at 25yds are far less firearm/ammo picky. 

Keep politics off the range.  Everywhere I've been has been good at this.  But especially for "gun culture 2.0" they just don't want to hear it.

I do shoot Action pistol, USPSCA type stuff for funsies too.  This is also a completely different thing for me as well.  For BE, for me, the attraction is the love of precision and there is a lot of overlap with rifle stuff more than action pistol.  Especially with the rise in things like NRL22 and PRS type stuff, I think this mental type would be more attracted to bullseye than the average action pistol person.

Just some thoughts

+1 "Keep politics off the range."

I have a couple 'entry level' BE pistols for noobs to try before they commit to the $$ or the sport,
and try to be generous with practice ammo for these folks. Paying it forward.

Always give fair warning the it is 'simple, not easy'

Lots of positive reinforcement.

We don't have a large team at our club, but we all step up and help. I am fortunate to have fallen into such a great group of people. Membership waxes and wanes, and we do struggle sometimes.

Two thoughts;

1 Don't work on attracting new shooters, work on attracting a new shooter. A neighbor, your brother in law, someone from church.

2 EIC matches are the ready made feeder league for the sport. The 22 EIC has the lowest barrier to entry and ammo cost of any shooting sport I can think of. $500 can get a plausible used ruger and enough ammo for a season. If your club does not have one of those matches you are basically telling everyone to leave.

I think I've posted this before - but when I was running the matches in Austin I got quite a lot of traction by offering a free pistol marksmanship class the previous day. Your average shooter is amazed that you can hit things smaller than the side of a barn at 25 yards - never mind 50. If you have the time (and can free up the range) that might be worth considering.

The comments I hear from action shooters is 'that doesn't apply to me / what I do'. My reply is always the same.

I can explain it to you,
But I can't understand it for you.

DA/SA wrote:
I like the idea of holding a class type event to try to introduce others to the sport. Over 1000 members and we get three to five shooters each month for the match.

Thanks!

Brief side note on clubs that I have noticed, membership numbers and participation don’t necessarily correlate. I am on the executive committee of a smaller club of about 200ish members, roughly 25-30% of the members regularly utilize the range in both open range time and events. 

If you can (not always possible) see if you can open up leagues to non club members if that is a restriction.

Hiya,

This isn't a new problem, it's been with us since the "run and gun" games caught on in the 80's. Starting in the early 90's most BE leagues and clubs were noticing that young shooters were few and far between and not enough to replace the shooters leaving.
 
The action sports like IDPA/USPSA/Steel Challenge are more in-line with the thought process of people under 45, raised in the era of video games, Internet access at home, 2 day or less shipping times they are looking for instant gratification and recognition. The faster paced games, lots of movement, focus on speed and agility, stages that last less than a minute in a lot of cases and targets at distances that are very forgiving and their culture fosters friendship/cooperation between competitors as the stages are shot one shooter at a time with the others waiting in the gallery, observing and talking amongst themselves as to the best way to approach the stages. 

If you compare a typical BE match to an action match, the BE shooters show up to a match, setup their stuff, shoot all day long in silence with pretty much the only conversation happening is to and from the targets where the topic is how many mistakes were made, when the scoring is done, everyone goes home as 2700's are tiring, then the results show up weeks later in CT.

Here's what I've done over the years to bring more people and clubs into the BE arena:

1) Shoot other disciplines, sign up for IDPA, Silhouette, USPSA, archery, Service Rifle/High Power etc. Introduce yourself as a total noobe, ask for help, talk, meet people, make friends. Once you make a few friends, ask them to join you in BE, help them out as it's a hard game at first with humbling scores for people that are successful in other disciplines.

2) Make friends with instructors and offer to teach their students about BE in their classes. These are the people that meet the newest shooters, the raw meat of the shooting world. Go there, talk to the students, let them know that this is the pistol sport that requires almost no investment to get started. (Let's face it, for beginners, a used Ruger MK-whatever, 3 mags and a brick of CCI mini-mags is all it takes.) Talk to them about how rewarding (and frustrating) BE is, tell them how the fundamentals of marksmanship bridge all other disciplines and that the skills they gain in BE will help them in any other discipline. Talk to them about EIC and medals etc.

3) Go to other BE matches in the area. 40 years ago, most areas had "traveling" indoor winter 50' leagues, shooters from 5 or 10 clubs intermingled every week and got to know what was going on. These days, especially after "the 'Rona" clubs tend to have "postal" leagues and rarely interact. Going to other clubs give you back that inter-club connections. This is what I did for the NHPL after "the 'Rona" decimated participation and the number of shooters in the league dropped by half. I went to other clubs in the state and surrounding states and recruited other clubs to join the league. I was able to bring participation back to higher than it was before. 

4) Go to your youth/junior/4H/BSA/Appleseed program person and work with them. Again, these are the raw meat the shooting sports need, work with the instructor and introduce them to BE. Appleseed has a pistol segment where students are taught marksmanship, this is a great place to leverage that into Precision Pistol participation. 

As far as keeping interest in a weekly informal match going, a few things I introduced over the years were "Plastic Pistol Day" where only polymer guns shot, "Old Race-gun Day" where old 80's race guns shot, "Revolvers Only" and "Iron Sight Day". 

One concept that has caught on with the BE people at my club for weekly outdoor informal matches is a "Mini-2700" where 22/CF/45 is shot S22, SCF & S45 at 50 yards, 45 T/R, 22/CF Timed and 22/CF Rapid at 25. It takes a little more effort for scoring but people get to shoot a 3 gun match in about 45-50 minutes and not use 270 rounds of ammo. It lets the competitors stay in tune between big matches and it lets the others use the 52's and Gold Cups that might otherwise sit in the safes.

OK, long winded but I hope it gives you a few ideas,

I was hoping for some mention of the course of fire and the need for a fairly high level of endurance needed to get through these "fun" things called 2700's.  Our firing line throughout the winter, registered league is jammed with shooters at all firing positions and we've expanded it to three relays.  Sixty rounds (One NMC with 22 and one with CF/45), forty-five minutes total (partially due to the short, fifty foot walk), and twenty minutes to get home.  Done, and you can still help the kids with their homework.  Come spring I see none of these folks at the nearby 2700's and fewer and fewer participants in general.  Folks are just as competitive and passionate about the sport in the winter 600's as those shooting 2700's but the times are just not permissive for the commitment to do what is needed to develop the [b]endurance[/b] for a 2700 (or load for a 2700 or practice a 2700...).   Neither are folks choosing to spend the six hours (plus 2-4 of driving since 2700's often require much more traveling than the local Indoor/winter leagues) to participate.  It is unfortunate that one's discretionary time must be parsed out in such small pieces these days but if the NRA continues to ignore this, I don't see much future for the (outdoor, full length version of the ) sport.  
By the way, nobody wants to be permitted to shoot two-handed, including the seventy-year old lady who shoots with us.  The skill level required to succeed is a [b]DRAW[/b], not a detractor.  The reduced participation is not because of the difficulty. There is a pride associated with one handed shooting.  I hope that this doesn't change.  But quite a bit else, needs to. 

[b]So, for the warm weather, outdoor version of this sport to grow..[/b]. 
Keep the 2700 for regionals and nationals.  
Keep the ring diameters (difficulty).  
Half of the dozen clubs I've belonged to in the past thirty years (lots of relocations) have only twenty-five yard pistol ranges.  Yes, reduced target matches are possible but since national records are not recognized at these distances, it just feels unimportant I think, to folks.  Just shoot everything at 25 yds.  Keep the difficulty.
Keep Slow and Rapid.
The main thing is to shorten up the course of fire (drastically).  More clubs, local to you, will be able to run matches and folks don't have to choose Bullseye over family, career, church, and other more important responsibilities.  Let them do both.  
Sixty-ninety rounds and home to cut the grass, play with kids, take the dog for a walk or God forbid participate in another hobby. Look at it this way, if, in the same 8-10 hours normally needed to travel and participate in one 2700, that same 8-10 hours could be reallocated to dry firing, loading, 1-2 short range sessions, [b]AND[/b] the weekly, local match; don't you think the end result might revive participation?  No, it would not be the same Bullseye.  But it would be 'A' bullseye.

A one-day 2700 is definitely an endurance and marksmanship challenge that people need some scaffolding to grow into. That's the deep end of the pool, and even with 30+ years of experience, I need to manage my energy carefully to be able to clean .45 Rapid Fire targets at the end of a one-day 2700.

Our league is a Wednesday night 1200: 60 shots .22, 60 shots CF. Two Slow Fire targets, two Timed Fire targets, two Rapid Fire targets, for each gun. We shoot from 6:30 - 9PM, usually finishing around 8:45. We allow people to shoot double-.22, and we allow people to shoot two-handed if they wish. My general parameter is if they get to Sharpshooter-level scores with two hands, it's time to move to one-handed.

Our crossover from league shooters to 2700s and EIC matches in the area is mixed. Some get the bug, some don't. I don't know what the magic formula is; all I can do is keep running matches for anyone who will show up to shoot them.

These are all great idea's! I wish some of you were in Ga. or AL. as far as mentoring goes, I have the guns, ammo and the interest, there is a club North of Birmingham Alabama That does a monthly "fun shoot" 90 rounds 22/cf it's a 2 1/2 hour drive but I will have to make it soon. I am a member of a club and there is a better club near by. I shoot IDPA, USPSA, Steel challenge, it's fun! But it is a bit clickey, generally no sharing of info, I'm 65 and most likely look like Herman Munster with a gun,  My Father Shot BE in his day and was pretty good at it too, and I've got the bug, just not sure what to do with it?

I would say that being nice and welcoming to new or interested shooters goes a long way. The first club I ever went to, I had just started out in Bullseye and CMP EIC matches. There were some real good shooters there and I sort of felt in the way. In fact, I had a grumpy Army guy hassling me about scoring most of the day. The whole experience was just not encouraging. I am shooting now at a club near Birmingham and it is a great group of folks. They are very welcoming and the matches are low-stress and a pile of fun. I think the people you shoot with make all the difference.

I shoot pistol and rifle and it seems like rifle folks seem to be a lot more welcoming to new people in the sport. Just two weeks ago I had a crusty old pistol guy (retired Army) lay into me about scoring his target at the CMP Spring Classic. He was so rude, I hope I never run into him again on the range.

Pistol and rifle are expensive sports and time consuming. At least with pistol, you can show up with a Ruger or Browning and some CCI SV and be competitive and have fun. I just don't think a lot of folks have the time to dedicate to the sport. Learning to shoot a pistol accurately has been one of the toughest things I have ever undertaken. It has taken a lot of time and dedication. I think you have to be very dedicated and a bit crazy to shoot Bullseye pistol.

Great discussion here and a lot of valid points. Excellence in anything requires Available time, Discretionary income, and  a Drive to learn, fail, succeed. Those tings are in short supply. Read Bowling Alone: it talks about avoidance of organized events. But we need social interaction, few desire to be isolated. Clubs with short duration events, a mentor to help and promote, and low cost are key. We have 24 shooters on our indoor roster. Political pressure has got many new participants off the fence. We need to welcome these folks. Ego shooters are threatened by new competition and either don’t help, or push people away. I brought juniors into the league. What a stink some old soaks caused. I taught a class on general sport principles and ultimately wrote the book Feeling Center. I realized that reading is only half the solution because the Feeling was missing. I am now doing new one-on-one clinics in a group setting. I participate in Action ( using International Rapid Fire techniques) to draw others into learning more about accurate shooting and ultimately Bullseye. I’m finding a dearth of standard conventional pistol ranges here in ny ( Lower case intended) and I have to drive hours to compete. Frankly this is tiring. On top of that, an indoor 2700 is brutal and my scores suffer . 
So what to do? 
Facilities: Im going to run local matches at 25 yards, without requiring turning targets. 
Time and Cost: fewer shots, a pair of 600s

Emphasize 22s

I run a faux NY Indoor 1800 Championship based on 22 only or 22&cf. whether or not l am the next state director, I’m running an outdoor postal 2700 as there are too few facilities for a real match, especially in the Long Island area. There is a big demand and interest in shooting sports near big cities.

Id like to do 4 hour clinics at your club if you wish. First continuing in ny Pa, and New England. I have sets scheduled much further away. Travel and living expenses do add to the cost.