All of us shooting steel will readily admit the thrill of hearing the clang and seeing tha target topple. What we don't like is getting that ton of steel back off the ground and back on the rail. This is the biggest single reason that Silhouette needs a larger participation to be successful than does a paper target match. Having ran both types of matches I know the paper matches are much easier to "handle" and that is the number one reason it is tough to run a small steel match.
Popularity is the key to survival in any of the steel games. This is why it is more important to have 10 people shooting 20 entries at a match instead of 5 people shooting 20 entries. If you have 2 not show up for the first example you still have 8 shooters and 16 entries. In the second example you would only have 3 shooters and 12 entries (plus they might decide not hold the match at all).
Add to the steel game the need of a spotter instead of just a spotting scope for paper and the need for more participation becomes greater still. A match director can set up a paper match in a matter of minutes by himself. Targets and a staple gun are all that is needed. Bullseye shooters claim to have 40,000+ active shooters nation wide, which would work out to about 800 per state. 5 or 6 guys can easily handle it is why. The bulk of these shooters shoot the gallery course during the winter months. One center fire gun and one rimfire is all you need to fully participate.
This is why there is such a need to look for popularity instead of higher scores in order to keep the steel sports going.
