Last year our gun club in Corbin, KY played host to Standing Stone 4, a big bore air rifle shoot featuring Gary Barnes and a hand full of shooters from around the country and some from Europe. We are in the process of planning the 2005 event which will be in September.
To be honest, the only time I've ever been around these guns was at the last shoot, and my only knowledge is what I learned at that one.
We got into this last year with the idea that it would be a nice fundraiser for the club, but it didn't work out that way, so we are working to correct some things on the next one to hopefully make it a better attended event.
What we have in mind is making it a reverse invitational where interested shooters request to be invited and then pre-register for the shoot. That's where we got chewed up last year. The people that sold the event to us sold us on 80+ shooters showing up, we prepared for it, and only about 20 showed so we had a lot of excess supplies such as targets and food that we didn't sell. This is a 3 day event. We are debating what to charge for the entry fee. $150 for the 3 days has been batted about by the group. This would cover our expense with the number of shooters we had last year and include your targets, air, and 3 meals. There is no camping allowed on site, but there is a KOA within 1 mile of the club as well as several motels. Still, we aren't sure if that's reasonable or not. Last year, we charged $5 per 15 minute round on the courses, but it didn't work out because it took too many people to police it. We're hoping with the flat fee for the 3 days, it will simplify things for everyone.
The other thing we are looking for is of course shooters. Does anyone at GBO shoot big bores? Do you travel to shoots? How far will you travel? We are located on I-75 about half way between Knoxville Tennessee and Lexington, Ky (1 hr 20 mins north of Knoxville). We would like to have 30 or so shooters at the event. Of course, the more the better.
Last year we had a plinking range for the small bores, but found that we had problems with the 2 groups of shooters not mixing well with others. We are debating pretty heavily not to have the small bores this year, but are still unsure about eliminating them. How many would be willing to travel for small bore plinking? What would you be willing to pay to plink for the 3 day event? Would you be at odds with the big bore shooters being at the same event?
Any advice would be appreciated.
Skipper
