Author Topic: Silhouette in Western Oregon (Read 1218 times)

oregon45 · « **on:** June 08, 2005, 01:58:41 PM »

I'm interested in getting into both field pistol and hunter class revolver silhouette shooting, are there any clubs or ranges in Western Oregon that shoot these? I've been to the site of COSSA and it looks great, but a bit too far to go with gas at 2.25 and student loans to pay off.... :cry:

Smokin7mm · « **Reply #1 on:** June 08, 2005, 05:45:06 PM »

There are several clubs in oregon that shoot. Try http://www.ihmsa.org and follow the links to match schedules. They will give you the contacts for the match directors. Clubs on the west side that shoot FP/HP: Portland's Douglas ridge, Grants Pass JCSA. There is also a message board (similar to this site) link on the IHMSA site that deals with all different silhouette topics. Hope this helps
Bret

19 Turkeys · « **Reply #2 on:** June 08, 2005, 08:33:32 PM »

Hi Oregon45!

You didn't say what part of western Oregon you are looking at, but we have a great club in Grants Pass. Exit 61 off of I-5. Just follow the signs to Sportsmans Park. We have a Small Bore/Field Pistol match this Sunday.

There is also a club in Portland, and a club in Springfield is an Air Pistol Silhouette club.

Steve Ware

jcunclejoe · « **Reply #3 on:** June 09, 2005, 08:34:55 AM »

Hello Oregon 45, we would love to have you come over to Bend and shoot. Bring a friend, split the cost of gas and we have the cheapest per gun cost of any club in the state at $5 per gun. If you plan on shooting several guns that can add up quickly.

Welcome aboard and wherever you decide to shoot, have fun. There are good people at each of the clubs in Oregon and they will treat you well.

Unfortunately the Albany silhouette club just shut down for good. Not enough people to pay for the target setters.

Please call or e-mail me if you have any questions.

Joe Cullison
Handgun Silhouette director COSSA
541-317-8801
jcunclejoe@aol.com

K2 · « **Reply #4 on:** June 13, 2005, 06:20:24 AM »

I find it interesting that clubs in larger population areas often have a hard time getting the numbers that the smaller places do. Albany has a lot more population closer than does either Grants Pass or Bend but didn't get the numbers needed to continue in operation.

Maybe the larger pop centers have too many other options or maybe the smaller locations just are more friendly or something else?

What do you fellows think keeps some matches running while others fizzle out? Personally I think the equation is Range location x (Fun squared)/Scores. By this formula fun is by far the most important factor.

Quote from: jcunclejoe

Hello Oregon 45, we would love to have you come over to Bend and shoot. Bring a friend, split the cost of gas and we have the cheapest per gun cost of any club in the state at $5 per gun. If you plan on shooting several guns that can add up quickly.

Welcome aboard and wherever you decide to shoot, have fun. There are good people at each of the clubs in Oregon and they will treat you well.

Unfortunately the Albany silhouette club just shut down for good. Not enough people to pay for the target setters.

Please call or e-mail me if you have any questions.

Joe Cullison
Handgun Silhouette director COSSA
541-317-8801
jcunclejoe@aol.com

jcunclejoe · « **Reply #5 on:** June 13, 2005, 07:15:52 AM »

I think a lot of how well a club does is due to who is running it and how it is run. Then sometimes I think it doesn't matter that much. Occasionally there are personal issues between shooters and match directors that will cause some folks to quit shooting.

Rules are important but not at the cost of not shooting.
Example. Husband and wife show up and the MD tells them that he cannot load the pistol for her. (new shooters or perhaps elderly but not necessarily physically challanged) Guess what? they will not be back. If they are excellent shooters and have been in the game for a long time then they will understand that they must play strictly by the rules. For the new or not super serious shooters, I say let them shoot and encourage them to have fun and invite their friends.

Also do not require people to join IHMSA after 5 matches or whatever. Let them shoot and when they are ready they will join, or not, every person that comes out to shoot is an asset to the club, IHMSA, the NRA and our shooting way of life. We should encourage them as much as possible.
We cannot tolerate, safety violations, reckless or obnoxious behavior, cheating or anything that will cause disruptions to other shooters.

Let new shooters shoot 22's at FP targets, they will hit more and will be more likely to come back.

Full shooting range, open houses (with demonstrations and participation.) help as do free silhouette day's.

The thing that really keeps a club going is word of mouth, by every shooter in the club. One person (match director) cannot do it all, it requires everyone to tell every person they can and that will listen about silhouette shooting and how much fun it is.

To be successful it requires a group effort.
Joe

K2 · « **Reply #6 on:** June 13, 2005, 08:22:50 AM »

Great points Joe!

Keep it fun and friendly and you most likely will get the new folks to come back. We let anyone who wants to shoot at the close rams and turkeys. For the most part this is a difficult game if one has not shot much prior to giving silhouette a try. If folks are still having to learn sight alignment and the ins and outs of loading the pistol they are using then all the extra help they can get is a good thing including unlimited sighters (as long as it doesn't interfere with the match)

First impressions are long lasting. We try to make the first impression a good one!

Quote from: jcunclejoe

I think a lot of how well a club does is due to who is running it and how it is run. Then sometimes I think it doesn't matter that much. Occasionally there are personal issues between shooters and match directors that will cause some folks to quit shooting.

Rules are important but not at the cost of not shooting.
Example. Husband and wife show up and the MD tells them that he cannot load the pistol for her. (new shooters or perhaps elderly but not necessarily physically challanged) Guess what? they will not be back. If they are excellent shooters and have been in the game for a long time then they will understand that they must play strictly by the rules. For the new or not super serious shooters, I say let them shoot and encourage them to have fun and invite their friends.

Also do not require people to join IHMSA after 5 matches or whatever. Let them shoot and when they are ready they will join, or not, every person that comes out to shoot is an asset to the club, IHMSA, the NRA and our shooting way of life. We should encourage them as much as possible.
We cannot tolerate, safety violations, reckless or obnoxious behavior, cheating or anything that will cause disruptions to other shooters.

Let new shooters shoot 22's at FP targets, they will hit more and will be more likely to come back.

Full shooting range, open houses (with demonstrations and participation.) help as do free silhouette day's.

The thing that really keeps a club going is word of mouth, by every shooter in the club. One person (match director) cannot do it all, it requires everyone to tell every person they can and that will listen about silhouette shooting and how much fun it is.

To be successful it requires a group effort.
Joe

cbrick · « **Reply #7 on:** July 05, 2005, 04:53:07 PM »

Yup, all good advice. At LASC all new shooters shoot free and there is no requirement to join anything except the fun. All juniors shoot free ALWAYS, small bore, big bore, field pistol, doesn't matter. Bring a junior with you and your only cost is the ammo.

We also try to have a silhouette table at as many local gun shows as possible. Signs at the public range informing of the silhouette match, fliers at gun stores. we even ran radio ads one time.

Rick

jcunclejoe · « **Reply #8 on:** July 06, 2005, 01:32:07 PM »

One other thing I can say about clubs shutting down is the importance of the one or two individuals that make it happen. I mean the match director(s). The people that are so dedicated that they are always there or arrange for someone to be there. Our shooters come and go, sometimes they shoot for a while, sometimes for years, then they just go away. hopefully someone else starts to shoot but the hard core people that put the match on are really the determining factor.
We do not have target setters but we do have a range where we can drive down to the 200 yard line and all of the distances in between. I have held matches where me and my roommate were the only ones there. We set up the targets and knock them down, pick them up, then go home and fill out the paperwork.
We really are used to picking all of the targets up anyway since we both shoot 4 guns and everyone else shoots 1 or 2. We do not ask them to stay. It would not be fair to them and we would surely lose their occasional entries.
We do it because we love it, and all we can do is introduce everyone we can to the sport. Hopefully some day one of them will take over as match director.
Joe

K2 · « **Reply #9 on:** July 07, 2005, 08:46:10 AM »

Hi Joe

I think you taylor at least some of the match to what works locally as you are doing. A big part of the problem we are now experiencing was the lack of youth emphasis in the late 70's, all of the 80's and a good portion of the 90's. During this time period so much effort was spent fighting the "anti-gun" crowd that we forget to keep it fun and interesting for the youth in many locations. As a result we are not seeing the return to shooting after a family gets established as was the norm 40+ years ago. To their credit many of the shooting sports have recognized this and are correcting the situation. It will take time however to refill the pipeline. Are your children active shooters?, should be something we look at. I fully expect mine to drift out of the games during college and early career but most likely come back to it later on. Golf and Shooting have the longest competitive life of any sport I know of, and can be enjoyed from 8 to 80 or longer.

Too often we focus on the equipment but the real focus needs to be on the people. Equipment can't bring itself to the range and entry numbers are not as important as attendance numbers. Hats off to Cbrick for the free entries for jrs. That or a greatly reduced entry fee of $1 is the way to go, and publish this to family groups! Churches, Scouts, 4-H, etc. have families looking for fun affordable recreation, the shooting sports can fulfil this need.

Quote from: jcunclejoe

One other thing I can say about clubs shutting down is the importance of the one or two individuals that make it happen. I mean the match director(s). The people that are so dedicated that they are always there or arrange for someone to be there. Our shooters come and go, sometimes they shoot for a while, sometimes for years, then they just go away. hopefully someone else starts to shoot but the hard core people that put the match on are really the determining factor.
We do not have target setters but we do have a range where we can drive down to the 200 yard line and all of the distances in between. I have held matches where me and my roommate were the only ones there. We set up the targets and knock them down, pick them up, then go home and fill out the paperwork.
We really are used to picking all of the targets up anyway since we both shoot 4 guns and everyone else shoots 1 or 2. We do not ask them to stay. It would not be fair to them and we would surely lose their occasional entries.
We do it because we love it, and all we can do is introduce everyone we can to the sport. Hopefully some day one of them will take over as match director.
Joe