Something Needs to be Done

saum2 · Post by **saum2** » Fri Jan 11, 2013 10:35 pm

Alan,
I'd be happy to form and be part of a working party with VRA approval with a councillor on board to increase, retain membership.
it would appear some other states are far more advanced than Vic with membership maintenance,retention & attraction of new members.
wouldn't hurt to start something, anything.
Anyone from VRA watching this forum???? Speak up, we need help.
Geoff

Craig McGowan · Post by **Craig McGowan** » Sat Jan 12, 2013 1:01 am

Hello all.

Firstly if I could introduce myself. My name is Craig McGowan. I am the current Secretary of the Brisbane Rifle Club. I have been following interested topics on Oz F Class as an observer for some time and this is a topic that I felt I could give you a different perspective. I am new to shooting and New to F Class, having just completed my 3rd year.

At the beginning of last year the Brisbane Rifle Club embarked upon a new direction for generating interest in not only the club, but also the sport. We designed and implemented a New Shooters Program. This program initially was designed to feed any new enquiries about shooting thru the State Association program. However we felt we could offer more and it has now become a monthly course that see's anywhere from 10 to 20 attendees. Our primary focus is on safety at these courses, as the majority have never had any dealings with firearms. Having said that we also try to make the program as fun as possible, and show the social side to the sport. But it is not easy. We are lucky enough in our club to have a core group approximately 12 members who give up there time to ensure that each course runs smoothly and that each attendee is actively engaged, and not standing back. The club has also taken to social media in order to reach not only a younger demographic but also gain greater exposure. This has seen a significant increase in enquiries over the short time that the club has been on Facebook and Twitter.

But the most valuable part of the program is the feedback generated as we ask each attendee to fill out feedback forms.

The single biggest draw back we have found is cost. Cost for membership. Cost of the equipment. Cost of compliance with the licence. As a club we are exploring ways we can "assist' potential new members, but in the end everything has a cost. We also accept that within each course we run a large percentage of attendees are there to experience what it is like, and have no real desire to take it any further. We understand this and are happy to just share the sport we all love with them, and hope that they can go away with a greater understanding of the culture of shooting within Australia.

I would also like to point out that it does not stop there. We have learnt that it is fine to get new members into the sport, but if left unattended, soon drift away. We run basic courses on cleaning and maintenance and this year look to run several reloading courses. In the end it is all designed to support the new shooter until they reach a point of momentum, from which they are a regular shooter at the range. This I think speaks for itself as we now regularly have between 25 to 30 membres every Saturday on the line.

I hope this will give you all some encouragement to go out and "sell" your club and your sport. I am looking forward to 2013 at the Brisbane Rifle Club as we look to further the sport.

Regards

Craig McGowan
Secretary - Brisbane Rifle Club.

Post by **AlanF** » Sat Jan 12, 2013 6:58 am

Thanks Craig. That's good information.

A question - what is the general age profile of the new shooters?

Barry Davies · Post by **Barry Davies** » Sat Jan 12, 2013 7:29 am

Good Information Craig.
Interesting that you should also consider feedback to be ( the most ) important.
Could you pls post a copy of the particular form so that all and sundry may then see how to systematically go about it.
Barry

IanP · Post by **IanP** » Sat Jan 12, 2013 7:56 am

One of the factors putting off a growing membership is the conditions we shoot under at the ranges where we compete. If we look at the SSAA ranges which have an abundance of members we find that the shooters are shooting under cover from benches or concrete pads.

NRAA ranges are mostly open mounds set at range intervals and shot off mounds that are dirt, weed, or dolomite and if you are extremely lucky grass covered. Where I shoot (mostly SA) all the ranges use mounds of varying angles and are uncovered which place the shooter in direct sun at the hottest times during the day.

Having a sport which places its membership in direct sun on Saturday afternoons and in unmoving positions (prone) requires a membership which is made of tough stuff! Then of course winter comes and the members can be subject to rain while they shoot.

You may be saying, sure its uncomfortable but its part of our sport. I think it is part of our sport which restricts growing the membership. Some shooters would appreciate shooting under cover as the SSAA members do when they compete.

Lets look at concrete pads, (or synthetic grass) for shooters on the mound, (like in Canberra) and also consider collapsible mound covers, so shooters can shoot in the blazing sun or pouring rain with some protection. It might be time to use some of our membership's innovation to design easy to erect and to take down again, mound covers, to afford protection and some comfort for our shooters on the mound.

I think a lot of people come along to try out F-Class and if their first experience is in the summer sun at 2.00pm in the afternoon, then they never come back. I dont blame them, as we are now in the 21st century and we all have a pretty good knowledge of what the sun does to our skin.

Ian

Sam Walker · Post by **Sam Walker** » Sat Jan 12, 2013 11:39 am

I see consistent interest in "long range"shooting amongst newer shooters on other forums. They ask about what gear to buy and seem to have more money than knowledge. There's an untapped market in these people, if they can be attracted to get a foot in the door some will surely get hooked and stay with it. Some are typical of the younger generation in not wanting to put in the hard yards with anything, instant results please ! And the Tacticool gear seems to be what interests them - which would make them quite unwelcome at some ranges going by previous discussion here. Where there's a will there's a way to work out these issues though.

saum2 · Post by **saum2** » Sat Jan 12, 2013 7:30 pm

I'm with Craig, Safety training, cleaning, reloading days to encourage new members, but, a lot of hard work to get a small percentage, ( Craig what % of members from these training days?) to stay on to develop into full shooting members what ever disicpline.
Ian, shooting is what it is, shooting off dirt mounds or what ever, it's the thrill of your dream or desire or minor interest that can be grown with the the right type of encouragement.
Alan, good idea to communicate with Craig for more details.

Geoff

flatlina · Post by **flatlina** » Sat Jan 12, 2013 11:40 pm

The Darwin Range has two portable sunshades that are towed to the required range after each weeks shoot. These have fold down sides that supply plenty of shade. the mounds are concrete as well. also the trailer that carts all the gear has a pull out shade area and a roof over it. Even with this it is still hot at times.

Regards
john

Gadget · Post by **Gadget** » Sun Jan 13, 2013 11:54 am

LOL Ian
I went out this morning a purchased two 6 x 3 mt sun shades.
Garham P

bobeager · Post by **bobeager** » Sun Jan 13, 2013 12:09 pm

Goulburn is doing the same. We have decided it is about having an enjoyable afternoon of sport, good company and comfort.

Post by **AlanF** » Sun Jan 13, 2013 12:38 pm

Krakey wrote:I'm with Craig, Safety training, cleaning, reloading days to encourage new members, but, a lot of hard work to get a small percentage, ( Craig what % of members from these training days?) to stay on to develop into full shooting members what ever disicpline...

This is one of my concerns Geoff. There's only so many of "the few" who are able and willing to do these extra jobs, particularly at very small clubs. Wouldn't it be so much easier if we had people falling over each other to be members, because the sort of shooting we offer is exactly, or at least very close to what they want to do? I'm not saying we need to change TR or change F-Class, just make room for something else which is more attractive to the current market, probably run at a different time. It would take some time and effort to get started, but once the new group got established, they could run themselves, with their own range officers etc.

Alan

Razer · Post by **Razer** » Sun Jan 13, 2013 2:09 pm

One of the major problems is that shooting is not really recognised as a spectator sport.
What we need is a program, and the means, to make it interesting to watch.
We could start at the mounds, where clubs with E targets put up a big monitor which shows all the targets with the name of each shooter and his/her score as it progresses.
Ok, I realise that this incurs serious cash, but, is it that much when you take the cost into consideration of the average rifle, modern peep sights/scope,(no, not the March :roll:

), ammunition, travel to the range, etc.
Club members can sit in the shade of a marquee and gleefully watch as their closest competitor drops an inner at 3 o'clock. :wink:

Getting new shooters to be active while not shooting is important, as just sitting and waiting, to many, is boring.(possibly why many find shooting 20 shots is not worth the trouble of attending).
This is also a good time for one of the more knowledgeable club members to explain what is actually happening (flags, wind,etc.)and by doing so, new shooters get up to speed quicker and are less likely drop out due to lack of success/interest.
A video camera in sync with the monitor could be the means of making a short video clip that the local TV network may air. :shock:

We are no longer shooting in the dark ages and it is about time we fully utilised the technology available to put our sport 'out there'. Heck, they no longer use chalk and blackboards in schools any more.
Who knows, we might find we get some support from the general public who have no idea/never seen what range shooting is all about.
I was having an afternoon nap, will now go back and continue my dreaming.

bruce moulds · Post by **bruce moulds** » Sun Jan 13, 2013 2:36 pm

razer,
some good ideas.
keep safe,
bruce.

Gadget · Post by **Gadget** » Sun Jan 13, 2013 3:25 pm

This is not a plug for my ET target maker.

Razer you have hit the nail on the head well and truly, Shooting on ET's is a spectator sport, on any given Saturday arvo it's standing room only to watch our mid screen TV, under shelter behind the fireing point so you can watch the wind flags.
We like it so much we asked for the image to reflect what the shooter sees instead of a stock image. ie shooter zooms the X ring thats what we see, full zoom live and in real time
We love ET's

Graham P

Brad Y · Post by **Brad Y** » Sun Jan 13, 2013 3:46 pm

We are pretty relaxed on it on club days but another thing I think people have seen is the amount of people and their gear and guns on the mound. There is always alot of stuff around and sometimes it almost gets "unorganised" and a bit of a pain in the butt. Sometimes I kind of get the feeling its a bit off putting. Would like it a bit more organised and structured but it seems like current members arent really into that and generally new visitors go last as they dont know you have to put your name down on the list and find a place for gear. We just got our 3rd electronic target so now we can run two specifically for F class we will be able to spend more time time with new people on the mound not just shuffling through them like they are a statistic.

I dont know how other clubs operate but we have an F class club captain which generally seems to be a position that doesnt have much of a job description although I know our captain does a fair bit of work with keeping target faces and centers maintained. But I think it should be more of a discipline ambassador/PR role and doing alot of work with new members and visitors.

Im also thinking of getting a mobile sunshade or trailer with an esky with cool drinks in summer and hot drinks in winter etc in it for people to sit under and gather around so they can leave the shooter and scorer on the mound and sit back and actively socialise.

Can I ask, I see there is an F Class association in Victoria and another in Sth Aus. Can someone please tell me why they were developed and what these bodies do and if its been a proactive move to bring something like this forward? Ive not been following the development or activity of these organisations.