Proposed New IHMSA Practical Hunter Classes

[Boomer]

In for a penny in for a pound...

If you cant find someone who it is their forte I could probably do the movie for you... I have done them in the past with pretty good results.

I got a letter from my home range that we will be supporting the new practical hunter class & I have already spoken to a couple of buddies that have shown a modicum of interest in the past about coming on out. One of whom 16yr old son is seriously jazzed at the prospect. I will strong arm them into joining

As I said personally I am all for it as it allows me to shoot a couple more guns. I am inclined to agree the overhead for MD's is likely to be small & since you say there is limited financial exposure then sure why not.
If I may... I would suggest some creatively done add's in several shooting periodicals to "get the word out" as it were.

[volleyman]

Thanks for the movie offer. I did get a hold of a friend who will help me next Sat. at our local air match. We had 3 new juniors shoot at todays match and they all said they would be back next week and would be willing to take part in a video. I will see how that’s goes and if we can come up with something usable. We may need help with the video editing. Is that something you have done?
We could use a similar video on the P. Hunter classes and if somebody in a warmer climate than Minnesota would like to try to put something together, that would be great as our ranges don't open up till the middle of April. Your buddy’s and their 16 year old sound like the type of people we would like to get into the sport.

As to the ad's they are already in the works. We look to increase our exposure in Handloader and their hunting magazine with slightly larger ads. If we get enough response we will do the same with a few other magazines. Another item that is being worked on is the poster to be put up at the gun ranges, gun stores, and other locations. We hope to sell the bottom corners of the poster to hunting related venders to offset the printing and mailing costs. I would also like to see the pdf file of the poster posted on this web site so any member or match director could download it and print some copies on their own and save us money. We will also have the printed posters available from headquarters.

[volleyman]

The Practical Hunter posters 11"x17" are on the way to the printers and they will be soon available at headquarters. Starline and Sierra both came thru with the sponsorship of the posters. Thank them with your reloading $$$. I would like to have the posters available for download on the this web site. If you are able to print some localy and save us some shipping costs that would be great, if not let HQ's know how many you would like and we can send them out in a mailing tube. There is space on the bottom of the poster to put in local information, such as range location, contact info, match, and clinic dates. We also have a smaller 8.5x11 size of the poster for downloading for handing out at gun shows,ranges, and sporting goods stores. The Practical Hunter score cards and members cards will also be available at HQ.

[IHMSA15151]

I looked at the flyers that are available to advertise this new category and notices it states "you can win a new handgun". It also states to get info go to the IHMSA website. I have not been able to find anything on the website about that. I am concerned about posting one of the flyers as I am sure the first question I would get it "what gun can I win and how do I go about trying to win it?" Is it a drawing from entries? Do we have a pistol picked out?

[Boomer]

I am concerned about posting one of the flyers as I am sure the first question I would get it "what gun can I win and how do I go about trying to win it?" Is it a drawing from entries? Do we have a pistol picked out?

I have already run into that. I was recently talking to a buddy & his son about shooting this weekend & mentioned the free pistol & right off the bat I got the "what kind" question to which I replied "its free, does it really matter?". That got them laughing but an official proclamation would be good.
In regards to your 1st question; as I understand it there will be a drawing from all Practical Hunter score cards sent in. New IHMSA members will get 2 draws per score card & existing members will get 1. Obviously you will have to be a member of IHMSA to be eligible for the drawing.

[IHMSA80x80]

I didn't realize IHMSA felt the need to coerce people into trying our game by offering them a free gun. Is that what it will take? And given that our funds are in a decline, do they really think this is the way to bring the organization out of the dumps?

[Boomer]

I dont think coercion is a fair assesment... Does Ducks Unlimited have to coerce its members to support wetlands conservation through gun raffles?

IMO if this brings a couple hundred new members then it is wildly successful, 10 & it will likely pay for itself. Even if it brings no new members at least they are trying to make a change as opposed to standing around with their hands in their pockets (or worse on the sidelines) bemoaning the state of affairs.

The ultimate survival of IHMSA rests with each & every one of us. Right/wrong/indifferent leadership can only provide a direction. It is incumbent upon each of us to roll up our sleeves & make it happen.

In my heart of hearts I do not think this new program will make one bit of difference but the decision has been made, the money spent. For my part I will get behind this program & do what I can to make it successful.

[kg4tyr]

So, is my Ruger Charger eligible for this class? Stock with a 2-6x scope.

[ouraydog]

I am a new guy here, just joined IHMSA a couple of months ago. In trying to get ready for a match I have been pretty busy trying to get a couple of guns sighted in. It takes time, dedication, and a place to shoot. It is one thing to sight in at one distance, but 4 for SB and 4 more for BB is more trouble than a casual shooter is likely to sign up for.

Someone above mentioned that he was getting a gun ready to shoot the new class. I think it is the "getting ready" part that is a barrier to attracting new members. I would think that most of the people shooting in the new class will already be IHMSA members. People like me will simply have a new class to shoot in, not a bad deal, but not a way to increase membership either.

I think Steve mentioned that air pistol brought in a lot of new members in his area, and I can see where that would be possible. Air pistol solves most of the "getting ready" problems, so people can show up and be prepared to shoot decent scores instead of showing up and shooting air.

I believe IHMSA membership is sagging because of the logistics involved in shooting the existing classes, and the proposed new hunter pistol does nothing to address that problem. The key to new membership is making things easier for people to compete.

Bill Barton

[Justin Cider]

I was disturbed by reading a post very early in this thread by somebody named Boomer who was basically questioning whether we really wanted "hunters" to join since "hunters" aren't necessarily "shooters". This type of arrogance is what keeps people away! Absolutely we want those types of shooters--somebody that may just shoot a few rounds a year in preparation for hunting season may actually learn to love the shooting sports if they get exposed to it. Especially since silhouette shooting involves longer range shooting that is more typical of hunting situations as compared to bullseye matches and those types of shooting sports, it would be perfect to market to hunters as a way to practice for the hunting season. Then they might get hooked and start shooting more matches and bring a few of their friends with them. We seem to always hear about wanting to increase the numbers of participants in IHMSA, but then I see that type of attitude--some people seem to want more numbers, but also want these people to come in knowing all the rules and procedures, which makes no sense. The only way to get long term growth is to get more younger shooters into it, and there is a large population of hunters out there who are in the 15-40 year age group, whereas the "shooters" out there tend to be much older. So obviously we need to find a way to lure some of these hunters in and help make them into shooters.