Bad News

[GrumpyBear]

TAA in my opinion well said.

[Kenny Wasserburger]

TAA,

Just who’s ranch north of Lusk do you hunt on?

Kenny Wasserburger

[Vance Ballew]

If the match is to move a years notice is definitely in order. Quite a few people have been stabbed in the back by this latest shenanigan from the NRA including a few of thier own employees probably. The only reason I continue any support for the NRA after being a competitor is the political organization and I find myself questioning thier line of thought on that also. I’ve grown disenchanted by the way I have seen competitors, match directors, businesses that have made prize donations, and others treated. It’s time to take our time and money elsewhere.

[jackrabbit]

If the match is to move a years notice is definitely in order. Quite a few people have been stabbed in the back by this latest shenanigan from the NRA including a few of thier own employees probably. The only reason I continue any support for the NRA after being a competitor is the political organization and I find myself questioning thier line of thought on that also. I’ve grown disenchanted by the way I have seen competitors, match directors, businesses that have made prize donations, and others treated. It’s time to take our time and money elsewhere.

HOOORAH! I agree.

[VectorMan]

I concur also. I got out a couple years ago because of something stupid they pulled about a shooting coin they sent me in the mail. You should see some of the looks I get when registering for a match with no NRA ID number. It’s like I’m a leper for not belonging.
Any excuse they come up with about how they did the BPCR Nationals for 2020 I’m gonna be real skeptical about. If it was all no big deal and nothing in their power to keep it at Raton then why not make it public when the decision is made. At least to the committee members and match directors. Anything they say now is utterly ridiculous. Even if they apologize, it’s still a grade school way of try to run things. Society has a bad way today of nobody be held accountable for their actions. That should stop with the BPCR silhouette shooters and the NRA. I truly wish Ridgway all the best and hope they do well.

[SFogler]

We now have time to make our matches better. We are VERY good with funding our own matches, putting on good matches and showing the shooters a good time.. It's time to start giving to the sport...

Maybe Glen and Jeanne will want to start a BPCRA organization for silhouette shooters and hold the first one at Raton. This event could replace the canceled NRA event. They seem to have the energy, drive, and experience necessary. They like Raton and Jeanne is familiar with the details on setting up matches there - maybe Huey Wilson would help run the event. Maybe they would be willing to contact the .22 BPCRA and the BPTRA and ask them how they manage to run successful events without the NRA. I would pay a little more for an entry fee to know that the match would in fact be held when and where it was advertised and would be free from all hassles and negativity the NRA involvement generates. I agree with those who would like to move on from the NRA and support something else. Glen - Jeanne - what say you?

[TAA]

KW,

My first trip in 1977 was to the ranch owned by John and Evelyn Goddard. John passed (1987?) and then Evelyn traded houses with son Dan and his family who lived in Lusk. Recently Dan's son David built a house on the ranch property and his family will be living on the ranch also. John was a Niobrara County commissioner at one time. The founders of the hunting group included my dad and they had been to this ranch starting in 1956.

Early on we had a group of (8) that made the trip the first week of October every year. Then about 2002 we and Dan decided to hunt only even numbered years. We are the only group that Dan allows to hunt on his ranch. The group of (8) has changed over the years and now we are (5 +/-). Dan and David do not hunt deer but when Elk show up (first time was 2008) they will each take an Elk.

Dan has often reminded me that he doesn’t sell beef, he sells grass (what the cattle eat). Moisture and the number of cuttings in the summer and fall are keys to his success.

One of the neat things about the ranch is there are places where there is no evidence of man. About half of the property is pine tree growth similar to the Black Hills and the other half pastures and buttes. In 1981 I walked the perimeter fence line. It took all day. If the property was flat it would have been 15-miles, based on an aerial photo from the Eros Data Center in South Dakota. But...it ain’t flat!

Tom

[Kenny Wasserburger]

Tom,

That’s pretty cool, just on north on 85 are the Wasserburger Ranches, about 42 miles north of Lusk. This is where I was raised, and my parents are still on the ranch. It seems common that hunters keep coming back to the same place year after year, one of our groups celebrating 50 years this past year.

It is a small world.

It is some of the best mule deer hunting in eastern Wyoming.

Kenny Wasserburger

[Al Sledge]

Hi Vance,

Maybe you're right and a new organization is in order and maybe Genie and Glenn would be willing to be part of it but indeed that's an awful lot to expect from them. What happened here in San Diego with our Schuetzen club was, when Russ Hooks finally got burned out after some 20 years of running it no one wanted all the responsibility and work so several guys stepped up; one runs the matches, another does the interface with the gun club, and another does the monthly club meeting announcement and writes up the match details in the club news letter. The work is spread and everyone is happy.

And Cody, If it's possible to set up the .22 BPCR in Raton for a week long set of matches and your match could be the scheduled close afterwards It would be a no-brainer for me to shoot in Raton then wander up and shoot with you folks and a little prairie dog shooting along the way. In any event there is no way I can justify going all the way to Ridgway from San Diego to shoot a couple of BPCR matches. Twice as much driving as shooting three times as much cost as going to Raton where we got to shoot all three venues sometimes four. It just doesn't make sense! My fervent hope is that they come to their senses and reconsider their decision for at least this year and at the shooter's meeting make an announcement of their intentions and get some input from the shooters who are actually in attendance at the National Championships.

Al

[BFD]

It would be interesting if a circuit of matches could somehow be set up around the plains. We could wagontrain from match to match. That would be a hoot.

Del, I assume that your big regional will still be in December, but it has been a long time since I've been to Missoula. Anything cooking in June or July?

[BFD]

I'll readily admit I was looking forward to the trip to Raton after all of Brent's and Woody's pictures !

That photo story was a lot of work wasted.

[Jeanne Ring]

[/quote]
Maybe Glen and Jeanne will want to start a BPCRA organization for silhouette shooters and hold the first one at Raton. This event could replace the canceled NRA event. They seem to have the energy, drive, and experience necessary. They like Raton and Jeanne is familiar with the details on setting up matches there - maybe Huey Wilson would help run the event. Maybe they would be willing to contact the .22 BPCRA and the BPTRA and ask them how they manage to run successful events without the NRA. I would pay a little more for an entry fee to know that the match would in fact be held when and where it was advertised and would be free from all hassles and negativity the NRA involvement generates. I agree with those who would like to move on from the NRA and support something else. Glen - Jeanne - what say you?
[/quote]

Thank you for the vote of confidence. My first reaction after receiving the news that everything was going to Ridgway was to try to organize matches at Raton. But after I came to my senses, and remembered everything it takes to run these matches I changed my mind. I will most certainly help Huey or anyone else that gets something together for this summer in Raton, hopefully in conjunction with the .22BPCR match. One way or another, we will be in Raton this summer, just not for the extended stay of the past three years. Maybe I can have a decent garden and shoot a decent score now that I won't be so distracted.

[BFD]

If there is some way I can help make something happen at Raton around the time of the .22 match, count me in. But I'm not sure I'm willing to drive to Raton for just .22s.

[jackrabbit]

Thank you Al for the input. I can't really finish the Smithmoor plans for the year until I know what is going on at Raton. The 22 Association is working on what to do. Input from you guys would really help. Should we keep the same dates, move it back a week or two, add more days of 22, add a big bore match??? I am nervous about the 22 association hosting a big bore match. It is a lot of work and effort by many people to put on the 22 match. Adding the big bore greatly adds to the effort. We have no paid people in the 22's and a limited budget. It has to be fun for the people putting on the match too, otherwise they won't do it. The big question is I guess is will people travel for a 2 or 4 day 22 match? Ideally, I think I would like to see a club step up and run a big bore match in conjunction with the 22 associations 2 or 4 day 22 match. What do you guys want to see and what will you support? Trying to know what to do is hard, thank you everyone for helpful, constructive, and respectful suggestions. Please, please, please remember we are all just volunteering and get nothing out of serving on the board and putting on the matches.
thank you, Cody

[jackrabbit]

If there is some way I can help make something happen at Raton around the time of the .22 match, count me in. But I'm not sure I'm willing to drive to Raton for just .22s.

Thank you Brent, that is what we need to know. Surprisingly at our matches at Smithmoor, we are finding the 22 shooters to be more and more not big bore shooters. Whenever we host a big bore event with a side show 22, we have good response. If we have a big 22 match with a big bore side, the big bore gets very few entries. Even looking at the 22 entries from last year, it is amazing how many 22 shooters don't or don't care about shooting big bore.