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Why
do people like to shoot Hard Targets?
Define Hard-
Ridiculously long 45 - 65+
yards-lots of speed/lots of lead
Ridiculously short windows
Current Excuse-
In order to compete with the
British, we must shoot British type targets. Yes or No?
Yes……
You must practice "Big Boy
Targets" in order to be able to break them.
No……
Few if any tournaments are
won or lost on the "hard ones", they are however, won or lost on the
easy ones.
How many people are really
driven and have the time and money to train to compete with the British?
50? When I say driven and have the time and money, I mean practice 3 days
per week--15-20 major traveling shoots including 2 or more international
trips. Just the time sacrifice is ominous, not to mention what it would
cost to really train and practice to really contend on a world or
international level. For someone to think that by just shooting hard
targets on a regular basis, it will get them ready to ascend magically to
the top ranks of the game-they are smelling their own gun powder.
Ask some of the people whose name you are beginning to see on the all
American Teams or in the top 10 at any of the major shoots, how much time,
effort and money it takes to raise your performance to that level and keep
it there all season long.
We could go on and on about
the dedication it takes to push your potential to world class levels, but
we all need to keep things in perspective. Of the 50 or so people who have
this ability (physical, time and money), there are a lot more people that
shoot this game that don't give a "tinkers Damn" about competing on a
world level.
For every 1 person who
wants to compete with the British, there are 50 who shoot registered
targets on a regular basis who don't care whether or not they can compete
on a world level.
For every 1 person who is
driven to compete with the British, there are 300 people who are NSCA
members and I doubt they care whether they or you can compete with the
British.
For every 1 person who is
driven to compete with the British, there are 75,000 people who shoot one
round (minimum) of sporting clays each year and the overwhelming majority
of them don't even know what NSCA means!
It is our experience that
people like to shoot hard targets in practice and in tournaments because
they have a built in excuse for missing, because they are "Hard Targets".
This type of person typically criticizes the range owner for throwing
"easy targets", because they missed too many easy ones to win and they
have to blame themselves for missing. ( Not a popular excuse)
Mr. Range owner beware. Do
not give in to the Clayons, who demand hard targets. If you do, you will
see a sharp decrease in the number of B, C, D and E class shooters in your
tournaments. We speak from experience. It is already happening in Houston.
One of the things that
insures the future growth of our sport as well as the NSCA, is the fact
that the overwhelming majority of shooters who shoot tournaments are at
the bottom (B-E classes) of the performance pyramid. The reason trap and
skeet are stagnant at best compared to sporting is because their
performance pyramid is inverted.
The overwhelming majority
of competitors are at the top of the pyramid.(ClassesAAA,AA) |
OPTIMUM SHOTGUN PERFORMANCE
SHOOTING SCHOOL
800-838-7533
• 281-897-0800
15020
Cutten Road • Houston, TX 77070
Fax 281-469-2450
To discuss
this article Go to:
General Bulletin Board |
Mr. Range Owner, you have one
of two choices. Give into the "Clayons" and throw "Hard Targets" and
experience a loss of participation in tournaments as well as your walk in
trade. OR , sell your product to the people who actually BUY shotguns,
shotgun shells, chokes, ear plugs, shooting glasses, vest, etc.! and who
just like to shoot sporting clays. OR, at least the version of sporting
clays where they feel like if they miss, they at least had a perceived
chance to hit it!
Now before you internet
junkies choke that mouse in your hand or break the keys on that keyboard
on your computer hear me out! I too was once a "Clayon". I don't know what
you were doing in the early 1980's, but I was shooting sporting clays. The
first tournament I shot in I shot a perfect score. I have won HOA with
many different scores. In fact, I even won HOA at a tournament with a
66/100, and being the Clayon that I was, I didn't care about the other
shooters. It was all about me.
My attitude was, if you
can't hit the targets--work harder and get better. In fact, I even went to
New Orleans and participated in a presentation about Sporting Clays at the
North American Game Breeders Association's annual meeting held in
conjunction with the Shot Show. These people owned and operated game farms
and hunting operations. I stood up, being the Clayon that I was and
actually told those people that they should set their sporting clays
courses up so that an 82/100 would be the best score shot. Once again in
typical Clayon fashion, I was thinking more about myself than others. And
I thought I was actually helping the sport grow!
After retiring from
competitive shooting in the early 1990's to begin a career as a shooting
instructor and marketing and business consultant to clay target ranges, I
began to see how short sighted and selfish I was in my thinking as a
Clayon. I began to realize that this game is more about the enjoyment of
shooting and personal satisfaction than competition. I began to see the
actual numbers of people who participated in the shotgun shooting sports
each year (7.3 million 2001). I also began to realize what a small
percentage of the whole the competitive part of this game is. Especially
those who want to compete on an international level.
From the range owners'
perspective, the recreational shooter is the market. They are competing
for the recreational dollars. If they want to stay in business and God
forbid grow a business, they had better keep their targets breakable by
the average guy and keep their restrooms clean and the coffee fresh. The
successful ones have realized that people who shoot sporting clays enjoy
the variety, challenge and fun of BREAKING clay targets.
Missing is not fun, whether
in a tournament where you pay $0.70-$1.50 per target or in a recreational
round where you pay $0.40 + or - per target. As an instructor, I should be
in favor of Hard Targets, because it would create more business for me and
Vicki. As a business consultant, we have realized how short sighted that
reasoning is. The over whelming majority of recreational shooters are not
"driven" to excel at the rate that some competitive shooters are. It is a
fact that they will quit shooting rather than being embarrassed by
shooting less than 50% on a round of sporting clays. When that happens,
nobody wins. Not even the guy who he was shooting with who shot a 56!
From an Industry
standpoint, we want the sport to grow. That will not happen if the targets
are too hard and are not perceived as hittable. This will also not happen
if the targets are too easy and have no variety or challenge. There is a
middle ground.
As a Clayon, I wanted hard
targets. The underlying problem was that I put my value of success on
others commitment. When their commitment was less than mine, I never gave
it a second thought. In fact, I sometimes got down right pissed off at
those people who would whine about the targets being hard.
Anger is never without a
reason…….
But seldom a good one.
Some people describe a
"good target" as one they can hit and others can't. Some say targets with
a mix in speed and line are good. To me targets are like snakes, the only
good one is a dead one……
OR one that I missed, but I felt that I should have hit.
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