President's Message
Fall 2011
October 10, 2011
Overview
We are near the end of the 2011 competition year. Despite a tough economy and high fuel prices, the attendance at matches was at least as good as 2010. Overall, the state of IBS registered competition is stable, and just maybe, growing. Note that the Super Shoot was down about 25% this year, which in recent years had been pretty stable. So, I think we are doing “ok”.
The Nationals
I have been asked where “The Nationals” will be next year. I say “which ones”? There are six if you count (as you should) the 200-300 versions in Group and Score. Congratulations go to these Champions:
600 yard – Sam Hall
1000 yard – Tod Soeby
Group – Gene Bukys (4-gun) and Harley Baker (3-gun)
Group 200/300 – Husky Hummel
Score – Dean Breeden (VFS); Dean Breeden (Hunter); Dave Thomas (Varmint Hunter)
Score 200/300 – Dean Breeden
A comparison of Nationals attendance in 2011 vs. 2010 yields a very pleasant surprise. All but one showed an INCREASE in the number of shooters. Below is a table which shows the data for the number of unique shooters in attendance:
|
2011 |
2010 |
600 Yard |
68 |
63 |
1000 Yard |
117 |
68 |
Score |
55 |
57 |
Group |
102 |
90 |
Of course, some of the differences were due to location of the matches. More centrally located Nationals may have fared better than those on the edge of the shooter concentrations. Despite that, though, seeing increases in attendance is a great thing to see.
Annual Meeting
The IBS Annual Meeting (AKA Winter Meeting) will be held January 13-14, 2011 in at the Holiday Inn in New Cumberland (Harrisburg), PA. Please check elsewhere on the IBS web site for full details. If you have never been to the Annual Meeting you might find it of interest. I find the opportunity to meet old friends or make new ones to be valuable. Also, anytime I can talk benchrest nonstop for a day or so is great.
We only have a couple of agenda items to deal with this year. The details are posted on the web site. I will consult with the Executive Board, but this year might be a good time to try to have another "roll up the sleeves" work session to see how we can do things better as a shooting body and how to grow our sport.
The Executive Board and I want to hear from you. If you have ANY questions that we should address at the meeting or other comments that you want entered into the record please email me at jstover33@comcast.net. We ARE truly looking for input from our membership.
Lowering the Barriers
Some of you may remember the survey of shooters we conducted last year on www.surveymonkey.com. (results can be viewed via links at bottom of this page) One thing I learned was there WAS an interest in IBS encouraging some sort of factory class. Previously, I had not been a big fan of that. Some shooters told me that some would greatly stretch the definition of “factory” to get an equipment edge. Others said, however, that a factory class-one with simple and straightforward rules-did bring in new shooters.
I think we have to admit the barriers to entry in our sport are pretty daunting. Sure, if a new fellow wanders into a match he will be offered a rifle and components to give it try. Nevertheless, a multi-thousand dollar investment is like gulping down a horse pill.
Prior to the Annual Meeting I will get with our Executive Board and the discipline committees to see how we can welcome factory rifles at shoots. There are a fair number of shooters trying to wrest small groups out of Savages and Remingtons. Some of that encouragement might be done through club matches, rather than registered ones. Therefore, starting immediately, the IBS website will host a schedule of non-registered club matches. Please forward any club matches to me that you want on our web site! To some that idea might seem counterproductive. I argue to the contrary. If a shooter attends a club match with his or her Savage .223 and gets hooked then the natural progression would be to move up to registered matches with a full Benchrest rig.
Besides bench guns, I like to shoot pistols. A couple of weeks ago my son and I competed at local IDPA match. To compete, all I had to get was a holster and magazine clips for both of us to shoot his Glock and my 1911. I reloaded some rounds and also bought some white box at Wally World. Entry was $15 (if we had been members of the Lewistown Pistol Club it would have been $10). We had a heck of good time for about three hours and met some real fine fellows (could have been benchresters!).
My point is that we could shoot pistols we already had, and for little expense we could compete. We need to foster that in Benchrest.
"Black Rifles" in IBS?
I admit the "black rifle" craze has yet to take hold at the bench. Two years ago, I made a pitch to the rest of the Executive Board: why not allow AR and AR-style rifles to compete at IBS matches? I was not laughed off. They said let's try it on an experimental, one by year basis and see how it goes. We have had only a handful of AR shooters at some of the matches. It was set up as a trial basis, but I think we should not give up.
I wonder if we could get vendor and manufacturer support (i.e. Rock River, et. al.) to sponsor some sort of money and prize shoot? Think of it as a "prime the well" endeavor. Comments and suggestions about AR's in IBS competition are welcome! If you are a serious AR shooter, I need your help.
Just for the record here are the reasons we support AR rifles in benchrest:
- It furthers IBS mission of fostering extreme rifle accuracy
- Introduce new shooters to bench rest shooting and adds new IBS members
- IBS may become the primary vehicle to showcase the ultimate accuracy of “black rifles”
- The AR rifle community is an extraordinarily large and active group that should not be ignored
- New shooters at the matches may gravitate to traditional BR rifles
- Infuse the IBS and IBS-matches with new enthusiasm
- Raise the profile of benchrest shooting amongst other serious riflemen
Great shooting to all and see you on the range!
Jeff Stover
President
Results of Survey