Red Rider Rudy Posted April 30, 2015 Share Posted April 30, 2015 Here's something funny to add. We had a new shooter at our match last week, that when he ran over to the doorway he he looked at the targets and took a step back. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sawyer Posted April 30, 2015 Share Posted April 30, 2015 I too have seen the future of SASS. It is the new and younger shooters. Every one of them that I have met have been great kids, well mannered, polite, eager to learn, and even more eager to help! I have watched Tater and Sidekick and many others "grow up" in this sport. I am proud to know them, I am in awe of their skills, and because of all of them I think the future of SASS is is good hands and looks very bright! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Oklahoma Dee Posted April 30, 2015 Share Posted April 30, 2015 Noz, I have read your opening line and thoughts. I have read your wit, wisdom and thoughts before...here on the sasswire. You have always been of sound mind and humor. This one too, is a good subject. One persons viewpoint. One that we all have struggled with in some fashion. Just my viewpoint, wait and watch if you want to, but SASS is constantly changing, new blood, new shooters, new ideas, different targets locations, etc..... I am of a firm belief, that being on a good or great posse, can make a shoot or break a shoot. That being said, being a part of the posse and positively interacting with other posse members is part of the whole game. In fact, you spend more time in the posse, than shooting. Havin a gun malfunction can wreak havoc on ones final thoughts, feelings and expectations associated with a match, Gosh.....I know that oh so well. So, pick yourself up, dust yourself off, take a strong hard look at changing your style, category, your equipment, practice more........ Maybe its not SASS that needs to change so much, maybe it is you. Change is the only constant in life. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zack McGee, SASS #46908 Posted April 30, 2015 Share Posted April 30, 2015 To the OP - Huh? To Hoss Roonwright - Huh? Back to the OP - just curious, so you're saying there were 299 clean shooters. If not what's you point? Really though never mind, I don't really care. If I went to a match with 10 stages of 10-10-4 and didn't aim I'd have 240 misses and the posse behind me would be ducking!! Oh hell, who wants pie! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Possum Skinner, SASS#60697 Posted April 30, 2015 Share Posted April 30, 2015 Noz, The responses about youth were aimed at Blackcat James, not you. I think you stated your thoughts very well and feel much the same way. While I realize much of the challenge is gun manipulation, I think having to aim a little is ok too. I much prefer 16" targets at 6 yds to 3' targets at 4 yds, except once in a while for variety. Generally speaking, I, also, like rifle targets at 12-15 yds over any at 8 yds. I like moving targets and knockdowns and a variety of engagement sequences and distances. While every club is entitled to have their shoots like they want (and I 100% encourage them to do so), there are "big and close" matches and "small and far" matches that I choose not to attend because I don't enjoy either of those type matches. Our youth can generally see better than we can. Their focus can change faster than ours. And they may be more steady. No. The big/ close movement is not their doing. In fact, it's probably just the opposite. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Possum Skinner, SASS#60697 Posted April 30, 2015 Share Posted April 30, 2015 The match at Thunder River Renegades this past weekend was a great example of how I like target setup. Pistols varied from 5-7 yds. Rifle varied from around 10 yds out to 15 (guessing). I shot FCGF and MAN did I enjoy the match. Also, a fun posse helps. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Smoken D Posted April 30, 2015 Share Posted April 30, 2015 Hay Noz, come on over to the saloon and I'll buy ya one. I'm still soaked in sasper. Ifen ya need I'll bring my 51's at our next match, that'll always bring ya a smile and laugh after watching me. Needs variety, some too close, some too far. I always liked shooten a few pistols at the rifle targets. Big smile ifen I hit one. Then again sometimes ya don't know if ya hit one or not from all the smoke. See ya at the cook-out in a few weeks. Age group, aren't ya in the same group as Moses Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Griff Posted April 30, 2015 Share Posted April 30, 2015 300 shooters thru 6 stages in a hair over 4 hours shows some super organization! Or an extraordinary large number of VERY fast shooters. If that's the future, I'm not sure I'll like either... I like a more leisurely pace! Noz, that ain't the "future" of SASS you were seeing... it is the present. Whether that "present" be 1985, 1990, 1995, 2000, 2005, 2010 and now in 2015! Times were slower, targets were a bit smaller & further out, but it has almost always taken more than experience and tricks to beat youth and enthusiasm! And believe me, I think SASS has more youthful and enthusiastic 70 year olds than any other game out there! The future of SASS is what "you" make it. I've seen more folks quit than typically show up at a match... name any match... and every one of them had a complaint... and they let that complaint control their actions... in just 5 years I'll have been playing this game for exactly HALF of my life... I don't like getting up at 5:30am to load the truck, drive 100+ miles to then spend a few scant hours shooting targets and the breeze with like minded folks... It's often said that you come for the shooting and stay for the people... And that hasn't changed in 30 years! Regardless of how fast the 'competition' gets, regardless of how slow 'you' get... the only person anyone ever competes against is themselves... Oh sure, folks say that, "...XXYZZ is my biggest competition." But, in fact... their ONLY competition is their own ability to perform at their best over the course of an entire match... One simply has no control about how other competitors perform, but optimal performance can put one in a position to capitalize on others' inability to perform optimally. But, even that is only ½ of the match any shooter has ANY control over... The other ½ is their "fun factor". When the "fun factor" leaves, so do you. For some, the "fun" was in the challenges of distant & relatively minute targets; for a very select few, it was riding around the course on a stick horse... (there's a fad I'm glad passed quickly); for others, the only fun was in success in the form of trophies and accolades; others found their fun factor in the use of recalcitrant firearms & finicky propellants; for others it's the imaginings of a "simpler" time and by-gone era, whether that be the "real" old west or that of Hollywood; for the vast majority it's combinations of these and other aspects of the whole SASS experience. As long as there are folks of any age that for whom the fun factor outweighs the efforts necessary to participate, there's a future for SASS. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tumbleweed tess Posted April 30, 2015 Share Posted April 30, 2015 This is a very touchy subject to talk about especially for an outsider So please go easy on me. I have watched SASS grow and then level off and now start the slow decline. I shoot IDPA and IPSC and thougt about joinining SASS a few years ago I attended many matches around the country and saw the slow change to big close and simple set ups to giving awards to anyone breathing all with good intent. as to SASS growing is it really?? the numbers do not support that thought 102,000 that number is only the total memberships that have been sold since they started. clubs are closing all over the country SASS did away with the paper to save money ,The vendors are dropping like flies and still, many on the wire seem to overlook the writting on the wall .I do not have a solution that anyone would want to hear . But I read a few posts a few years ago by a Texas Jack Black who predicted this and he was attacked every time he warned of this. Just what I see from a non member TESS Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bart Solo Posted April 30, 2015 Share Posted April 30, 2015 Griff +1, well stated, you win the thread. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Buffalo Bill Mathewson, 37826 Posted April 30, 2015 Share Posted April 30, 2015 I recently attended a large SASS match. Now before you begin browbeating me I will say: It was an excellent match. The targets were good, the food was good, the organization was so good you just kinda slid through the match (over 300 shooters through 6 stages in a hair over 4 hours). The Props were good and the attitude of the host club was without reproach. I had a good time, but then I always do. The targets were very large and very close. The sequences were very simple and allowed the targets to be addressed with very little muzzle movement. There was some foot movement but it was on secure footing and very fast. I think my dismay was that the targets were so close and the sequences so simple that hitting the targets was assumed. Only if you ran so fast that you were out of control did you risk a miss. Sight alignment was of no necessity. We had many sub 15 second strings fired. Do I want something fixed? No I don't think so because it think this is the future of SASS. With my age, infirmities, weapon choices and shooting style that I choose I can never hope to be with in 15 seconds of the top shooters on my very best days. I know that. The age and infirmities I can't change but I could change style and weapons to be much more competitive but I don't wish to do so. With rare super talented exceptions the winners are all going to be two hand-supported shooters, shooting light weight bullets out of highly tuned 38s I tried to go as fast as I could and did shoot some fast stages for me. Not any where close to the "good" shooters. I came within a gun malfunction of shooting a clean match and I would have been pleased with that but I felt an overall sense of non-accomplishment. Kinda like kissing your sister: It tasted good, smelled good, she's sort of pretty but it doesn't mean a thing. Maybe my lot in life is to attend smaller annual shoots that don't necessarily cater to the speed shooters. Again. I have nothing against said speed shooters and if I were 45 years younger I'd probably be trying to play with them. So, and I'm sure you don't care, I will try staying a little closer to home and shoot with people more my capabilities. I may venture to some of the matches that I know will allow me to keep old friendships alive. Again, I'm not in any way knocking anyones style of shooting and certainly not the matches them selves. I'm just saying It's not for me anymore. I think your statement ("I think my dismay was that the targets were so close and the sequences so simple that hitting the targets was assumed.") answers the reason I had more misses than I should have. Buff Bill Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
C.S. Brady, SASS #63699 Posted April 30, 2015 Share Posted April 30, 2015 Well, I am the person who won the above mentioned match this last weekend, it was not an easy match. Every target I shot had the little shiny thing on the front of the weapon on target, I pull the trigger every time on my pistols, I am 48, I never received any trophies for anything I didn't earn, I can shoot long range quite well, I have won at ranges that have longer, smaller, spread out targets. This June will be 4 years shooting this wonderful sport for me and I am thankful to have the opportunity to shoot in any match, regardless of how close/far, big/small the targets are. If you look for it, you will find many great reasons to shoot even if your times are at the bottom of the pack. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Forty Rod SASS 3935 Posted April 30, 2015 Share Posted April 30, 2015 Well dang...I'm confused again. Are you saying that you can play this game without aiming? Phantom I did it for years, and no one ever saw me cluttering up the stage getting awards. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Slick McClade Posted April 30, 2015 Share Posted April 30, 2015 FUN FACT : NO matter the "target size" ,"placement" or "scenario". "TOP" shooters are gonna finish in the top. "Middle" shooters are gonna finish in the middle. "Bottom" shooters are gonna end up in the bottom. So why not make it fun 😉 Slick Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
C.S. Brady, SASS #63699 Posted April 30, 2015 Share Posted April 30, 2015 FUN FACT : NO matter the "target size" ,"placement" or "scenario". "TOP" shooters are gonna finish in the top. "Middle" shooters are gonna finish in the middle. "Bottom" shooters are gonna end up in the bottom. So why not make it fun Slick +1 The stress of trying to not screw up, worries about equipment failure, etc. are not fun, the relationships you have with other shooters is always fun. It is easy in any sport to leave happy when you are winning, but this is one of the few that you can not do well and leave happy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dubious Don #56333 Posted April 30, 2015 Share Posted April 30, 2015 But Slick, why do you want to confooze people with the facts?!?? Ever-body knows: Smaller targets farther out will slow them pesky speedsters down. Ever-body knows: Light springs in yer guns, about the strength of what runs a ball point pen, will make you a faster shooter. Ever-body KNOWS: Mouse-fart loads will likewise make you a faster shooter...instantly. Ever-body KNOWS: Adding lines, pushing an ore cart, holding a broom, throwing ropes, tommyhawks, rocks, beavers and such on the clock will distract them pesky top shooters just enough to let the rest of us catch up, just like confusing target sequences. LOL, and if'n anyone believes that, I got me a bridge to sell ya....CHEEP!!! SASS is a game. A fantasy game. Funny clothes, funny guns and the BEST DANG PEOPLE in the world. Expand your horizons and shoot a different game sometime. I did and this is what I saw; bunch of sour-faced grumps. Oh yes, they were very good at this particular sport and I could tell they took theirselves (sic) oh so very seriously. Didn't seem to be having much fun though. Me and the crew I shot with, cowboy shooters all, really sucked at this particular game. I mean bad, worse than canal water. But we had LOADS OF FUN. If SASS is declining, explain to me why our member numbers continue to grow? If SASS is declining, explain to me why the last big match I went to had more, shooters, more vendors, more...ever-dang-thing than before? FUN FACT :NO matter the "target size" ,"placement" or "scenario"."TOP" shooters are gonna finish in the top."Middle" shooters are gonna finish in the middle."Bottom" shooters are gonna end up in the bottom.So why not make it fun Slick Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chuckaroo #13080 Regulator Posted April 30, 2015 Share Posted April 30, 2015 You have a choice of what kind of shooting competition you participate in. I think you will find that SASS is, by far, the friendliest for older shooters. In most other competitive shooting sports you will find a lot more running, stooping, bending etc. +1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Slick McClade Posted April 30, 2015 Share Posted April 30, 2015 👍😂😂😂😂😂😆👊 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Possum Skinner, SASS#60697 Posted April 30, 2015 Share Posted April 30, 2015 I don't know if the numbers are growing or declining, but I can tell you we have more annual matches around than ever before and their attendance (overall) is steady or increasing. Heck, there's no way I can shoot all of the great matches around, that's annuals and locals. I certainly don't see decline or decay around here. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
C.S. Brady, SASS #63699 Posted April 30, 2015 Share Posted April 30, 2015 Possum Skinner, good folks like you are why you are seeing that happen. I feel at home when I am at a Cowboy Match, can't say that about everything I attend. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Allie Mo, SASS No. 25217 Posted April 30, 2015 Share Posted April 30, 2015 This is a very touchy subject to talk about especially for an outsider So please go easy on me. I have watched SASS grow and then level off and now start the slow decline. I shoot IDPA and IPSC and thougt about joinining SASS a few years ago I attended many matches around the country and saw the slow change to big close and simple set ups to giving awards to anyone breathing all with good intent. as to SASS growing is it really?? the numbers do not support that thought 102,000 that number is only the total memberships that have been sold since they started. clubs are closing all over the country SASS did away with the paper to save money ,The vendors are dropping like flies and still, many on the wire seem to overlook the writting on the wall .I do not have a solution that anyone would want to hear . But I read a few posts a few years ago by a Texas Jack Black who predicted this and he was attacked every time he warned of this. Just what I see from a non member TESS What facts do you have to back up these statements about growth, level, decline? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Warden Callaway Posted April 30, 2015 Share Posted April 30, 2015 To attract young shooters you need to make it into a live action video game. Forget live ammo and steel. Just have the guns converted to trip an electronic switch to record the shot and make a sound. The one that can pull their gun and trigger off the required number of shots in the shortest time wins. You won't need a cart or drive to the range - just shoot wherever and record your best time and load it on Facebook. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bois D'Arc, SASS # 27951 Posted April 30, 2015 Share Posted April 30, 2015 Noz, thank you for expressing your views on our shoot and CAS in general. I thought your post and your opinions were very fair and gentlemanly. As you know, I was Match Director of this shoot during the period when the “large & near vs. far & small” debate was much more intense than it is now. Like you, I have been playing this wonderful game for quite a few years and I must admit that I preferred targets that required a bit more use of the front sight. With that said, I will also state that at our club we believe our responsibility as a host club is to provide the best shooting experience possible for the largest possible number of our guests. We realize that the folks who come shoot with us do not all hold the same opinion as to what makes the best cowboy shoot. We wish we could provide each and every shooter with his or her perfect shoot, but that is not possible. Therefore, we try to target our shoots to the largest possible segment of SASS shooters. We truly believe that in today’s market that means large close targets (within SASS recommendations). I may be biased, but I think our current Match Directors are doing an outstanding job of providing our guests with an enjoyable shooting experience. Regarding my current personal views of the “large & near vs. far & small debate. I had three misses and a P this year. My skill level may not need anything more challenging. Noz, thank you for your kind words about our shoot and our range and thank you again for expressing your views in such a gentlemanly way. Please don’t stop coming. I look forward to seeing you every year. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rye Miles #13621 Posted April 30, 2015 Share Posted April 30, 2015 It's not so much getting young people into the game it's all about getting "experienced" shooters. That's where I think the pool is. We see guys coming into CAS that have been shooting for years and come to one shoot and fall in love with it! Yea we want young ones too but let's not forget the adult shooters out there. As to tumbleweed tess' take on this whole SASS thing how come the gun manufacturers are always coming out with new "old west" guns?? Like Allie Mo, I would also like to see where tumbleweed's info is from! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J-BAR #18287 Posted April 30, 2015 Share Posted April 30, 2015 So, I guess we should expect challenging targets in Cassville this weekend??!!😃 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blackwater 53393 Posted April 30, 2015 Share Posted April 30, 2015 Ya know? I don't see much of decline in membership around here either. The last two big matches I shot, they were putting up waiting lists because they were full up!! I understand what my buddy Noz is saying. I sometimes feel it too. You go to a match and it's fast and fun and it goes smoothly and folks are shooting well. The majority of folks are satisfied and there are no real complaints. Still....... you just feel like there's something lacking or missing.......... or just not as fun or challenging as you've come to expect. No! You didn't shoot the match clean. Most folks don't shoot clean very often. That's not it. Yes! You shot well and you shot fast for you, maybe a little too fast or too well for what you are accustomed to, but that's not really it either. Maybe, it's that some of the new has worn off. When you shot those early matches where you had a little bit of the jitters or you fumbled around a little learning to transition from one gun to the next or struggled to remember the shooting order or hadn't quite gotten the reload down on that shotgun yet, you felt the excitement of the game and you had goals that were just out of reach right then. I know that right now that that is part of my problem. Aside from family health issues and my changing involvement in other endeavors, I'm suffering from a little burnout right now. I'll not get to participate in a match this weekend that I love to shoot, would normally drive all night and shoot all ten stages in one day, and really enjoy doing it. I will go to the match. I have all of the ammo and stuff to do it, and the finances to make it happen, but I ain't feeling exactly top shelf, I have a gig on Friday night, and I'd have to turn right around and drive back home as soon as I finish shooting. I wouldn't even go, but I promised a couple of folks that I'd be there for them and I do my best to keep my word. I also want to support this match and will do so, even in this limited fashion. I know Noz well! We have shot some matches that were absolutely magical!! Not to say that either of us did particularly well, but the time and space were all in perfect harmony, and the matches were a little more...... I don't know.......... interesting is a good word.......yeah, interesting! MDs!! Keep doing what you're doing!! Make the match the most fun for the most folks!! I figure I, and I hope ol' Noz, will still shoot as many matches as we can afford and can get to, health and circumstances permitting. Just try to remember that a little cayenne in the soup once in a while will add to the meal! Stick a target or a string of targets out a little farther or a little farther apart. Put a big ol' dump target out there! Use a shooting sequence like "shotgun, pistol, shotgun, rifle, shotgun, pistol," once in a while! Have the shooter carry a stick of dynamite or a sack of coal or a shovel from position to position! Some of the stuff we used to do can still be fun without penalizing anyone!! AND YEAH!! I like "Big and close" too!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Noz Posted April 30, 2015 Author Share Posted April 30, 2015 Hay Noz, come on over to the saloon and I'll buy ya one. I'm still soaked in sasper. Ifen ya need I'll bring my 51's at our next match, that'll always bring ya a smile and laugh after watching me. Needs variety, some too close, some too far. I always liked shooten a few pistols at the rifle targets. Big smile ifen I hit one. Then again sometimes ya don't know if ya hit one or not from all the smoke. See ya at the cook-out in a few weeks. Age group, aren't ya in the same group as Moses Naw, Moses was just a kid when I started shooting. Blackwater, are you referring to Posse 10 at Possum Trot as a magical experience? I certainly do and I appreciate the understanding. Maybe you are right in that somethings out of the comfort zone is what I am missing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Buckshot Dobbs Posted April 30, 2015 Share Posted April 30, 2015 Possum Skinner, good folks like you are why you are seeing that happen. I feel at home when I am at a Cowboy Match, can't say that about everything I attend. Whole hearteedly agree with you, my friend. I have participated in other shooting sports, one back in December actually, and the "at home"...family feeling was not there. PLUS I might add, my wife was the ONLY female there, and she would not shoot for anything. She said the, as she put it, "cut throat, overly competitive feeling" will keep her from EVER doing this other particular sport. I'm not saying there are not females competing in other sports, as Lord knows there certainly are, and I'm not saying SASS is not competitve, because it most certainly is, but when it comes to husbands and wives, shooting together, enjoying our sport, bringing their kids, etc. SASS makes me feel at home. Now, do big and close targets contribute to that? Probably....if my wife missed more than she heard that ring of the steel, she would probably get discouraged. But man, when she shows up to a monthly, she gets 10 hugs at a minumum, and folks are glad to see us, we are part of a family, and when I take her to a "big and close" annual somehwere...she gets over her jitters....shoots, and has a blast. So, not really sure I'm staying on topic with the OP, but me and my wife shoot both kind of matches, and she sure does love the big and close ones, and she is a middle, to bottom of the pack shooter, just like me lol....she is getting faster, and having fun...BECAUSE of folks like Brady...he's lightning fast, but there is nobody we would rather posse with!!! just my thoughts.... BD Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Possum Skinner, SASS#60697 Posted April 30, 2015 Share Posted April 30, 2015 Brady...he's lightning fast, but there is nobody we would rather posse with!!! Same here! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
El Hombre Sin Nombre Posted April 30, 2015 Share Posted April 30, 2015 So much good stuff has been said that I don't think I could add anything of value one way or the other. The only question I have is where are my trophies? A year into the game and I still haven't gotten one, so either it isn't that easy, or I just really suck. Probably the latter. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cheyenne Ranger, 48747L Posted April 30, 2015 Share Posted April 30, 2015 I just got finished with RO I and II refreshers and one thing the instructor said sticks with me: We are in the entertainment business and folks like to hit the targets goes for me too Fast guys go fast--enjoy watching them speed through Me, my average times hover around 60 per stage--longer now since still healing from rotator cuff surgery BUT... it's great to be back in the mix! just my 2¢ cr Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DocWard Posted April 30, 2015 Share Posted April 30, 2015 Noz, I read your initial post as an observation, how you are personally seeing things, and not as a criticism. With that in mind, I would like to offer some observations of my own. I am very much a novice when it comes to Cowboy Action Shooting. Over the years, I have participated in two sports over a period of time and with regularity. The first was Trap, which I shot competitively both in college and as an ATA shooter. The second is running, where for a period of time I ran 5K road races and trail runs with some regularity. Both are distinctly different, but might hold food for thought for us shooting SASS. In Trap, there are the different classifications for 16 yard and doubles, and then there is handicap, with shooters competing from different yardages. Now, once I got some experience, there wasn't a day I went out that I didn't believe that if I had a good day, I could win. I have a few trophies from those good days. Heck, I once shot a 96 at the Grand American Handicap, the granddaddy of them all, on a day when a 98 won it. However, Trap doesn't lend itself so much to the camaraderie that we see in SASS, and it can become somewhat repetitive. Stand, shoot, wait for four others, repeat x 4, shift, repeat. I have shot very little Trap in recent years, primarily because my shooting partner, my father-in-law, passed away, and there is something missing there that the chance of winning doesn't make up for. I have not been to a big shoot yet, my first will hopefully be the Ohio State Shoot next month. But at those shoots I have been to, I have felt challenged--I am still a novice, but I had exactly ONE clean stage at my last shoot, and the less said about the final stage, the better. I also felt more welcomed and at home than many a trap shoot. In running, I put in a lot of miles as compared to a lot of others who just ran 5Ks, particularly as compared to some in my age range. However, I was never in any danger of winning a race, or even my age group. I was competing against myself, period. On occasion there would be a bit of give and take with another runner of like ability, or a final kick for the finish line against another runner, but winning? I am not built like a distance runner, I don't have the running form of a distance runner, and thanks to adult onset asthma, my lungs aren't those of a good runner. Winning was never something I considered. I had specific goals in mind, though. Try to PR (set a personal record), or try to run a negative split, or just beat my last time on a course. Sometimes I did, sometimes I didn't. But I enjoyed it, and if I am lucky, will start enjoying it again soon, as I did a 5K a couple of weekends ago with my daughter. Why do I enjoy it? I mean, running can be miserable, at its best it is waiting for the endorphins to kick in, it is normally simply pain management, and at its worst, it is misery. But I am out there, challenging myself, my body, my age and my abilities. And again, the people make the difference. I have seen crowds of runners and non-runners gathering along the final yards to the finish line clapping and cheering and encouraging those runners who are at the back of the pack. Those who were struggling to keep up the slowest of jogs, or sometimes just walk. Sometimes, I was cheering for those people at the back of the pack. Other times, everyone was cheering for me. The most I have ever gotten from a race was a t-shirt, a bagel and some fruit, and all the water I could drink. But EVERYONE gets a t-shirt and the rest. You, and those reading this can take what you wish from it. For me, it helps me define why I want to shoot Cowboy Action. I don't expect to win. I don't really expect to scare those who do win into looking over their shoulder for me gaining on them. I do expect to get better, to learn more, to compete against myself, and to have fun. I'm an introvert, so when I choose to hang around people, I want them to be people I WANT to hang around with. So far, the SASS shooters fit that bill particularly well, even the fast and famous ones. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Widder, SASS #59054 Posted April 30, 2015 Share Posted April 30, 2015 Any DECLINE can be caused by numerous things: health (both older and young) teenagers going off to college Military service Money to buy other equipment resources to obtain ample amounts of reloading supplies I actually KNOW a couple shooters who stopped shooting last year that stated to me they couldn't find affordable reloading supplies and their financial status couldn't justify paying inflated prices for primers and powder. But as far as the numbers go, I believe the numbers are still showing positive attitudes in our sport/game. But, I don't keep statistics so therefore, I can't show any proof to support my 'belief'. ..........Widder Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shifty Jack, SASS #65353 Posted April 30, 2015 Share Posted April 30, 2015 I don't understand... What are you saying? What would a "Good" looking future for SASS look like to you? Phantom Exit of Wild Bunch, return of Traditional and Modern -Shifty Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cypress Sun Posted April 30, 2015 Share Posted April 30, 2015 What facts do you have to back up these statements about growth, level, decline? Come on Allie.......He (or she) pronounced TJB as the fortune teller of SASS.......who needs facts? Griff, great post. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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