Chronicle

[Yul Lose]

Most every match that I attend have movement and a couple of them a lot of movement and it’s much more fun that way. Occasionally when the temperature is well north of 100 they’ll have stand and deliver stages, but that’s not very often.

[Red Rider Rudy]

We still have lots movement.  Jail to ally to Salon. 

[evil dogooder]

4 hours ago, Captain Bill Burt said:

No offense intended but I think it’s overly simplistic to attribute a decline in younger shooters to target size and distance. 

 

I don’t know that it’s been established that there’s even been such a decline in the first  place and even if there has there are quite a few things that could be contributing. 

 

Western movies are not as prevalent as they once were, the same for western TV shows.

 

It’s an expensive game. Upfront costs to put a shooter on the range with top notch gear can easily reach $4,500, not counting reloading equipment. Yes I know you can buy cheaper and used, but if you want Rugers, a tuned Uberti, an SKB and a good rig you’re going to pay what amounts to serious bucks for many people.

 

It’s a time consuming game. You can spend an entire day on the range to get in two minutes of shooting. For some of us that’s a feature, but for others it’s a bug.  This aspect doesn’t get mentioned much but I think it can be a huge factor for the younger crowd. When my 13 year old’s participation started to decline this was the reason he gave. He didn’t want to spend the whole day standing around watching other people shoot. 

 

Cell phone reception at many ranges is practically nonexistent. For today’s perpetually connected youth this is also a huge deal. To me it’s a chance to slip my tether, for him it’s being cutoff from what his friends are up to.

 

If I could wave a magic wand in hopes of improving youth participation in SASS I would turn six hour matches into two hour matches, while preserving the fellowship many of us enjoy, and add more action to the match while still providing stages that our more infirm shooters could shoot.  I think those two things matter a lot more than target size and distance.

 

Unfortunately I don’t know if those things are doable.

In the last 4 years I've worked with 48 shooters aged from 16 to lower 40s.  From work or charitys that I help with. 

   All but 1 loved the guns. Most didn't even have  a problem with the clothes.  The funds are higher for sure but that's not the issue.

  People are expecting young kids to enjoy spending time with someone 3 times their age.  When you were 20 did you hang out with your grandparents and play games set to their ability? 

 Or would you rather do something exciting and energetic?

   Sass stage 15 to 25 seconds of adrenalin. Maybe move 20 feet, max shoot 25 yrds 24 shots

 Average 3 gun. 30 to 90+ per stage. Could be up to 100 yards of movement and shoot up to 300+ yrds.   30 to 40+ rounds  Way more bang for the buck.

      Realistically answer this.  When you were 20 would you have found it fun to do a stand and deliver stage?

 

  

[Phantom, SASS #54973]

2 hours ago, evil dogooder said:

In the last 4 years I've worked with 48 shooters aged from 16 to lower 40s.  From work or charitys that I help with. 

   All but 1 loved the guns. Most didn't even have  a problem with the clothes.  The funds are higher for sure but that's not the issue.

  People are expecting young kids to enjoy spending time with someone 3 times their age.  When you were 20 did you hang out with your grandparents and play games set to their ability? 

 Or would you rather do something exciting and energetic?

   Sass stage 15 to 25 seconds of adrenalin. Maybe move 20 feet, max shoot 25 yrds 24 shots

 Average 3 gun. 30 to 90+ per stage. Could be up to 100 yards of movement and shoot up to 300+ yrds.   30 to 40+ rounds  Way more bang for the buck.

      Realistically answer this.  When you were 20 would you have found it fun to do a stand and deliver stage?

 

  

Please define "Stand and deliver".

[Captain Bill Burt]

2 hours ago, evil dogooder said:

In the last 4 years I've worked with 48 shooters aged from 16 to lower 40s.  From work or charitys that I help with. 

   All but 1 loved the guns. Most didn't even have  a problem with the clothes.  The funds are higher for sure but that's not the issue.

  People are expecting young kids to enjoy spending time with someone 3 times their age.  When you were 20 did you hang out with your grandparents and play games set to their ability? 

 Or would you rather do something exciting and energetic?

   Sass stage 15 to 25 seconds of adrenalin. Maybe move 20 feet, max shoot 25 yrds 24 shots

 Average 3 gun. 30 to 90+ per stage. Could be up to 100 yards of movement and shoot up to 300+ yrds.   30 to 40+ rounds  Way more bang for the buck.

      Realistically answer this.  When you were 20 would you have found it fun to do a stand and deliver stage?

 

  

We’re in agreement on much of this. That’s why part of my second ‘wish’ was more action. 

 

I’ve been looking at 3 Gun, not instead of SASS, but in addition to.  The higher round count sounds fun and I like that they can shoot on the move. If I can find at least 2 local matches per month that don’t conflict with SASS it might be worth the money.

 

With respect to your question, yes I think I would have enjoyed a stand and deliver with cowboy guns when I was 20. Six per day every Saturday, maybe not. Luckily stand and deliver pops up around here maybe once per match, which is fine with me.

[MizPete]

I've been around long enough to see a lot of the changes we're discussing, so my comments are just general observations.  It's true that many of us can no longer physically do the stunts we used to do.  I'm not so sure about the young'uns not wanting to hang out with us old folks.  Our grandchildren enjoyed it when they were with us but -- and this is the issue -- they grew up to do other things (and discovered girls).  I'm sorry, but I have to say it:  the old game itself was just more fun.  I don't know about Petey, but I continue with it because that's where my friends are, rather than for the game itself.

[Phantom, SASS #54973]

1 hour ago, MizPete said:

I've been around long enough to see a lot of the changes we're discussing, so my comments are just general observations.  It's true that many of us can no longer physically do the stunts we used to do.  I'm not so sure about the young'uns not wanting to hang out with us old folks.  Our grandchildren enjoyed it when they were with us but -- and this is the issue -- they grew up to do other things (and discovered girls).  I'm sorry, but I have to say it:  the old game itself was just more fun.  I don't know about Petey, but I continue with it because that's where my friends are, rather than for the game itself.

I've been playing for 15 years... Still have has much fun... My friends still have fun...

 

If folks get stuck in thinking that the only recipe for fun is the way it "used" to be, then sooner or later nothing will be fun.

 

Phantom

 

 

[Deadshot Dan]

+1 for haven fun.  

[Assassin]

What is stand and deliver? Must be something that's not in my vocabulary. There used to be a lot more stand and deliver stages compared to today.

I'm not into the same thing every stage, some close, some a little further out, then a mix of both. Not interested in complicated sweeps. Today there are more options than the good old days. Shooters are smarter today and like the freedom to manipulate the stage without restrictions or which target to start on. 

There's free time if shooters want to find it. The old school stuff was pretty much set in stone, we all started on the same target, restaged or staged guns in the same place, and had few options, even had to engage SG targets in a specific order.