Its 2024 is your club stuck in the 90’s?

[John Barleycorn, SASS #76982]

Visibility is key. It’s 2024 if your club doesn’t have a Facebook or other social media presence you’re not going to reach future shooters. Your club should be posting videos after every monthly match. Even during the off season. 
Your page should state when your club shoots, WHERE YOUR CLUB IS LOCATED WITH AN ADDRESS THAT CAN BE PUT IN A GPS. 
List any specific club rules, and a point of contact. 
Does your club have an annual match? Again it’s 2024! You need to be able to register online, and pay immediately. Young people will not print out an app, write a check, and mail an envelope. 

[Possum Skinner, SASS#60697]

All good advice!

[Colorado Coffinmaker]

Most of the "Head Down" generation won't play a game that can't be played from a couch on an electronic device.

[The Original Lumpy Gritz]

JB, very good post

Hopefully, ALL club TG's will see this.

[Cholla]

OMG, here comes the never FB posts. I would say 80% of the older folks I know 50s, 60s, 70s have a FB account. Yes, I know FB is anti-gun. Think of it as the French Resistance using the Nazi media to get messages to the Allies. 

[Shawnee Hills]

8 hours ago, John Barleycorn, SASS #76982 said:

WHERE YOUR CLUB IS LOCATED WITH AN ADDRESS THAT CAN BE PUT IN A GPS. 

 

Not all shooters know where bigger shoots are held.  It is frustrating to see a shoot announced with no location information except for the name of the club.  As someone considering traveling to away matches, it's a bit of detective work to find the actual location.  That only works if the club has a presence on the web and their page actually has that information.  If folks can't find what they need then they'll never come.

 

6 hours ago, Colorado Coffinmaker said:

Most of the "Head Down" generation won't play a game that can't be played from a couch on an electronic device.

 

This reads a little like grumpy old men complaining about lazy teenagers; which has been going on for generations.  Although it may not be completely incorrect, it's a bit of a slap in the face for the young shooters that are, or may become, interested in this game.  Let us not forget that some may be reading these posts trying to decide if they want to engage.

[Leroy Luck]

As a younger shooter myself it is a royal pain to have to print off and mail in applications. I’ve filled out 3 tonight (thanks for the post as a reminder) and need to send them in. It is so much easier/user friendly for online applications. 

[watab kid]

i wont say i dont like the on line versions - i do , but there is something deliberate about printing off the applications and sending them with a check , sometimes i like the old ways of doing things , i add to my paper calendar and give my wife the dates to plan around , ill not stop doing that for now but hope that these new fangled ways bring in new younger shooters to keep this going , 

[Shawnee Hills]

Given how unreliable the USPS has been lately, it’s a bit of crap shoot whether the application actually arrives or not.  Much better chance of success by using a good on-line system. 

[watab kid]

well ...........ive had good luck with that for over 2o years of applications now , that said , i get what your hinting at and im hoping i didnt just jinx my luck , and again that said , ive had plenty of issues with the electronic chit over the last 25+ years as well , 

[Creeker, SASS #43022]

First - Facebook sucks.

Second - your club needs an actual navigable WEBSITE.

 

Your site ABSOLUTELY HAS to have:

Location; including address, GPS, range name - any specifics as to location on the range, is there a range office sign in - in addition to the match sign in?

(directions {and DISTANCES} from various landmarks are appreciated as well).  This is very important in large metro areas where the shooters choice of lodging with the same city name can be next door or an hour+ away.

 

Any range specific rules: prohibited shooting styles, plant and poke, parking, RV's, dogs, spectators, etc.

 

Calendar: Date (and TIME, for setup, registration, safety meeting, first rounds downrange) of your next shoot.

Cost of said shoot.

 

Any match extras: Side matches, lunch, discounts at local eateries, retailers or attractions.

 

Date of your next annual (if applicable)

Sign up form, schedule of events.

Local lodging and accomodations info.

 

Past Scores 

 

List of Officers and their contacts

At LEAST ONE phone number to a club official for questions or visiting shooter inquiries (this has to be someone willing to actually answer a call or at minimum RETURN a call in a timely manner)

 

Nice things to have:

A place to print/ electronically sign waivers.

 

A place to join the clubs mailing list.

 

Photo album/ videos - link to your youtube page.

 

Stages for the upcoming match.

 

Club/ Match philosophy as to match design, target arrays and sizes.

 

I spent nearly 20 years running a VERY successful club - The above items were mandatory for my club to ensure anyone/ everyone that had any interest in joining us was provided with the most opportunity possible.

 

Now that I am traveling more and visiting more distant clubs and annuals; it amazes me the lack of effort put forward to entice attendance at various clubs.

 

Painted Lady and I enjoy traveling and road trips - so "when" I find a club in proximity to our destination on the same weekend; I am excited to explore their website to ascertain if I want to attend.

If I cannot easily/ conveniently find the above information - and cannot make contact with a club official; then I simply pass on by.

 

I'm sure I have missed out on some good, fun shoots - but CAS is not a driving force in my life any longer and my time is too dear to spend it at an event that chooses to not communicate basic information.

Or does so thru a format that is not conducive to ease of finding specific information (Facebook).

Edited March 18 by Creeker, SASS #43022

[Sedalia Dave]

OK,  For all you that want online registration. What is a secure, inexpensive way to accomplish this?

 

BTW Paypal is a non-starter.

[Frontier Lone Rider]

John,

 

Are saying that my using Smoke Signals is outdated??

 

Coming up on 77, I really don't mind printing an APP and writing a check.

[Idaho Gunslinger]

9 hours ago, Cholla said:

OMG, here comes the never FB posts. I would say 80% of the older folks I know 50s, 60s, 70s have a FB account. Yes, I know FB is anti-gun. Think of it as the French Resistance using the Nazi media to get messages to the Allies. 

I would agree with this. I think there are more Grandma's on Facebook than there are young people. The millennials really took to Facebook because we were just kids then and it was the cool new thing. Older generations followed after. A lot of the younger generations (keep in mind millennials are almost out of their 20's now and many are in their 40's) don't even use Facebook because it's for "old people" now. 

I suspect the bulk of cowboy action shooters are going to be older people who are either retired or at least have their kids out of the house. They are likely the only ones who will have the discretionary income to throw at this sport, if not that then maybe they are at least the ones who now have more free time and are looking for.new hobbies. 

 

And as a middle of the pack millennial, I hate having to go dig out my check book. I think I have wrote 10 checks in the last 5 years. A few were for cowboy things and the rest were to the damned DMV. I rarely even have cash on me anymore. The only reason I even keep any around right now is for those monthly cowboy matches. 

[Slippery Stew]

Several of you were asking about services for online payment and applications... I use Cognito Forms and Square for payment for The Bushwhack, South Carolina State.  Check out our website at scstatematch.com.  The website costs us nothing... it's a google site.  I simply pay for the name scstatematch through GODADDY.  A work in progress, of course, but we do online registration and payment... and allow the shooters to vote on 5 of the stages, sign up for RO training, and our monthly matches... all online. 

 

Our gun club, Belton Gun Club, even uses Cognito forms for raffles, new member sign up, match reports, and a few other things.

[Rye Miles #13621]

22 hours ago, John Barleycorn, SASS #76982 said:

Does your club have an annual match? Again it’s 2024! You need to be able to register online, and pay immediately. Young people will not print out an app, write a check, and mail an envelope. 

This may be a problem for a lot of clubs accepting some online form of payment. Young people can't write a check and mail it? So they won't go to the shoot? If they want to go they'll do it. How lazy have we become? 

[Black Hills Barb]

Cowboy action shooting is just one shooting discipline of our gun club.  We do not have our own treasury or own bank account.  The main club does not accept credit cards at this time.  Sorry if that puts us back in the '90s.  However, we do run a very successful state match nevertheless.  We also have a very small group that works extremely hard to accommodate our shooters however possible.  Folks are missing out if writing a check or purchasing a money order is the one thing that will keep them from attending our, or any, match.  
 

[Cypress Sun]

 

Although the suggested "improvements" are good ideas, I suggest that the old "90's methods be left in place to retain the longtime customers that have supported YOUR clubs throughout the years.

 

I'm not joining an anti 2nd Amendment company like Facebook.

I will not get an account with anti 2nd Amendment companies like Pay Pay, Zelle and the like. In other words, no electronic cash transfers.

I know how to use a printer to print out match applications. My nose isn't stuck in a cell phone 24/7

I know EXACTLY where my checkbook is and how to write out checks to pay for match fees.

 

I'm not too lazy to do any of the above and I'll be damned if I'll support companies/owners whose ideas and policies are complete opposites of mine.

 

Add the "new" ways, just don't get rid of the traditional methods also.

[Matthew Duncan]

1 hour ago, Rye Miles #13621 said:

This may be a problem for a lot of clubs accepting some online form of payment. Young people can't write a check and mail it? So they won't go to the shoot? If they want to go they'll do it. How lazy have we become? 

IMHO the majority aren’t lazy.  
 

I religiously balance by check book every month since 1970.  I did progress a bit when I converted my check book to computer plus it was cheaper () to print my own checks instead of buying them.  Times have changed and my ancient computer would no longer work with TurboTax, time for a new computer.  Check registry program was almost as old as dirt and wasn’t compatible with the new computer.  I asked the daughter what did she use.  She doesn’t have a checkbook!!!  She uses credit card for ALL purchases, CC rewards pays for the majority of their air flights and one monthly electronic payment pays off the CC.  
 

Our congregation is younger ( yes I’m one of the old ones) and they don’t have cash or a check book.  Offerings went up when the Church enabled tithing by CC.

 

I’ve come to the conclusion that no matter how hard us old timers fight it, things change and usually for the better.  We better adapt too or our time served in the nursing home will be really hard.

 

A smart phone, a card reader and service from one of the online providers is all that is needed to take CC at the range.  That will remove one obstacle to prevent the continuing decline of participation at SASS matches.  Hmmm…perhaps SASS would be willing to be the CC middleman?  Extra revenue for SASS and grow for the local clubs.

 

 

[Black Hills Barb]

2 hours ago, Matthew Duncan said:

A smart phone, a card reader and service from one of the online providers is all that is needed to take CC at the range.  That will remove one obstacle to prevent the continuing decline of participation at SASS matches.

 

 

There's just one more problem at our range and at others we have shot at.  We do not have cellular reception.  I guess that does put us in the 90s...the 1890s!  Saddle up and visit us for the real cowboy experience! 

Edited March 18 by Black Hills Barb

[Dusty Devil Dale]

23 hours ago, Colorado Coffinmaker said:

Most of the "Head Down" generation won't play a game that can't be played from a couch on an electronic device.

That is unhappily pretty true.  But there are lots of  "normal" people out there still.   Our club is using our Facebook Group Page and our web site, almost daily, to find them.  We've grown by about 30% in the two past years.  A lot of our new members are under 40, physically capable, and active in the work parts of our club.  

The electronic media do work for finding interested folks of ALL ages. 

[Lucky Lead Pepper]

6 hours ago, Slippery Stew said:

Several of you were asking about services for online payment and applications... I use Cognito Forms and Square for payment for The Bushwhack, South Carolina State.  Check out our website at scstatematch.com.  The website costs us nothing... it's a google site.  I simply pay for the name scstatematch through GODADDY.  A work in progress, of course, but we do online registration and payment... and allow the shooters to vote on 5 of the stages, sign up for RO training, and our monthly matches... all online. 

 

Our gun club, Belton Gun Club, even uses Cognito forms for raffles, new member sign up, match reports, and a few other things.

 

You do have a first rate website for the SC State match, I'm very impressed.  I will be shooting the match this year and would love to talk about how you do it if you'll have a few minutes to spare.  I'm a big fan of paying match fees, dues, and other things online if at all possible.  I want to bring what you've done to the clubs in my area.

[Rye Miles #13621]

4 hours ago, Matthew Duncan said:

IMHO the majority aren’t lazy.  
 

I religiously balance by check book every month since 1970.  I did progress a bit when I converted my check book to computer plus it was cheaper () to print my own checks instead of buying them.  Times have changed and my ancient computer would no longer work with TurboTax, time for a new computer.  Check registry program was almost as old as dirt and wasn’t compatible with the new computer.  I asked the daughter what did she use.  She doesn’t have a checkbook!!!  She uses credit card for ALL purchases, CC rewards pays for the majority of their air flights and one monthly electronic payment pays off the CC.  
 

Our congregation is younger ( yes I’m one of the old ones) and they don’t have cash or a check book.  Offerings went up when the Church enabled tithing by CC.

 

I’ve come to the conclusion that no matter how hard us old timers fight it, things change and usually for the better.  We better adapt too or our time served in the nursing home will be really hard.

 

A smart phone, a card reader and service from one of the online providers is all that is needed to take CC at the range.  That will remove one obstacle to prevent the continuing decline of participation at SASS matches.  Hmmm…perhaps SASS would be willing to be the CC middleman?  Extra revenue for SASS and grow for the local clubs.

 

 

I don't know if you misunderstood what I said but I never said the majority is lazy. I was questioning some of the younger generation who's too lazy to write a check or don't know how. In that case they can get a money order from the bank or USPS and mail it in with the app.

[Griff]

Heck, even in the 1990's we had a website... maybe not as nice as others, but it contained needed information.  You gotta start somewhere!

[Creeker, SASS #43022]

1 hour ago, Rye Miles #13621 said:

I don't know if you misunderstood what I said but I never said the majority is lazy. I was questioning some of the younger generation who's too lazy to write a check or don't know how. In that case they can get a money order from the bank or USPS and mail it in with the app.

What does "lazy" have to do with using archaic and outdated methods?

 

Is a auto mechanic "lazy" because they no longer work on the boiler tank of your 1904 Stanley Steamer ?

 

Is the Dr. "lazy" because he no longer subscribes to the ritual sacrifice of a goat for your head cold?

 

Is your local movie theatre "lazy" because they don't have a piano player to entertain during the title cards of your black and white silent film?

 

Writing a paper check, stuffing it in an envelope, paying somebody to physically transport it across the country (hoping that it is not lost, mutilated or stolen) is an antiquated and ridiculous operation and will soon seem as out of date as blood letting.

[Sedalia Dave]

Again I ask what secure online payment service are these clubs to use and how much do they charge?

 

Don't criticize if you don't have a workable solution.

 

Again Paypal is a non-starter. 

[Cypress Sun]

1 hour ago, Creeker, SASS #43022 said:

What does "lazy" have to do with using archaic and outdated methods?

 

Is a auto mechanic "lazy" because they no longer work on the boiler tank of your 1904 Stanley Steamer ?

 

Is the Dr. "lazy" because he no longer subscribes to the ritual sacrifice of a goat for your head cold?

 

Is your local movie theatre "lazy" because they don't have a piano player to entertain during the title cards of your black and white silent film?

 

Writing a paper check, stuffing it in an envelope, paying somebody to physically transport it across the country (hoping that it is not lost, mutilated or stolen) is an antiquated and ridiculous operation and will soon seem as out of date as blood letting.

 

How ironic that using "archaic and outdated methods" to participate in a game in which it is mandated to use firearms/dress of a pre 1900 design is now frowned upon.

 

[Rip Snorter]

So many inconsequential modern things are banned at matches, why not cell phones.  Certainly not of the time and for many a major distraction / addiction.

[Larsen E. Pettifogger, SASS #32933]

Its 2024 is your club stuck in the 90’s?

 

Nope, most of our members are in their 80's.

[Cholla]

I like the ability to pay online. It's one less hurdle I have to overcome. It's a 25-minute drive to my mailbox and back. It's a 100-minute drive to the USPO and back. If I happen to be in town for work, it adds 15 minutes to run by the USPO. The same for a MO. As far as online payments, I believe Stripe and Square are two non-PayPal options.

[Creeker, SASS #43022]

1 hour ago, Cypress Sun said:

 

How ironic that using "archaic and outdated methods" to participate in a game in which it is mandated to use firearms/dress of a pre 1900 design is now frowned upon.

 

When you arrive by horseback without your eyeglasses, granola bars and heart meds - we can all acknowledge your dedication to the era.

 

But since you used the paved road to get there, GPS navigation to find the range and the internet to debate the topic - I don't see any moral conflict to using modern technology regarding registration or payment.

 

We are just PRETENDING to be old west cowboys - the Pony Express is long since deceased.

[Cypress Sun]

10 minutes ago, Creeker, SASS #43022 said:

When you arrive by horseback without your eyeglasses, granola bars and heart meds - we can all acknowledge your dedication to the era.

 

But since you used the paved road to get there, GPS navigation to find the range and the internet to debate the topic - I don't see any moral conflict to using modern technology regarding registration or payment.

 

We are just PRETENDING to be old west cowboys - the Pony Express is long since deceased.

 

Maybe so...but when you receive a package that you ordered via your cell phone, let me know how it got to your address without being shipped...maybe it just materialized out of your cell phone?

 

BTW - The Pony Express only lasted a year.

Edited March 19 by Cypress Sun

[Rye Miles #13621]

4 hours ago, Creeker, SASS #43022 said:

What does "lazy" have to do with using archaic and outdated methods?

 

Is a auto mechanic "lazy" because they no longer work on the boiler tank of your 1904 Stanley Steamer ?

 

Is the Dr. "lazy" because he no longer subscribes to the ritual sacrifice of a goat for your head cold?

 

Is your local movie theatre "lazy" because they don't have a piano player to entertain during the title cards of your black and white silent film?

 

Writing a paper check, stuffing it in an envelope, paying somebody to physically transport it across the country (hoping that it is not lost, mutilated or stolen) is an antiquated and ridiculous operation and will soon seem as out of date as blood letting.

Maybe but for now most all clubs do it this way, so I suggest the people that don’t like this method just suck it up for now and in the meantime try and help to modernize the clubs. This won’t happen overnight my friend .

Edited March 19 by Rye Miles #13621

[Creeker, SASS #43022]

2 hours ago, Cypress Sun said:

 

Maybe so...but when you receive a package that you ordered via your cell phone, let me know how it got to your address without being shipped...maybe it just materialized out of your cell phone?

 

BTW - The Pony Express only lasted a year.

Did I order something PHYSICAL?

Pretty sure we were discussing differing forms of written communication. 

 

Touting pen and paper applications, filling out a physical check (one easily lost, mutilated, altered or forged), or paying a fee for a money order, stuffing it into an envelope (which has yet another cost), paying still another fee (stamp) for transport and then waiting days for the package to arrive at its destination.

 

Or use electronic email and payment methods - instant, verifiable and secure.

 

Yes, we should definitely be insulting and dismissive of folks desiring to use the method of communication that is superior in every measurable metric.

[Cypress Sun]

 

6 hours ago, Creeker, SASS #43022 said:

Did I order something PHYSICAL?

Pretty sure we were discussing differing forms of written communication. 

 

Touting pen and paper applications, filling out a physical check (one easily lost, mutilated, altered or forged), or paying a fee for a money order, stuffing it into an envelope (which has yet another cost), paying still another fee (stamp) for transport and then waiting days for the package to arrive at its destination.

 

Or use electronic email and payment methods - instant, verifiable and secure.

 

Yes, we should definitely be insulting and dismissive of folks desiring to use the method of communication that is superior in every measurable metric.

 

Never mind, it's not worth the effort to try to discuss anything with you.