Something to Think about............. Question!

You are quite right, Bill, FT in the US is not going well.

AND, I can tell you from solid numbers from all around the world, that it is happening everywhere.
The UK's attendance is down (substantially).
Eastern Europe's (From Austria/Germany towards the East, and that means some of the strongest contingents ever: Estonia, Lithuania, Hungary, Bulgaria, etc.) attendance is ALSO down (again, substantially)
Western Europe has never been really strong, France, Italy, Portugal, Spain, they have all had a few Clubs (3 to 7 by country), and shown good performance at individual levels, but after Germany's 2013 WFTC's, the Western European teams have been somewhat lagging. And attendance has been going down in general terms.

In the Americas, Brazil is growing a little, Uruguay has always had a strong core, single club/organization, Chile dropped off the FT map after New Zealand's WFTC's Argentina has a some shooters, but not even a strong core. The rest of the South American countries are non participants in the FT scene.

Far East, is also absent. And South Africa is the only strong participant from the African continent.

Australian teams have been "fortified" by the "talent drain" from South Africa, and they do have a few Clubs, New Zealand is experiencing a slow/small re-birth of the sport.

So, there you have it. It is not only the US.

In Spanish we say "Mal de muchos, consuelo de tontos" meaning that a "General grief is a fool's respite/consolation" but we cannot extricate ourselves from a world that is being upended and changed in ways we still cannot fully grasp.

Having said all that, there are "sparks of light", for example: Pyramyd Air Cup this month, gathered 121 inscriptions, of which, about 110 shooters showed up  and 103 finished the two day matches. The Spring Classic will be resurrected next year in April. And I am sure there will be other opportunities.

Having the Nationals close to the PAC is something that, perhaps needs to be re-thought.

AND the Hunter Division is still the largest component. WFTF Division has grown, but it will never be the "locomotive" of the sport.

One thing I have learned in the past year, after making a concentrated effort to bring/bring back two shooters into the sport is that the ONLY way to grow the sport is by creating a "Tutor/Apprentice" relationship with the newbies.
FT is a COMPLEX and TECHNICAL sport. It's not easy, AND this idea that Matches should be "hard" only puts a barrier to many that, not only are not competitive, but dislike the idea of showing themselves off in a scores table.

Add to that the large work load of setting up and cleaning out the courses, and it adds to a complex environment where it is difficult to grow.

The other aspect is that with the advent of larger and more powerful airguns, PLUS the improvements in pellets' designs and performance, the Long Range / Extreme / High Power version of the sport is growing, outside AAFTA.

Still another aspect is that the "Entry Ticket" for FT has been going up SUBSTANTIALLY. What started in an English Pub many years ago with standard sporter/hunting rifles in the £200 has evolved into a sport where you can be shooting $7 to $10,000  worth of equipment.
Hard to convince someone to TRY a sport where the end game is spending that much money.
AND where the rules make it impossible to adopt new technologies that would lower that cost substantially.

What is in the Future?

In my own very personal and honest opinion:

1.- We need to promote not only "AAFTA sanctioned Matches" AAFTA needs to follow the Palmyra example of smaller "pills" to digest, with simpler courses, and the possibility of shooting all day. Yes, the current rules only need ONE sanctioned Match a year for a Club to be "in good standing", but I do not hear or see AAFTA doing a promotional effort to make more "informal matches" available.
AND they ARE important. How else are most shooter going to learn? Can everyone have a course in his backyard? Hardly! Can everyone learn from the miss in one target to improve for the rest of the shoot? Hardly. Most of us need the possibility of going back to those lanes/targets we missed and miss again a few times to actually "get" the best way of tackling that specific setup. It may be the wind, the light, the angle of the floor, the tree that is obstructing half the gate, or any other number of reasons that we need to reconcile with in order to LEARN HOW to shoot under that specific set of circumstances.
THAT is how humans learn, from the easy to the hard and then to the medium difficulty in order to move into the next hard challenge.

2.- We also need to promote permanent practice courses. It is an almost general rule: The best shooters come from Clubs that KEEP a permanent practice/training course. We do need to find an economic and viable way to do that, and then suggest to the Clubs ways to achieve that.

3.- We need to get a set of SIMPLE rules for the Long Range game. THIS should be the game that attracts those that shoot PRS, PRL, ARS, etc. into the  FT modality.

4.- We need to better explain how hard and challenging is FT. People think it is easy because good shooters MAKE IT LOOK EASY. Once a newbie tries it, and fails, it's "game over".

5.- We need to devise a TRULY entry class level Division, something that allows most parents to accompany and shoot with their kids in a fun and entertaining way while at the same time developing the marksmanship skills that will be useful later, not only in an FT environment, but in ANY shooting environment.

6.- We need to coordinate better with the Industry. At present, we only request donations and sponsorships, but we do need to be of VALUE to the industry. As FT shooters, we demand a lot from our equipment, and not every maker/manufacturer wants to have a "Formula 1 racecar" flagship product in its lineup, but for those that DO want, we can provide a huge pool of resources for evaluation and feedback. Sure some shooters are already doing that; an organized approach would make the AAFTA more relevant.

7.- We need to review the GP and settle the circuit. From having a lack of GP's, we now have an excess where no one can go to all of them, and not all of them are held to the same standards. When something becomes so prevalent and complicated, it loses relevance and importance.

8.- I THINK that we, Americans, have enough long weekends, that we COULD implement 3 day shoots. Not only are they great training and good opportunities to extend the camaraderie, they are also better suited to welcome the Industry's efforts. Currently, the GP's are, anyway, 3 day shoots if they hold a pistol/offhand match. It's just that we do not take advantage of the whole thing in an organic way.

9.- AAFTA needs to implement a "proper/self owned" forum. Somewhere that can be used to communicate initiatives, AND receive feedback from the shooters.
Not that the feedback is a vote or a poll, we simply need to accept that the MD's/Club Reps have enough in their lives to add more to their workload.
Soliciting opinions from all the constituents of each club is a huge initiative and, frankly, outside the scope of most MD's/Club Reps 
I do NOT think that AAFTA should become a shooter based organization for the time being, we just need to ensure that the "end users" also have a voice (if not a vote), in the general aspects of rule making and general orientation.

10.- I don't think we ever hoped WFTF Division to be the MAIN branch for growth. We hoped it would give the sport more "visibility" and, perhaps more "luster" within the shooting community, but I have always thought that Hunter Division is the more natural/appropriate Division for the US's gun culture and way of life.
That we need to review/add something for "entry/sporter" level is a different thing.
AND that, if we DO get good results at World's levels, we should make a concerted and official effort to promote the KNOWLEDGE of those results among the shooting sports advocates and organizations.

To close, I emphasize that this is my personal opinion, and YMMV.

Keep well and shoot straight!

HM

@hector_j_medina_g You make some good points Hector and I agree with most of them. Getting all the resources, tools, and as necessaries together would be the difficult part. Didn't realize most of the FT world were suffering too. The future of American Field Target has been looking gloomy to me all season.

Hope I see you in Rockville next week end.

Bill   

Hector, you are right about the investment in time and money for a club to host and set up a match.  There aren't that many clubs that have the $$$ to purchase and store the targets let alone find enough volunteers to help.  Equipment?  The number of good .177 caliber <20 fpe rifles on the market are drying up and/or are getting too expensive.  The manufacturers are concentrating on high power stuff that can shoot heavy slugs at long ranges and shooters are being lured into RMAC, EBR, and Pyramyd Cup for the money and recognition.  I'm glad to see my old club, RFG, having good success with their matches.  Maybe it's because they are in a more urban area where shooting opportunities are limited.  Out here in the Midwest, everyone is a deer hunter and couldn't care less about airguns, but I have fun outshooting the guys with big buck PRS rifles.

"9.- AAFTA needs to implement a "proper/self owned" forum. Somewhere that can be used to communicate initiatives, AND receive feedback from the shooters."

This should be a priority. Not facebook or instagram etc, but a true forum setup with sub groups for all phases of the game. 

There is https://www.aafta.org/ but it has no discussion channels.  

"Out here in the Midwest, everyone is a deer hunter and couldn't care less about airguns"

yea I get a lot of that same attitude here in Montana ("Whatchu shooting that bb gun for boy, get a real gun...."... that's a quote...)..... here I can shoot 50 BMG, own a full auto something, and a few place can tolerate 1 mile shots.  Cowboy action shooting, IDPA, IPSC, NRL/NRL22, PRS are all either at most ranges in the state or relatively (at least by Montana standards) close by. There's even a "Quigley" style match with Sharps type rifles...... Those disciplines are hard to compete with, for many reasons.

@dan_house I personally think we need to be more inclusive. Some of the Hunter shooters are giving up because of the force positions we force on all shooters. I would bet 10 to 20% of our hunter class either can't get up and down well or just can't hold their position well enough to get of a scoring shot. I thinking next year I might offer an Senior Hunter class. Anyone 55 or over can use a bucket to shoot their kneeling shots. Shooting off a 12" bucket with the arm supporting the rifle elbow on ones knee is very doable. Getting back up is much easier also. For standing I'm thinking shooting of the same bucket off hand could be more successful than standing on your feet and wobbling like a fried fritter.

Over the years I have heard a lot of complaints from our older shooters about the positionals and maybe it's time to try to accommodate them into their own class. That might keep a few around longer.  The Hunter PCP class would be the only class big enough to fit a new class.

If we don't try something on our own no one else will do it. Around 2017 -2018 we had an OK from AFFTA to try the unlimited class. Frankly many on this forum were in favor of it. It actually went very well that first year but that is all that became of it. It is still hanging around at some clubs but just barely. These gentlemen that competed discovered they were not able to compete at GP's and Nationals and many were turned off. 

The future of this game is losing its appeal. Trying something is better than standing by and doing nothing.  

I remember the OK for a test run of the Unlimited class... Kinda remember why it didnt catch on, but not important for this discussion....

Inclusive? absolutely. If it means bending/changing/evolving the rules (either at the AAFTA level or local matches) to keep shooters in the game then it -or something-needs to happen. We cant be so rigid it runs people off.... this is supposed to be fun (and educational).

Love the bucket for 55 and over (although for me, it's easier to get up off the ground, than off the bucket, and may have just thought of a way to correct that...), so yes please do try it next season. Maybe the results from that will encourage MD's to think/rethink what can be done to retain shooters, and use that info to lean on the BoG to make accommodations at a "rules" level.  

@dan_house Dan, Thanks for the encouragement. We have got to do something to make FT more attractive or at least hold on to those older dogs that like the game that growing older is slowly handicapping. We have always been a majority of older dogs in AFFTA. I remember the first 8 or 10 years of this journey AFFTA use to give out at the Nationals a high senior award, high womens award. Those achievement awards don't exist anymore. Tied scores were shot off which years back we use to claim we enjoyed watching. Now up this way the tie breaker is decided by whoever knocked the most targets on the standing lane. If someone comes up with a small adjustment in their shooting method or equipment all it takes is one whine and it is not allowed. Overall, the game changes just like life itself sometimes for the better but not always.

I'm certain equipment costs to stay competitive is another factor that turns newbies off. Years back the good old M-Rod tuned did very well. The better the equipment the more difficult the match. I'm gulity of that and thinking maybe we have carried this issue too far. I have always believed to compete at the highest level you have to practice on high Troyer's as you would at a National event. Maybe this is a negative for attracting new shooters as Hector mentioned in his comments. Some shooters enjoy the challenge but likely more enjoy knocking down a few more targets. There is an easy remedy for this that would take a few more targets and a little more time setting up the course. Likely not one that match workers would like. 

Rather than start another post I will continue this one:

Here is a thought: If we had three set of Targets for each of 15 lanes. The first class the easiest at max 30 yards with 1.5 inch Kill zones. All shots under 20 yards have 1" Kill zones. This class could be called Novice for new shooters. All targets colored Gray with white KZ's. 

The 2nd Class maybe called Middle class. Targets set at max 45 yards with 1.5 inch KZ's. Shots under 35 yards have 1" KZ's.  Targets under 25 yards have 3/4" KZ's. This class is the middle class for shooters with mediocre experience.  Target could be painted  Black with Orange KZ's.  

Third Class we call it the Master Class seeing to get here you must have mastered the lower 2 classes or grandfathered into it by previous Field Target experience. Targets out to 55 yards with KZ's at 1.5 inches, Targets 45 yards down to 30 yards have 1" KZ's. All Targets under 30 yards have 1/2" KZ's. Targets could be painted blue with orange or yellow KZ,s. 

Each of the three classes all shoot together as best we can make that happen on attendance mix. This will allow the new shooters to learn from the two upper classes. Hold the classes for one season or year. Those that have attained at least 75% of target dropped at least 3 times get promoted to the next upper class. Obviously the master class has no where to go but maybe to the Nationals.

With 15 lanes all would shoot 30 shots for a possible 10 for dropping each target for a possible 300 Total. When I first started this game in 2006 we were all shooting about 40 Targets max at our FT matches. I don't remember exactly when it changed to 60 but the fun factor for me was there when I first began shooting 40 targets. If we wanted to shoot 60 targets we could change partners and continue to shoot the same 30 again. First time 30 targets $10 and 2nd 30 $5 more.

Note: Nothing here is set in stone but the concept of shooting against peers and learning the game is apparent. After the shoot off's for all the classes is over with shooting 30 targets. We will still get out early enough to beat some of the traffic jams.  This is meant for club shoots to promote Field Target and to hold on to the faithful.    

@bill_day Interesting ideas but the cost of purchasing targets for even established clubs is an obstacle. Who is going to pay for all these new standardized size targets? Match fees even for a year won't cover it. At DIFTA we have a large number of 1.5" targets, but far fewer 0.5" and currently would not be able to setup 10 lanes with 0.5".

@mlmayer Like I mentioned my thoughts are not in stone. You could have a 10 lane game if targets were a problem. This was proposed only to be a club shoot to bring all levels of experience together. Just a thought to bridge our dwindling match attendance. Otherwise Ft might go the way of the dino. Long range BR for $$$ is doing pretty well and likely helping draining our pool. Maybe FT was designed to be a stepping stone for airguns. The industry seems to be going in that direction.

Up here in Canada, we created a "Modified Class" under the Open Division.  Keep in mind that our Open is much more open than in the US.  Harnesses can be used when sitting, but in addition, range finders, stools and bipods can be used as well.  The modified open pcp and piston simply allows those unable to do discipline lanes to just shoot those lanes from their preferred position.  They are scored in their own class and not compared to the regular Hunter, Open and WFTF Division classes.  The only couse change that could occur is to have two sets of targets on the discipline lanes, the one for the modified class being a different colour and more difficult.

The idea is to allow those who are typically older to continue enjoying the sport.  So far it seems to be working and match attendance at the two clubs in South Central Ontario is growing. Disability is fairly straight forward and they are welcome in the modified classes as well.

As a complete aside, I alway raise an eyebrow when someone includes 55 year old folk as candidates for a modified division.  I didn't start field target until I was 50 and still refuse to be put in any modified class.  Shooting the veteran class at the worlds is the only age defined class I will shoot in, since it is defined by age. 

Really if a club has only 30 to 40 targets now would only need to add about 10 to 15 more targets for a 15 lane event. Maybe AFFTA could help these clubs out. No harm in asking. You could just buy extra's as you go. I had just turned 59 when I shot my first FT match. Would like to shoot at least a couple more years. It is getting harder and driving hundreds of miles gets harder and harder. A couple hundred one way miles is about the extent by body works with me. More than that my hands fall a sleep and back pain sets in. In my 60's i thought nothing about driving alone to Tenn, Texas, New Orleans, Texas or Ohio but not now alone.

Dwindling numbers is not exclusive to the Field Target game, it is nearly all traditional shooting games that have lower numbers.  The anti-gun culture that has been pressed over the years is part of it, but add to it that the technically challenging games are the ones that are dying or dead - like silhouette, an offhand shooting game, has been generally dead for over 30 years. The High Power rifle game, which is position shooting with AR15, is also seeing fewer participants over the years and the average age of the competitor is increasing every year.  There are very few young people entering the game, and a ton of old heads keeping it alive.  The Olympic style sports are similar too, if you weren't shooting 3p rifle in your youth, you are unlikely to start as an adult, the game requires too much effort to be good at it compared to other shooting games.

All shooting games have an expense to play them, and the reality is, most people can't or don't want to afford the equipment and time investment until they are set in life (mid 30s to mid 40s at the earliest). There is a large time investment when the closest place to play FT is a 2 hour drive from home. 

The shooting games new people generally get into are the more dynamic games that have a lower marksmanship requirement.  Games like IDPSA/Action Handgun shooting, PRS/NRL, 3-gun, etc. games that favor speed as an element, and speed over accuracy.  Also, these games have a large national following and tend to have a large prize pool of money to give out to winners.  These games do not have a low cost of entry either. 

It's tough to get new people excited about a sport that gets no news coverage, and when it does, it's either showing someone with $10K in equipment or an old guy sitting on a bucket.  The new shooters are generally of retired age, because FT is a slower game than the dynamic games that seem to interest the young people.  At our club, our new FT shooters tend to be shooters that retired from some other shooting game mostly due to their now limited mobility.  It's fine that new shooters are older people, but we also want new shooters that are young people. 

Also consider very few gun owners choose to participate in any kind of competition, even if the scores won't be recorded.  We have about 3500 club members, and of those, maybe 200 competitors across all games (archery, rifle, pistol, shotgun), not counting the competitors in youth programs.

Time is a consideration. If the closest place to play FT is 2 hours away, many aren't willing to make that commitment. I also say, if someone says "I wish there were a closer place to play FT", I say "be the one to start FT at your local club".  

There are comments that long range BR is doing well.  I think this is a false statement.  There are waaaayyy more FT events and competitors than there are 100yd BR matches.  The perception that it does well is because that's what the news covers, and it gets covered because there are large prize pools.  The reality is there are a few BR shooters that attend the 4-ish events that occur per year, and only a few are capable of winning the prize money.  Start giving $20K in prizes away for an FT match and you'll also get a bunch of people wanting to play.  Also consider there are many people shooting BR at the large events that only shoot BR because they are already there for another event.  Might as well buy into the BR lottery, it gives a chance to with the big prize. 

What might help grow the participation?  - some thoughts:

• Growing the sport might mean going to a PRS/NRL match and trying to draw comparisons to how FT is nearly the same thing but with less cardio, and selling those competitors on FT as another game to try. 
• Oddly, we have seen shotgun shooters show interest in airguns more so than other shooting sports.  So, talk to shotgun shooters too.
• Showcase younger people playing FT. 
• Avoid the forum conversations claiming the only way to win is to buy $10K in equipment to do so. 
• Understand that the hunter division is a good low cost way to enter the sport, and showcase the type of equipment that's reasonable to get started. This may mean shelving your Thomas and March scope in favor of a Notos and UTG scope to prove it is possible to do well with lesser equipment. 
• Set courses that have a general ease to them, yet still have a few challenging targets in the mix for the pros.  If your course average is a 36T, you are failing to grow interest in the sport.  A new shooter will want to see some success reflected on their score card.
• Be prepared to discuss how the cost of an airgun is like buying most of your ammo up front - an OK gun and air filling equipment isn't cheap, but neither is a $800 22LR that you will shoot $1500 of ammo out of each year. 
• The FT game is not featured in any video game on the market. Anyone interested or capable of making one or including it as a side quest in an existing game? 
• A banner ad on AGN might be useful, try to let airgunners know FT exists.
• Build a community of airgunners at your local club.  Have a weekly or bi-weekly practice where everyone gets together.  Make it a pot luck and have food available.  Invite others to join the fun to give airgun shooting a try.  Even if they aren't interested in FT, at least you have a new airgunner to spread the word. 
• Have days where you can invite the public out to shoot airguns.  Offer the chance to shoot affordable airguns in an FT like way and provide a gateway for those that are interested to come out an try the real game.

@dan_house 

Back in the day when I was the President of the Mexican Pneumatic Club, we had a forum under the DELPHI umbrella, that could be a free opportunity to explore.
DELPHI has been MUCH more reliable than any other platform over the years.
Just an idea.

THANKS for your comment!

HM

Thanks to all for the very good ideas.

Trying to summarize and put in concrete terms some of them:

a) "Open/Sr./OAP, or whatever you want to call it.- The WFTF approved an "open" class in Ireland where the shooters that cannot take the positionals, were allowed to shoot from the normal sitting position. Since the way AAFTA is built we have THREE DIVISIONS (one of which we have called "open" since time immemorial) and TWO Classes per division, we cannot call it "open", and adding a "section" would really mean adding a sub-class to each one, so let's call it the NP Section (Non-Positionals Section). I am sure that the Open PCP would have it (Open Piston has been dead for a few years now), the Hunters (both) would have it and the WFTF's could have it, mostly in the PCP class. That would add 4 different sets of scores that would need awards and keeping of stats.
That we need to FORMALLY offer it for the WFTF Division is clear, once the door is open, it cannot be shut. The question is whether we only offer it in the PCP classes of each one of the other divisions.

b) We need to remember that the Clubs have NOT exercised the freedoms given by the Handbook fully. Probably the only Club that does it to the fullest extent is Palmyra Sportsman's Association. I am not saying this in any demeaning way, it is just a statement of facts:
1.- Clubs need only ONE AAFTA sanctioned match per year, the rest of the shoots do not need to be necessarily AAFTA sanctioned events. ONLY ONE PER YEAR.
2.- In these "non-sanctioned" matches, MD's can do whatever they want. Experiment with whatever they feel is good for the sport. Whether it is a "Tyro/Shooter/Master" separation, shooting the course several times, or allowing shooters to go back and "extract revenge" (learning, really)  from some recalcitrant targets that refused to fall TWICE, or doing anything else that is conducive to the improvement of marksmanship, IS allowed. AAFTA cannot prohibit what is done in a non-sanctioned match.
3.- Perhaps we need a "Production" Class in all three divisions. Meaning rifles and scopes within a certain budget/MSRP, that would limit the "arms race". I know that the discussion to set the limit will be endless, but hopefully, with some leadership, and after hearing all the voices within a certain amount of time, a decision can be made and we can START with something concrete. As an Example ONLY: A D48 in 0.22 can be had for $450 "street price", $550 MSRP. And there are perfectly serviceable scopes in the $300 MSRP region. So an $850 limit could very well serve as the limit, even though you can spend considerably more than that. On the PCP side, the same limit would apply, as there are numerous offerings in the $200 to $500 region that are more than capable. To curtail the "Shaved Lions" from taking the field, a "must sell or forfeit" rule could be imposed. 
4.- A permanent setup/practice sessions are essential, and they do not need to be complicated. As long as there is a range, even a "bowling alley" type of setup is preferable to nothing.
5.- With more invitations, some "mentor/apprentice" relations need to be established.
6.- We ALL need to have a "Spiel" (an elevator speech) that we can present when discussing what we do for the weekends. We need to face the fact that WE ARE ALL ambassadors to the sport.

There are other worthy ideas that need a little bit more thought and preparation.

For the time being, I need to get ready for my Monday night indoor shoot.

Kee well and shoot straight!

HM

Up here we do not offer the modified class in WFTF or Hunter.  It is only an open subclass.  That only adds two groups of shooters and it is working well.  Modified PCP or Modified piston.  We have some shooting it sitting, some sitting with a harness, some on stools and shooting off a bipod, some using big scopes, some using lower powered scopes and a rangefinder, .... 

Fairly simple.