How Many Club Members?

[Candle Snuffer]

Just wondering how many members our home club's have?

Our White River Brigade has 21 members, 9 of which we know will be at each monthly shoot, while the others are sporatic.  I guess this isn't to bad considering the area and population of the area in which our club is located.  Way more cows then people.

How about your club?

[chapmans]

  I belong to several clubs and don't know the number of members but the list of ACTIVE members is very short, there is a small percentage of the members doing a large percentage of the work. As far as the number of shooters goes I would say we average around 12 per shoot, some shoots less and some shoots more. I could attend a shoot every weekend at 4 different clubs within an hours drive but I have to work every other weekend so I can only attend 2 a month and when I get a month with 5 Sundays then I get to switch to the other 2.
  Another thing is the age of the shooters, I don't think we have any regular shooters under the age of 50 and  I think over half of them are over 60 I have tried a lot of different things to get more shooters to come, including 2 different classes of shooters, but we still usually end up with the same old bunch.
   We did have a great shoot yesterday, the weather was perfect and we had a cook out with lots of great food.
  Steve C.

[Daryl]

Not sure, but I think the local club has 300 to 500 memebers.  Many of our members are non-shooters, but join merely to support the gun club as well as many other non-profit clubs in the PG area.

[Roger Fisher]

Our ML club is a sub of the main rod & gun club.  Main club being a drinking/bar club and most of those members never even saw our range (in hilltop) nor are they any sort of 'riflemen'.....Nor do they give a hoot about ML..  Main club has something like 1100 members and they fight like $#*! when dues go up a few bucks. etc etc.

ML club has 34 members most show up at shoots our shoots are open shoots in which the shooters need not be members to shoot.   

Other clubs to which I am a member (2) have about the same number of members as far as I know!

[Candle Snuffer]

Interesting posts.  Our White River Brigade is the traditional muzzle loading division of Northwest Nebraska Shooters' who include all the members of which I was told last was right around 130 members.

Now as far as those that don't shoot traditional style muzzle loaders, the other division's of NW Nebraska Shooters' do nothing.  They have the capability with the ranges set on 37 acres to hold trap shoots and high power rifle and modern pistol matches, but they don't.  No one is stepping up to organize those matches.

However, us muzzle loaders although small in number have only missed putting on one match that was scheduled as the weather was just awful.  We figure that's not to bad for a seven year old club.

Fact is, the White River Brigade members could probably take over the leadership of NW Nebraska Shooters', but that is not our interest.  We stay within our muzzle loading interest and get it done.

Thanks for the comments so far.  

[Ephraim]

We have 6 members. I live on a shooting range and we have a blackpowder shoot the 2nd sat of every mo. We are close to the Big South Fork. and can trek and hunt in the same woods that Daniel Boone hunted and treked.
Ephraim

[david50]

wish there was a club around here to join, dont even know another soul that shoots muzzleloaders.

[490roundball]

we have about 100 members,  maybe half are active in camping and rondevous but fewer and fewer each year care to shoot.  When I joined we had a monthly shoot and would draw 20 or more shooters on a good day.  Now we schedule just a few shoots a year and many have just a couple or sometimes one show up.  We have tried several things to boost attendence but few seem to still have an interest. 

Rick

[wpalongrifle]

our main club has 400-500 members, but the muzz. range has only 8. most people attending our monthly shoots are non-members of any blackpowder clubs or  guys from other local rifle clubs. we average
10-15 shooters, with the fall/winter events being the most attended. too many honey do lists during the summer. if you have any idea how to get more shooters out shooting, i'd like to know. seems like where
in a recession both economical and parcipation

[Hank*in*WV]

We have about 65 members and used to get between 15 and 25 shooters each month. The last few years we are down to 5 to 10 per shoot. Don't know why.

[Roger Fisher]

We have about 65 members and used to get between 15 and 25 shooters each month. The last few years we are down to 5 to 10 per shoot. Don't know why.

Well have you noticed that the shooters are all getting quite long in the tooth and darn few new young shooters coming in.  It's the @!*% in-lines mainly.
We have noticed more than a couple old shooters that left the game are coming back shooting again.  Do you think that contacting some of your 'usta be shooters' might get some back into the game?  Might help!

[smokinbuck]

I belong to 2 ML clubs. One is devoted to shooting traditional ML's, OHIO VALLEY MUZZLELOADING GUN CLUB,  and has 40+ members throughout central Ohio. Our home rangs is in Centerburg, Ohio at the Centerburg Conservation Club. The other is the ASSOCIATION OF OHIO LONGRIFLE COLLECTORS and is devoted primarily to the study and collecting of Ohio made ML's. We are based in Marietta, Ohio at the Laffayette Hotel and hold 2 meetings, and shows, a year. This club boasts a membership of 275+ members scattered across the country. Each August we hold a shoot for pre 1898 Ohio made longrifles at the Centerburg range. Contact me if either club interests you.
Mark

[Candle Snuffer]

I don't know if it would help or not Hank, but here in our little community I turn in the scores from our monthly shoots to the local newspaper and the editor is real good about giving us some space with a little write up I prepare each month.  

I also make sure that the members of the muzzle loading arm of our club gets the results in a newsletter, and I put some extra copies of that same monthly newsletter on the counter where I work each month.  Keeping those informed who support what we're doing along with letting others know (through those free counter top newletters) has in its own way helped our cause I believe.

We may not get a lot of folks out to each shoot, but at time a few different faces will show up off and on and take part, then disappear for a  month or two and come back for a shoot or two and so on.

I do believe that any club/organization must continue to sell itself and what they offer to be successful.  I also believe that since many of us are in our 50's and 60's and a few of our members real close to 70, it helps to give all of us a reasonalbe target to shoot at where everyone has a chance at obtaining a good score.  

I also mix this in with allowing any shooter who wants to take a knee for the 50 yard matches to go ahead and take that knee and give themself a sturdier platform in which to shoot their target from that they may otherwise find more difficult shooting offhand.  They seem to like this a whole lot, and they leave with a good feeling about their shooting that day.

The more serious shooters who compete at State and National levels, (such as myself who enjoys State level competition even at the age of 52) I / we, don't mind these different rules.  We just keep trying and doing until we find some things most everyone seems to enjoy and that seems to keep the regulars coming back along with a few sporadic shooters.

Hopes this helps and makes sense.

 

[Edd]

Our club has about 12 members. All members are active when planning and conducting a  major shoot (two big shoots each year).  Every member has a role to play and each does it without complaint.

Our monthly, club day, doesn't draw but about six members each time. I mostly blame the cost of gasoline, since we are in a remote location and traveling figures in.

We are not drawing young folks to our club for some reason. The only newcomer is a twenty year old, young lady, who indicates quite a lot of shooting talent. Her desire to shoot is going to be with her for a long time...

Edd

[Kingsman06]

I wish I had a club here.  There is no one in the area even shooting black powder, most are in to shooting black rifles.

[timM]

My local club has about 400 members. I would estimate about 100 of which are active. Maybe another 100 occasional shooters and I guess the rest are motivated to just support the club with dues.

Among other things my club sponsors a black powder match every month. tim

[Candle Snuffer]

I wish I had a club here.  There is no one in the area even shooting black powder, most are in to shooting black rifles.

Have you checked with an NMLRA Field Rep in your area to see if there is a club within reasonable distance that does hold muzzle loading shoots? 

Just a thought.

[Kingsman06]

Joe,

I tried that when I retired and returned home. 

The closest field rep is 2.5 hours away and the closest semi-active club is 1.45 hours.  Make it a two way trip and the gas cost is to much for casual shooting. 

I still get out a little, but was used to shooting every weekend.  That was in the Hampton, VA area at a private club.  I retire to a rural area and have a hard time finding a place to shoot, much less a club, go figure.

Dave Z

[Candle Snuffer]

Dave,

If you could find that place to shoot, there is always the NMLRA postal matches, both monthly and an annual National Postal Match. 

It helps to keep folks connected with the organization and it gives us who live in the middle of nowhere (like me and others) a chance to compete with NMLRA members.  The entry fees also go for a good cause.  The youth program.

Hope something pans out for you my friend.

[SPletcher]

Our club has 18 members, half show up on a regular basis at our monthly shoots and the public makes up the rest.

We are getting 15-20 per month this year, attendance is up for us

Steve

[Frank]

Harrisburg Hunters and Anglers, over 3000 members.

[Roger Fisher]

Harrisburg Hunters and Anglers, over 3000 members.

I must say this club has a great layout !

[doug]

Nanaimo Fish & Game has roughly 670 memberships or something  over 1100 members (think family memberships).  Of those, there are around 15 or 16 of us in the black powder section.  We have just recently started a web page at www.nanaimofishandgame.com

cheers Doug

[Osprey]

I joined our local club last year, Choptank Muzzeloaders.  Not sure about total #'s, but at monthly shoots there will be 10-20 people, depending on the shoot style for that month.  Around 30 at the annual banquet.  Most are older, a few of us in the 30-40 range, and normally 1-2 young kids/teenagers at shoots.  About an hour and a quarter drive for me to the club range, I make about 6 shoots during the year.

[Frank]

Harrisburg Hunters and Anglers, over 3000 members.

I must say this club has a great layout !

Probably the best in the state.