The location of the 2018 Lever Gun Nationals was the main topic at this year's competitors' meeting at the Whittington Center.

Jim Kidwell told us the location for next year's match has not been set and that the idea going around that the match will be in PA is just a rumor--a rumor that has come to be believed as a fact, which he said it is not.

Dr. Bennett, from the NRA and chairman of the Silhouette Committee, stated there is no staff presently handling the silhouette portion of the competition division. There is a part time person helping out, but no one permanent at this time. There is a new director for the Competition Division. Further, he said the NRA is going to analyze the best way to proceed with the Silhouette matches in the future. He indicated money is an issue and the NRA wants to do it in the most efficient way.

Both Jim Kidwell and Dr. Bennett said the silhouette committee reads every letter sent to them regarding the matches. They do this at their November meeting.

I have several friends I've shot with over the years that live in the Pa area and back east. I have attended matches both in Bradford and Ridgway. The facility at Ridgway cannot compare, in my opinion, with what the Whittington Center has to offer. I remember the first day of the matches this year when the Dan Macdonald, the rangemaster from Australia, stood in the tower just before the first relay and said, "Isn't this a beautiful place?" No one could disagree with that.

My wife and I have been attending matches at the Whittington Center since the early 90's. It is a place we just love to visit. If you've been there, you know what I mean.

There was a lot of discussion after the meeting about the lever gun matches remaining at Whittington. They have always been there. We had approx. 160 shooters this year. I don't think Ridgway, PA will draw that kind of crowd. If shooter numbers are important, then the match has to stay where it is.

If you shot at this year's Nationals, you received a form for shooter suggestions in your packet. It has the NRA Silhouette address on it, but here it is again:

NRA, Silhouette Dept.
11250 Waples Mill Road
Fairfax, VA 22030
Silhouette Committee

or

Email: [email protected]

Personally, I feel a written letter is the best. However you do it, if you feel the matches should stay at Whittington, write to the Silhouette Committee. Don't wait. Do it right now while it is fresh on your mind. Time has a habit of slipping away and we forget do things we intended to do until it is too late.

I imagine this letter will stir some controversy, but I can stand the heat.

WRITE THAT LETTER! PLEASE!

Jim Luke

We agree with you 100% Jim.

In Jim's original post, "stated there is no staff presently handling the silhouette portion of the competition division".
Just think about that with all the Nationals in many different divisions going on at this time of year.
Think of all the work that needs to be done as far as statistics, 10 in a rows, grand slams, long run records, tournament results and the support that people need all over the country running the matches.
A part time person cannot do all that needs to be done.

I agree with Jim Luke on this issue and have thought about it a LOT. Letters need o be written and phone calls made. We do/have and will continue.

One thing I firmly believe is that IF you haven't done anything to cure the problem you are complaining about , then you shouldn't complain.

Run a match, help run a match , recruit new shooters , write a letter..these are all things we can do to improve the sport.

atomicbrh wrote: Thu Jul 13, 2017 6:05 am In Jim's original post, "stated there is no staff presently handling the silhouette portion of the competition division".
Just think about that with all the Nationals in many different divisions going on at this time of year.
Think of all the work that needs to be done as far as statistics, 10 in a rows, grand slams, long run records, tournament results and the support that people need all over the country running the matches.
A part time person cannot do all that needs to be done.

All the matches running right now have been approved and planned months ago. Any match director worth the title will have ordered the row pins and other awards at the beginning of the year. Records set at a match and results are sent in on the forms by the match directors after the conclusion of the match.

Glenn Rings post is spot on.

My point exactly. Match directors send in completed long run forms, completed 10 in a row forms that lead to grand slams and completed highest record scores in regionals, nationals and state matches in each discipline.
So, who is there at the NRA to open this mail, place these statistics in the NRA records and send out the awards and letters to our dedicated competitors? The paperwork has got to be massive keeping long term records like that.
The Silhouette department is also continually accepting applications for new matches not just at the beginning of the year.

One big issue mentioned at the competitors' meeting at Whittington is that the person in charge of the silhouette dept refused to use a computer. This partly explains why it has been so difficult to get a response from them when you send in pertinent info. Regional scores, etc. sent to the NRA now must be lying dormant since there is no one in the dept to process the information. There seems to be an issue hiring personnel for these positions. As one shooter suggested, it could be the NRA is competing with the high salaries in DC. next door.

Case in point, at this year's lever gun nationals, the computer program for tabulating scores crashed and all scoring, breaking ties, shoot offs, etc. was done by hand, which took a lot of time. I'm not a computer expert, but there has to be a simple program available to handle this situation.
From the outside looking in, the problems in the silhouette dept could be solved with some ORGANIZATION. I know if I operated my small business like the NRA has run the Silhouette Dept, I would be out of business!

Jim Luke

The computer program most are using for the scores and tabulation is a simple excel program.
When they went in and cleaned house in the competitions dept, it will take some time to find replacements, and it will take awhile for those replacements to sort out the mess that was left them.
Patience.. Patience.