I do to own an unmodified gun...an H&R .32 H&R someone gave me to get out of his house...it's too butt ugly to do anything to.
As one of the guys who helped start USPSA (I was present at the semi-legendary meeting at Thee Doll House in Orlando, FL, where the first USPSA bylaws were drawn up...my contribution? "More beer, por favor, and no, we can't afford a table dance"); as a graduate of the first test class of what would become the National Range Officer Institute; as the guy who wrote the "overtaken by events" first set of specs for what would become USPSA Limited Class; as one of Bill Wilson's original IDPA'ers (IDPA#00009); as one of people who helped popularize both the Scholastic Clays Target Program and the Great Outdoor Games for NSSF; as a guy who worked with USA Shooting, helped create the Ruger Rimfire Challenge, blah blah blah...I actually do understand competition, competition-specific guns, etc. I also know a hell of a lot about shooting competitions...including how they self-destruct.
Interestingly enough, they tend to self-destruct the same way (and maybe the same way most sports self-destruct)...they evolve toward their strongest shooters until, in essence, they become demo sports for a limited number of participants. That's where the unlimited classes of the various shooting sports are now...demos for a few amazingly talented individuals. Great for the guys; great for the increasingly fewer people who want to follow in their footsteps. I can tell you from hard cold ratings experience that the larger body of shooters are not interested in the slightest.
Reinvention is necessary for sports to prosper...that's why there's lots of new shooters at USPSA matches with Glocks and plastic holsters. The sport is reinventing itself.
A while back I figured out that just because I like it doesn't mean everyone likes it. I collect custom guns, mostly single action Rugers and 1911s. I think they're endlessly fascinating...I suspect you don't. I could create a 2-gun sport, for example, that with careful course design and equipment specification would require you to have $5000 worth of Hamilton Bowen or Dave Clement Ruger and $5000 worth of Les Baer 1911 if you wanted to do more than that just be a placeholder (think) "The Masters" competition. Such a sport is not going anywhere.
Also, remember that perception is for the most part reality...if you're a Bianchi Cup fanatic, you might look at the barricade "wings" as a clever technological solution to a stated problem...a portion of people might look at the barricade wings and think, "cheaters." The larger body of shooters looks at the barricade wings and shrugs, because it simply doesn't touch their reality of what a firearm is or is used for.
So, let's pretend you're me and you have access to the following facts:
• 85% of the guns sold in an average year are sold for either concealed carry or home self-defense.
• Self-defense training shows pull large ratings
• Your highest rated shows are Knob Creek
• Your lowest rated shows are the traditional competitions
• Your VERY lowest rated shows involve competition-specific "raceguns"
• Your sponsors have no interest in raceguns and are quite vocal about it
• You get lots of hostile emails when you run a competition show
• You have to be aware of your competitors and how they are programming
• Your bosses will not hesitate to cancel your shows or even fire you if your ratings drops
However, you also believe the following (sometimes contradictory) things are also true:
• Competition is an important part of shooting and must have a place on television
• It is in the best interest of the gun culture to crete sports' "heroes"
• The people who pay the freight, the sponsors, have a legitimate right for input into the editorial process
• You are a committed member of the gun culture — not a carpetbagger looking to make a few bucks — and that commitment affects your programming
• You are a competitor yourself
So the game is how do you create programing that on a given day hits a majority the buttons you want to push? Which babies do you choose to throw off the lifeboat?
Strangely enough, making one decision often trips a long line of dominoes that goes someplace else entirely. Example...when I made the decision to toss the racegun baby off the lifeboat, I got to thinking about what the next evolutionary step for defensive handguns mights. As is typical, I bounce stuff off Marshal Halloway first, then the "usual suspects" — a group of firearms industry insiders whose opinions I unconditionally trust and who are unconditionally willing to call B-S on me if they think I'm off the reservation. That's how come, BTW, I'm now thinking about an episode on small red dot optics of the "Doktor" style on self-defense pistols...
And then, of course, I bounce it off you guys and see what the reaction looks like!
Thanks...I think!
Michael B
MBTV
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