How to increase interest?

CBA Member

RicinYakima posted this 20 December 2025

Open it up to other classes is the easiest, Hunter Rifle and Military.

Cast bullet shooting is many times more complex and time consuming that jacketed bullet competition. Many just don't have or want to spend the time. Just my shooting buddy and myself left at our club/range, rest have all died of old age.

Sorry to be such a downer, but it is reality.

Attached Files

Liked by

CBA Regional Director

Tom Acheson posted this 20 December 2025

That is one difficult topic to tackle!

Assuming you are interested in CBA match shooting, the matches in our area have had the best "success" in recruiting new shooters by either word of mouth generated by existing shooters OR those shooters bringing someone new with them to a match.

I've run CBA matches since 1999 and in our club newsletter, I've run announcements saying people could shoot whatever gun and whatever ammo they desired. It was offered as an introduction to the match format, range commands and exposure to a variety of shooters, guns and loads. We are hoping that their experience inspires the person to keep interested.

Past President John Alexander has frequently explored other possibilities, but it is a tough nut to crack.

Tom

Attached Files

Liked by
and 2 others

CBA Member

Aaron posted this 20 December 2025

At what used to be my local gun club and range, a few of us attempted to get some CBA action going. Weekends were the best spot of course for any cast bullet shooting matches BUT the range went all black plastic and commando with their training and matches. When the young competitors show up with their $4,000 black AR style rifles wearing their "war belt" complete with smoke grenades and aircraft signalling devices, it's hard to even speak of cast bullets. It's a different generation now who all seem to be "operators" and commando wanna-be types. Very few of them have even served in the armed forces and those who have, were in non-combat roles. Those who have seen combat do not wish to "play" at combat any longer. So....the range is overflowing on the weekends with wanna-be commandos shooting their expensive black rifles and handguns. So be it.

Trying to lead by example when I could get a shooting position during the week days, elicited only some curious questions from fellow shooters trying desperately to sight in their hunting rifles or black rifles. When I would show them the 1866, 1873, 1886, 1885, or Sharps rifles with cast bullets and/or paper patched bullets, I would get the traditional eye roll and then the inevitable reply of "I don't want to lead my barrel." Off they walked back to throw more bullets downrange in a comical attempt to zero their firearm. After 20 very expensive rounds of ammo, they abandoned the attempt at any range over 25 yards. Such is the quality of the shooting skills I have witnessed from the general shooting public lately. Marksmanship is a thing for old people.

As Tom mentioned above, it is a very tough nut to crack now. The kids simply will not spend any time developing a skill set or applying themselves to a hobby. It is a shame to see it but that's the way it seems to be now. Coworkers have expressed interest after I bore them with pictures of glistening cast bullets but never actually visit to learn the art or watch it being done. They say they will, but the tractor pull holds more interest for them.

So while I am willing to organize cast bullet matches of any variety, the local venue is not willing to sacrifice the range space or range time to host it. Full Stop.

With rifle in hand, I confidently go forth into the darkness.

Attached Files

Liked by

Online CBA Member

pat i posted this 20 December 2025

³There was a time I worried about getting people involved with shooting in general and shooting cast bullets and the CBA in particular but now say the hell with it. Hopefully I stay healthy enough and laws don't take away my hobby so I can enjoy it for the rest of my life. It seems all younger people want to do nowadays is smoke pot and play with their phones. Only upside of that for me is most times when I go to the range I'm alone or another old timer or two are there to shoot the breeze with.

Attached Files

Liked by
and 2 others

CBA Member

.22-10-45 posted this 20 December 2025

Heck, at our club, just being a handloader is an oddity. Been a member since 1978 and have only seen two other rifle shooters using cast.

Attached Files

Liked by

CBA Member

Premod70 posted this 20 December 2025

I've heard it mentioned before as a conspiracy thought but just imagine if ammo sales in this country are brought to a standstill for the rifle shooters. That and jacketed bullets become gold overnight and all of a sudden the lead bullet game becomes the only game in town. Might be a way to increase the lead bullet match attendees. A pipedream I know but the current course of action is failing.

Dale Flinchum

Attached Files

CBA Regional Director

MarkinEllensburg posted this 20 December 2025

Ed, Ric gave excellent advice. I take it you are going to take over hosting the matches at Clark? Open up your traditional benchrest matches to military as well. That should get you the required number of shooters. I think it is very important that your matches get approved and posted on both our website and in TFS. Another drawing point is to make sure all match results are submitted for publication. Honestly those two items is how I started going to matches. After having years of knowledge of the CBA, it was the website and TFS that gave me the contacts for match directors.

I believe hunter rifle class is going to be the growth that brings in new shooters. Once they "master" that they may or may not move on to PBB or heavy, or even unlimited. Find one of Mike's emails that has the greatest number of recipients and make sure to send an email to all with your schedule. Personal invitations might help.

You might get a hold of Alan Richardson in Puyallup, Mike Duke in Spokane, and myself to bounce ideas back and forth. Spokane has been running at near bench capacity. Puyallup had a new shooter do some amazing shooting in military, that might have caused him to be hooked. Don't overlook calling President HIsle, his region has had excellent participation growth under his leadership.

Attached Files

Liked by

CBA Member

lotech posted this 21 December 2025

No ideas here at the moment, but other than myself, I don't know anyone at a large private gun club I've belonged to for more than fifteen years that casts bullets. A few must occasionally shoot them from the looks of the 25 yard berm on the pistol range, but the vast majority of the expended cast bullets appear to be mine. I'll bet it's no different on the other pistol and rifle ranges at our club.

Attached Files

Liked by

CBA Member

Eutectic posted this 21 December 2025

At our combat matches about one shooter in 4 was a reloader. But the reloaders all purchased bullets. They loaded to full velocity and most bought jacketed bullets. There was one shooter who shot store bought powder coated 9mm. I had an open invitation to learn how to cast and save half your ammo cost. Takers ZERO.

I was the ONLY one shooting a revolver at our combat matches. It was satisfying to beat over half the field shooting a S&W 45 ACP revolver. I wanted to get more revolver shooters, so I offered one of my revolvers at HALF its value. I included moon clips and 200 cast reloads for free. The only thing I asked was a promise to shoot it in the matches half the time. Takers ZERO. If it did not have a 13 round magazine interest was zilch. So much for getting a revolver class started.

I see a lot of shooters who spend $$$ on equipment and expect to start shooting master class scores. When this does not happen they loose interest. There are few willing to take the time and make the effort to learn to shoot a pistol or revolver.

Attached Files

Liked by
and 1 others

CBA Member

muley posted this 21 December 2025

the placing of ur old Fouling shot mag at the barber shop, the tire shop where u buy ur tires, and any sporting goods shop. This will get more exposure for the CBA. I found out about the CBA from a friend who found a Fouling Shot mag in a shop somewhere. Worth a try ???

Attached Files

Liked by
and 1 others

CBA Board

John Alexander posted this 21 December 2025

As somebody that has struggled with this issue since 2000 as either\ CBA VP or president I have learned a few things -- but apparently not enough.

Most of us here tend to think in terms of getting more people interested in match shooting. I have shot in CBA matches since 1977 and too am worried about the decline in match entries. but that isn't the most critical need. CBA has never had much more than about 20 percent of our members involved in matches. That has never been close to enough to pay for producing and mailing TFS and other unavoidable costs, so that it is critical that we maintain our membership numbers.

Approximately 80 percent of our dues paying members have little, or no, interest in competition but are providing most of the needed funding. Many of these have been loyal member for a long time and they have stayed for one reason - The Fouling Shot has been the best cast bullet magazine that covers all kinds of guns and all kinds of shooting. Whether we like it or not, our most important function is maintaining the quality of TFS if we want to stay in existence. If the CBA goes away the match programs go with it.

The FS has been diminishing in size if not quality for the last few years. (This has forced us to go from bimonthly to quarterly.) All of our authors have always been volunteer writers and Glenn is doing the same excellent job that he has been doing for approximately forever, but except for the articles he writes himself, he can't make a quality publication when no material is coming in. If you really want to help the CBA survive, write what you are doing with your CB shooting no matter what it is, and send it to Glenn.

A couple of other random thoughts.

Forget the young shooters and their ARs. There have never been more than a very few young members and those have almost always been family members. Cast bullet shooting in general does not appeal to young shooters. Incoming new members have always been mostly late middle age of older. I don't think that is going to change.

I don't think cost is a major reason keeping shooters out of CBA competition. Most shooters already have a rifle that could be competitive in Hunting Rifle or Production classes. Many match directors encourage unclassified shooters which can include jacketed bullets or even rimfires.

John

Attached Files

Liked by
and 1 others

CBA Member

Aaron posted this 21 December 2025

A tri-fold flyer that can be left in tire shops, barber shops, gun shops, and the like would be nice to have. The flyer can have details about the CBA, reasons to join the CBA, have a link to a copy of the Fouling Shot contained within it, and can be printable by members to distribute.

Will someone with experience using publishing software generate a flyer and place it on the web site so current members can print it off and distribute them while in our wanderings? The flyer could contain links to new member resources such as:

Free copy of the Fouling Shot
Membership registration
Link to current year matches
Link to the member forum
Link to a Social Media (Facebook) page if we have one

Including a few photos of members shooting, cast bullets produced, loaded ammunition containing cast bullets, hunting photos with cast bullets (PC hunting pictures of course, not blood and gore). Pointing out why cast bullets are useful such as cost savings, accuracy improvement, hobby time, historical education, period functionality in antique firearms or modern reproductions of the same, and development or nurturing of family bonding time while casting and/or shooting.

Providing a tri-fold flyer for us to print and distribute would cost nothing for the CBA to produce. Only a willing volunteer with the technical aptitude and software needed for its production is required. This would be a great task for a few of you old farts who love to ramble on endlessly on here about all manner of things.

A draft version of the pamphlet can be reviewed by the BoD or Pres or the Big Giant Head for approval and then posted on the Web page for downloading, printing and distribution. The pamphlet should be DATED and reviewed every year for content, updating, or improvement.

Along these same lines, our web page should have photo links to RECENT MATCHES, not ones from last century. Nothing says this club is dead like stale photo albums from 2006, 2007, 2015 and the like. Updating the photo Album section of the web page is long overdue don't you think? Allowing current MEMBERS to upload pictures of our casting prowess, or provide those photos to the webmaster for publication on the web page would be nice. Folks like images. Current images and web updates show we are active, not rocking our limited time away on the front porch.

There is my suggestion. A Tri-Fold pamphlet we can print off and distribute on a local level.

With rifle in hand, I confidently go forth into the darkness.

Attached Files

Liked by

CBA Board

John Alexander posted this 22 December 2025

Aaron,

Thanks for taking the time to think about this issue and the time to write. Also good pep talk.

Maybe I should mention some of the things that have been tried in past years to better frame the problem.

Board position for advertising Director. The Board twice allowed me to advertise for this position. We filled it both times with people seemingly knowledge about advertising and willing to make great promises. Actual work done. = 0.

Tri- fold fliers, twice. We printed and offered them at matches and urged that they be left at gun shops and gun shows. Very modest returns.

Signing bonuses. We offered free copies of Joe Brennen's first book once (Printing cost for this small book was about $3). This added a couple hundred members. At least one of the tri-folds offered a reduced first year's dues. The incentives helped when offered.

Printed " Why you should join the CBA cards" cards offering a first year discount, along with a holder for them to go on gun shop counters. This produced only a few new members.

Send personal letters to recently expired members inviting them back. We have done this on three occasions. All three produced a reasonable number of new members. The latest in 2022 and 2023 was the biggest with 1,460 personalized letters sent to all expired members in last six years. This produced 301 rejoined members. This is a very effective way to get expired members back but requires lots of work, something in short supply in an all volunteer organization.

Attached Files

Liked by
and 1 others

CBA Member

RicinYakima posted this 22 December 2025

While really big in the '80's and '90's, black powder rifle matches have been declining for years. It is the cast bullet and black powder type of CBA.

They have been having some success with 22 LR matches using old action types. We have two entries into this world, 22LR military training rifles and single shot 22 rifles. Guns and ammo are relatively inexpensive and common.

Just a thought.

Attached Files

CBA Member

sluggo posted this 22 December 2025

The only time I get a raised eye brow from the people shooting by me is when I am shooting an older style firearm. After getting asked about it I mention that my ammo costs about 1 tenth of what they are shooting because I cast my own bullets and handload. I think economics is still relevant. I am lucky that I can still shoot some tight groups so it might sell the idea.

Attached Files

CBA Member

Aaron posted this 22 December 2025

Thanks for the very informative reply John!

Maybe I should mention some of the things that have been tried in past years to better frame the problem.

Tri- fold fliers, twice. We printed and offered them at matches and urged that they be left at gun shops and gun shows. Very modest returns.

I suggest ALL Members should have access to a flyer via the CBA Web Site that can be printed and left at their LGS and other venues. That would increase the distribution I would think. I can seed 4 gun shops in my area, and at least 3 ranges. Can a flyer be included in a broadcast email to the membership which can be printed by us and dropped from airplanes? Join the CBA or else!

Send personal letters to recently expired members inviting them back. We have done this on three occasions. All three produced a reasonable number of new members. The latest in 2022 and 2023 was the biggest with 1,460 personalized letters sent to all expired members in last six years. This produced 301 rejoined members. This is a very effective way to get expired members back but requires lots of work, something in short supply in an all volunteer organization.

Can this process be automated to send an email to an expired member or soon to expire membership? Emails would be a lot cheaper than USPS postage and require zero time to process. I don't know if our CBA web software can handle this function but perhaps another application in use to track membership can?

Again...thanks for the informative reply and historical view of past methods. I recognize the status of our volunteer officers and the amount of work that goes into performing their roles with no compensation except personal gratification.

To all members....Merry Christmas! I always feel like a little kid again around this time. Three more days until I get my Eras Gone mold that I don't know anything about. hehehehehe

With rifle in hand, I confidently go forth into the darkness.

Attached Files

CBA Member

beagle6 posted this 22 December 2025

I think we concentrate too much on matches and competition. It isn't working.

Try economy and fun.

Take out a big ad in The American Rifleman.

beagle6

Attached Files

Liked by

CBA Member

muley posted this 22 December 2025

exposure to the mass public ???

Attached Files

CBA Member

lotech posted this 23 December 2025

Guys, you've mentioned some ideas; don't know whether or not they would work, but at least you're thinking and have come up with something. That's more than I've been able to do and your efforts are far better than giving up.

There used to be articles in all the gun magazines about casting and cast bullet shooting. I don't think I've seen such an article since Mike Venturino died a few year back. The last few he did were not his best efforts and contained nothing new but he was having serious health problems and I don't blame him for his lack of creativity. At least he was writing about cast bullets

Many of us were exposed to the handloading spinoff of cast bullets because of the many articles we read a long time ago. We'll likely see no more such articles.

I'm not a competitor and have no interest in becoming one, but as a member here off and on for decades, I've never thought there was too much emphasis on match shooting. That's just another facet of the cast bullet hobby and if people enjoy it that's great.

I truly wish I could offer ideas, but I have none, at least at the moment. Again, congratulations to those of you that are giving this serious thought.

Attached Files

CBA Member

Ken Campbell Iowa posted this 23 December 2025

hand-out-flyers ...

anybody can take a graphic file ... Word, Pagemaker ... etc. .... on a thumbdrive into a local Kinkos ... FedEX shipping office now ...

and run off a few hundred to distribute locally ...

this file or even many versions .. with black and white or $$ colored ... can be created by anybody so disposed ... then approved by CBA and e-mailed to interested parties to spread the word locally ...

not much cost to CBA and the versions could be tailored for local conditions for best effect.

***********************

heck, since things are a little slow here, how about we us here submit a few catchy flyer ideas even if not fleshed out fully ..

don't forget that free AI will help you out if you can grit your teeth with this new technology ... last week I asked for AI to create me a picture of a shepherd guarding his sheep with snowy mountains in the background ... 4 seconds later a great pic popped up in reply ... pretty scary, but

how about a flyer showing Trump " Making Cast Bullets Great Again " ...

or a pic of a member and his deer he harvested with cast bullets ..

... a Dad and his 8 year old son enjoying a casting session together ... maybe a target in the background ... or a pop can with a couple ragged holes through it ...

**************

c'mon guys, post here some starter ideas ...

ken

Attached Files

How to increase interest?

Categories

Search

Popular Tags

This Weeks High Earners

Hot Topics