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Ramblings of a Field Target Junky

Give your dealer a hug...

2/19/2018

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If you're the addict, then I must be the dealer...
​I know, you travel to the match, pays your money, shoots your targets and leave. Please consider letting the match director know what you liked/disliked about the match and, PLEASE, stick around to help tear down or offer to help setup next time. It's typically only 15 minutes or your time. At least let them know that you appreciate the time that they put in to make each match possible.
Match Directors are a rare breed in that they work for no pay under horrible conditions and often purchase equipment and awards with their own money simply for the love of the sport. Their payback is the smile on your face, and that's enough for them.
When I first started I didn't give it much thought. Then, when I became a match director, I realized just how much work goes into a match and the amount of BS that they wade through each year. For a small monthly match there's at least a 3 hours setting up the targets and sight-in, more if you also have pistol matches. There may be more time before the match maintaining and painting the targets. And consider a grand-prix event. Setting up two rifle courses and a pistol course might be 6 hours or more, and then you have to repaint/maintain everything for the next day. And then you have ground maintenance. Some clubs operate under existing gun clubs that will typically maintain the grass lanes. But if there are woods courses then those are probably maintained by the Match Director. As an example, when we first set up our woods course we spent approximately 50 hours getting that course ready for the first grand-prix match. We thought the next year would be simple, just go in and trim the lanes. Unfortunately it was an extremely wet spring and when we finally got back there we couldn't see any lanes, so we went through another 50 hours getting the course ready again and having to move some of the lanes per the gun clubs request. This year we are determined to get back there ASAP and start mowing so we don't have to kill ourselves a third time.
If you have some extra money consider giving a donation to the match director. I just got my first donation last week and let me tell you I was extremely appreciative. And if you can't spare any money consider giving your time and you might even learn something in the process.
I get that you were winning until that target was DQd, but it probably wasn't anything the match director could control so just accept that as part of the game and DO NOT yell at the match director for this turn of events. And even if a target is set up incorrectly, a reducer beyond 45 yards (my mistake last year), or having a kneeling lane on a pistol course (my mistake last year) consider cutting them some slack. They're busting their ass trying to make sure that everything is ready to appear seamless to you. But take a moment to consider all of the time and effort that has gone into that particular course you shot and go up to the match director and their helpers and say "thanks for your had work and dedication". And if they're good lookin', like myself, give 'em a hug!
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