Why do all the Long Range matches......

[B Gordon]

If you offer the place, guys with experience will show up at the matches. It's quite feasible to PAY the top few place finishers, say 18% 16%, 14%, and pay 20th place 5%, a sort of "door prize. Just guarantee a $400 purse, at $20 per entry, and you'll get 15 guys, at the least. then all you have to do is WIN, and you'll be out no money. :-)

An extremely naive and flatly incorrect response.
I put on local tactical matches for two years at Red Castle and know for a fact that it takes a huge amount of work and money and time to set up and run even a small 20 person tactical rifle match. Even with the availability of a well maintained range facility, there are props & targets & course of fire to set up and test out. Unless you want to shoot exclusively at paper, there are steel targets to be located along with frames to be built that can withstand hundreds of hits from high power rounds without breaking.
The list goes on and on and on.
You have to come up with a course of fire that is interesting, challenging, and safe with appropriate safety zones for richochets. The course of fire for well trained experienced marksmen must be different than for a new person just getting in to the game unless you want the new guy to try it once and then give it up.
Test shoot the stages and decide on equitable scoring to ensure that equal difficulty accounts for an equal score.
You can't have the match participants setting up the course of fire and working out all the details because that advance knowledge gives a real big advantage.
Setting up a rifle match in open country pasture land is 10x more difficult than setting up a pistol or shotgun match.
Last year I helped set them up out in western OK as well as being range officer for some of the stages at the Heat Stroke Open so I have experience with both types of tactical rifle match formats.
Last but not least, as the Range Officer in charge of the match you are the ultimate safety officer and have to be hyper aware of what all the various participants are doing with their rifle. Unloaded, magazine out, bolt to the rear, pointed in a safe direction, no rounds "accidentally" discharged amongst the other shooters or over the hill where it could travel for miles and hit livestock or a person on the adjoining farm. Same concerns you have with a pistol match but magnified 10x due to the greater range and lethality contained within the rifle bullet.

 

[Brandi]

I'm always amazed and frustrated that Oklahoma, a state known worldwide for vast expanses of open prairie, flat lands and shooting heritage has virtually no opportunities for people to shoot long distance or even medium distance with the exception of a few member only clubs scattered around the state. Other states with similar geographies have far more facilities available for non-member only shooters. The OKC area shooters are handicapped by a lack of places to shoot short range to long range and it really just doesn't make any sense.

The state thought we needed a concrete canal through bricktown so surely somebody has the vision to see the need for shooting facilities. If anything it would reduce the amount of trash and illegal shooting around rivers and stuff if shooters had a better outlet. I've got several rifles that I've never had the opportunity to shoot past 30 yards at indoor ranges. I got to shoot my 6.5 Grendel past 30 yards for the first time last week because a friend who's a member at OKCGC brought me as a guest. I could see that if I lived in NYC instead of OKC but I don't.

I recently saw an ad for a long distance shoot and aside from the expense it sounded awesome until I read that, like always, it's being held in Oklahoma but all the way on the Texas state line....that's not feasible for the majority of citizens. OKC itself, being located in the center of the state and having a supply of perfect terrain that makes most states jealous would be a perfect place to build a world class shooting facility. After that building smaller but full featured ranges further out would be all that's needed to give everyone the opportunity to enjoy the sport and hold competitions that bring income into the area. Maybe I have to go to NYC to find a decent shooting facility open to the public...what a shame that is.

 

[HiredHand]

We really don't want the majority of citizens to be armed or be able to shoot accurately at long distances.

 

[MoBoost]

I'm always amazed and frustrated that Oklahoma, a state known worldwide for vast expanses of open prairie, flat lands and shooting heritage has virtually no opportunities for people to shoot long distance or even medium distance with the exception of a few member only clubs scattered around the state. Other states with similar geographies have far more facilities available for non-member only shooters. The OKC area shooters are handicapped by a lack of places to shoot short range to long range and it really just doesn't make any sense.

The state thought we needed a concrete canal through bricktown so surely somebody has the vision to see the need for shooting facilities. If anything it would reduce the amount of trash and illegal shooting around rivers and stuff if shooters had a better outlet. I've got several rifles that I've never had the opportunity to shoot past 30 yards at indoor ranges. I got to shoot my 6.5 Grendel past 30 yards for the first time last week because a friend who's a member at OKCGC brought me as a guest. I could see that if I lived in NYC instead of OKC but I don't.

I recently saw an ad for a long distance shoot and aside from the expense it sounded awesome until I read that, like always, it's being held in Oklahoma but all the way on the Texas state line....that's not feasible for the majority of citizens. OKC itself, being located in the center of the state and having a supply of perfect terrain that makes most states jealous would be a perfect place to build a world class shooting facility. After that building smaller but full featured ranges further out would be all that's needed to give everyone the opportunity to enjoy the sport and hold competitions that bring income into the area. Maybe I have to go to NYC to find a decent shooting facility open to the public...what a shame that is.

How to be nice about this .... if you are not willing to pay membership dues or pay for travel expenses - this is not a sport for you.

P.S. AFAIK all matches at OKCGC do NOT require a membership - just show-up and shoot.

 

[Brandi]

Doesn't do any good to attend matches if you can't practice anywhere.

That's a bit of an elitist attitude. There's no reason why we can't have long distance ranges open that don't require membership. Maybe you're confusing "open to public" with being free, that's not what I'm talking about. What I'm talking about are facilities open to anyone who wants to shoot, not a free range. I don't think any modern facility with the acreage needed and all of the upkeep necessary could operate without charging for use. There are plenty of people who enjoy shooting but would prefer to "pay to play" instead of a yearly membership. OKCGC has a nice setup and great for those who prefer to pay a single yearly large fee instead of smaller "per use" fee's. I've considered applying there several times but there should be an option for everyone. OKCGC only has a certain number of slots open each time they accept new members which iirc is twice a year so that leaves a lot of people looking for a quality place to shoot.

I'll never accept that the only people who should be allowed in the sport are those who can afford, or even want to, join a members only shooting club or travel away from home to shoot, that's BS. I've got close to $3,000 in my long distance rifle by itself so if I don't want to, for whatever reason, join a club to shoot at a long distance range I still have every right to be in the sport. There are plenty of other states that offer "pay to play" ranges and it works out just fine. My point is that in a state that has the perfect geography and vast amounts of open area and has a traditional gun culture that encourages new shooters shouldn't be the state where none of that is offered.

 

[HiredHand]

Some of the Wildlife Management areas have shooting ranges, I believe you have to have a valid hunting license to use them.

http://www.wildlifedepartment.com/facts_maps/wmastate.htm

 

[technetium-99m]

The small amount that OKCGC charges for yearly membership will trump any pay to shoot facility. The first year it's $24/month, without a workday it's $15/month thereafter. I'm not familiar with rifle matches so I'll use USPSA as an example. To perform well you need to be shooting around once per week in some kind of focused practice session. That's $30-40 per month in range fee's based on what I'm used to spending with pay to shoot facilities around central OK, and most of them will not allow drawing from a holster due to liability concerns, plus forget about dealing with target transitions of more than a foot or two. For me, OKCGC is a bargain just for the pistol bays.

As far as traveling goes. It's nothing for us to drive up to Ponca City or Tulsa, or down to SCRAP to shoot a match, I'm willing to bet other disciplines are similar.

 

[7stw]

Just go to rebel ridge outfitters in sw ks. Yes it's a long azz way and gas is high but if you're serious about the game and want the practice then a place where you can practice at 1k all the way out to 2k is pretty awesome. Not a match but still pretty fun. A lot of the problem with a lack of 1k matches in the okc metro mess is the simple fact that it takes a lot of property to host a thousand yard match lots more than some folks realize. I have access to a few spots to stretch a gun out but having to watch out for or move cows makes hosting a match unfeasible. So if you want to air one out you're forced to go where the populace isn't.

 

[aeropb]

Doesn't do any good to attend matches if you can't practice anywhere.

That's a bit of an elitist attitude. There's no reason why we can't have long distance ranges open that don't require membership. Maybe you're confusing "open to public" with being free, that's not what I'm talking about. What I'm talking about are facilities open to anyone who wants to shoot, not a free range. I don't think any modern facility with the acreage needed and all of the upkeep necessary could operate without charging for use. There are plenty of people who enjoy shooting but would prefer to "pay to play" instead of a yearly membership. OKCGC has a nice setup and great for those who prefer to pay a single yearly large fee instead of smaller "per use" fee's. I've considered applying there several times but there should be an option for everyone. OKCGC only has a certain number of slots open each time they accept new members which iirc is twice a year so that leaves a lot of people looking for a quality place to shoot.

I'll never accept that the only people who should be allowed in the sport are those who can afford, or even want to, join a members only shooting club or travel away from home to shoot, that's BS. I've got close to $3,000 in my long distance rifle by itself so if I don't want to, for whatever reason, join a club to shoot at a long distance range I still have every right to be in the sport. There are plenty of other states that offer "pay to play" ranges and it works out just fine. My point is that in a state that has the perfect geography and vast amounts of open area and has a traditional gun culture that encourages new shooters shouldn't be the state where none of that is offered.

Oh I know you. You're the person who spends $3000 on a long distance setup and then complains about the $30/month membership fee to a great members only shooting club.

 

[MoBoost]

Oh I know you. You're the person who spends $3000 on a long distance setup and then complains about the $30/month membership fee to a great members only shooting club.

$30 a month???? With a work day at OKCGC it's .... wait for it ..... wait for it ....

I seriously think I spend more money in gas driving there and back, because it is:

$8.34 per month

You can think of yearly dues as one time entry fee - and then you just get to use the facilities for free for the rest of the year if you wanted to.

P.S. I shoot 4-5 matches EVERY month that do not require membership. And yet I keep paying for membership - just in case some ELSE wants to come out and shoot.

P.P.S. I do not own a $3000 firearm