Logistics of Organizing a Hunter Match

[Dot3]

I’m in the concept stage of planning a match and need some starting points on things that need to be addressed.

It will be a fund raiser as well as a primer for hunting season. So it’ll be simple stages tailored for the local population who isn’t into competing.

What are some logistics I need to take care of as far as legal, liability, etc? Is it even worth doing as a fund raiser once all the things are accounted for?

It would be on private land, not a dedicated range. I know things vary by state, but looking for a general idea.

 

[Rodney65]

Just a one off anecdote but I heard from a charity match organizer that raffling off donated items made a lot more money than the match itself. Whether that was because he had great sponsors or because he was terrible at managing match funds I'm not sure but that may be a more lucrative way to go.

Also regarding insurance some matches require attendees to have an active NRA/CCFR/etc. membership as they provide insurance and it also encourages people to join an organization like that while not adding to the cost of the match.

 

[Dead Eye Dick]

Curious, what are the going rates to insure a match

 

[DeathBeforeDismount]

Some things off the top of my head.

You want a LLC setup to insulate your assets should something happen. Also need to have waivers.

Lockton affinity offers insurance for these types of events. You need it

Porta potties, parking area, water / food , trash. Probally need a way to pull people who get stuck out.

Then you are going to need steel, posts , hangers. Placards for each stage to ID targets. A atv, utv or vehicle that can go fix broken targets fast in middle of match.

Then you need tablets, timers, chargers/batteries , props to shoot off.

It's a lot more work than you think and it's going to take a bunch of matches to break even on start up costs. That is before land owner fees.

And fuck the NRA.. you don't need those worthless twats.

 

[Rodney65]

And fuck the NRA.. you don't need those worthless twats.

I should maybe clarify that I was not trying to advocate for them just that I had seen that used as an alternative way of insuring shooters at a match.

 

[Dot3]

Some things off the top of my head.

You want a LLC setup to insulate your assets should something happen. Also need to have waivers.

Lockton affinity offers insurance for these types of events. You need it

Porta potties, parking area, water / food , trash. Probally need a way to pull people who get stuck out.

Then you are going to need steel, posts , hangers. Placards for each stage to ID targets. A atv, utv or vehicle that can go fix broken targets fast in middle of match.

Then you need tablets, timers, chargers/batteries , props to shoot off.

It's a lot more work than you think and it's going to take a bunch of matches to break even on start up costs. That is before land owner fees.

And fuck the NRA.. you don't need those worthless twats.

Thanks. Especially for the call out on starting an LLC and name of insurance company.

It is looking more and more like this will be a fund loser not raiser. But I’ll still follow up on all those suggestions and run the numbers.

Another issue I’ll run into, once all the logistics are worked out, is getting enough interested folks. This is a very rural area with a lot of hunters, but nobody competes. My idea to try to cater to them would be to have only a handful of stages (go to Walmart for a box of ammo and shoot the whole match with it), blind stages but known distances for those without rangefinders 400 yds max, 2-3 targets/stage for all the ADL 270s, maybe a bonus target or two, shooting from realistic hunting positions.

I’ve got to get through the financial/legal challenges first though.

 

[Rodney65]

Thanks. Especially for the call out on starting an LLC and name of insurance company.

It is looking more and more like this will be a fund loser not raiser. But I’ll still follow up on all those suggestions and run the numbers.

Another issue I’ll run into, once all the logistics are worked out, is getting enough interested folks. This is a very rural area with a lot of hunters, but nobody competes. My idea to try to cater to them would be to have only a handful of stages (go to Walmart for a box of ammo and shoot the whole match with it), blind stages but known distances for those without rangefinders 400 yds max, 2-3 targets/stage for all the ADL 270s, maybe a bonus target or two, shooting from realistic hunting positions.

I’ve got to get through the financial/legal challenges first though.

I am not the most experienced person but I do know if people aren't that interested in competing people will probably also not be that experienced at ROing. The ROs not see impacts or have trouble consistently enforcing the stage rules and course of fire.

This combined with inexperienced competitors probably means you need to make the stages quite simple and consistent stage to stage not some KIMs game. You may want to just have a draw for any high value prizes to tone down the competitiveness.

If some top level pro PRS/NRL types do show up you want them to have fun but you don't want to turn off people who have never tried competing because they never got the chance to win anything or didn't realize there were loopholes in the rules.

Just some things I have noticed at matches, especially one off type events.

 

[Dot3]

I am not the most experienced person but I do know if people aren't that interested in competing people will probably also not be that experienced at ROing. The ROs not see impacts or have trouble consistently enforcing the stage rules and course of fire.

This combined with inexperienced competitors probably means you need to make the stages quite simple and consistent stage to stage not some KIMs game. You may want to just have a draw for any high value prizes to tone down the competitiveness.

If some top level pro PRS/NRL types do show up you want them to have fun but you don't want to turn off people who have never tried competing because they never got the chance to win anything or didn't realize there were loopholes in the rules.

Just some things I have noticed at matches, especially one off type events.

I agree wholeheartedly and am working to account for all of that.

I’ve talked to a few folks about the concept and they’ve been very interested in trying it out. So I think some of the lack of competitiveness also stems from not knowing how/where to compete. That doesnt fix inexperienced ROs or other issues though.

I’m hoping to limit the gear race as well. I’m open to suggestions on how to do that without flat out saying gamers ain’t welcome.