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    From the Editor

    It May Be Time, Indeed

    Cody Smith, avid BPCR competitor and the “Main Man” at the Smithmoor Range in Carpenter, Wyoming, sent in a thought-provoking letter that we have included in this issue’s “Letters From Readers” section. He makes the argument that we may have reached the point in the history of BPCR Silhouette that requires a new organization, other than the NRA, to manage the promotion, recordkeeping and running of BPCR Silhouette matches at the national level. It does seem somewhat obvious that the NRA’s interest in BPCR Silhouette has seriously waned and it is doubtful that it will change in the near future. The NRA has many problems to deal with at the moment, most of them self-inflicted, and I have always questioned their dedication to a discipline that wasn’t a huge moneymaker for them. Those of us who participated in NRA BPCR Silhouette from its beginning have, quite frankly, seen this coming for quite some time.

    I would make the point that with a new organization would come the opportunity to address some inconsistencies in the current rules. This would likely draw in some new competitors, one would hope. Many constructive changes to the NRA set of rules have been suggested by the competitors over the years, but they seemed to always fall on deaf ears. The inability or disinclination to listen to competitors was what I think has led, more than anything, to the serious decline of NRA BPCR Silhouette.

    This year, we had a very successful BPCR Silhouette match held at the Whittington Center. By all accounts, the shooters were happy with the match program, awards and general management. It would seem logical to build on that success. I would disagree with Cody on one point, however; he doesn’t think it would be “that big of a deal” to have a board that provided a uniform set of rules, kept track of records and put on a Nationals. I really admire Cody’s enthusiasm and he definitely has a history of getting things done. However, I believe it would take some serious work from a few key individuals that were dedicated to the sport and had the time to spend. That’s what it takes to make anything of this sort happen.

    Cody is right on another point…without a board, association or club that will provide structure to the BPCR Silhouette discipline, the sport will dwindle to nothing, and probably in a few short years. We are battling the effects of a pandemic on our shooting sport, the near abandonment of the historically-supporting organization and the natural “ebb and flow” of any shooting discipline. If the sport survives these things, it will only be because some motivated individuals decided to step up to the plate and make sure that the sport of BPCR Silhouette survives into the future.

    - Gut Ziel


    Wolfe Publishing Group