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Whittington Center

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BrazosbyNemo

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Aug 16, 2023
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Nemo, TX
Has AAFTA ever considered contacting the NRA about setting up an FT course at the Whittington Center in Raton, NM? They have 33,000 acres. Surely they would have 10-15 acres to spare for an FT range. It’s in the middle of the country more or less so it’s not convenient for anyone to get there but doable for most everyone. It would be a good neutral ground to hold national matches (or worlds) each year. They have big matches there, have housing, camping areas, all the infrastructure, good weather, etc. It just seems logical to me. There are only so many places that can host a national match, as most places though great for local monthly matches, aren’t big enough. AAFTA could store the targets there. Multiple clubs could share the burden of setting up the course, meals, awards, etc. Just a thought (one I have shared before, though it’s been a while). I was reading tonight the Olympic Training Center has joined with the Whittington Center to use their range to train there rifle athletes before the 2024 Olympics and got me to thinking about shooting FT there again. If there is enough interest and a blessing from the AAFTA BOG I have no issue contacting them and getting something figured out. I just don’t want to waste my time if I am the only one who thinks it is a good idea.

www.nrawc.org

NRA Whittington Center : The Country's Premier Shooting Facility

The NRA Whittington Center is unlike any place on earth. More than 33,300 acres and 25 ranges are devoted to shooting for any kind of discipline. Plus, we offer exceptional guided and unguided hunts, expert firearms training, lodging, cabins and camping, youth programs, a museum, a Pro Shop, and...
www.nrawc.org www.nrawc.org
 
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I vaguely remember us discussing this before, my response is probably similar to last time.

I think my main concern is that there is a real benefit to a club hosting Nationals. It raises the profile of the host club and exposes local shooters to the club and FT. And because a lot of matches are held at rifle and pistol ranges, it also helps the airgun folks show the leadership at the host clubs that this can be a big deal. And it probably helps attendance for monthly matches leading up to Nationals.

There are also drawbacks to hosting Nationals, mostly with finding enough help, targets, money, etc.

I do think it would be great to have another big match annually in a fixed location like Whittington, I'm just not sure it needs to be the Nationals. Maybe do a "super GP" in the spring there and call it the "Field Target Masters". AAFTA could buy a trailer and fill it with enough targets to have a 120 shot match. The trailer could live at Whittington but could be available for any club hosting Nationals.

So we could have another big match at a prime location and make the burden easier for clubs that might want to host Nationals. And if a smaller club wants to host Nationals but doesn't have the real estate to do so, they could "host" it at Whittington.
 
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Just an FYI, Wittington does have an Field Target course they created earlier this year. (but it might have been working it late last year). It was open this year during the N50 National event. I think Mike N. was going to check it out but it was gated so only walk in access and it was on the side of the mountain so he did not wish to hike it this time around. I'm sure someone will check it out and report here sometime soon.
Thx
Dan
 
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To me you would get more national press and exposure having nationals at the Whittington Center. FT is one of the most fun shooting sports nobody has ever heard of. We need national exposure. Won’t get that shooting nationals at obscure local clubs. The American Rifleman magazine shows up in millions of mailboxes each month. Wouldn’t it be nice if once a year there was at least a blurb about AAFTA shooting a national match?
 
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BrazosbyNemo said:
To me you would get more national press and exposure having nationals at the Whittington Center. FT is one of the most fun shooting sports nobody has ever heard of. We need national exposure. Won’t get that shooting nationals at obscure local clubs. The American Rifleman magazine shows up in millions of mailboxes each month. Wouldn’t it be nice if once a year there was at least a blurb about AAFTA shooting a national match?
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It's hard for me to be objective about this. I'm sure I'm in a tiny minority here,, but years ago I realized that the NRA was yet another corrupt political lobbyist whose agenda has little to do with my simple joy of shooting, so i stopped giving them money.

If magazine blurbs turned into "you must be a member of the NRA to shoot at Nationals", well, like Meatloaf said " I would do anything for love, but I won't do that".
 
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scotton said:
It's hard for me to be objective about this. I'm sure I'm in a tiny minority here,, but years ago I realized that the NRA was yet another corrupt political lobbyist whose agenda has little to do with my simple joy of shooting, so i stopped giving them money.

If magazine blurbs turned into "you must be a member of the NRA to shoot at Nationals", well, like Meatloaf said " I would do anything for love, but I won't do that".
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You are spot on. Theres a reason the NRA is called Negotiatiing Rights Away. Todays NRA certainly isn't the NRA of my father from the 1960's-70's, or my grandfathers NRA of the 1940's-50's They have lost focus and become another corrupt group, even they do have some snippets they do that are good. The buckeye firearm association is another NRA like entity that is corrupt as well. I will never support either.

Moving to a facility like this COULD be good if done right. IF it allows for more exposure, for powder burners to see our rifles are far more than kids toys, to expose them to this wonderful sport/hobby we enjoy, could be a very good thing to help things grow. Central Ohio airgunners is looking at something like this locally.

Many friends that enjoy powder burners never considered or knew of PCP air rifles or field target until I got into it and started talking to them about it. Now they are curious to try it out as they said it certainly sounds fun.
 
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I get what you are saying about the NRA. They just happen to have a 33,000 acre facility that we could turn into something great. Places to stay, they cater meals,….. The CMP is the real organization that is doing big things in the shooting sports scene now days and taking over what the NRA used to do. This isn’t about how people feel about the NRA. Its the top notch facility we could possibly use and a side benefit of more exposure for the sport. Another benefit of no single club has to take on the burden of running a national match. Multiple clubs could volunteer to help run the match. It would also be on neutral ground. No advantage for anyone.
 
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I am a life member of the NRA and I have been shooting Field Target for over 30 years. I do not think that is is a good idea for Ft to be tied to the NRA in any way including having FT matches at Whittrington Center. The NRA of today has not been particularly good at supporting or growing the shooting sports. The NRA of today is basically a lobbyist and publisher. Only a very very small portion of the organization is involved in the shooting sports.
 
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The Whittington Center is an amazing facility, and if it could be meaningfully involved in FT or Benchrest/Silhouette/ELR, more power to the organizers.
Despite my being an NRA Life Member, I have deep misgivings about the LaPierre regime and Wayne's suspected corruption. That has nothing to do with the Whittington in my book.
Another potential venue in northern New Mexico would be the Boy Scouts' Philmont Ranch. I did a 54-miler at Philmont as a 14-year-old way back in 1968 and have visited these hallowed grounds several times since then. Marksmanship was one of the first merit badges I earned on my way to Eagle.
 
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Seems like those against the idea have some pent up issues about the NRA. I am not advocating the AAFTA somehow merge with the NRA. I am just pointing out they have a great facility that has all the size and amenities to hold as big a match as we could ever come up with. I see it more of a shared effort to run the match. So theoretically divide AAFTA up in 4-5 regions (whatever makes sense as far as number of regions) and each year the match is run by a region. So one year the West Coast (CA &OR?) region is in charge of the match, the next year AZ/TX/OK/LA? is in charge of the match, etc. As I said in my original post, I do not mind doing the leg work to get things set up but it would need grassroots support that is communicated to the AAFTA BOG and the blessing to initiate talks with the Whittington Center. It’s one of those things if we got something started, over a period of 10 years would be spectacular.
 
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Whittington is truly a beautiful place. The greatest challenge is getting the people out there to host it. A lot of behind-the-scenes work goes into hosting a large FT match. And that becomes compounded when a decent-sized team is not residing near, or on-site to develop and prep the course. Now it can be done, but it's certainly more difficult for folks that work.
As someone has mentioned above, it's a great way to showcase your own home range. There is a lot of pride in that...

Not to mention its a three and a half hour drive from the nearest major Airport city (Denver, Albuquerque)

I hate to say some things are easier said than done… But this is certainly one case in particular.


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I had the same idea a while back and spent a fair amount of time trying to see if it could work. Pretty much everyone I talked with….and that was a lot….said they probably wouldn’t make the drive. Most FT shooters don’t want to travel too far and allot their vacation time for matches within their more local area. When the Nats are in the West….most of the guys on the other side of the country don’t attend. When they are in the East…most of the West won’t attend.

That said, we hold the N50 benchrest Nationals there. It’s an awesome place and I look forward to it every year.

Try to set up a GP there first and see if you can get some folks to come. The OKC FT bunch is probably the closest and maybe most likely to attend.

Mike
 
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Billinoregon said:
Not sure how that thread applies. It seems the last page is mostly a boasting contest and remarks about some guy named Charles who was apparently a cheater.
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If you ignore the boasting, it was the same idea to host Nats at the Whittington Center. You can see the end result; this thread will end the same.
 
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