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2015 Brownells Rockcastle Pro Am 3 Gun Chamiopship - Official


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"Stale" does not equal to easy or not difficult enough.

Every MD has a style and when that style becomes too recognizable things get stale.

Like I said before, matches like this NEED to have a rotating MD or stage designing staff. It's too much for one person year in and year out.

Simply put it keeps things "fresh and sexy", and if you want to be the hot ticket match of the year like the pro am was, you have to continually evolve.

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"Stale" does not equal to easy or not difficult enough.

Every MD has a style and when that style becomes too recognizable things get stale.

Like I said before, matches like this NEED to have a rotating MD or stage designing staff. It's too much for one person year in and year out.

Simply put it keeps things "fresh and sexy", and if you want to be the hot ticket match of the year like the pro am was, you have to continually evolve.

That's so awesome of you to volunteer

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Having shot the match 3 times prior, one thing I missed from this years match... In years past, a lot of pro and am stages were next to one another, so the AMs could see a pro run their equivalent stage. Unfortunately, I didn't get to see a single pro shoot this year. The only pro stage that I was next to was in the pistol bays, but I was busy resetting and didn't get to watch.

And I could live without the half-size paper. :D

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I personally enjoyed the match. I did miss the swag bags a lot, the vendors and the free dinner. But I really enjoyed the Pro stages and they ran like clockwork. I also really loved the beer trailer. If you were to ask me to pick between free dinner or free beer, I think you can guess my answer. I had a lot of fun hanging out with everyone post match, that's a big part of the ProAm experience and thanks to the 5.11 trailer it was still free. I don't feel like the stages were stale on the Pro side at all, if anything there were some decent new challenges like the headless horseman and the props you needed to climb up to shoot through the ports. At first the 100sec par time did seem to be a poor choice but after seeing some make it (Pro3) I realized that I just need to work on stage planning a bit better. I still wouldn't call it a positive but I do like the challenge and that's what I look for in major matches. I go to club matches for the easy stuff, majors are where I learn to push myself. Either way the stages were definitely fresh with a good mix challenges and shooting styles. I honestly couldn't pick a favorite stage. I also really appreciated the speed at which the scores were posted. For all the things that may not have been as good as past matches, the efficiency that the match was run was incredible.

The only things I would change are the new sight picture rule, my dot looks different on the ground than it does out towards thunder valley. At least 2 people I know blew a stage because they left the magnification up, I suspect that part of their routine of getting a sight picture would have prevented that. Also lunch, I love the food at Rockcastle, probably too much haha, but I couldn't justify paying 10.50 for a regular sandwich and pasta salad, no matter how good it looked. It's not that sandwiches are bad, it's that sandwiches are sandwiches and sandwiches shouldn't be 10.50. It would have been totally acceptable if it was 5.50ish. I ended up leaving for subway the first day and getting a burger the next day. I think a lot of people felt the same because the line of shooter jerseys at subway reached the door, which is a shame given how awesome the food is.

I will definitely be back next year and I am confident that it will continue to be the highlight of my season.

I would also love to be able to stay at the lodge. It may not be possible but when I call before sign up I've been told that rooms are available but I can't get a room until after registration to ensure that I'm actually in the match. This year I again called before sign up and got that and then called 1min after getting into the Pro match and was told it was all booked. Call me cynical but I don't think that everyone calls in to reserve a room in the 2min it takes for me to get into the match and call. I'm starting to suspect that the lodge is only for the staff and sponsors during the ProAm. If that's true that would make sense. This isn't actually a complaint, more like a wish lol.

Overall, I feel good about my time at the 2015 ProAm, very good. I would do it again if I could and will do it again next year. I think writing and thanking sponsors is a great idea if you want them to come back. I may be wrong but I'd imagine Rockcastle can only do so much to get sponsors to come. Maybe talk to some of your own sponsors about pitching in. I mean you wanna wear the cool jerseys and your job as a sponsored shooter is to find ways to boost sale and bring attention to your sponsors products. Why not use one of the sports biggest events. The economy sucking doesn't have to mean the sport gets less fun it just means that we as shooters need to get more involved than in previous years.

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While I enjoyed the match and i will shoot it again most of the issues mentioned could easily be resolved. The one thing I did not see mentioned was the match handbook. I can't be the only person at Rockcastle with a flip phone and unable to download match info. From a advertising standpoint if I was vender or advertiser I would much rather have a printed handbook than a downloaded version.

Thanks to Linda and the staff for all the hard work.

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This was my first Pro Am and I absolutely loved it! There was a bit of a back up on stage 2 but those things happen in all matches. I thought the amateur stages were great. I loved the free beer, live music and meeting new friends in the evening. That was hard to beat! I hate to hear about all the drama, it sounds like Mr.Butler is absolutely a class act. My hat is off to him! I have to admit, I'm a bit confused as to why none of his friends or squad mates didn't go pick a rifle or shotgun out for him though. I know on the amateur side a lot of folks left early and had friends pick up prizes for them from the prize table. Gary Welborn, keep your chin up sir! You are one hell of a match director! I would be willing to bet anyone who calls one of your matches "stale" has never been a match director and has no idea how much work goes into the job you volunteer to do for all of us. Thanks to all of the RO's and staff that made this match possible. We know it's a lot of hard work. There are a few folks that will bitch and moan about anything, but the vast majority of us really appreciate all of your all's hard work! Rich St.Clair

Edited by FireMedic
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Gary...I think you and the setup crew did an awesome job of creating and setting up the stages. They were challenging and fun...the pro side that is. Anyone saying the stages were stale, were shooting the wrong match. As a stage designer myself, I appreciate your efforts in the weeks leading up to the match. Don't let a bunch of BS stop you from continuing your tireless efforts. If anyone still wishes to complain, let them take over the program...they will learn fast to keep their mouth shut.

I commend you for a job well done. Looking forward to next year...No 6.

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I hate to hear about all the drama, it sounds like Mr.Butler is absolutely a class act. My hat is off to him! I have to admit, I'm a bit confused as to why none of his friends or squad mates didn't go pick a rifle or shotgun out for him though. I know on the amateur side a lot of folks left early and had friends pick up prizes for them from the prize table.

Taran flies to a lot of matches, so everyone who knows him is accustomed to him leaving early to catch a flight. When match staff called his name and someone said 'Taran isn't here' everyone assumed he had asked someone else to collect his prize and trophy. Further attention was not brought to the situation when nobody appeared to collect for Taran, so none of the people who would have gladly walked for him were aware that someone hadn't already done it.

Edited by doubleaay78
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Main issue: The match was touted as being the best one yet.

Main problem: It wasn't.

A previous poster made an excellent point. If a shooter signs up for the Blue Ridge, MGM Ironman, SMM3G, etc they know what to expect year after year. The same statement is not true of the Pro-Am.

Solution: Pro-Am staff should be upfront about the expectations for the match. If you know the match isn't going to meet those initial promises/expectations (even if it's at the last minute, i.e. sponsors and side matches bail the weekend or even the day before the match) let the shooters know. Post it here, facebook, twitter, etc, wherever. Just keep the lines of communication open and honest.

Again, I just want to re-iterate how much I appreciate all of the hard work and effort that goes into making this match (and any match!) happen. I've helped with large matches in the past, and it is never easy.

I hope this is seen as constructive advice/help, because that is what I intend it to be.

Lastly, I spoke to a few sponsors that were absent. I let them know that me and my crew appreciate their continued support of 3 gun, and that we genuinely missed exchanging money for product at Rockcastle this year. I suggest everyone reach out to the sponsor's and let them know that they were appreciated for being there and/or they were truly missed if they were not there.

In Rockcastle's defense, there was at least one sponsor who said that they decided not to come at the last minute (a week out), but it was for legitimate reasons (i.e., short-handed, logistic issues, etc). That is clearly not something we can pin on Rockcastle staff, especially if the sponsor didn't notify them.

I hope to be back at Rockcastle for the Pro-Am next year....time will tell.

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