Giant81 Posted February 23, 2013 Share Posted February 23, 2013 There are no IDPA matches within a decent driving distance from me (zip code 53569). The local Technical College has recently put in place a new outdoor range paid for by a referendum and used currently for the criminal justice program. After speaking with the coordinator at the school, she was very open and receptive to getting everyone shooting there. After all, as she puts it, we paid for it we might as well use it. So after looking around I thought, hey maybe I can get a USPSA or IDPA match hosted here and get interest drummed up in the South Western Wisconsin area that I live in. Since there are no shooting anything in the area, I thought it could snowball and maybe lead to some SASS, or steal matches, GSSF, etc. Where do you start? Would it be rude of me to ask a club that now shoots IDPA but is fairly far away to help me coordinate things? Thanks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The_Vigilante Posted February 23, 2013 Share Posted February 23, 2013 According to IDPA Club Information there is an IDPA club in Peosta, IA only 52 miles from Monfort. You might give Clint a call and see what could be worked out. Clint Duffy Work: 563-590-7977 Fax: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Samuel Adams Posted February 25, 2013 Share Posted February 25, 2013 Start your own club. We did a few years ago. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Giant81 Posted February 25, 2013 Author Share Posted February 25, 2013 (edited) Oh that is much closer, the closest one I could find before was the match in Ripon, WI and that's just shy of 140 miles away. I will certainly try them. I may not try setting up my own matches if there is a match that close. Thank you for the help. I also see there is one in Portage, WI now. That is a much better drive than going to Ripon, and I do shoot USPSA in Lodi, I wouldn't mind starting a club in the area, with so little in the area, I'd hope we could get good membership numbers. I'm just afraid of the amount of work starting and managing a club would be. Is it not as hard as I'm fretting, or do you get 4-5 people, then break up the workload? Mostly i shy away from the idea because I've never been part of a gun club, so I don't know what to expect. Edited February 25, 2013 by Giant81 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lugnut Posted February 25, 2013 Share Posted February 25, 2013 You absolutely need people to help run matches. If you don't have people that are willing to participate I wouldn't consider it. You can start small and grow of course... but it's best to get to the other club to get an idea of how they got going. You could always start off with "basic" action shooting stuff till you decided how far to go with it. That way you don't have to worry about the fees, etc. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
M1911 Posted February 25, 2013 Share Posted February 25, 2013 As lugnut says, you will need to get a significant core group of people to help out. You will need help designing stages, building stages, checking people in, acting as an SO and ASO, scoring, and tearing down. You will also need some funds for target stands, targets, props, etc., and you will need some place to store them securely when not in use. You can start small, but you will need a core group of committed people to get it off the ground. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigdawgbeav Posted March 22, 2013 Share Posted March 22, 2013 If the closest matches are 50+ miles away, then there is nothing wrong with wanting one closer. Just make them so it's on a different day. Hopefully when it gets going the shooters that go to the one club will come to yours as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GlockCanMan Posted March 27, 2013 Share Posted March 27, 2013 It is not uncommon to get shooters to travel 50+ miles one way for matches. The better the match, the more people are willing to drive. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fireman489 Posted March 27, 2013 Share Posted March 27, 2013 my "local" range is 77 miles from my house.... I go 2x week.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul-the new guy Posted March 27, 2013 Share Posted March 27, 2013 my "local" range is 77 miles from my house.... I go 2x week.... Yeah but you don't have a real job... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mike l m Posted March 27, 2013 Share Posted March 27, 2013 I can tell you from past history, setting up a club and running it takes alot of time. I have done 2 different clubs in the last 25-30 years. One an IDPA and the other USPSA. Alot of information for setting them up are on the web and you should be about to check your local area as to getting help. Good luck. Mike Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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