Grandmaster Compensation... can you get paid to shoot?

[djthemac]

I was having a discussion with my folks last night at dinner and we started talking on the topic of competitive shooting. They asked whether it is possible to make enough money through sponsorships and prize winnings to make a living wage. I had always assumed that as you get better in the game, you may get sponsorships allowing you to shoot for free or free guns, but that most people still retain a main job.

Do the current upper echelon shooters also run gunstores/gun smiths/shooting schools as their main income generation or is it possible to make enough cash shooting competitions, and through sponsorships?

[Steve RA]

Probably like most pro sports - about a hundreth of one percent make a decent living from it.

[KyalSharpe]

I think eric grauffel gets paid by tanfoglio to shoot? who knows.

[RangerTrace]

Very few shooters make a living "shooting" for a sponsor. However, they may get buy if they have a website sales business that supports/supplies the shooting sports. Some of the best shooters I know personally are good, because their non-shooting job enables them to buy lots of bullets.

[Ty Hamby]

Even names like Rob, Jerry, Julie, or Jessie, require alternate forms of income. Many top level shooters, rich in talent still get help through high paying day jobs, usually in a similar field. Know of no name riding on match scores alone.

[MarkCO]

Some, who market well and perform well can and do make a living at it. Not bunches of cash. A little easier for the top females than top males.

[EkuJustice]

The ones who make a living are doing more normal jobs for their sponsors ie sales marketing etc but they arnt making a living by solely pulling the trigger. The closest to paid to shoot would be the amu but they are still training people as well for their pay

[a matt]

Im seeing most of the top 1% teach shooting, it's not cheap to learn from the best. It might take that to make it. But I don't have a clue. I'm just guessing.

[Flatland Shooter]

Shooting for sponsors would be a high stress job. Not just your pay but your continued employment would depend on your placement at major matches.

That would really suck the fun out of the sport.

I'll keep my day job. (if I weren't retired.)

Bill

[Ben Stoeger]

When you get a GM card USPSA sends you a check for 100k.

[djthemac]

When you get a GM card USPSA sends you a check for 100k.

Sweet!! I'm quitting my day job

Edited April 29, 2013 by djthemac

[whitedog]

When you get a GM card USPSA sends you a check for 100k.

Wow....is it real American greenbacks?

Seemed the op had a legit question, do gm's get sarcastic classes thrown in?

Edited April 29, 2013 by whitedog

[Steve RA]

Another false, misleading statement in the media !!!

[Ben Stoeger]

Seemed the op had a legit question, do gm's get sarcastic classes thrown in?

How do you mean?

[a matt]

ROFLOL, Ben!!!

[sperman]

And if you win a national championship they give you a sweet beer can crusher.

[whitedog]

Ben, joking....of course I heard you all get vacation homes in Belize. Well kept secret...

For the amount of work to make GM, the pay would probably come out to $.30 an hour on average.

[RammerJammer]

I do it for the cool sunburn lines... thats compensation enough and I'm not even a GM...

[JGus]

I have to believe, and I'm just speculating, that the world class shooters (and I'm not referring to all M's or GM's, but instead the world class shooters, the very best of the best) are getting paid pretty darn well by their sponsors (way into six figures when you add up all their sponsorships). But again, you are talking about just a handful of shooters in the world; the shooters at the very top of their field. And they should be paid well. Look at the what Travis Tomasie has done for Para, Max Michel for Sig, Rob Leatham for Springfield, Jessie Duff for Taurus, Dave Sevigny formerly for Glock and now for FNH (I heard Glock dropped Sevigny for Michelle Viscusi..just kidding, just kidding!), and that's just naming a few of the worlds best. Do you think a discontinued gun by Beretta would have much appeal if it wasn't used by Ben Stoeger? And I've read Ben just prefers to use the Beretta Elite II and isn't sponsored by them to use their discontinued model, which does more to drive up the value of used Elite II's going on gunbroker than if he was getting paid to use them. So if Ben isn't getting paid by Beretta, he should be.

[Jaxshooter]

I played golf professionally for 30 + years. I came along before the time of big endorsement packages and commercials. I received less than $10,000.00 a year from everybody combined (club manufacturer, clothes, shoes etc.). I was backed not sponsored by a group of local business men who got the money I won. They would pay my travel, lodging, meals and entry fees weekly. If money was made over and above expenses for the year I got a small percentage of it and they kept the rest for a return on their investment. I played under that arrangement until I had the money to pay my own way.

When I quit playing golf for a living I came home put my clubs in the closet and that is where they stayed. I have not played golf since. The reason, because playing professionally took all the fun out of it. Not only was it a job, in addition it was extremely hard and stressfull. I shoot now to have FUN.

Edited May 24, 2013 by Jaxshooter

[CHA-LEE]

Getting "Compensated" to represent a Sponsor in the shooting sports is vastly different than making a living at doing it. There are probably a lot of shooters that get some kind of Sponsorship compensation to help offset the costs of competing. But I highly doubt that sponsorship compensation is no where close to what is needed to make a living. There are very few shooters who make a living off of sponsorship deals shooting full time and doing nothing else for employment.

The important thing to point out here, is that a shooters classification is really not that important to a sponsor. They are usually more concerned with your attitude, appearance, people skills and marketing skills. So a shooter being a GM does not automatically translate into sponsors flooding them with offers.

[Sthrngnr]

While the thought of being paid to shoot professionally sounds great. I would think for me I would lose interest if it was a job.

[CHA-LEE]

Another thing to consider for the full time Pro Shooters is what is the long term financial plan when their Talent or Desire runs out? A Pro full time shooter could make a six figure salary while they are competing, but what happens after that? If these guys are not saving for retirement, medical bills, etc during their "Prime" years of sponsorship income, they will be screwed when the paycheck stops coming in. If you run your finances like an idiot like most Pro NFL, NBA, MLB players do blowing all of their money on parties, platinum "Grills" and 20 inch rims they will go bankrupt within a few years of "Retirement".

Look at the alarming statistics of bankruptcy within 2 - 5 years for most of the Major League Pro players. 60% - 80% of these guys go bankrupt within 2 - 5 years after retiring. These guys are making MILLIONS of dollars as well, no the "Chump Change" a pro shooter would be making.

[Nik Habicht]

I played golf professionally for 30 + years. I came along before the time of big endorsement packages and commercials. I received less than $10,000.00 a year from everybody combined (club manufacturer, clothes, shoes etc.). I was backed not sponsored by a group of local business men who got the money I won. They would pay my travel, lodging, meals and entry fees weekly. If money was made over and above expenses for the year I got a small percentage of it and they kept the rest for a return on their investment. I played under that arrangement until I had the money to pay my own way.

When I quit playing golf for a living I came home put my clubs in the closet and that is where they stayed. I have not played golf since. The reason, because playing professionally took all the fun out of it. Not only was it a job, in addition it was extremely hard and stressfull. I shoot now to have FUN.

It took six years of not working as a photographer, for me to want to actually pick up a camera and take a picture....

[TMC]

When you get a GM card USPSA sends you a check for 100k.

What's the time frame on that? I got my card in February but the check hasn't come yet. Who do I call?