FMRNRAPistolManager Posted December 19, 2015 Share Posted December 19, 2015 (edited) All, As most of you know I no longer have anything to do with the success or demise of the Bianchi Cup or any of the NRA Pistol Shooting Sports. I resigned for several reasons, 1 of them is the NRA leadership, Kyle Weaver & Dennis Willing do not show any concern for the competitors that shoot this sport in the field. Number 1 - Kyle is not a competitive pistol shooter & will never be one, it's difficult & he has no interest in getting better, so he is far from interested in supporting this sport, and is concerned about what it costs. Dennis Willing is an empty suit with a 5 year contract, they cant get rid of him and must put up with his lack of knowledge and more importantly the lack of support of the pistol competition community. I disagreed with both of them & carefully planned my exit to better suit me & my family. The NRA is NOT your friend, they only are interested in any funding they can receive and any positive press they will receive from the Pro Shooters. Be prepared for 2016, Damien Orsinger has the 2016 Bianchi Cup, this will be a first for him. Everything he touches turns bad, he has no clue how to run this Championship & never has, NRA management has covered for this guy since he has been there, he is a yes man & will do what ever Dennis tells him to do. As a competitor you will feel it... Before you sign up to compete, check the Program, there will be less prizes than in 2015, and my guess is the Awards Ceremony will be reduced with only Awards, NO CASH, NO GIFT Bags. I was told to cater to the top shooters, give them free entries and free tickets to the banquet, as they were the important competitors. I would not do it, as I know the majority of the competitors that shoot NRA AP are NOT the top shooters. The minor sponsors will not be recognized, or contacted, like this year they will only solicit cash sponsors. It's sad, its not about them, its about the sport, the people that lose are those of you that practice & shoot at your local clubs. The bottom line, the NRA ( with Dennis' help) are destroying competitions. Make no mistake anyone on the Committee of any power is a Board Member, they are going to do what Kyle Weaver wants him to do, not what is the best for the sport. This is the same for Camp Perry, High Power, Small Bore & Collegiate, there is not one staff member left that is looking out for the competitor that supports the NRA. I wish you all luck, you will need it... Tom Hughes - Former NRA Pistol Manager Edited December 19, 2015 by FMRNRAPistolManager Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alan550 Posted December 19, 2015 Share Posted December 19, 2015 (edited) I agree about Damien! I got an email response from him yesterday, after inquiring about National Record discrepancies and he said that the new person in charge of that doesn't know the difference between a course of fire and rimfire! We are contemplating NOT getting our local AP events sanctioned to save the $4.50 they get for every gun at an event. No need since they take months to classify a new shooter or re-classify an experienced one! I always said that AP is the "red-headed step child at NRAHQ", and you just confirmed it! Thanks, Tom for all you did! Alan~^~ Edited December 19, 2015 by Alan550 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Toolguy Posted December 19, 2015 Share Posted December 19, 2015 Hi Tom- Thanks for letting us know what is going on. You will always be remembered as the one who made the Bianchi Cup what it was intended to be and gave us all a good ride and some great memories. We wish you all the best for the future. God Bless. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
9146gt Posted December 19, 2015 Share Posted December 19, 2015 Looks like NRA has a few problems with the thought of using electronic targets is Bullseye also Tom Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
toothguy Posted December 20, 2015 Share Posted December 20, 2015 Success doesn't happen by accident, especially when something is starting to go down hill and gets turned around. It's due to careful planning and good leadership. Thanks Tom. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
goldfieldshooter Posted December 21, 2015 Share Posted December 21, 2015 As always Tom is straight to the point and shooting from the hip. Already booked the flights so I am committed for this year anyway. I normally have an entry form and invitation by now to start the paperwork but nothing as yet Could be a very interesting 2016 . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Service Desk Posted December 22, 2015 Share Posted December 22, 2015 As always Tom is straight to the point and shooting from the hip. Already booked the flights so I am committed for this year anyway. I normally have an entry form and invitation by now to start the paperwork but nothing as yet Could be a very interesting 2016 .Coatsey, Look on the bright side of things, you might beat Mr Munt to a low entry number.....I am more concerned about no entry number ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RippinSVT Posted December 22, 2015 Share Posted December 22, 2015 (edited) In talking with HQ, it's so incredibly apparent that the right hand doesn't know what the left hand is doing over there. How can there even be a debate about the recent success of the Cup? It was so obviously Tom's doing. Going from the dark days of low participation to the recent record numbers and 100ish new Production shooters, it's clear who did what. Now we've got clowns calling the shots and changing shit up to suit certain big name shooters. So what, it makes for a good episode of Shooting USA with the new format, but within a couple years they won't need a "shoot off" because people will just stop coming. Dropping thousands of dollars on a match that caters to a select few, run by an organization who could give two shits about us, is silly. I was just finding my stride and solidly shooting Metallic scores in the 1800's, and now I'm thinking about switching away from any NRA sanctioned sports altogether. Registration is a week and a half away, they better figure out what their plan is quick. Edited December 22, 2015 by RippinSVT Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RippinSVT Posted December 22, 2015 Share Posted December 22, 2015 P.S.- I already had guys that dropped out for this year because they made it even more drawn out. I'm sure they aren't the only ones. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DWFAN Posted December 22, 2015 Share Posted December 22, 2015 I don't even have any real travel involved and the extra day sucks. If I don't make the shoot off, at least I can be back to work on Friday. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Distant Thunder Posted December 23, 2015 Share Posted December 23, 2015 All, As most of you know I no longer have anything to do with the success or demise of the Bianchi Cup or any of the NRA Pistol Shooting Sports. I resigned for several reasons, 1 of them is the NRA leadership, Kyle Weaver & Dennis Willing do not show any concern for the competitors that shoot this sport in the field. Number 1 - Kyle is not a competitive pistol shooter & will never be one, it's difficult & he has no interest in getting better, so he is far from interested in supporting this sport, and is concerned about what it costs. Dennis Willing is an empty suit with a 5 year contract, they cant get rid of him and must put up with his lack of knowledge and more importantly the lack of support of the pistol competition community. I disagreed with both of them & carefully planned my exit to better suit me & my family. The NRA is NOT your friend, they only are interested in any funding they can receive and any positive press they will receive from the Pro Shooters. Be prepared for 2016, Damien Orsinger has the 2016 Bianchi Cup, this will be a first for him. Everything he touches turns bad, he has no clue how to run this Championship & never has, NRA management has covered for this guy since he has been there, he is a yes man & will do what ever Dennis tells him to do. As a competitor you will feel it... Before you sign up to compete, check the Program, there will be less prizes than in 2015, and my guess is the Awards Ceremony will be reduced with only Awards, NO CASH, NO GIFT Bags. I was told to cater to the top shooters, give them free entries and free tickets to the banquet, as they were the important competitors. I would not do it, as I know the majority of the competitors that shoot NRA AP are NOT the top shooters. The minor sponsors will not be recognized, or contacted, like this year they will only solicit cash sponsors. It's sad, its not about them, its about the sport, the people that lose are those of you that practice & shoot at your local clubs. The bottom line, the NRA ( with Dennis' help) are destroying competitions. Make no mistake anyone on the Committee of any power is a Board Member, they are going to do what Kyle Weaver wants him to do, not what is the best for the sport. This is the same for Camp Perry, High Power, Small Bore & Collegiate, there is not one staff member left that is looking out for the competitor that supports the NRA. I wish you all luck, you will need it... Tom Hughes - Former NRA Pistol Manager Tom. In a perfect world, how would you set up the Bianchi Cup that would provide a good balance between the competitors on a budget and the sponsored shooters? Secondly, can you envision the Bianchi Cup being taken away from the NRA and going with another organization that would promote the shooting sports? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FMRNRAPistolManager Posted December 23, 2015 Author Share Posted December 23, 2015 All, As most of you know I no longer have anything to do with the success or demise of the Bianchi Cup or any of the NRA Pistol Shooting Sports. I resigned for several reasons, 1 of them is the NRA leadership, Kyle Weaver & Dennis Willing do not show any concern for the competitors that shoot this sport in the field. Number 1 - Kyle is not a competitive pistol shooter & will never be one, it's difficult & he has no interest in getting better, so he is far from interested in supporting this sport, and is concerned about what it costs. Dennis Willing is an empty suit with a 5 year contract, they cant get rid of him and must put up with his lack of knowledge and more importantly the lack of support of the pistol competition community. I disagreed with both of them & carefully planned my exit to better suit me & my family. The NRA is NOT your friend, they only are interested in any funding they can receive and any positive press they will receive from the Pro Shooters. Be prepared for 2016, Damien Orsinger has the 2016 Bianchi Cup, this will be a first for him. Everything he touches turns bad, he has no clue how to run this Championship & never has, NRA management has covered for this guy since he has been there, he is a yes man & will do what ever Dennis tells him to do. As a competitor you will feel it... Before you sign up to compete, check the Program, there will be less prizes than in 2015, and my guess is the Awards Ceremony will be reduced with only Awards, NO CASH, NO GIFT Bags. I was told to cater to the top shooters, give them free entries and free tickets to the banquet, as they were the important competitors. I would not do it, as I know the majority of the competitors that shoot NRA AP are NOT the top shooters. The minor sponsors will not be recognized, or contacted, like this year they will only solicit cash sponsors. It's sad, its not about them, its about the sport, the people that lose are those of you that practice & shoot at your local clubs. The bottom line, the NRA ( with Dennis' help) are destroying competitions. Make no mistake anyone on the Committee of any power is a Board Member, they are going to do what Kyle Weaver wants him to do, not what is the best for the sport. This is the same for Camp Perry, High Power, Small Bore & Collegiate, there is not one staff member left that is looking out for the competitor that supports the NRA. I wish you all luck, you will need it... Tom Hughes - Former NRA Pistol Manager Tom. In a perfect world, how would you set up the Bianchi Cup that would provide a good balance between the competitors on a budget and the sponsored shooters? Secondly, can you envision the Bianchi Cup being taken away from the NRA and going with another organization that would promote the shooting sports? That would be a hard one to figure out, I would not want to figure that one out without a lot of help from competitors that compete in all disciplines, the recent problem with the NRA mindset is they are not concerned about the competitors or the range staff. Personally, in the last 3 years I was there, I was never asked, not once what I thought about changing the Bianchi Cup, Camp Perry or any other Pistol related competition, I was told THEY were changing it, THEY were taking over sponsorship. It was the current leadership that never set a championship, never requested suggestions from competitors or sponsors, the Bianchi Cup was the fastest growing NRA shooting sport, it had more sponsorship & press coverage than every other championship combined. THEY certainly know better than all of us I wish all of you the best of luck for 2016, I will be extremely surprised if the on-line entry is working on 1 January 2016. But, I am sure the NRA is not concerned, it doesn't effect them, only you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carmoney Posted January 21, 2016 Share Posted January 21, 2016 I am very surprised by the level of bitter, harsh, and accusatory language that the original poster has chosen to employ in this thread. Right or wrong, that sort of personal vitriol has traditionally been viewed as unbecoming to this community. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FMRNRAPistolManager Posted January 21, 2016 Author Share Posted January 21, 2016 I am very surprised by the level of bitter, harsh, and accusatory language that the original poster has chosen to employ in this thread. Right or wrong, that sort of personal vitriol has traditionally been viewed as unbecoming to this community. Mike, With all due respect, are you a Bianchi Cup competitor, this thread is for that community. As the original poster, if truth is bitter, harsh & the language I used offends you, I apologize. Many Bianchi Cup competitors have witnessed the downturn in their sport, I feel the need to tell the truth, not hide in an office & hope they wont notice the difference. It's not personal or mean spirited as you implied, I no longer am involved, these competitors were lied to, and mislead, but not by me. Good luck to you & your fellow USPSA competitors Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Griz Posted January 21, 2016 Share Posted January 21, 2016 Carmoney is 100% correct. I am shocked that such a petty, vindictive thread is acceptable here. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Toolguy Posted January 21, 2016 Share Posted January 21, 2016 (edited) It's not petty to those of us that spend thousands of dollars to go there every year. Tom is giving us the straight story that we will get nowhere else. Edited January 21, 2016 by Toolguy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Griz Posted January 22, 2016 Share Posted January 22, 2016 Warren, I have the deepest respect for you and understand your frustration.... I have nothing but contempt for NRA Action Pistol HQ, but in my opinion, this thread really is inappropriate for BrianEnos.com Tom should take his bitterness to facebook or somewhere else with low or no standards. I stopped going to the Bianchi Cup partly because of the frustration with many of the accusation Tom has leveled against the NRA. The only catch is, my frustration and disillusionment happened when Tom was in charge and he is guilty of pretty much everything he is bitching about. I've even seen Damian shoot an AP match (it was not pretty) which is more than I can say for Tom! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JRB Posted January 22, 2016 Share Posted January 22, 2016 Good afternoon. Thank you Tom. when one is upfront and true to his thoughts, it always works for me. I do hope we get to meet again some day. J. Russell Bryan Canadian Action Pistol Shooter / IPSC / ICORE / USPSA and anything else that's fun Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GrumpyOne Posted January 25, 2016 Share Posted January 25, 2016 Well, if you wanted it locked, you got it locked. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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