There's been talk of a postal shoot, and as we only get about 5 months where we might see calm, dry, warm, comfortable shooting conditions where I live, I figure if I want to see it happen, I better take my turn at organizing one. It seems like we only get about 3 hours, 3 days a month like that in the summer, and I'm busy 3 our of 4 times the stars align, but now is the time to get some shooting in, for me anyway.
This time around, there will be an entry fee.
Since there's also been talk of how the owner of our favorite website is in need of some reward for his time and effort providing us such a nice place to live on the Internet, I figure we should all be able to help out. Some have donated money, some will buy T-Shirts, and some are giving enough by volunteering their endless knowledge. I hope something like this can benefit the site somehow, either by bringing in some extra money, or by increasing participation.
Now, before you move on, heading back to the FREE part of the Internet, let me explain what I have in mind. I've noticed I have several items sitting around here I know I'll never use. I could sell these items on eBay, but I think I'd get more out of supporting this site, and putting them up as prizes for a fun competition. Maybe some of you have items you'd donate to the prize pool.
Rules:
.20 Caliber rifles ONLY. I'd say .204 Ruger only, but the hole is going to be the same. No way to tell what it came out of, so .20 cal it is.
All targets must be shot outdoors. A 200 yard indoor range, with no wind, is rare, and would not be fair.
Entry: $3 per class
Classes:
See separate post below for suggested classes to be available.
* FACTORY = A manufacturer who produces and sells more than 10000 rifles a year. A "factory" DPMS .204 Ruger might have a bull barrel on it, but I'd consider this a factory rifle. Let's say have White Oak Arms AR-15 in .204 Ruger you off a website. I'd consider them to be a custom manufacturer, and it could be used only in the Unlimited classes. If you are in doubt, ask before entering. Someone is going to have to judge what is factory and what isn't. If you guys would like to choose someone besides me to decide this, that would be fine.
Edit: The DPMS vs custom AR analogy was not appropriate for this application. Factory is going to mean factory barrel, except for the Savage LRPV, which will be restricted to UNLIMITED classes only. Also, I think it best that ALL AR-15 variants are restricted to UNLIMITED classrd, or the ***AR-15*** classes listed in the post below.
If you participate in this, please participate in the spirit of fair competition, not "getting by with a technicality" to give yourself some edge. I don't think anybody will claim you cheated if you win, but think about how others are going to be participating, and try to follow the spirit of the rules.
Prizes:
Prize pool will be listed AFTER all Targets are received. Each prize will be assigned a number. The top 3 shooter/rifle pairings in each class will get their choice of prize from the list. The order in which each class gets to choose will be drawn for. That order will be repeated down to 3rd place in all 5 classes. No matter how many classes it is entered in, each rifle will be eligible for ONE prize. If a rifle finishes 1st in one class, and 3rd in another, the shooter will forfeit their 3rd place prize choice with that rifle. If they place with a different rifle, that shooter can select one prize per rifle entered if that rifle qualifies for a prize. This way, the top 3 rifles in each class get to choose a prize. Let's say someone has a rifle that is crazy accurate. That rifle can place in more than one class, but can only claim one prize. A signature tag will also be made available for place winners in each class to have displayed on the forum.
As far as prizes, I guess it would be nice if they all fit in a $5 flat rate box, but I doubt that's gonna happen. I wouldn't like very much to have a bunch of guys send me 30 pound prizes and I end up losing $200 in shipping the prizes out. maybe I could list estimated shipping cost over $8 or something on any heavier or larger prizes. That way, you'd know before choosing that prize you might have to pay any shipping over say $8. ?
A thought on avoiding shipping costs: If you have a prize to pledge, you keep the item and ship it straight to the winner after results are in. You'd only need to register the prize with me to get it on the list.
It really surprised me to hear from Brian that neither Hornady nor Ruger is willing to sponsor this site that must be the best salesman for a cartridge they invented. Maybe a few of you have industry contacts that might help change that. Maybe you have a contact in any industry that might be willing to put up a prize or two to this contest in exchange for some advertising. Logos could be on the Targets, and maybe Brian would put a sponsor's banner on the forum.
IMPORTANT DATES:
- DEADLINE to sign up for Classes you want to participate in is MONDAY, JUNE 7th. (send me a PM to be added to lists)
DEADLINE to get your item entered into prize pool is MONDAY, JUNE 14th. (This let's me determine what prizes will be available, and whether the whole thing is feasible before people send in entries.
DEADLINE to have your entry fees sent in is MONDAY, JUNE 21st.
TARGETS go out in mail MONDAY, JULY 28th.
Returning TARGETS must be POSTMARKED BY MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 6th.
Goal is to have TARGETS scored by MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 20th.
Prizes should be chosen, shipped, and arrive by THANKSGIVING.
Entrants from across the oceans are welcome, but to claim a prize, you must be willing to pay any extra shipping over $8 to get your selected prize shipped to you. I'm also not sure of the legality on shipping some possible prizes outside the USA, so that may be a consideration when choosing prize.
Let's say the goal here would be to get every shooter a prize valued at $5 or more, although I know I paid over $20 for a couple items I would be donating. Prizes remaining after 15 entrants choose their prize will be randomly awarded to remaining shooters.
I was thinking we could have a minimum post count or something to qualify for entry. That would at least keep someone out there from registering with some sinister plan to cheat, claiming all the good prizes. I hear about coyote contests where they give the winners lie detector tests. Ultimately, these prizes aren't going to be worth thousands of dollars, and there is no way to stop someone from cheating, so I think I'd like to make the only requirement be that you are a member here TODAY, at the time of this posting. If someone cheats, they're just going to have to live with it. I think we've had excellent respect for the rules in past postal shoots around here. It does worry me a little that once you start getting money involved, someone is always left feeling shafted. My main goal here is to avoid that for sure.
Any ideas are welcome on this, as what you see here is just what poured out in the last couple hours. I'm sure there could be some details I'm missing. Ultimately Brian has final say whether he's OK with whatever setup being held here. What do you guys think of the classes structure etc? Am I wrong in thinking some of you have things you could donate as prizes? If there's 75 entrants, I would need to come up with 75 prizes valued at $5 or more, or we may have to cap the prizes awarded to how many are pledged. Let's just see what kind of prize list we get going. (IF YOU HAVE A PRIZE(S) To PLEDGE, PM ME. I DO NOT THINK IT WOULD BE CONSTRUCTIVE FOR ANYONE TO START ANNOUNCING WHAT THEY'LL PLEDGE HERE IN THIS THREAD. I THINK KEEPING THE PRIZE LIST UNKNOWN UNTIL RESULTS ARE IN MAY FOSTER GREATER PARTICIPATION BY TRUE FANS AND PARTICIPANTS OF THIS FORUM. Those who read later about the great prizes that were awarded will have to wait until next year to try their luck. But I don't know. Again, your thoughts are welcome.)
I know that's a lot of info, but I think we can make something like this happen...
Thanks for your time in organizing this Baba and I hope all works out well! 
