Had its day?

[Jan Powell]

So, my question is, has this discussion board had its day?

It seems to me that we're just going over the same old ground again and again. In the past few weeks we've questions about chokes, gun cleaning routines, firearms licencing delays, what's your favourite shooting lens colour and now, what's best to drink whilst shooting.

All of these topics have been done to death on several occasions in the past and frankly, for those that have followed the website for a while, it does get a little repetitive. Given that many of the discussions quickly degenerate into nonsensical personal comments from one user to another it seems others perhaps feel the same way.

This is not an attack on those that post the original topic. I realise those new to the sport have lots of questions and occasionally, for those not so new, the odd issue arises that we feel the need to discuss with others but a quick trawl through past discussions will most likely reveal everything you want to know and more.

I guess there's only so much to talk about. Maybe it's time to knock the 'General Shooting Discussions' on the head?

 

[schmokinn]

Miserable Bugger...do you and Wyle come from the same place! 

 

[wylye]

Its WYLYE you ignorant sod! Looking forward to seeing you at the next CPSA meeting, seems ages since I saw you last.

 

[Jim Wheeler]

You may be right, although i feel the newer shooters will always ask old questions, there is not much interest in other aspects of clay shooting, it`s almost all ESP and trap, I dont think  many guys go to big shoots or reg shoots,or FSP, or anything else. so mostly a bit mundane and taking the p*ss out of a few mates.having said that, it`s much the same on most forums and social media ,facebook,twitter et,al. you either join in for whatever reason, or ignore it. 

eventually someone says something which others react (badly) to, insults fly, and people pack it in. especially when someone proffers advice and is shot down by all the know-all`s who actually have no personal experience, but base comments on what they have read or heard.

 

[Worcs]

For someone like me, new to the sport, this site is very useful. Someone is always ready to answer a question and you're not made to feel like an idiot for asking it.

Hopefully they'll always be new people coming to this site and one day, I hope I can help them. I can understand that it might get a bit repetitive for veterans of the site, the same topics coming up but there'll always be someone who it's new for. 

Yes, I could search the forum for past topics of the same question but I don't see the problem with asking again. It really would be dead if all it was was a resource of old threads.

 

[Holianl]

Depends how you look at it. i think of a forum as a community of people with the same interests, i am not sure about yourself but i dont tent to talk about shooting to anyone unless i know they shoot themselves. I have burnt my hands quite a few times telling people i shoot on the weekend so i really enjoy coming onto the forum and looking at all the different topics people talk about, i have already met people from this forum who have helped me chose my first gun and took me along on clay shooting days, this wouldn't have happened if i didn't post on this forum.

The same question can be asked 100 times and will have a different answer each time its posted so i dont mind reading the same topic every now and then because i can learn something new that i might not have known before. most topics posted on a forum start with or end with (what's your opinion) that's why i read every new topic posted as i am interested in what other people may think even if i dont agree with that opinion. i dont wear pillar glasses as i haven't been shooting long but i may want to invest in a pair 6 months down the line now i know people prefer the purple lens so i will try the purple lens when i go to buy some, i didn't know there was a purple lens available.

Do i see this forum as the place to find every bit of information i need? No i dont but i have the whole internet and youtube to find me the answer. But i do enjoy the forum and the community that posts on here that's why i come back every day.

 

[Critter]

I absolutely understand the point you're making.  I'm a bit of a petrol head and belong to several car-specific forums and after a while they have become repetitive.  But my answer is really to just scan them occasionally and chip in if I think I can help.  I don't laboriously read every post.  For those of us who are clay-shooting green-horns, like me, I find this forum really useful and very much appreciate the efforts experienced shooters are prepared to make to help both the novice and experienced alike.  Please don't kill this, for the sake of us newbies!

 

[ExSCA]

Well. This is a nice way to start the weekend. 

The easy answer here is that the forum is 'what you all make it' - I provide a platform, and the members take it anywhere they want.   I watch a lot of the FB groups dedicated to shooting, and they go through the same questions in a cycle, some are fun, some are not - and the level of discourse seems to be common to FB, other forums and ShootClay. 

It is also fair to say that forums go through cycles - members join, members leave, some members complain, some members lurk and say nothing - all forums have the same basic percentage of active users.  I know a couple of facts, my traffic doesn't ever go down month over month, and my membership continues to grow at a steady rate. If those people are lurking, or scared to use the site because of the cliquey jokes, then - that's down to the membership as well, I can't drag them on kicking and screaming. 

That said - I'm running the site at personal cost (I haven't had a contribution to the site for a while, apart from some advertising which is pretty sporadic), and I'll happily put that back into my pocket if people think that the forum isn't needed anymore.   

You get what you put in. 

 

[schmokinn]

Its WYLYE you ignorant sod! Looking forward to seeing you at the next CPSA meeting, seems ages since I saw you last.

Didn't make the last one due to work!

May see you Sunday if you don't see me first 

 

[Hamster]

It's the same on most forums and most certainly FaceBook, you can attempt to brighten things up with a bit of humour (at the right time) but even then there's always some dickhead who'll use the situation to pointscore. 

It's no different to telly really, if you don't like it don't watch it, if you don't like the subject or what others have to say about it then the choice is to either engage them as to why or leave well alone. I like having forums like this because ultimately there's something to learn at some point. 

 

[ExSCA]

Also...

• Talk to each other!  
  
• Review some shooting grounds
  
• Review some guns, ears, eyes, bags, shells - you might find your opinion is valued - we have some flipping experts on here. 
  
• Discuss techniques
  
• Argue about chokes or flipping POI.  
  
• Find the best shooting ground in Kazakhstan
  
• Arrange some meet ups - this site used to meet up in real life
  
• Talk about the news
  
• Suggest a new subforum you want - catapults anyone?  Archery? I don't give a monkeys!
  
• Post pictures of your guns? Your shooting wives and children? You favourite shooting stand in the world.
  
• Suggest a competition
  
• Talk about Brexit - Ok, maybe not... but stuff, you know stuff... act like you are friends, with a common interest and different opinions. 
  
• Tell a joke. Keep it clean
  
• Decide which shooting ground has the best breakfast, nicest view, best entrance drive, worst parking, best targets, worst staff.... have an opinion, just don't slander people or places
  
• Run some polls - need help, ask me... 
  
• Show us whats in your shooting bag? (like this : http://whatsinyourbag.com/)
  
• Post your best Shooting pictures
  
• Talk about your cars? tractors? cows? handbag collection? shoe trees?  sheds? 
  
• Tell us some good anecdotes about shooting? 
  
• Discuss how to hit a 140 yard teal or a 9 yard bunny
  
• Show us the best shooting tattoos
  
• Talk about who started you shooting and why? 
  
• Tell us about the longest journey you had to a shoot
  
• Tell us about the local ground you think is an undiscovered gem?
  
• Talk about which celebrity you'd like to take clay shooting
  
• Find out about shooting in other countries
  
• Post pictures, lots of pictures, lots and lots of pictures - the site has capacity, and if it doesn't I'll buy more
  
• Do something for charity - I'll support
  
• Talk about injuries, exercise, clothing for shooting
  

I just came up with this list in 3 minutes flat (i type fast) - and each of these would be a decent thread to run once or many times... 

And thank you to those that have sent donations in the last few days.  I appreciate your support, and you should know that collectively you've paid running costs for one month, and maybe half a coffee - which really, is all I'd want. 

If I see you out and about you'll get proper man hugs, or if you are a bit phobic, maybe a fist bump or something. 

 

[Paul120]

Oh love.. you mentioned poi...

Here's a thought for a new discussion.

Does cartridge speed affect poi?

 

[schmokinn]

Oh love.. you mentioned poi...

Here's a thought for a new discussion.

Does cartridge speed affect poi?

Depends how far you are from the target  :angel:

 

[ExSCA]

Can you keep this one on topic please?  Important stuff about the site at play. 

 

[Xaphan]

So, my question is, has this discussion board had its day?

It seems to me that we're just going over the same old ground again and again. In the past few weeks we've questions about chokes, gun cleaning routines, firearms licencing delays, what's your favourite shooting lens colour and now, what's best to drink whilst shooting.

All of these topics have been done to death on several occasions in the past and frankly, for those that have followed the website for a while, it does get a little repetitive. Given that many of the discussions quickly degenerate into nonsensical personal comments from one user to another it seems others perhaps feel the same way.

This is not an attack on those that post the original topic. I realise those new to the sport have lots of questions and occasionally, for those not so new, the odd issue arises that we feel the need to discuss with others but a quick trawl through past discussions will most likely reveal everything you want to know and more.

I guess there's only so much to talk about. Maybe it's time to knock the 'General Shooting Discussions' on the head?

Short answer.....no 

Don't take this the wrong way but I very much doubt that you know everything there is to know about the wonderful world of shooting. 

The people within that world are the best source of information on a subject that lets be frank isn't exactly mainstream. The experiences, trials, tribulations and successes of the people within this forum alone is massively informative. its very useful to be able to call on the experiences and opinions of people who have been in the game for longer than yourself. lets face it there is always more than one way to skin a cat (as the saying goes) so even if you have been shooting for a long time then I'm sure there will be something to learn from some whipper snapper going about something a way you had never thought of, that mixture of young, old, experienced and inexperienced all with differing opinions is not only community building in a minority sport but also very useful. also Holianl pointed out its not often easy to talk about things shooting related with people who don't shoot due to lack of interest/knowledge or just because some people are against guns.

I'm very much a lurker and I certainly don't contribute as much as many people on this forum or as much as I probably should,  some of that may come down to me being a fairly shy person in life, some of it may be that I don't feel I have much to contribute but I do enjoy regularly visiting this forum and reading through peoples experiences, the jokes and issues.

again don't take this the wrong way, but it does sound rather ungrateful to complain about a service that is free to the end user.

 

[jwpzx9r]

No way but what is need is more reasonable discussions about general shooting and the thoughts of shooters. I still come on if I have a problem and ask for advice... in fact had it not been for this place I would not be doing as well as I am score wise. There are some very knowledgeable people on the forum and they give out good info. Another thing is that people have to be thick skinned. I love a good debate with pretty heated differences of opinion BUT these differences have to be accepted otherwise the whole thing just falls apart. For example I don't mind a long winded post where someone tries to get the nuts and bolts of their point over other prefer a short post that explain little of their thinking but is to the point. I will say we need more posts on choke , shot string to be honest any controversial aspect of the shooting science ... it really brings out the thoughts of the poster  

One thing I do dislike is people who just say you are talking sh*te. Fair enough disagree but lets keep it civil if you don't agree try to find the correct way of saying so! We all must remember shooting is not an exact science for most and people will always see an aspect of shooting that others do not. Just because someone has been shooting for a long time or they make good scores does not entitle them nor does it mean they are actually correct in what they are saying... although it may apply to them personally.

 

[Sian]

Well I enjoy coming here, I would miss you all and I quite like that we don't always stay on track because that is how real conversations go.  

 

[westley]

Well, I think I must side with Jan on this one  !  After shooting for er.................a very long time, I feel that there is nothing left for me to learn.  Most of the people I meet at the local ground each week seem to also be of the same opinion for I often hear them saying "Here comes that know it all Bugger, Westley again".  So you can understand that being in that envious position, I, like Jan, feel that a Forum such as this is superfluous  !      :???:

 

[Wonko the Sane]

it seems to me that we're just going over the same old ground again and again.

Why do you keep on shooting??  

 It's just the same old thing over and over, innit?

Just because someone has been shooting for a long time or they make good scores does not entitle them nor does it mean they are actually correct in what they are saying...

Oh Yeah???  Sez Who??