Shooting Wire: Cost of Competition

After I had completed yesterday's article on the "Cost of Competition", I wondered if I had come across as having been too whiny. After all, I was focused on my personal expenses and the way that my limited budget was forcing me to make some difficult decisions about what matches I could afford to patronize.

Is it just me? Or is everyone reacting to the exigencies of The New Economy?

Trust Jim Shepherd of "The Shooting Wire" to come to my rescue.

As he describes it, this is not a subject which is not only hurtful to "The Whiny Community". The consequences of inflation, shortage of materials (supply and demand) and "The Fuel Situation" are not only negatively affecting the choices made by shooters. Others ... clubs, ranges, and suppliers are feeling the second-level pinch of lessened supply and consequently lessened demand of their products and services.

(NB: As usual, The Shooting Wire does not provide a permalink to Shepherd's article, and as usual I'll have to quote substantially rather than to supply the link. I apologize for what might otherwise be considered a copyright infringement.)

In fact, not only are the customers, the ranges, the shooting clubs and the vendors suffering from the effects of this economy; even the gun-writers are taking a whipping.

Increasing Prices A Growing Concern

Over the past year, we've incurred the wrath of more than one company by reporting on the growing costs associated with shooting. More specifically, the rapidly rising cost of ammo. Costs of metals used in bullets have risen to the point that some ammunition has doubled in price over the twelve months. Strangely enough, China and its modernization has gotten the majority of the blame in that situation.

Now, as the fuel situation continues to grow worse, it's apparent to everyone that the costs associated with anything delivered by vehicle - unless it's floated downriver via flatboat or hauled via wagon train - is rising. If you think that's an exaggeration, take a look at the produce section of your local grocery. If you want to see the same impact on the shooting sports, look at the cost on what used to be the "cheap" shotgun and rifle shells.

With the 2008 Shooting Sports Summit slightly more than two weeks away, it's just another concern to discuss during the industry's first focused gathering in the past six years.

Yesterday, I spoke with a friend attending a similar session in another sport. According to his statistical information, shooting isn't the only sport looking at a bleak future. Any recreational activity requiring travel or "expendables" (targets and ammunition in shooting) is feeling the pinch. In fact, the golf industry is seeking ways to bring local residents to areas normally dominated by tourists. The tourists, it seems, are staying home in droves. That hurts everyone associated with the tourist - from the bellman to the owner of the five-star restaurant up the street.

In short, it's ugly out there. Unfortunately, "out there" is pretty much synonymous with "everywhere".

For sporting clay shooters, the bite is certainly increasing. Nationwide, prices for shotgun shells have risen - in some locations as much as $4 per box for the heretofore "cheap" shells. Reloading components are more expensive, and every aspect of the sport is looking at cost hikes that are attributed to "fuel adjustment charges".

As Steve McQueen's character ("Vin") famously said in The Magnificent Seven: "We deal in lead, Friend". Lead is heavy, and shipping charges from the mine to the refinery, to the bullet manufacturer, and to the retailer and to the customer are becoming increasingly expensive.

Earlier this year, I thought there might be a little profiteering going one. Today, however, I'm more convinced that everyone - and I mean everyone - is getting hit in the pocketbook by rising energy costs. And I'm not going to hammer the gas companies either. The same price increases that hammer us pound on their people (yes, they are still people) too.

As we look to hold the existing shooting participants in the sport, we're looking at a potential double-whammy: rising costs keeping new prospects from giving shooting a try, and increased costs forcing out the participants who have seen their disposable income shrink to the point that shooting is simply out of the discretionary spending budget. When families are turning to "staycations" rather than "vacations" it's apparent they feel the bite.

At this point, shooting clubs are reporting they are really feeling the bite - especially when they discover that a 12 month supply of clay targets (we're told by purchasers) has more doubled since they last replenished their supplies over a year ago. Some sporting clay clubs are passing the increases on to members. In response, some members are allowing memberships to lapse.

Across the discussion boards in the industry, there are a variety of responses to the price increases. Some clubs are passing on the costs. They say they are losing members. Others say they're still operating, but would "entertain offers" for their machines. Some smaller private clubs are saying they simply can't handle the cost increases and are going to close.

Hopefully, the situation won't get this grim for the rifle and pistol clubs. There, fortunately, the direct costs of many elements fall to the individual members. And if you're like me, you're getting more creative about how you maintain your level of participation.

Yeah. I'm so creative, I'm cutting back my match participation by 50% or even 75%. It's not a deliberate boycott, but the end results are the same.

Shepherd describes how he is, among other means, spending more time with bows than with guns. Then:

Like the rest of you, I'm coping. But it's not always easy.

We're going to be looking at the issues that impact the industry up to- and through - the industry Summit beginning June 23 in Colorado Springs.

Like the rest of the industry, we're looking for answers that will keep all of us involved in the sports we love.

As always, we'll keep you posted.

We're coping, we're looking for answers, and "we'll keep you posted."

Here's an Industry Insider who admits that, in the final analysis, the best he can do is to 'cope'.

This is no reflection on Shepherd ... far from it. It's just an acknowledgment that nobody, no matter how well-established or 'connected' he may be, is able to avoid the consequences of a flailing, if not failing, marketplace.

If Shepherd has no answers, I certainly don't. It's scant comfort that I find myself in the same situation. There is no schadenfreude here, but I do wish that someone, anyone, could offer some encouragement that the market will soon improve.

I need some range time. But my pocketbook won't let me have it.

Whiny? Fretful? Perhaps, but that doesn't mean it's not real.