hello dark archer, i shoot the mbo class as well, and aside from the backups on the I range, i thought the ibo did another outstanding job. shooting on the same ranges where the peers are shooting can be a little time consuming, but they still need to shoot. the real problem with the 20 target range is that all peer groups had to shoot I range on saturday, and K or J. we took 7 hours to shoot I range, but that was with the rain delay. we heard the sirens, but werent sure if they were responding to an emergency, or calling us off of the ranges. we were told by a shoot official of a 4 wheeler. there was however a little confusion at the check in tent, as i overheard the conversation on the 2 way radio that gave the all clear. we went back up the mountain to target 6 after the all clear, and that was when we really got pounded. we never heard another siren, and were not told to leave the range. common sense took over, and we acted accordingly, but we were never advised or directed to leave the range again after the initial stoppage.

as for the binoculars, i use brunton 8x42, they are very old, but still work well. i did not have any targets that i could not see. i dont know what kind of bino that you are using, but there were shooters that could not see with the glass they had. perhaps an upgrade in optics might help....

i too would like shoot times assigned, but only as a tee time like the world shoot. i understand everyone cannot get there to shoot on friday, but late commers could be assigned at the check in tents, but, if the ibo goes to a tee time for the triple crown, keep in mind the rain. if you have a commited time to shoot, you have to shoot at that time, with the current method, you can sit in your hotel room and watch the weather and plan accordingly. shooting on friday is a good thing. we shot 10 friday, 20 on saturday and 10 on sunday. i took quite a while to shoot i range, even with the downpours, but i never shot an arrow in the rain. i just camped out under my lighting rod umbrella and waited it out.

speed is really a moot point. if you have the archers advantage program at home, play with the number on there. there is an advantage to speed, there is no argument there, but, the gains are not as sugnificant as you might think. the difference between 310 and 285 are minimal. the rule allowing you to shoot 5 grains or speed is a great idea. it allows shorter draw archers to shoot into the 280 speed range without using the 5 grain per pound rule, which greatly levels the playing field. i shoot 288 and have no problems on the ranges. as ken stated a little hard work on yardage estimation goes a long way. hang out on the practice range and watch people shoot and warm up. a lot of really good shooters there, but the range estimation is the real game.

pulling people off of the ranges has got to be a difficult task. i know ken would rather see 1500 happy dry shooters than one person get injured by a lighning strike. i feel the same way. a little rain and thunder are not bad, but the lightning is a no brainer. pull the shooters off of the ranges. if they go stand by a vender booth, or a check in station, maybe they need a little more guidance. we stayed under the bike rack pavillion until the all clear.

i agree with your concerns, and i know ken takes your suggestions very seriously, because he doesnt always have all the answers, and he just like us gets a great deal of knowledge from the shooters and this message board.