fastfletch, i could not agree with you more, there is nothing in the rules stating anything other than equipment for the hc......the original intent of the hunter class was to get the local guys, just like the ones at your club, to come out and shoot 3d, without the feeling that the guy with the pretty blue bow with the 4 foot stabilizer was shooting against him, and either intimidate or embarrass him because his camo bow has a quiver on it and he doesnt have any two arrows out of the dozen in his quiver are the same. that is the guy the ibo wants, not the die hard guys who travel all the time going down in class.....before the hunter class evolved, we always asked shooters to go to the range with us, and they always said "i cant beat you" well, the hunter class eliminated that. there is a place for them to play without loosing arrows, and getting discouraged. now that same new guy goes out, and gets beat by 75 point by someone who has been shooting for a long time.....who has the ability and skill to shoot against stronger competition. right now the hunter class is probably the most competitive one out there....knowing what i know now, there is no way i would shoot in the hc.....i would shoot the mbr or open....

as for your local guys only having 4 attend the world shoot at snowshoe, are they the best shooters from your area? maybe the other guys figure if they cant beat them at home they for sure wont go all the way to snowshoe and spend $60.00 to shoot the shoot, another $300.00 for a place to stay, $200.00 in gas and food, to get beat by the guy who beats them on sunday anyway....i sure wouldnt...

the wording in the rules as it is, needs a little work. equipment class is the standard argument. we have in our area a national triple crown champion in the mbr class, who now shoots in the hc. getting new shooter to participate in the local shoots is getting tougher because they all say the same thing, we cant beat him....

maybe the ibo could start a national triple crown trophy division...let anyone come out for any class, but only be eligible for a trophy.....the bhd range is also a great idea for getting folks out to the ranges, but as i said before, archery will not draw shooters from very far away just to shoot the bhd range......