I would like to seemore people shoot the local IBO shoots and state shoots but I will not join IBO just to shoot 1 shoot ! If I knew I was going to the worlds and was going to shoot alot of qualifiers it would be different. On the local level if I know I am not going to worlds and I go to a qualifier and find out I can shoot for fun for $8 or pay $20-$25 and shoot the same course, guess what ? With the prices of everything where they are I have already cut back on the number of shoots I am attending this year. If the trend continues next year I may become a weekend warrior and stay close to home and beat up on the locals, lol.

$45.00 amatuer fee at triple crown.
$10.00 team fee.
$200.00 for two nights hotel stay.
$60.00 food for the weekend.
$60.00 gasoline.
$3.00 parking fee at IBO event. !!!!
Equals $378.00 per triple crown event.
$25.00 IBO membership per year.
Equals $1,184.00 for the combined triple crown, per shooter.
The trill of winning a National Title. Priceless !
Then there is the cost of shooting at Snowshoe, I won't even go there.

Wow, it really adds up to a lot of money.
How much more will it cost next year ?
Is this a rich mans game or what ?
I can only hope that I can continue to attend.
It must be the love of the sport that keeps me coming back.
I am typically not a complainer, but after reading some of the posts on this thread concerning costs I thought I would add it all up.

Yep, adds up to alot of $$ and $60 for gas could be on the low side depending on where you live. My biggest problem is getting enough vacation time. I work every other weekend so if a shoot falls on my weekend to work I need 4 days off. A couple weeks vacation doesn't last too long at that rate! It would be nice to be wealthy and not work and attend EVERY big shoot in EVERY 3-d org. I don't see how so many people are able to do it ?

Still cheaper than playing GOLF! Though that shooting 3D was to be fun, one was not having to take out a second morgage! If money is the main reason for NO SHOWS well so be it. As I said before not ALL who answer this web are PRO class shooters that make $$$. Most are shooting for the fun. Stop and question the issue of money and conditions,if it was a hunt, rain, mud, hills or what ever, all would still hunt with NO problem!

Its just money yall!I am going to snowshoe in August and plan to spend around $1200 dollars or even more. I dont care either.. You on only live once....

Well, good for you ! Our archery season is 6 weeks long and when it is raining and calling for more I DO NOT hunt as it is too easy to lose an animal when the blood trail is washed away. The same applies to the terrain, if I have a bad back or bum knee then I will choose to NOT climb steep and slippery areas. I have been to Snowshoe and been a part of the slipping and falling and seen the injuries and broken equip. If I don't hunt such places I won't shoot 3-d there. Hunting and 3-d are suposed to be fun and to me shooting or hunting under these conditions does not qualify as fun ! You need to find cheaper golf courses !

Ok you asked.... and this is coming from a first time shooter at a "national" event.

I shot at Nelsonville for the first time today after shooting at several local clubs for the past few years and I must say that I was bored out of my mind. I do not want to dismay all of the hard work that the IBO people were doing and the amount of organization and time it must take to put something on like this. However, I personally will not be back due to several reasons.....I will list a few with explainations just to try and help those who are looking for answers to why a person might only shoot one time and never return.

1. Paying $45 to shoot 40 foam targets and then being told that I must pay another $25 to sign into the IBO in order to get a scorecard knowing darn well that in no way was I ever going to walk away with anything due to not devoting the time and money it takes to be in the winning group, I hunt with my bow and the accesories that are on it. $70 is crazy!!....I'll say it. Is golf cheaper??? It used to be but I don't do that either because it was costing $50 to do it. I have two children and a regular job...... I'll stick to local fees of $10-$15 and if I want to shoot another 30 targets I'll pay $5 for a reshoot. If local shoots get more expensive I will probably stick to shooting in the back yard. - have an unpaid fun class, shoot what you bring, and figure out what it takes to pay for those targets and the people to set it up and charge me that. If it truely is $70 then I will gracefully disappear like I did at the local golf course.

2. Standing out in a field of targets with no shade in 90 degree weather is not fun!!! We walked to ranges A and B from checkpoint 1 because we were told it was less than 3 tenths of a mile up the road and easily within walking distance. Try doubling that and then plus some. When we got over to the Ramada and realized we could have drove over there and parked in the lot we almost packed up and went home. Plus on 3 out of 4 ranges we got behind groups that ran their time limits right to the last second and then stood at the target and talked about "the thunder messed me up" or "I didn't get a strong release"..... come on, just shoot and move on. I'm ok with living inside the rules but in several cases these people had 4+ groups held up on one target..... frustrating to a newbe - Absolutely. It's especially frustrating when it's hot and rainy and it takes them minutes to gather all their things up just to move on to the next target (ie umbrellas, chairs, water bottles, covers) - ban all that crap and let's get back to "bowhunting". Last time I checked MBR did have the word "bowhunter" in it....

3. Over 75% of our targets were right out in open fields. Now granted this didn't help my score any but it felt like we were shooting the same shot over and over with different animals in the sight pins. Maybe this is the way all big shoots are but it ain't for me. I have never stood out in an open field with no brush and got a shot at a real animal. Again, I was bored out of my mind and found myself just flinging arrows to get it over with and my score reflected it. I can only think of one target that was "scenic" and that was the deer by the pond. For the money I paid I expected more of an experience. I could have done that at an air conditioned building and walked about 10 less miles.

4. I had a misperseption that we would see the pro's out and about and see what makes these guys so good (timing, composure, equipment, form) but they were stationed clear on the other side of the campus away from us commons. I think this sent the message where my money was going....I could be wrong and excuse me if I am. I really felt like I donated my money to the "elite" few in the sport, which is ok because I go to plenty of sporting events and pay my ticket price just like everyone else but at least I get to see where my money is going.


ok.... I have said enough and I really did have a good time but I would be kidding myself if I thought I would ever drag myself through the frustration again. Am I asking for anything to change..... absoluetly not. You guys shoot these big shoots all of the time and there seemed to be a pretty good turnout from many states. All I am saying is that unless somebody really conviced me that we would be shooting in hunting situations at a reasonable fee with other people that realize the fact they will never get past page 6 on the scoring sheet, I will keep my money in my pocket. This is your organization (well $25 of it is mine now) but from an outsider this is what I felt and saw today.

Good Luck and thank to all of the people who put their time into these shoots.... I just don't think they are for me

New shooter and Ohio Hunter. Sorry to hear you had a bad time at Nelsonville. I have shot for 10 years and skipped Nelsonville this year. None of my friends want to go there anymore and we have all had our turn at the bean field and pature field on a 90 degree day. I shot Mbr for several years then went to MSR and for some reason got that dreaded field more than once. Didn't call that shooting and did nothing for my hunting. Sure don't hunt in the middle of a field in Pennsylvania. Is that the secret to killing them big Ohio Bucks maybe. I still think its time for a change on location of these shoots. I know a club that would love to host a major event that has 400 plus acres of woods, lots of parking and only 15 miles from a major vacation spot in Pa and can't get the IBO or the ASA to even take a look at it. It is a real shame that this club doesn't get used, it is the nicest club I have ever shot at and it host 5 local 3D matches a year. As far as your entry fee's goes they are a little bite'ee any more but I like to have fun and fun cost money. I found it a lot easier a year ago to get a new shooter involved in the IBO shoots, than I do now. I tell them what it will cost them for there first shoot and thats the end of it. It used to be easy to encourage a new shooter to go up and try Erie for there first shoot since we are only 2 hours away. Alot of guys would go and a few would get hooked. Now none go. Hard to hook somebody this way. Now i am trying to decide if I am going to the Worlds.I spent around $700 to shoot 20 shots last year and said I wasn't ever going back. I'm getting that awful feeling I want to go, but know I am going to a Ski Resort and it rains a lot up in those mountains. Sure would be really pissed if I only got to shoot 20 shoots again and I know there is a pretty good% chance that could happen. Probally will bite the bullet this week and check on a room.

Iam sorry to here there our folks that did not have a good time at IBO shoots . I think the IBO is doing a great job with the shoots they have . You have got to realize how big a job this is to get these shoots going . I was a counsel member with the Michigan longbow Assc. and I remember what a job it was to get the Great lakes longbow shoot up and going every year. IT is so hard to up and pull out and move it takes months of planing . I dont see what the big deal with Erie and nellsonville our they our both good shoots ,I have shot for years with the mud the heat the flats the hills the rocks the family the wife the what ever . In fact this year I shot nellsonville up behind dorms ,which as always been hard for me ,because I have heart trouble but I dont complane . This year I just had heart surgery 3 weeks ago but still shot those hills it was tuff but thats how it goes ,I would have given any thing to shoot the fields this year . I guess I want to say is we need to stop the bitching and start supporting IBO or we wil lose these organizations all together . Its a big job to do the things they do and its hard to please everyone . so lets stop crying ang get to a Ibo shoot .
Bill

Part of the problem on the local level may be the courses that are set up ? I have shot IBO qualifiers that were set up EXTREMELY long . I have told shooters that the yardage at the worlds is not usually as long. This is NOT the way to attract new shooters ! It seems that each local club wants to set a harder course than the last to the point it gets ridiculas ! I shot one this year with a local senior pro who does well on the IBO and ASA tours, his AVERAGE shot was 47 YARDS !!! My average shot from the senior stakes(45 max.) was 38. The MBO stakes were somewhere in between. I really don't think a first time IBO shooter wants this kind of course for their 1st try at IBO. Lost, bent, and shattered arrows don't impress many people but to these clubs it seems the harder the better!! These same clubs then wonder why they don't get as amny shooters as they used to ?