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Thank you to everyone who came to this year's DEFCON Shoot. it was the largest one we've had in this latest generation of the event, and i'm amazed that we had as smooth a time as we did. everyone seemed to get along, everyone was safe, and everyone got to shoot.
We had a total of sixteen people act as RSOs, rotating in four shifts of four. I cannot thank you enough, everyone who volunteered. Noid, Dallas, Quiet, Babak, Dr. Tran, and the great number of others who also helped out but whose names elude me (Kyord? Boreal? pretty certain that you two were also part of the safety side of things.)
That said, if we have anything like this year's turnout next time (and i would actually anticipate higher turnout, if you can imagine) we are going to need to make some serious regulatory changes for me to be comfortable with the whole affair.
I would love to hear people's thoughts on the following...
1. More direct control over the firing line positions. - This year we had our "primary" firing line marked by about a 50' rope and it had, i'm going to guess, 20 to 25 shooters going at the same time (with lots of people waiting behind and rotating in and out)
This was too many people and crowding was getting quite rough. We created an entirely new and separate firing line on the other side of the large hill, and that line tended to have almost the same number of active shooters by the time the day got rolling.
Next year, i want to have our staff mark off designated firing line positions, about four or five feet wide, and keep things restricted to that sort of zone. Multiple people can "share" a box if they wish, but only one shooter at a time will be permitted on the line in any given box.
2. Better marking of fire and safe lines - This year all we had was the main firing line, and during cease-fire we asked people to move six feet back from it as RSO's checked the guns and called the range safe. Many people noted that it was hard to determine if people were really far back enough. i want to mark off a designated distance next time. Do we feel six feet is still proper?
3. More firing line space overall - I want the "B" range on the far side of the hill to be given the same treatment as the "A" range where we had marker ropes this time. Indeed, as i will suggest in the next point, there may be a "C" range even further along... but again, only if we can properly mark and regulate it with RSOs.
4. More RSOs - i feel we had things rather well managed this time around, but only due to the extreme professionalism of the volunteer staff and the fact that all participants were very decent to one another, etc.
next time around, i would think that we're going to want between seven and ten RSOs at any given time (depending on whether or not we have the "C" range running) i'm thinking that we could use the top of the large hill in-between the two main ranges at an oversight point, as long as the lines are laid out in a way that keeps this hilltop station in a safe position.
5. Shoot Shop - Unless people think of it as crass, i'd like to set up a small shop stand next year. a place where people can easily acquire things like ammo, eyes/ears, maybe snacks, and water (which will be free). the shoot shirts will also be made available there to those who pre-order them.
i want to clarify that in no way am i attempting to undercut or interfere with others' sales of their own ammo and such. a fully free market is always going to be permitted at the Shoot as long as i have my way... but this might be a convenience to folk who are willing to show up with guns to share and yet do not wish to travel with ammo.
this year, we found most folk offering ten rounds for five dollars in most calibers. it made for nice, even money transactions. (it also made things like .308 a bit of a steal, while 9mm and .45 were a little more pricey)
if there is a shoot shop next year selling ammo, it will be factory loads in brass casings. any other considerations we should have if this ammo is potentially going through others' guns?
6. Shoot Supplies - for next year, i'm likely going to prepare a whole "kit" that we will use... orange vests/hats for all RSOs, specific colored ropes for the lines, small hoops of metal to anchor them in the ground, and so forth.
anything i put together in this fashion will become property of the DC Shoot itself, of course, and anyone who may run the event in the future once i pass it along will inherit it.
7. Pre-Reg for lanes on the B Range? - as in the past, the A Range (closest to the parking area, visible when we all arrive) will be the "sharing" range, where people can feature their firearms and allow others to get some trigger time. the B Range may be a more private affair, with groups who want to shoot guns among themselves and people they know, but not publicly offering access to simply anyone.
if people want to reserve a block of time on the B range, maybe we'll have a system whereby people can PayPal a small amount like $5 and be put on a list. i really don't like the idea of money changing hands like that... i want the event to remain essentially "free" as much as possible, but i am hoping to come up with some way of reserving space for those who wish.
perhaps it can help pay for the orange vests, etc.
8. Attendee List? - Here's a bit of a controversial question. Do we want to have a pre-registered attendee list? It would be a little bit hard to regulate, given that the only way to do it would be to use the driveway entrance as a choke point in order to ask each carload of people who they are... but is there any merit it somehow limiting the Shoot to people who have contacted us before the morning of the event?
i'm not asking for much here, just a way to have people not be at a party on Wednesday night, hear about the Shoot, and decide to just show up in the lobby the next morning without us knowing them from Adam.
again, i'm looking more for ideas here than for approval of this notion specifically. i am seeking ways that we can regulate attendance fairly and perhaps also keep a decent ratio of armed vs unarmed attendees.
9. Sponsors? - another major bit of uncharted territory would be the question of sponsorship. is this anything that would interest us? i know that having some really nice ear protection for the RSOs (maybe something that would accept radio input or some such) would kick some ass. do we think that any outfit would be interested in providing that, just on loan to us?
what about the time the guys from Gem-Tec came out with a lot of their suppressed gear in order to let people experience it?
anyone else know of a gun rental outfit that would be willing to show up and offer a really great deal on some trigger time with full-autos, etc? unless they can offer pricing that would be essentially half of what one pays at a place like The Gun Store i don't think we'd be interested.
the whole idea of sponsorship overall doesn't sit particularly well with me... but i figured i'd bring it up and see what people thought when they were discussing the other questions, too.
thank you again to all who participated. with your input, next year will be even better.a
We had a total of sixteen people act as RSOs, rotating in four shifts of four. I cannot thank you enough, everyone who volunteered. Noid, Dallas, Quiet, Babak, Dr. Tran, and the great number of others who also helped out but whose names elude me (Kyord? Boreal? pretty certain that you two were also part of the safety side of things.)
That said, if we have anything like this year's turnout next time (and i would actually anticipate higher turnout, if you can imagine) we are going to need to make some serious regulatory changes for me to be comfortable with the whole affair.
I would love to hear people's thoughts on the following...
1. More direct control over the firing line positions. - This year we had our "primary" firing line marked by about a 50' rope and it had, i'm going to guess, 20 to 25 shooters going at the same time (with lots of people waiting behind and rotating in and out)
This was too many people and crowding was getting quite rough. We created an entirely new and separate firing line on the other side of the large hill, and that line tended to have almost the same number of active shooters by the time the day got rolling.
Next year, i want to have our staff mark off designated firing line positions, about four or five feet wide, and keep things restricted to that sort of zone. Multiple people can "share" a box if they wish, but only one shooter at a time will be permitted on the line in any given box.
2. Better marking of fire and safe lines - This year all we had was the main firing line, and during cease-fire we asked people to move six feet back from it as RSO's checked the guns and called the range safe. Many people noted that it was hard to determine if people were really far back enough. i want to mark off a designated distance next time. Do we feel six feet is still proper?
3. More firing line space overall - I want the "B" range on the far side of the hill to be given the same treatment as the "A" range where we had marker ropes this time. Indeed, as i will suggest in the next point, there may be a "C" range even further along... but again, only if we can properly mark and regulate it with RSOs.
4. More RSOs - i feel we had things rather well managed this time around, but only due to the extreme professionalism of the volunteer staff and the fact that all participants were very decent to one another, etc.
next time around, i would think that we're going to want between seven and ten RSOs at any given time (depending on whether or not we have the "C" range running) i'm thinking that we could use the top of the large hill in-between the two main ranges at an oversight point, as long as the lines are laid out in a way that keeps this hilltop station in a safe position.
5. Shoot Shop - Unless people think of it as crass, i'd like to set up a small shop stand next year. a place where people can easily acquire things like ammo, eyes/ears, maybe snacks, and water (which will be free). the shoot shirts will also be made available there to those who pre-order them.
i want to clarify that in no way am i attempting to undercut or interfere with others' sales of their own ammo and such. a fully free market is always going to be permitted at the Shoot as long as i have my way... but this might be a convenience to folk who are willing to show up with guns to share and yet do not wish to travel with ammo.
this year, we found most folk offering ten rounds for five dollars in most calibers. it made for nice, even money transactions. (it also made things like .308 a bit of a steal, while 9mm and .45 were a little more pricey)
if there is a shoot shop next year selling ammo, it will be factory loads in brass casings. any other considerations we should have if this ammo is potentially going through others' guns?
6. Shoot Supplies - for next year, i'm likely going to prepare a whole "kit" that we will use... orange vests/hats for all RSOs, specific colored ropes for the lines, small hoops of metal to anchor them in the ground, and so forth.
anything i put together in this fashion will become property of the DC Shoot itself, of course, and anyone who may run the event in the future once i pass it along will inherit it.
7. Pre-Reg for lanes on the B Range? - as in the past, the A Range (closest to the parking area, visible when we all arrive) will be the "sharing" range, where people can feature their firearms and allow others to get some trigger time. the B Range may be a more private affair, with groups who want to shoot guns among themselves and people they know, but not publicly offering access to simply anyone.
if people want to reserve a block of time on the B range, maybe we'll have a system whereby people can PayPal a small amount like $5 and be put on a list. i really don't like the idea of money changing hands like that... i want the event to remain essentially "free" as much as possible, but i am hoping to come up with some way of reserving space for those who wish.
perhaps it can help pay for the orange vests, etc.
8. Attendee List? - Here's a bit of a controversial question. Do we want to have a pre-registered attendee list? It would be a little bit hard to regulate, given that the only way to do it would be to use the driveway entrance as a choke point in order to ask each carload of people who they are... but is there any merit it somehow limiting the Shoot to people who have contacted us before the morning of the event?
i'm not asking for much here, just a way to have people not be at a party on Wednesday night, hear about the Shoot, and decide to just show up in the lobby the next morning without us knowing them from Adam.
again, i'm looking more for ideas here than for approval of this notion specifically. i am seeking ways that we can regulate attendance fairly and perhaps also keep a decent ratio of armed vs unarmed attendees.
9. Sponsors? - another major bit of uncharted territory would be the question of sponsorship. is this anything that would interest us? i know that having some really nice ear protection for the RSOs (maybe something that would accept radio input or some such) would kick some ass. do we think that any outfit would be interested in providing that, just on loan to us?
what about the time the guys from Gem-Tec came out with a lot of their suppressed gear in order to let people experience it?
anyone else know of a gun rental outfit that would be willing to show up and offer a really great deal on some trigger time with full-autos, etc? unless they can offer pricing that would be essentially half of what one pays at a place like The Gun Store i don't think we'd be interested.
the whole idea of sponsorship overall doesn't sit particularly well with me... but i figured i'd bring it up and see what people thought when they were discussing the other questions, too.
thank you again to all who participated. with your input, next year will be even better.a
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