Please bear with me while I rant....it was a long busy work  week and Sunday was breezy..didn't really feel like shooting anything too big and since it was breezy..didn't want to fire away my accuracy test loads.  Thought a nice quiet relaxing time with a rimfire Ballard would be just the thing I needed.
   Now usually when going out to the sportmens club, I will bring along both rifles for 100yd & 50..or perhaps a couple revolvers..just in case a match is going on..or line is extra crowded..but as I said too tired to get out anything else.
    Drive up to 50yd. line and every bench is taken..and every one of those guys is shooting some kind of .30 milsurp rifle..even scoped ones off bench!  And they are not sighting-in or trying to get on paper..they are blazing merily away at combat sihlouette targets.
   The 100 yd. range is deserted! 
Wonder what the old time match shooters would have to say?

A number of years ago I was the only one at the 200 yard firing line and a group of about 20 Nat'l Guard fellows showed up for training.  They had a pep talk behind the line and I was about done except for a shot or two with an ugly old Highwall 
Schuetzen in .32-20.  Several of them stepped up on the line and looked askance at the old girl and made a few snide and unintelligent remarks.  It had a rear vernier and wind gauge front sight and I let go and the shot was a dead on 25 bullseye.  A few of them looked through my spotting scope and were speechless.  I put the rifle back in the case, cleaned up my stuff and headed home with a purty big head.  They're still talking about it, I'm sure.

I have some of the same issues with the shoot em fast bunch, but, at least they're shooting and not trying to ban guns.

We must direct these lost souls toward the light. 
Get them thoroughly hooked and on their way to curmudgomdom.  The more the merrier.  When you encounter one of these black gun specialists, think of yourself as an evangelistic curmudgenator.  We need fresh meat in our sport. 


           Joe. 

Joe you are right.At the range close to me,I've had the same experience with "black gunners",they either stay for a short while and run out of ammo and leave or they note my rifle isn't barking like a scalded dog and come to investigate what I'm shooting.Once they see how accurate it is at 100/200yds they want to know more about our type of shooting.

I don't find much interest in dumping rounds down range.  However, as a National Match competitor for 40 + years I have learned to appreciate the BLack Rifle. I got my Distinguished Rifleman Badge, and President's 100 with an M-1A.  In Nam 1968 the Marine Corps took my M-14 away and issued me the Matel Toy ( " you knew it was swell, if it was build by Matel")  We missed the M-14.  We had all the Black Rifle problems, failure to chamber or extract, no forward assist, 3 prone flash suppressor  ( which was great for breaking the wire on a case of c-rats.)and worst clogged gas tubes.  The 5.56 Nato was easily deflected by brush. A Marine in the next foxhole, took a round dead on in the chest.  It hit the heavy zipper on his flak jacket and was deflected out the armhole. He received a welt across the chest for his trouble.     The next time I saw one was Camp Perry Small Arms Firing School in the 80's . You were required to shoot one. I found them much better on the range than in the bush.  I don't believe they nor a glock pistol will ever be collector items. They have their place.  Once in a while,  I clean a 300 rapid, or shoot a 198 at 600yd.  I shoot AR-15 in  NRA Match Class now due to age and and the lack of  flexibility.  I missed my Pre-64 M-70 but still use it at long range. My enjoyment is trying to wring the most accuracy out a Highwall, Stevens, Black rifle, RPA or Model 70. I like wood on gun metal, the smell of Hoppes, and learning more about shooting.  My problems seem to be the .25 cal. I believe a philandering spouse is more faithful than the 25/20 SS. Help Please?
Kurt

Our club is mostly paid for by the trap/skeet/sporting clays crowd. And there's also those who join because we have a restaurant/bar/dance floor. They also serve who only eat and drink!

What's with the animosity towards so called black plastic guns? Those guns have kept many an American soldier alive. I love single shot rifles but I also love so called black plastic rifles. When I take my AK or my AR's to the range I do more then just dump ammo. Even if that is all I did, so what? The only important point in this discussion is treating and using firearms safely. Where I shoot we have Range Officers and when a cease fire is called they go down the line and check for safety.Anybody that can't or won't follow instructions is asked to leave.