Hello everyone,

One of the recent posts here was from a fellow interested in Schuetzen who has a Sharps rifle, which reminded me that my interest in Schuetzen started with two elements: My Father-in-Law gave me a trapdoor rifle, which sparked my interest in single shots, and one of the regular shooters at the local range  was an avid Schuezen shooter and introduced me to the sport. The trapdoor was a second allin conversion and I was very interested in the rifle but not interested in shooting it. After Quigley came out 
I scraped together about $250 and bought an imported Sharpes made or distributed by Sile. When Garrett introduced their rifles which had double set triggers I got one of those, and it was off to the races. I shot that Garret Sharps at the ISSA regionals until 2007 when I bought my highwall. 
There are lots of Sharps rifles, rolling blocks, and trapdoors out there, originals and good replicas. They are not ideal for Schuetzen shooting but they meet all the specifications in the rules and they have an interesting historical background. I think we can get more people into this sport by having a "big bore" classification, .40 cal or greater, black powder or smokeless. No need for a separate relay, just a separate class like traditional rifle, with separate awards.   Potential recruits need two things : interest in the subject matter and basic equipment to get started. Interest in the subject matter can be generated by a little advertising, such as articles online or in shooting magazines and setting up tables at local gun shows to promote the sport. 
You also need to be willing to cast your own bullets, but I am not sure how much of an impediment that aspect of it is. 
At any rate, I am throwing this out for discussion with the hope that it will contribute to the preservation of the sport. 
Joe S.

A couple of the guys I shoot BPCR with got me and my dad to join them at the schutzen match, and we were hooked. We shot the 45-70's for a few matches but saw the limitations pretty quickly so out new friends put out feelers to get us good deals on some old setups that weren't being used anymore. 

From experience I can say that just getting  the guys out there gets the ball rolling.  I just had to tell myself that I wasn't competing against anyone else, just myself. Im still pretty proud of scoring in the low 230's with my black powder 45-70 and a 6x scope in my first couple matches

Joe I'm with you on this. We need to think all things "Single Shot" not just "Schuetzen". Black powder, varmint matches and rimfire is a good way to increase membership and participation. 
If someone wants to put on an ASSRA match it's pretty easy. All you need are ASSRA targets, participants and a venue. Match directors can develop a course of fire that fits their local interests. It does not need to be exactly what is shot at Etna Green.
Folks should keep their eyes peeled I think there is some projects being worked on to assist new shooting groups in getting started.

Not sure what is meant by "all things single shot: or "varmint matches". I would prefer to not get into high powered varmint rifles built on high wall actions, or bolt actions, but these are issues that need to be worked out. The essence of my point is that shooters with a Sharps or rolling block in their inventory already have a "schuetzen" rifle, and can get started without having to buy an expensive Ballard, High Wall or Stevens. The trapdoor does not have a history of involvement in Schuetzen matches but does qualify from a technical standpoint and is from the "period" with lots of good shooters available at reasonable prices. It is also capable of pretty good accuracy if you put a tang sight on it and work on the trigger.  I hope that  persons with a shootable trapdoor, Sharps or rolling block can get into Schuetzen and then decide if they want to get something a little better suited to the traditional Schuetzen events. The Aurora Schuetzenfest in Illinois had a "buffalo runner's " match fired from cross-sticks which as I recall was a very popular event. I don't remember if it was limited to big bore rifles or not. 

At any rate, after we decide on the specific parameters of what will be allowed, we need to get the word out. Fortunately, the internet can provide us with some low cost options via various forums like this one, rimfire central, Cast Boolits, etc. We can incorporate the "big bore" class as part of our existing matches, but eventually we need to get more matches in areas where events are sparse, which is an entirely different problem.

Thanks for the support and good suggestions, hopefully we can get some new blood (aka under 50) in this sport to keep it going. 

Joe S

Interesting thread.  The shooters at our local range who shoot BPCR silhouette are struggling with recruitment issues.  Lately, we have seen the number of shooters who attend the monthly match drop considerably.  In addition, we have had only one new shooter join the ranks in the past year.   
We are discussing whether or not to allow lever action, Ruger #1 & #3 rifles as well as smokeless powder shooters to join the matches.  They would be in separate classes from those of us shooting true BP.  It sure would be sad to see the BPCR and Schuetzen matches become a thing of the past.

I was just looking at the ASSRA Match and Scoring Rules and see there are .40 Cal + events already. 
Section 302 Cross Stick Matches (Buffalo Match)
Section 303 Class II Benchrest Match
Perhaps it's a matter of putting the opportunity out there?

Just goes to show it never hurts to check the rules!
Joe S

I got recruited when I bought a Sharps rifle. It was a transitional model with a Farmingdale 40-70 SBN barrel and a Big Timber receiver with a black powder firing pin. It came with a generous supply of black powder rounds and smokeless rounds. I shot the black powder rounds first, knocked all the mud dauber nests off the roof and placed 3rd. Veral Sigman observed, "Not a bad group, too bad it's not centered." I didn't even have a spotting scope, but the hook was set deep.