Why not join?

[Eugene Slagle]

One reason I don't belong to another Bowhunting organization is because I already belong to the Virginia Bowhunters Association which like David Mitchell & his reason, the VBA is on the for front to help keep bowhunting as strong as it is here in Virginia, in my humble opinion one should join the organization that is based in thir locality first befor thinking of other places.

I'm also like many here am a member of a local archery club.

VBA since 2003
Manahoac Bowmen since 2003, now VP.
NFAA, rejoined in 2009
Hunt Club member since 2000 whos membership includes 3 Hunter Ed instructors & 3 officers of the VDGIF, now Treasurer.

I also help instruct Hunter Education from time to time.

Another reason is because of my lack of knowledge of the other organizations other than what is written in magazines & my lack of additional funds available to afford me joining but so many organizations but I try with what I have & my own abilities to help keep our sport alive.

[thunder1]

With so many people holding their hand out waiting for my dollars I try to stay with local clubs that I shoot at. Some require additional memberships to join their club. Living in a big city and finding places to shoot at can get costly. With that being said I can only support so many.

[swp]

I think at the very least everyone on here should be joining at least one state or national orginization and then writing to your reps and senators on issues that affect your chosen activity(ies). It is so simple it isn't even funny! If you have time to post on TG you have time to make a difference on issues that could affect you.

[Mark Baker]

Whether you are an active member or just a paying member, belonging to your state organization (of your choice) puts you in a 3% category of bowhunters that keep things going for the rest.    Even just being a paying member helps immensly.   These figures are sadly a nationwide trend as far as I know.  

Just an aside....the state and local orgs are the real "fighters" for our opportunities, and given the costs, and preferences of bowhunters, this should be the first place we all should look to support bowhunting.   The most "bang" for your buck, so to speak.  

National orgs are largely there as "examples" for us to hold up to lawmakers and F&G groups...with few exceptions.    They set tone, and guidelines, but few provide more than that in terms of manpower and money.  

Some do indeed fight the fights on the national stage...like the NRA.  But as far as bowhunting specific, not much is done at that level, as far as I know.

I have to disagree with the "numbers" thing, to some extent.   I would gladly trade one active, vocal, and committed member for 50 faceless, voiceless names on a roster.   One person with guts to stand up, and with passion in their arguments, can sway a whole crowd, and even perhaps more importantly can convince the few who actually make the decisions.   I've seen it too many times, one voice derailing months, even years of hard work.   This has happened both for and against us.   So don't ever think your voice can't be heard.  It can and does.    And per my earlier post, you can use your voice to set upon changes within any organization should you choose....but one thing for sure, you will never change anything by NOT voicing your opinions or becoming involved because you did'nt like so and so, or disagreed with a direction the board was taking, etc.    

And yes, we who have been involved easily "burn out", but at least we did our part.   And "thanks" from me, to those who have.

One more thing....I have found that for the most part, most folks willing to "jump in" usually have the best intentions at heart, for the cause, it may just be a matter of how and why that separates us....and good debate and dialog usually gets to the root and best solutions to problems.    Okay, I'm done.

[Whip]

Originally posted by Mark Baker:
 you can use your voice to set upon changes within any organization should you choose....but one thing for sure, you will never change anything by NOT voicing your opinions or becoming involved because you did'nt like so and so, or disagreed with a direction the board was taking, etc.    

 

That is absolutely true Mark, and everyone should really think about those words.

I can't tell you how many times I have heard people say that they don't join, or dropped their membership, because of some issue they didn't agree with.  

I don't think I have ever belonged to an organization where there didn't come a time when I didn't believe in a stance that they took or a direction they headed.  But quiting is not the answer.  Quit, and you lose your voice.  They stop hearing your concerns and go on their merry way.  

If something about your state or local group, or a national one for that matter, concerns you, let the leaders know how you feel.  But don't quit and go home!  That solves nothing, and doesn't prove a thing.  Remember that every issue that comes up will have two sides, and it is hard to be on the winning side of every arguement every time.

[Turkeys Fear Me]

Originally posted by Bill Kissner:
Anybody, including me can find certain things we don't like about PBS, Comptons, NRA, or even our own state organization but that is a pretty lame excuse.  Clubs will never be able to please every member with what they do. If a person is not joining because they dislike the whole agenda.....such as PETA, that is easy to understand, but what is hard to understand is not joining a club that has that persons back when it comes to their rights and interest.

You bring up a very interesting point Bill, and that is the very reason I personally don't belong to some of the organizations mentioned.  

Personally, I don't have a desire to support organizations, publications, or businesses that seek to fragment hunters more than we already are.  That doesn't strengthen us in my opinion, it weakens us.  This is not the forum to get into specifics, but let's just say that there are a number of organizations that seem to be more than willing to gore someone else's ox.  Unfortunately, there will be a time when there are no oxen left to gore.

If every hunting organization (who all have their share of supporters and agendas) were successful in eliminating just one of their "pet peave" items as JRW mentioned, there would be nothing left.  As much as we like to think we "our" beliefs are the noble ones, so does everyone else.  Nothing happens in a vacuum.

[dave19113]

Do not misinterperate what I posted. I was a member of NRA, local archery and multiple firearms clubs in NY for more than 20years.

I DO NOT like when agencies claim to support hunters rights but then see them slip away.

Particularly with NRA. They do next to nothing except provide hunting shows on TV. The NRA Headquarters in VA does not even have IDPA IPSIC competitions there bc of liability.

Now on the other hand, if an orginization works for the people ( those are the regular people that have everyday jobs) that love the sport and participate to promote it then that is totally different.

I once said to a rep of a major firearms promoter, " Why dont you give more to the people? He said, "Oh what, you want a free trip?" I said "No, how about sending Wounded Warriors on trips to Africa or wherever....." He smiled a stated he would look into it.

When people on the ground level, people that give their hard earned money and are willing to donate their time, like I have and will do again, do not see any change then why become a member to waste their time.

I have been studing PBS since this topic posted and do like alot of what I have read so far. But to just join to be apart is not realistic.

The biggest thing I love about Trad archery is individualism. I dont need to join a club to say Im helping the cause.

Now that I stood on my soap box... I will put my money where my mouth is.....

I will start and/or help start a Trad Gang Club. Now I will be the 1st to say I DO NOT know how to but if some other senior members will chime in Im sure we has a whole can make it happen. We have many events where we all meet un officially, ETAR etc. Why not make it official.

I propose an agreed upon yearly fee that goes toward a raffle hunt, given to a lucky member or two or give it to a 1st time Trad hunter. We would have to set up local chapters which def would help in networking. A news letter could come into play.... These are just ideas.......

Anybody else wanna step up, nows your chance.... we all can whine at the water cooler or make a stand.....

[dave19113]

Oh BTW if you have any ideas or so forth you can PM me or post. I will be checking on both.....


Hope to hear from ya all,


Dave

[Al Dente]

On a state level, most are grass roots, and volunteer.  Many give up weekends, vacation time from work, and precious time away from family.  This time is spent manning booths at sports shows, helping run a shoot, youth camp, or hunt, visiting legislators at their district offices, and even traveling to the State Capitol.  Each round trip to the Capitol is around 400 miles for me.  Factor in about a dozen trips to legislators within 50 miles from my home and the time adds up.  Include countless hours on the telephone, writing letters, getting material and data into the hands of key personnel, and making inroads, I hope you can see where a bit of frustration leaks in.
When a state org acts, it is for the benefit of every license holder, not just its' membership.  To grind an axe over one issue is displacing the efforts put forth by those who give so much to only be vilified and chastised.  Selfish, elitist, self-serving, and anti-hunting are some terms that I/we have been likend to.

[Arwin]

We have a few organizations in Michigan that collectively belong to a larger group to fight for our bow hunting rights. Michigan Bow Hunters is a long standing organization that defends bowhunters every year.

 The problem we face in Michigan is that our Natural Resources Commission has made it obvious that they no longer listen to the hunters/organizations that actually spend time in the field. Decisions are made based on political/money reasons. Until we can figure out how to remove appointed officials, we can fight and complain all we want but it still falls on deaf ears. Makes it hard to spend $25 a year just to be ignored.    

[Mitch-In-NJ]

Originally posted by dnovo:
Mith-in-NJ: Sorry to say that if you are a regular on here I find it hard to believe you've never heard of Comptons. There are quite a few posts and pictures about it every year. Not trying to be smart a##.

No offense taken, but clearly I wouldn't have made the statement if it weren't true.

Perhaps I wasn't specific enough with my statement.  I knew of Comptons as an event.  I have seen those threads.  What I didn't know was that it was an organization that had a membership.

Maybe because the rendezvous is in Michigan and I am in NJ I just never paid it that much attention.  I'd browse the threads but not read every post.

Regardless, this is new information for me.  I will look into Comptons and if I like what I find I will join.

[Whip]

Mitch, you are definately not alone in your assumption about Compton.  That is one of the most common things I have heard, is that Compton is simply a great shoot every summer.  That's all people hear about, and don't realize that there is much more to the organization.

I know that one of the goals of the board is to expand the reach of the organization and work to dispell that myth.  It is a great shoot, and there are no plans to change that, but at the same time they want to do so much more.  

What I really find refreshing about Compton is that their goal is simply to present traditional archery in a positive light by focusing on the positive aspects of this sport.  Far better to show someone how much fun this is rather than try to convince someone that their wheel bow is bad.

[JohnV]

I think we all should try to support as many local, state, and national pro-bowhunting organizations as we are financially able and provided that we are in general agreement with their mission and positions on issues.  When I lived in North Carolina I would frequently work the booth at the Dixie Deer Classic for the North Carolina Bowhunters Association.  It never ceased to amaze me the number of "bowhunters" that would stop by the both holding all kinds of junk they had purchased but would then give you the empty pockets routine when you asked them to join.  Plenty of money to buy the latest video from their video heroes, but no money to support the organization supporting their bowhunting rights in the state.  If you didn't have some trinket or piece of junk to entice them to join, they saw little benefit in doing so.  I have little patience for the freeloaders who let others do all the work and refuse to support, but will be the first to complain when a new regulation is passed that they don't like.

[MIKE WIRT]

I AM A MEMBER OF THE UBM AND JUST JOINED COMPTON AT OUR FESTIVAL IN JEFFERSON CITY. BEING PART OF THESE GROUPS/CLUBS BRINGS OUR RANKS TOGETHER SO WE CAN PRESERVE OUR SPORT.

[Jason R. Wesbrock]

Originally posted by Whip:
What I really find refreshing about Compton is that their goal is simply to present traditional archery in a positive light by focusing on the positive aspects of this sport.  Far better to show someone how much fun this is rather than try to convince someone that their wheel bow is bad.

Abolutely, and that's one of the things I've always enjoyed about Compton. They understand that they can promote what they like without attacking everything else. If more organizations would follow that simple philosophy, they'd probably see their numbers grow, instead of stagnate around the same small handful of people.

I fully understand that politically active organizations have to take positions to which one group or another may take exception. That's unavoidable. But when an organization seems to be grounded in constant negativity, or the "I'm better than so-n-so" attitude, to me, it just sucks all the fun out of it. I'd rather hear a person tell me why they like their home instead of listen to them bash every other house in their neighborhood.

[Mitch-In-NJ]

Whip, thanks for the reply.  Sent you a PM.

[Tav]

I give to Church and NRA to save a little money on my rifle range membership.  I speak for myself by writing letters and talking to legislators personally which is the best way to have a voice.

[Kevin Dill]

I've come to understand it this way: Some people don't want or need the social aspect of belonging to an organization. Some simply want nothing to do with mixing politics or activism into their hunting world. Knowing they'll never attend or be interested in an organization, I suspect many can't see any reason to provide financial support to that organization.

Maybe it's better said like this. Take religion. Some want it...like it...and think everyone should partake. Some don't, and you'll not ever browbeat them into joining. If they want it, they'll come and ask for it. Telling them they need it, and they're going to Hell some day just doesn't get results.

Far better to do what you enjoy, and leave others to do the same.

[Dusty Nethery]

Originally posted by Kevin Dill:
I've come to understand it this way: Some people don't want or need the social aspect of belonging to an organization. Some simply want nothing to do with mixing politics or activism into their hunting world. Knowing they'll never attend or be interested in an organization, I suspect many can't see any reason to provide financial support to that organization.

Maybe it's better said like this. Take religion. Some want it...like it...and think everyone should partake. Some don't, and you'll not ever browbeat them into joining. If they want it, they'll come and ask for it. Telling them they need it, and they're going to Hell some day just doesn't get results.

Far better to do what you enjoy, and leave others to do the same.

Worth reading twice. Great post, and great advice.