New look Muzzle Blast

I'm talking about getting in the gate, both modern & primitive. There are gate keepers. If you don't have a membership card you gotta pay to get in. The spouse of a member has no membership card so they pay. I think it was $5.00 but that's not the point. The point is the gate keeper that stopped my friend's wife from coming in said it was always the rule to charge anyone without a membership card a gate fee to enter.

When I stopped being a member in 1992 (after being one for 22 years) one of the main factors was having to pay the five bucks to get in even though I was a member - a situation that existed for several years. I rejoined in 2011 with the thought that it would probably only be for a year. I found they had changed most of the things that had caused me to tell them to shove it in 92 so I've stayed on. I even spent a weekend installing new toilets in the bunker up in primitive.
I was happy with the magazine when it was all black and white. It's only my opinion, but the articles were more interesting back in the day. Maybe it's just because more of the game was new to me back then.

 

[graybeard]

I keep all my MB magazines and re-read at intervals. Raychard used to have whole columns that read like ads for the unmentionables. He doesn't seem to be doing that any more. However, while inline sales have soared, NMLR membership has fallen. Obviously we aren't getting many, if any, of the new guys shooting those funny rifles. graybeard

 

[coloradoclyde]

However, while inline sales have soared, NMLR membership has fallen. Obviously we aren't getting many, if any, of the new guys shooting those funny rifles. graybeard

Agreed! and one should not make a connection between modern inlines and NMLRA membership.
We have lost members to the happy hunting ground in the sky
We have lost clubs
we have lost hunting grounds
we have lost gun companies
we have lost rendezvous
we have lost merchants
We have lost media
we have lost access
we have lost interest
We have lost image
we have lost respect.
Etc....Etc......

If am member is gained from the ranks of the modern shooters then that person already had interest......Any idea that encouraging modern MLs will swell our ranks is a false notion...

The idea that the best place to find new members is among the ranks of your biggest competitor (modern shooters) is stupid!.....it has extremely limited potential.... it becomes a war of attrition...
It is a failing business model.

 

[Ray-Vigo]

Online is helpful. I'd like to see our local charter club start a website at some point in the near future - at least to let people know who we are and what we do.

One thing that has helped us pick up a couple members over the years is having "loaner" or "demo" guns owned by the club. We have one member who tends them and provides instruction to newbies at any of our matches. People can show with no guns or equipment of their own, and we'll set them up on a bench with a loaner/demo and provide instruction. They're the basic, half-stock CVA or Lyman type offerings. A former member of our club was good enough to leave us those loaner/demo guns.

Perhaps having a dedicated "newbie" area of a shoot or "demo" equipment where people can turn up and sample without having to buy their own stuff first would be a good measure.

 

[XXX]

If this sport truly wants growth, then it needs to appeal to a "never before" demographic. It needs to disassociate itself with those things that are deemed "unattractive".

Once, there was a time when a Doctor, lawyer, or CEO wouldn't be caught dead riding a Harley... :hmm:

I thought you might be on to something with this. I have not seen you elaborate on it, and I think you should do so in order to explain what you mean by "unattractive" as it relates to traditional muzzleloaders. Even lacking this explanation, I think you might have misidentified the reason for Harley Davidson's success in broadening its consumer base. If the outlaw biker image of the 1960's was the "unattractive" (to people with socially respectable careers), element, then HD certainly did nothing that I am aware of to disassociate itself from that consumer group. Perhaps they raised the price of a motorcycle to levels that require high income? That alone couldn't do it. High end custom flintlocks and such are already very expensive and if enough people collect them as nothing more than artworks and investments then that is probably a bad thing for a shooting sport. I think what made HD motorcycles popular was that people who were not outlaw bikers embraced the "unattractive" outlaw bad boy image that one supposedly gets from riding one of these motorcycles. It is a perception of off the shelf, store bought coolness that sells the bikes. People go all out for the logo riding gear and the window stickers so everyone can be made aware of the coolness even when they are not riding. Nothing wrong with any of that, but I don't think that any of that applies to the trad ML world. We all know that it is cool stuff, but if the uninterested are uninterested, T-shirts, window stickers, and ballcaps with a NMLRA logo or whatever will not change that. We should stick to making ourselves happy and the rest will take care of itself.

 

[coloradoclyde]

then HD certainly did nothing that I am aware of to disassociate itself from that consumer group.

Please note that your "unawareness" is not part of the solution.

I wasn't talking about a "consumer group" per se.
I started a new sentence.....
Harley most certainly did divest itself of "unattractive elements" to turn it's company around...

But enough about Harley, as it is not the topic of discussion. I was only referencing them to make a point, and as for the NMLRA, I don't get paid to fix their problems.

 

[coloradoclyde]

Almost forgot......
You are also confused about the timing and impact of Harley's large scale merchandising and apparel....It only adds to their success and is not the reason for it....and even then Honda still commands the world market and Harley only has about 35% of the U.S. market.

As electric motorcycles sales increase in the state with the most motorcycles....Harley will once again find itself at the bottom of the pack.

 

[XXX]

then HD certainly did nothing that I am aware of to disassociate itself from that consumer group.

Please note that your "unawareness" is not part of the solution.

I wasn't talking about a "consumer group" per se.
I started a new sentence.....
Harley most certainly did divest itself of "unattractive elements" to turn it's company around...

But enough about Harley, as it is not the topic of discussion. I was only referencing them to make a point, and as for the NMLRA, I don't get paid to fix their problems.

If you don't want to explain what you mean by "unattractive elements" (the NMLRA ones), so that your context and analogy can be understood, it will be unlikely that your point will be made. I don't really care either way if it comes down to it, but I thought you were eager to share something important with the discussion.

 

[coloradoclyde]

Well!...Here's the rub.
I have no vested interest in the NMLRA, it's success or failure will have little impact on muzzleloading as a whole.....If you think it does, then we are truly doomed!..I'm also not in the habit of "spoon feeding"....I will lead a horse to water... but, I cant make it drink!.........

I'm sorry if you can't understand this.....Take some time to think about it.......PM me if you so desire..... :v

 

[Gene L]

Outlaw bikers still ride Harleys but I don't know how or if Harley-Davidson did anything major to divest itself from them. I think HD has a big-time customer loyalty thing going for it. What HD did was improve their motorcycles. I've heard it said that Ronald Regan saved HD by placing taxes on foreign made bikes. And they (HD) went to zero warehousing of parts...in other words, if you needed a part for your bike, they made it in Milwaukee. I don't know if this is true or not.

What I find unattractive about Muzzle Blasts magazine is their promoting inline creations. I won't support that in a ML magazine, although I don't care if someone uses one. Just don't expect me to read about it.

Otherwise, as I've said before, the magazine (IMO) lacks direction and appeal. I'm sure it's difficult to find new material to write about after so many issues.

Got my ML Magazine today. The quality of the magazine is far better, although there wasn't much in it. But what was, was well presented. Color (good color) ads, and plenty of them, which is the life-blood of publishing.

 

[coloradoclyde]

I've heard it said that Ronald Regan saved HD by placing taxes on foreign made bikes. And they (HD) went to zero warehousing of parts...in other words, if you needed a part for your bike, they made it in Milwaukee. I don't know if this is true or not.

Not one word of it.....

 

[Gene L]

Well, he got credit for it and he did impose a tarrif.
http://cyrilhuzeblog.com/2010/05/2...-safeguards-save-harley-davidson-in-the-1980s/

 

[coloradoclyde]

Well, he got credit for it and he did impose a tarrif.
http://cyrilhuzeblog.com/2010/05/2...ds-save-harley-davidson-in-the-1980s/[/quote]
That's a blog...An opinion piece....propaganda = fake news.

Reagan's tariff on Japanese motorcycles


In 1983, Reagan also slapped a 45% tariff on Japanese motorcycles in an effort to save one American company: Harley-Davidson (HOG).

Reagan sought to protect Harley, whose sales were slumping, partly because of competition from Japanese motorcycle makers like Kawasaki and Yamaha.

But some say Reagan's tariff was useless. First, Harley mostly made heavyweight motorcycle engines, and Kawasaki (KWHIY) and Yamaha (YAMCY) were already making those in the U.S. So, the tariff didn't apply to them.

The tariff was also specifically targeted at medium-size motorcycles with engines that were 700 cubic centimeters or more. So Japanese companies responded by tweaking their engine sizes down to 699 cubic centimeters.

"The benefit Harley received from the special import duties, I would estimate as approximately zero. It didn't help them," says Irwin. "The Japanese evaded the tariff."

Harley overcame its issues and became profitable in 1986 for the first time in five years. To generate good publicity, Harley asked the Reagan administration in 1987 to lift the tariff, which it did.

Harley did make a major comeback by the late 1980s but not because of its U.S. sales. Harley roared back because it sold more in, of all places, Japan. Harley's sales in Japan soared 56% in 1987 compared to the prior year.

 

[coloradoclyde]

This is from your source......

Cyril Huze Post was founded in October 2006. It is a website dedicated to commenting on custom motorcycles news,

He is also from France.

 

[Gene L]

There are also other sources if you'll take the time to look, some disputing whether Regan's tariff actually saved HD, but it happened. And Regan got the credit. Whether deserved or not.

Another source not from France.
http://www.nytimes.com/1983/04/02/business/us-raises-tariff-for-motorcycles.html

 

[coloradoclyde]

I don't need to look at other sources.....I owned part of HD during the late 1980's.....
Reagan had nothing to do with turning the company around.....That's all political :bull:

By your logic, Trump should put a 45% tax on all cartridge guns to bring back traditional muzzleloaders...... :youcrazy:

 

[Zonie]

This is a Muzzleloading Forum.

It is not a motorcycle forum or a Harley forum so lets drop the subject.

As for the paper, the color, the printing and the ads in Muzzle Blasts, it is now the same as that used by Muzzleloader magazine.

That's why this topic about the NEW Muzzle Blasts was started.

 

[Gene L]

Sorry I allowed the thread to stray off the narrow trail of MB magazine. I posted this before Zonie got the thread back on topic. Eliminate this post since it's not about MB. I have not seen MB in its latest iteration. I hope it continues to improve in its quality of production.

 

[coloradoclyde]

Back to the topic....I can only wonder, if gilded pages are enough to make a difference.... :hmm:

A best-seller is the gilded tomb of a mediocre talent.
Logan Pearsall Smith

 

[meanmike8665]

Do you get the magazine? Have you seen the new format? You seem to have a lot of opinions......

Michael