What would it take for the NMLRA to become a true "national" organization?

[Cayman like]

I agree with most of your post, but many proposed gun laws are 'camel's nose under the tent' attempts to limit legal ownership. I, too, don't like the life-time permanent-til-passing hold on the office that Wayno has. Sorta like life-time dictators and senators, if you get my drift.

Or Supreme Court Judges.

 

[Sun City]

Sad to say....it would most likely wind up just like the NRA with a numb nuts president and a 100 board members drawing a fat salary for breathing fresh air!

 

[maillemaker]

It makes me sad to see people fractured on supporting shooting sports organizations. I try to support many. I belong to GOA, NRA, N-SSA, and NMLRA. Are these organizations perfect? No. But as Benjamin Franklin said, "We must hang together, or we will surely all hang separately."

I joined NMLRA a few years ago, so I could shoot in a local Territorial Shoot. I've never been to Friendship, and have no burning desire to go. I'm too busy with work and kids and my primary shooting organization, the N-SSA.

The N-SSA sounds a lot like the complaints here about the NMLRA. It focuses primarily on its home range in Winchester, Virginia, and the two National events held there each year, and the local events held there also. This is, naturally, where the bulk of the organization's expenses are. I seldom go to National vents - I go every 3 years to preserve our team's campsite and that is it. It's not that I don't enjoy going, but it's a week of vacation and a lot of money to do exactly what I do at a local skirmish on a weekend.

It does sometimes feel like you are paying your national dues to support a local gun club that you never use. But, you are paying for something special that exists nowhere else in the world. You are helping maintain a tree that you may never enjoy the shade of but others will. I donate money to support Civil War battlefields even though I might never walk on them.

As for local activities, the best way to get them happening is simply to do the work to make them happen.

 

[springfield art]

It's as national as you can get with only about 15,000 members! Check the magazine circulation statement every year; I recall when it was 18,000, now it's down. Also I think many muzzleloaders, being pretty independent guys don't bother to get the magazine. But the current staff does as well as can be expected, and the One-Of-One Thousand program is almost filled after many years. (I'm #538). Also, lots of older ML'ers are aging out due to nature.

 

[CaptainVane]

It's as national as you can get with only about 15,000 members! Check the magazine circulation statement every year; I recall when it was 18,000, now it's down. Also I think many muzzleloaders, being pretty independent guys don't bother to get the magazine. But the current staff does as well as can be expected, and the One-Of-One Thousand program is almost filled after many years. (I'm #538). Also, lots of older ML'ers are aging out due to nature.

HeyArt, that is cool you are in the 1/1000. Seriously, i read that every month in the magazine.
#158843.
PS. Back when caps were scares last spring and summer, being a member helped me score a lot of caps thru members networking. Its a good organization. NMLRA.
What i got a problem with, mentioned above, is all of our local clubs require NRA membership which i think is wrong. But thats a dead horse by now.
God rest Fred Stutzenberg. He wrote good articles and will be hard to replace.

 

[Wounded Fox]

The N-SSA sounds a lot like the complaints here about the NMLRA. It focuses primarily on its home range in Winchester, Virginia, and the two National events held there each year, and the local events held there also. This is, naturally, where the bulk of the organization's expenses are.

I think the difference is that the N in N-SSA stands for North, not National. I wasn't aware that N-SSA was trying to be, or claimed to be, an a national organization. I could be way off base, but I was pretty sure that Civil War reenactment was primarily an East Coast hobby, since that's where the War Between the States was. Virginia was on the "front lines" during the war. Not to dismiss the battles that happened further south, but a lot of the fighting was in Virginia, Maryland, and Pennsylvania. Virtually all of the fighting not in one of those 3 states was further south. That makes Winchester make sense for the HQ.

Even if I never join N-SSA, I am happy that they are there, because it means that there is a local source for real black powder for my pre-Civil war rifle and pistol. (There is a store that moves a lot of black powder on their road, and it seems like it is just outside their gates.)