Author: Sebastian

Caleb takes a different point of view on the matter discussed earlier, and gives us some more information about Jim Scoutten’s views about what shouldn’t be on TV in regards to the shooting sports.  I don’t really disagree with Jim on his points.  I suspect where Boomershoot would fit would be his fifth point:

5) Any event that requires an extraordinary expense by a viewer to become involved. (Full auto events are, at best, an expensive curiosity, and can not extend our invitation to “get involved”)

Though I’ve heard of clubs that do shoots with tannerite, it’s true that it’s not accessible to most people.  I’ll give ShootingUSA their editorial prerogative on this one, but is this about it not being appropriate for ShootingUSA or exposure to television at all?  I don’t think there’s been any damage to the shooting sports by coverage such at this.   Quite to the contrary, I think it presents Joe’s event as a lot of fun.

So I guess the question is, is Jim Scoutten saying that Boomershoot isn’t appropriate for ShootingUSA, because it’s beyond the perspective of the show, or that Boomershoot isn’t appropriate for any mainstream audience?  If it’s the latter, I disagree.  I can understand why you wouldn’t want to show people at Knob Creek machine gunning a junkyard school bus.  I can see why you wouldn’t want to cover a gaggle of mall ninjas dressed in black or camo.  There’s a lot of context missing there for the uninitiated.  But I don’t put Boomershoot into that category.  I think most people who aren’t reflexively afraid of guns would understand it as fun.

Color me disappointed by Shooting USA‘s attitude on covering Joe’s Boomershoot event on their show.  Kevin and SayUncle are both disappointed too.  This is not the first time I’ve encountered trepidation at the idea of highlighting this sort of thing, but I think the attitude is remarkably shortsighted.  Here what Jim Scoutten, host and producer of Shooting USA had to say:

I’ve always thought there are some events that shouldn’t get National TV coverage. When we’d like the public to think of competitive shooting to be like other mainstream sports.

Actually, I think the fact that this is a little out of the mainstream is part of the appeal.  I think it was Blackfork I heard say once that “Watching other people shoot is like watching paint dry.”  I have to agree.  It’s not too exciting.  I’d much rather be on the line myself.  Even watching IPSC or IDPA matches isn’t nearly as much fun as participating.  The fact that guys like Scoutten and Michael Bane can make shows about guns and shooting that are interesting and entertaining is a testament to their skill as hosts and producers rather than to the exciting nature of the shooting sports to start with.

But Boomershoot is something that’s, shall we say, a lot more inherently interesting.  Humans have used fireworks for centuries as a form of entertainment.  As Joe Huffman says, we’re wired to find explosions and pyrotechnics interesting.  I think back to how I would have looked at Boomershoot before I got into shooting, and I’m fairly certain my reaction would be “Holy crap that looks like fun!”

And that’s really the reaction you want.  If you’re looking to present the shooting sports to the public, you want them to look interesting.  You want people watching to think “I’d like to try that.”  I’ve often wondered if the reason action shooting sports have taken off so quickly is because it just looks more inherently interesting to spectators, especially on TV.  I think rather than having an instinctive fear of an event like Boomershoot, which is a little unusual, Shooting USA should think more seriously about it’s potential entertainment value to audiences, and a way to get more people to think about getting up on the line themselves.  It may be outside the mainstream, but that’s not automatically a bad thing.