I've been the editor for the Gun Club newsletter for 4 years...
Most months I get one or two shooting match results.. I take a few pics of an unusual or interesting firearm at the range and do a short "Show N Tell" article.. and I get a couple short notices of events or club "housekeeping" notices.

This month, I have no match reports.
I have no events announcements.
I have one page of "Show N Tell".

And I have 3 blank pages to fill....


Been staring at them for a full day, and I've got nothing...


Other newsletter editors;
How do you cope with insufficient material for an issue?
(I've used up my small stock of "articles for slow months")

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Paul F.
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A sword never kills anybody; it is a tool in the killer's hand. - Lucius Annaeus Seneca c. 5 BC - 65 AD
----
Good is the enemy of Excellent. Talent is not necessary for Excellence.
Persistence is necessary for Excellence. And Persistence is a Decision.
--

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Eureka, CA

How about an End of the Year special? Highlights from other months/matches, etc.
Good luck....

hmmm, why not make it a special "year end" issue...re-cap some of the highlights from this year's events?

Perhaps find some filler - gun related jokes?

how about a gun related internet resource guide (simply find a list of helpful URLs that your fellow members might find handy)?

dammit, mstudio beat me to it while I was writing my post *sigh*

Put three pictures of Max with his new radio tracking collar on the last three pages and be done with it. You've got that one of him with the gun too, don't you.:}

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Roswell, GA (Atlanta suburb)

here's a pic for the newsletter.

[images.ibsys.com]

<You've got that one of him with the gun too, don't you.

Actually, that one is already in this issue as a firearms safety example...
"The shooter should be more alert, and should be keeping the muzzle in a safe direction"

That's how desperate I am!


I'm going to go over the years issues and see if there's anything there that needs to be followed up..
Thanks for the idea!

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Paul F.
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A sword never kills anybody; it is a tool in the killer's hand. - Lucius Annaeus Seneca c. 5 BC - 65 AD
----
Good is the enemy of Excellent. Talent is not necessary for Excellence.
Persistence is necessary for Excellence. And Persistence is a Decision.
--

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Eureka, CA

How about an article about how the names for choke tubes are not standard, but the standards that they refer to are. IE, Skeet II is not standard, but the restriction that a company refers to SKII as, is.

How about a review of hunt clubs vs. wild hunting.

How about first aid kits for dogs.

How about an article encouraging membership and reviewing the benefits of being a member.

How about a look back at the guns your members wanted ten years ago and a look at those same guns today compared to new offerings.

A review of gun range etiquette?

A full page happy new year and safe shooting page?

An encouragement for all owners to use trigger locks?



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 12/18/2005 02:55PM by iaJim.

iaJim;

All good ideas!
But I lack the background to WRITE most of those articles...
I've been trying to get hunting articles submitted for 3 years, since I'm primarily a competitive target shooter and not a hunter.

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Paul F.
-----
A sword never kills anybody; it is a tool in the killer's hand. - Lucius Annaeus Seneca c. 5 BC - 65 AD
----
Good is the enemy of Excellent. Talent is not necessary for Excellence.
Persistence is necessary for Excellence. And Persistence is a Decision.
--

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Eureka, CA

what events does your club host?

What about an article of taget shooting sites on the web?

"Special Year-End Photo Issue! 3 pages filled with nothing but your favorite photos from the last year, plus some new ones! Includes fun 'caption contest' on the last page!"

Have a special article about Lilo Brancato, gun owner and user of the month?

iaJim;

We run Highpower Rifle (reduced course), Bullseye Pistol (new this year, the Feb issue is going to have a two page article). Schuetzen matches (two page article last month), Rimfire Benchrest IR50/50 (the match director for it won't write anything), and Rimfire Silhouette shooting (article in the works for March).

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Paul F.
-----
A sword never kills anybody; it is a tool in the killer's hand. - Lucius Annaeus Seneca c. 5 BC - 65 AD
----
Good is the enemy of Excellent. Talent is not necessary for Excellence.
Persistence is necessary for Excellence. And Persistence is a Decision.
--

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Eureka, CA

A review of scopes? A list of your favorites and why?

I'm not much of a rifle shooter, so that's about all I have.

Probably old hat to the club, but how about a half page on the DCM and what is currently available for sale, and update on eligiblility requirements. I also like the "year in review" ideas.

Any legislative issues in CA that could be reviewed or discussed in the newsletter.

Clip art, year-end roundup, lists of tips from old articles...

You could also search the web, find interesting articles and ask the authors for permission to republish them.

What . . . no technology for the shooters?????? Any computer games that feature hunting . . . targeting . . . combat . . . ? ? ? ?

How about shooting courses and a retreat . . . I know there is an awesome resort near Telluride that has a fabulous shooting course or range or both.

?

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Bill
Flagler Beach, FL 32136

Carpe Vino!

Fermentation may have been a greater discovery than fire.
— David Rains Wallace

Paul, will this issue appear before Christmas? If so, contact club members for their gun-related wish lists, realistic or not.

Do you or someone in the group have an interesting holiday memory? "I got my first rifle when I was twelve and went hunting with my dad on Christmas Day..." Or, "I was in Vietnam and scheduled to rotate home for Christmas, but our plane broke down. All of a sudden..." Solicit a family photo to take up space.

In the same spirit, poll members by phone for a New Year's resolution, either for themselves or others.

Member Profiles: Pick a member with email and have him respond to 10 basic questions: Where from, favorite rifle, best thing about being in the club, strangest thing you ever shot at, etc. Make him write the answers and email them back so you don't have to spend hours in a interview.

Announce a contest. Fill a page with useless rules. If it is a design contest ("Our new bumper sticker!") show a couple of prototype designs. Prize can be some piece of junk in your garage autographed by club members, or a free day pass at the range, etc.

Hope this helps. --jim

Lee Harvey Oswald centerfold?

There's quite a few drinks out there named for guns. Who doesn't like mixology?

Just put "Notes" at the top of each of the blank pages.


I just couldn't resist, sorry. I'll go away now....

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Roswell, GA (Atlanta suburb)

Paul,

I wish I could sympathize with you but I am always waiting on the editor/publisher of the magazine I freelance design for. She waits until the bitter end each deadline. Then of course, it's like a four alarm fire to get everything to the printer on time. Just once, I want her to surprise me and have things turned in on time.

This is her only job so it isn't like she is juggling a day job along with this like some of us.

Good luck with the newsletter.

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“When a clown enters a palace, he doesn’t become a king. The palace becomes a circus.”

You could write an issue like Time magazine did about 15 years ago or so with a paragraph about each shooting death (murder, suicide, accident, self defense, etc.) during a one week span. Time did it for the entire country, perhaps confine your issue just to your state.

Hmm.. that gives me an idea speedy...

I could write about the 5 different local law enforcement agencies, and the US Coast Guard, that use our range for training....
Or that we've been there for 30 years without a single injury accident.

Nah.. guys like you wouldn't understand those sorts of things... you get all the "knowledge" you need about gun owners from the media and TV.

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Paul F.
-----
A sword never kills anybody; it is a tool in the killer's hand. - Lucius Annaeus Seneca c. 5 BC - 65 AD
----
Good is the enemy of Excellent. Talent is not necessary for Excellence.
Persistence is necessary for Excellence. And Persistence is a Decision.
--

--

--
Eureka, CA

Paul F. Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Hmm.. that gives me an idea speedy...
>
> I could write about the 5 different local law
> enforcement agencies, and the US Coast Guard, that
> use our range for training....
> Or that we've been there for 30 years without a
> single injury accident.

>>

Paul, there you go. Both of those things are noteworthy (as well as praiseworthy.)

>>

> Nah.. guys like you wouldn't understand those
> sorts of things... you get all the "knowledge" you
> need about gun owners from the media and TV.

>>

Hmmm, where did that come from? I was giving a legitimate suggestion, one that is easily researched (via the 'media' although perhaps information on suicides is not so publicly available) if confined to your local state or region. If your readers are so sensitive you could do just a single faceted report on the use of guns by the police and how it has changed through the years as the bad guys have up-armed.

And that Time issue stuck in my mind because it was an interesting read. I'm sure something similar in your newsletter would also be an interesting read.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 12/19/2005 05:53AM by Speedy.

Yeah, Paul, ease up on that trigger.

I understand that you are defensive about gun rights, but your newsletter is distributed among people who feel the same way you do. Every specialized group has war stories, and stories about stupid things done with firearms in 2005 might be interesting.

(BTW, I'm a caver, and we have an annual publication called American Caving Accidents. It's a very detailed list of all the stupid things spelunkers and flashlight cavers have done. And we read it and laugh or cry, but we don't consider it an attack on our sport.)