- Thread starter vivdav
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Does anyone besides those that shoot it even care about the AG Cup?
Seems like a self gratifying thing for the jersey shooter crowd.
Seems like a self gratifying thing for the jersey shooter crowd.
I had to do a search to see what it was. That's why I've been quiet. 
GLWS,
Keith
GLWS,
Keith
Just a mid pack guy who enjoys the sport same as watching football or baseball. I always like learning from someone better than myself and competition is always fun on a local level for me.
The dude who won it cleaned the final day of the match (102 hits)
Pretty damn impressive
Pretty damn impressive
An issue with precision shooting is that it's an awfully boring spectator sport. No one wants to watch it.
I believe the AG Cup was intended to make precision shooting a more mainstream sport, but it seems to be an exercise in self gratification instead.
There's very few people outside of those competing in the AG Cup that care about it. That's why you don't hear anyone talking about it. In my eyes it does nothing to further the sport and new shooters, it's just a way to pass out money to a small group of jersey shooters.
Anyways, rant over. My prediction is that the AG Cup fades into obscurity in a few years due to its irrelevance.
You probably haven't seen much chatter because those interested were watching over on shooters mindset FB streaming. I was thrilled to see all four of my fellow great lakes region shooters make it into the final day 3. Between the Pro-final and AG Cup we've really turned up the talent this year in our region.
Congratulations to Ben Gossett on securing the AG Cup win with a perfect score today! Wow, what an accomplishment! Well done!
Congratulations to Ben Gossett on securing the AG Cup win with a perfect score today! Wow, what an accomplishment! Well done!
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Watched it live. Ben Gossett cleaning day 3 was pretty epic. Good for him and well deserved. Having shot an AG qualifier with him before, I'm not surprised by his performance at all. He is a very focused machine and belongs to one of the best. Go Army!
I suggest the Rifles Only podcast talking with Tom Fuller on why the AG Cup exists. I don't think it's going obsolete anytime soon. Seems more and more people are paying into it every year.
I have squadded with ben before as well. Super good guy and of course a great shooter as well. The clean day 3 was very very impressive. He is a machine for sure
Congratulations ben. Much deserved
I don’t think anything you say will change his mind. Some people just want to shit on everything they are not a part of.I suggest the Rifles Only podcast talking with Tom Fuller on why the AG Cup exists. I don't think it's going obsolete anytime soon. Seems more and more people are paying into it every year.
The shooters put their own money into that pot and not everyone of them are jersey boys.
Like you I enjoy watching this sport as well. I even check practiscore on weekends to see who is shooting and winning matches. Other people would rather just shit on stuff they really don’t know much about on the internet.
Congratulations to Ben. Always one of the nicest guys out there.
Enjoyed watching it on FB & following scores on Ultimate Ballistics site.
A clean in any PRS match is great but doing that on day 3 of the AG cup in less than ideal conditions is awesome. Congratulations to Ben.
A clean in any PRS match is great but doing that on day 3 of the AG cup in less than ideal conditions is awesome. Congratulations to Ben.
I've heard about g and j cups even saw a pair or two of dd cups c, b's and little a's , but ag must be like huge or a cup on a cup freaky stuff .
I'll check it out.
I have no emotional investment in it either way. It doesn't bother me at all that the AG Cup exists, I just don't see how it's really sustainable when it doesn't do anything to grow the sport, and when the sport has zero spectator appeal. It seems like no one outside of the AG Cup cares about it - that's a bit of a red flag to me.
It just doesn't seem like something that can survive, but that of course is just my perspective.
Totally agree..it was nice to have a way to keep up with it all weekend. That Missouri boy had a hell of a match and couldn't of happened to a nicer young man. Congrats Ben !!
I think more people followed it and kept up with scores than you think
A lot of those guys shooting are considered friends and we see them at matches all year throughout the country. We’ve lodged with them, dined with them, hunted with them, competed with them.
Our whole shooting crew in our area has a group chat and we followed the scores all weekend
In the grand scheme of things, it's a tiny amount of people. I would love to see the numbers of how many people tuned in to actually watch.
It may be neat for those that know these people and have relationships for them, but for the average precision rifle shooter, this event means nothing.
The fact that someone started a thread on the largest online community of precision rifle shooters just to ask why no one seemingly cares about this event is a sign.
Is it though??? Considering the amount of open hostility on here for anything PRS competition related I don't see it as surprising.
What's surprising is all the talk of building up our shooting community and sports while tearing each other apart.
PRS stuff aside (that's a bit of a different topic for a different thread), the AG Cup just doesn't seem to have a formula to capture any interest outside of a very small community.
It seems like the only people that have any interest in this event are those competing in it, or those that personally know those competing. This is a really small circle.
All the drama aside, I don't see how the AG Cup grows the sport or ignites interest in it. It seems to be more of a self gratifying thing for a very, very small group of shooters. Which is perfectly fine, but lets be honest about what it is.
Could I ask... what shooting event is growing the sport? Honest question
The only ones that really seem to be doing it is the local matches.
Right now its not really happening at a national level.
@kthomas I think you may be misunderstanding what the AG Cup is. Listening to the podcast mentioned a few post above with Jacob interviewing Tom or the episodes Shooting USA has done on this match every year may offer some insights.
By its very nature it's not going to be a huge match, it was meant to capitalize on the top shooters who were already placing side bets on their own performance at individual matches... Tom just brought ot out in the open, bringing in match coverage from ShootingUSA's
By its very nature it's not going to be a huge match, it was meant to capitalize on the top shooters who were already placing side bets on their own performance at individual matches... Tom just brought ot out in the open, bringing in match coverage from ShootingUSA's
I listened to the Jacob one today.
It's exactly what it sounds like to me - a self gratifying match for a very, very, small group of shooters.
I'm perfectly okay with that, my posts are in regards to why no one cares about the AG Cup, as the OP essentially asks.
No negativity here.
There just isn't much interest in this specific event beyond a very, very small community of shooters.
I would disagree its doing nothing to grow the sport. I got into PRS after stumbling upon a clip on youtube by Shooting USA.
The aspirational aspect of it appealed to me a lot. Very far away from signing up to shoot in the AG cup yet, but I watched the live stream to learn how the pro’s approach each stage. There is a lot to learn in stage, position & target management for those that want to learn & do good in the sport
I like the thought of actually getting paid to shoot. As far as i know this is the only match where you can make money. If i improve enough this year ill sign up for ag the next year.
I think that's one of the ideas behind it. To try and legitimize it more by putting some money behind it for the top shooters.
However no other sport works that way. All legitimate sports have money coming in externally, mainly due to interest from spectators and the revenue potential from that. Precision rifle shooting is such an incredibly boring spectator sport. There's not really any way for the sport to create any real revenue, the AG Cup is all financed internally from a very small community.
It'll be interesting to see how long something like the AG Cup lasts - I hope for those involved it has some lasting power, but it doesn't really seem like a sustainable model, given that there's almost no opportunity for growth.
It's certainly a unique opportunity for those within this specific niche of shooting that want to get paid, cash in while you can.
Sorry but PRS is boring. To watch.
Doesn’t matter what you do. I don’t even like watching good shooters at a match for very long.
I would rather watch hours of corn hole semi regional Midwest finales before I would watch PRS on TV.
That’s just me. That being said, I did routinely check the scores because I respect how good all those shooters are. I was really interested in who would win. Ben won and cleaned it nonetheless. But seemed like all the scores were high even the guys behind him dropped only a few.
Doesn’t matter what you do. I don’t even like watching good shooters at a match for very long.
I would rather watch hours of corn hole semi regional Midwest finales before I would watch PRS on TV.
That’s just me. That being said, I did routinely check the scores because I respect how good all those shooters are. I was really interested in who would win. Ben won and cleaned it nonetheless. But seemed like all the scores were high even the guys behind him dropped only a few.
Yeah I’m being a little critical the year I tried watching it, I just didn’t like the format, I think. I’ll check it out next year because you’re right, I think seeing those guys shoot might be more fun than a typical match.
I used to watch the NRL videos when I first started to get some pointers on positions and strategy. So I know I’d see something at AG that would help me.
But for the typical laymen I believe PRS is a hard sell.
It would be much better for spectators if everyone had a scope cam. Im sure thats a hard sell for most shooters tho
Meh, it would still be boring.
As the OP I just thought it interesting that as one of the bigger events of the year there was minimal interest. I have shot some Texas 2 day events and lost interest in traveling. Seem like us midpack guys have a lot of drive and interest but really just go to learn and maybe pickup a trinket and have some good laughs. In the end I realized I had spent $1200 to support the top 10 folks and I could have spent a $100 at a local match and learned just as much. General interest is still kind of meh...and shooters come and go with very little sign of the sport going anywhere long term. Looking forward to a match this weekend and hopefully get excited about getting better and having a good time
You nailed it. I feel like there's a lot of turnover in PRS.
The 2 day national matches are very expensive and time consuming, and as a mid pack shooter you aren't getting much of a return on that investment. Especially when local 1 day matches provide all the fun and excitement but at less cost and time.
For most people, there isn't really anything to gain from the bigger 2 day matches that you can't gain from the local 1 day matches.
Myself and most of the friends I've made shooting in PRS have moved in from PRS. It seems the future of this sport is going to be the more local grassroots stuff, not the "national" level organizations/events, unless things change.
Not hard to do with dedication and intentional training. PRS is still very much a grass roots sport, so it's not difficult to break out in.
It's just not a priority or focus for most shooters.
Case in point... last year I finished out the pro series in 332 place. Shot 3 pro matches, 6 regional matches finishing out 20th for the regional season in 2021. My practice routine was primarily doing a couple days of dry fire runs for 30 minutes each leading up to a match and verifying my drop data at my range with a few timed runs on the tank trap there with live fire...
This year I started off the same for the first 4 months of 2022 with the same mediocre results so I changed the way I trained. I set goals and recorded results in my dryfire at home and rather than only doing it in the week leading up to a match I increased that to at least one day each week... frequently more.
The next pro match I shot after that change in my training I finished 11th... by the end of the 2022 pro season I finished 117th and accomplished my goal of making it into the pro final.
I post all this to say, you get what you put in...
I can't wait for 2023 to start. I've revised a few things within my training after taking a class with Riflemans Path, changed my diet, exercise habits and screwed on a new Straight Jacket Armory barrel that is shooting great... this coming year is going to be awesome!
This year I started off the same for the first 4 months of 2022 with the same mediocre results so I changed the way I trained. I set goals and recorded results in my dryfire at home and rather than only doing it in the week leading up to a match I increased that to at least one day each week... frequently more.
The next pro match I shot after that change in my training I finished 11th... by the end of the 2022 pro season I finished 117th and accomplished my goal of making it into the pro final.
I post all this to say, you get what you put in...
I can't wait for 2023 to start. I've revised a few things within my training after taking a class with Riflemans Path, changed my diet, exercise habits and screwed on a new Straight Jacket Armory barrel that is shooting great... this coming year is going to be awesome!
117 is no joke. Very nice.
I shot the AG Cup and wasnt sure if I was going to like the format or not but I really enjoyed it. I liked coming up with my own way to shoot stages and getting my own wind calls. I was thinking I was not going to do it again this year but after shooting it, I absolutely am shooting it this year. It was a very tough COF Shannon had ready for us and it was absolutely epic what Ben did cleaning day 3, my hats off to him and as already stated, he is a super humble and genuinely nice guy.
Does anyone have a list of the payouts? Just interested to see what all those smaller checks were for.
I enjoyed watching the Shooting USA coverage on the AG cup each year. I also love watching old NRL match videos, they were put together really well.
Same here. Really like the Ultimate Ballistics site, has a lot of potential.
Was thinking the same thing but didn't want to go there yet without seeing matches on UB fill out a little more.Unlike practicscore...
The only way you will ever get better at competing on the national level is to also shoot more matches on the national level. Resorting to only shooting local matches will cap you and plateau you faster than anything. There are a lot of shooters out there destroying their home courses but can’t break upper mid pack when they leave and go somewhere else.
Attitude is everything. And this forum honestly is one of the most toxic places for shooting sports. It’s one thing to not shoot national level matches because you can’t afford it. But most ppl it seems who decide to only shoot single day local matches do it because they hate failure and don’t want to actually press themselves. To each their own.
Besides. If your spending x dollars to shoot mid pack at a 2 day match, It’s not going to support the top ten guys. Your really just supporting the match director and venue. Almost all pay outs don’t exist anymore outside of AG cup qualifier matches and that money only comes from those who sign up for that specific match.
There is a lot to learn at a 2 day match. Especially one in the mountains or the wind. Get in with an experienced squad and you will learn some new techniques and have the most fun.
Fastest way to grow is also checking your ego at the door.
Attitude is everything. And this forum honestly is one of the most toxic places for shooting sports. It’s one thing to not shoot national level matches because you can’t afford it. But most ppl it seems who decide to only shoot single day local matches do it because they hate failure and don’t want to actually press themselves. To each their own.
Besides. If your spending x dollars to shoot mid pack at a 2 day match, It’s not going to support the top ten guys. Your really just supporting the match director and venue. Almost all pay outs don’t exist anymore outside of AG cup qualifier matches and that money only comes from those who sign up for that specific match.
There is a lot to learn at a 2 day match. Especially one in the mountains or the wind. Get in with an experienced squad and you will learn some new techniques and have the most fun.
Fastest way to grow is also checking your ego at the door.
