Some notes about the NRA.

[vamo]

I will first state that for better or worse the NRA is the best advocate anyone who wants more than a single shot hunting rifle has.

That being said I do disagree with the way they have gone about things in recent history. Not so much the stances they have taken, but the way they have articulated themselves.

I do not believe their goal is to necessarily drive up sales, but somewhere down the line I think they have decided that hyperbole mobilizes their members ( and increases their ranks) better than rationally stating their position. The NRA's power does not come from their partnerships with gun manufacturers, but from the sheer number of gun owners that are members.

The current panic inducing way the impending ban on the green tip 5.56 is being handled is a prime example. You would think plain jane .223 was being banned and the AR-15 is a soon to be good as wall hanger only weapon. Though I must disagree with the assertion the OP made that it is not a common ammo type or used by millions.

 

[larryh1108]

I've been an NRA member for longer than I can remember.

I do not always agree with their ways of doing things but I do know that they are a powerful voice in Washington, something we need to keep the .gov in line. Without them we'd be no different than England. They fight for the gun rights of all of us.

Now, emails cost nothing to send. Someone creates a letter and off it goes to all it's members. You can opt out and not get any.

I do not get any phone calls after I told them calling is off limits.

I do not like all the mailing (except the magazine). I feel it is money best spent elsewhere.

I do not like the "free gifts" because they cost somebody, something. I feel it is money better spent elsewhere.

I do not like their fear-mongering. I think it should be educate with a sense of urgency. Fear-mongering is for the anti's.

I do not understand why we have all these new shooters the last 6 years and the NRA seems to be stuck with their membership numbers not rising at the same ratio. I think the fear-mongering make getting the newer shooters on board harder. The total membership, compared to the total shooting public, is pathetic, IMO. We need to work on that.

I can only suggest that anyone who buys a new firearm should get 1 year free membership from the NRA and be put on a special mailing list that has a soft sell of the good things the NRA does without the fear-mongering stuff they do so well. We should be 10% (minimum) of the shooting public and probably 25%. If 100 million people own firearms, the membership should be 10 million to 25 million, not 5 million. To me, that low number is due to terrible marketing and top level management. It needs to change.

We need them to continue to be our voice in DC but they need to get their act together on running a viable membership and to reach so many more than they do. They need to figure out what is wrong (with the low membership numbers) and fix it. 25 million members is a lot more powerful and 5 million and we are dropping the ball. We should be so much more powerful but mismanagement at the NRA is the reason we aren't.

I'll continue to be a member for life but, like every large company, it needs some new blood to understand how the 21st century gun enthusiast sees things.

 

[CraigC]

Oh boo hoo. I get junk mail from Piggly Wiggly that gets on my nerves WAAAAY more than anything from the NRA. I never step foot in "The Pig" and the NRA works day & night to protect my rights from the anti's. I can throw away NRA mail just as easily as anybody else's.

 

[Sam1911]

Sounds like the theories presented by the O.P. have been "asked and answered," as we say."

No real need for another "NRA: BOO/YAAAY!" thread.