FWRR Club Meeting (New Meeting Location)
The next meeting of the Fort Wayne Rifle and Revolver Club will be held on Monday October 4, 2021.
Meeting Place: Thanks to the efforts of Bill McEldowney, we will meet at VFW Post 857, located at 2202 West Main Street in Fort Wayne.
Meeting Time: 7:00 p.m.
FWRR Club Meeting (New Meeting Location)
The next meeting of the Fort Wayne Rifle and Revolver Club will be held on Monday October 4, 2021.
Meeting Place: Thanks to the efforts of Bill McEldowney, we will meet at VFW Post 857, located at 2202 West Main Street in Fort Wayne.
Meeting Time: 7:00 p.m.
Agenda: Standard meeting format plus a reading of the minutes of a Special Meeting that was held on August 31, 2021. Please try to attend as a quorum is required to conduct club business. Food and drink will be available at very reasonable prices before and after the meeting.
Meeting Attendance (A Letter to the Membership from the Club Secretary, Mike Miller)
At the last meeting, no business was allowed to be conducted due to lack of a quorum. It is a shame that only 24 out of approximately 375 members of FWRR felt that attending a meeting was worthwhile. As members, we all have a responsibility to provide some support to the club beside paying dues and using the range when we feel like it.
Attending a meeting is not a big deal. Meetings generally last only an hour or so. If each member would attend two out of the six annual meetings, we would always be able to conduct club business. The officers, directors and discipline leaders spend a great amount of time making the club continue to function. Doing these thankless jobs would be much more gratifying if more members would provide some support by caring enough to attend a meeting. Having 24 people attend a regular meeting is really a sad situation.
Special Meeting
A special meeting of the Executive Board and Directors was held on August 31, 2021 at the FWRR Range. The purpose of the meeting was to conduct club business that has been delayed due to a lack of a quorum at regularly-scheduled meetings. (A provision in the Bylaws allows for such a meeting.) In summary, a total of eleven topics appeared on the meeting agenda. It was agreed that four improvements projects were to be funded and implemented this year. The projects include: installing covered firing points on the Pistol Range, installing a walkway at the north end of the building on the 25/50/100-yard Range (to eliminate a winter-time slip/fall hazard), adding fill dirt and seeding the 100-yard mound on the 300-yard Range, and seeding and adding straw the area around the new footbridge. The minutes of the special meeting will be presented at the October meeting.
New Footbridge
A new footbridge has been installed across the ditch on the 25/50/100-yard portion of the Main Range. The bridge is composed of three steel trusses that are topped with two-inch-thick, hickory planks. The bridge is anchored to concrete footings. The construction involved welding mounting plates to the trusses, installing concrete foundations, mounting the trusses, acquiring and attaching the top planks, excavating around the bridge and seeding the area.
Bridge trusses were acquired from a local company at no cost to the club through the efforts of Greg Peck. Ted Smeltzer, Shannon Parks and Ted’s son (David, a non-member) handled the design and installation. Be certain to thank these dedicated people for their efforts in making this major improvement.
Please note that the bridge is a footbridge, not intended for vehicular traffic.
Main Range Maintenance Closings
Mowing is scheduled for the following Wednesdays: 10/13 and 10/27. The Main Range is closed while mowing is being performed; however, the Pistol Range remains open. Mowing times vary depending on volunteer availability. Dates may vary depending on weather and ground conditions. Mowing may continue beyond 10/27, depending on grass growth. If dates change or if mowing is required after 10/27, an effort will be made to post updates on the website. Checking the website before traveling to the range is always recommended.
Mowing Crew
The following individuals were members of the 2021 Mowing Crew: Bob Bausser, Marty Didion, John Halter, Jim Johnston, Dennie McNabb, Russ McCurdy, Ozzie Ostheimer, Shannon Parks, David Rinaldi, Rick Schwaiger, Jim Sweeney and Gary Walker. Be sure to thank these gentlemen for their work.
New Members
The following individuals recently became FWRR members: Dallas Colley, Will Doetsch Jr., Bill McEldowney, Mark Hagler, Chris Harmon, William Howard, David Jenks, David Kline, Gregory McClure, Jon Underwood, Mark Wager and Johnathan Wright. Bryan Smith is a returning member.
Indiana State Junior High Power Championship
The Indiana Junior High Power Rifle Championship was held at the FWRR Range on July 10, 2021. Eleven young shooters participated, coming from as far away as French Lick, Indiana and Maumee, Ohio. The First-shot Ceremony was conducted by Sue Mogel, ISRPA Executive VP, whose offhand shot was an “X” on the 200-yard target. The match went exceedingly well and the weather was just about perfect. Highlights follow:
STATE JUNIOR HP CHAMPION:
Madelyn Schnelle with an outstanding 489-23X score.
CLASSIFICATION WINNERS:
Master Class, Madelyn Schnelle (489-23X)
Marksman, Robert Stevens (466-14X)
MATCH WINNERS:
Offhand, Marshall Rohrbach (95-1X)
Sitting Rapid Fire, Alex Becker (95-3X)
Prone Rapid Fire, Logan Becker (96-1X)
Prone Slow Fire, Emma Branson (182-6X).
Our flamboyant HP RO, Larry Beardsley, who is never at a loss for words, will provide further details at the October meeting,
Hoosier Home Range Hundred Matches
Hoosier Home Range Hundred Matches are shot a various locations throughout the state. When this information was received, 31 shooters had participated in more than 70 matches. The standings through September 5th are as follows:
High Master Class, Mike King (FWRR), 493-25X
Master Class, Paul Ellerseck (Wildcat Valley), 488-15X
Expert, Mike Habel (FWRR), 468-8X
Sharpshooter, Colton Eads, (FWRR, Junior) 474-4X
Marksman, Emma Branson (Wildcat Valley, Junior), 465-8X.
For Sale
Long-time member Jim Coleman passed away in March of 2018. Some of his firearms are being offered for sale at Thomlinson’s Shooting Supplies in Churubusco. The sale began Saturday, September 11th. The list of firearms includes several DCM Garands, a 1917 Eddystone Enfield and a NIB Remington 541.
While it is not the Club’s policy to list items for sale at commercial institutions, this notice has been posted for the benefit of Jim’s wife.
Adds may be sent to Marty Didion at martindidion4@gmail.com. Adds must be received three weeks before meetings in order to appear in the newsletter.
Reminders
Police your brass and trash before leaving the range. Brass can become a hazard to facilities and personnel during mowing. Brass may be discarded in the buckets provided for that purpose. The trash containers at the range are not intended for use by the general membership. Take home all trash (e.g., used targets, drink containers, and – particularly- food wrappers and food remnants). Failure to remove your trash causes extra, sometimes quite unpleasant, work for the few volunteers who empty trash containers.
Do not shoot target frames or place objects to be shot on the frames. All shots should go through the cardboard backers on which targets are posted.
Closing Comments
Be sure to thank the following members for their “above-and-beyond” service to the club:
Bill McEldowney for his assistance with the electronic distribution of the newsletter.
Chris Harmon for the donation of two very nicely-made Safety Tables.
Mark Walters and his wife, Michelle, who acted as luncheon caterers at the Junior State HP Championship.
Mark Walters for the many hours spent at the loading bench preparing ammunition for the FWRR Juniors.
All HP shooters who assisted with the planning and execution of the Junior State HP Championship.
Glenna and Michael Grannis for handling HP entries and functioning as Statistical Officers.