Fort Wayne Rifle and Revolver Club

As Winter Offhand days go – it wasn’t that bad of a day.  At 33 degrees, it wasn’t precipitating anything, the wind wasn’t bringing tears to eyes or numbing fingers – it was just Indiana grade December dark and gloomy!

Nine shooters came out, but two retired because of back issues with seven shooters finishing up the day. As one of the “retirees” commented; “It’s heck getting old!”

The top three scores for the day were:

Mike King            390 – 8X

Doc Habel           382 – 7X

Mia King              364 – 8X

For the Winter Offhand season, to date – standings are:

Mike King            775 – 17X

Mark Walters     716 –   5X

Mia King              710 – 12X

Miss Mia, recently voted into membership as the first Junior (a girl even) member of the Fort Wayne Rifle and Revolver Club, came in third for the day and currently stands in third place for the season aggregate.

But, the high point of the day came from Tayt, our most junior of Junior shooters.  I’m starting him off by having him shoot off bags to let him learn sight picture, trigger control and to learn the mechanics of running the AR platform.  For the first stage I stressed to him that just where the group landed wasn’t all that critical, the important thing was to get them all in the same area.

As the shooters brought targets back from the first string, Tayt was waving his target and hollering; “I hit the target, I hit the target!”  Indeed he had hit the target with a group about the size of my hand up at 12- o’clock right at the edge of the 5-ring.  He scored a rip-roaring 32-0X on that string, but indeed – he had hit the target.

We made an elevation change on his scope (down 10-minutes) and on the next string he shot a considerably improved score; 190 -3X.  Nineteen of his twenty shots were in the black with one mid-ring 8.  I think we’re making progress.

Today’s match closed out the year for formal High Power activities.  I want to thank everyone for all of their support and I look forward to having a good High Power year in 2023.

FWRR Club Meeting

The next meeting of the Fort Wayne Rifle and Revolver Club will be held on Monday, December 5, 2022.  Meeting Place: VFW Post 857, located at 2202 West Main Street in Fort Wayne.  Meeting Time: 7:00 p.m.  Food and drink will be available at very reasonable prices before and after the meeting.

Meeting Agenda:

Election of Club Officers followed by a standard-formatted meeting will take place.   Please make an effort to attend meetings, as a quorum is required to conduct club business.

Election Ballot

Office	Incumbent	Candidate
President	Jim Sweeney	—
Vice President	Matt Hice	—
Secretary	Mike Miller	—
Treasurer	Martin Didion	—
Director	C. L. (Larry) Beardsley	Dean Drews

2023 Membership Renewal

2023 Membership Renewal Forms will be mailed in early December. Please read and follow the instructions at the top of the form. 

Completed Membership Renewal Forms, proof of current NRA membership, and payments are due on January 1^st each year.  

Dues must be received on or before March 1^st to avoid late fees or termination of membership. Dues received with postmark dates after March 1^st, but on or before March 31^st, are subject to a $25.00 late fee. Dues received with postmark dates after March 31^st will be returned with a notice indicating that;

1) the party’s membership has been terminated, and;

2) future membership requires submission of a membership application and payment of new member fees (c.f., Bylaws Article IX, Section 2).  Dues paid with an NSF check are subject to a $25.00 returned check fee.

If personal hardship prevents timely payment of dues, contact a club officer who may arrange either for dues to be waived or for payment to be deferred.

Individuals who were accepted as members after October 1, 2022 are not required to pay membership dues for the 2023 calendar year; nevertheless, they do need to return the renewal form with proof of current NRA membership.

Updating the roster is a time consuming activity.  Deciphering illegible printing and contacting members to obtain proof of NRA membership can be frustrating and time consuming activities. 

For more information check out our web site: https://fwrrclub.org/index.php/members

Lock Combination Change

The lock combination change is made on Cleanup Day (mid to late April).  Retain your 2022 Membership Card until the change is made.

Newsletter Delivery

Approximately 80% of the membership receives the newsletter via email.  Those members who have email accounts and who currently opt for postal delivery are asked to consider receiving the newsletter via email next year.  Doing so will save printing and postage costs and reduce significant manual labor.  Changes in delivery method will go into effect in April, 2023.

To add or remove your Email address just send an Email to billmac099@yahoo.com with the subject FWRRC-Add or FWRRC-Delete.

Maintenance Activities

The final mowing of the year was accomplished on November 2^nd.   The mowers, sprayer, and cistern were winterized.

Target frame repairs were made on the 25/50/100 Yard Range.

Permanent Target Backers were installed in Pistol Bays 4 and 5. One 4’x4’ corrugated-plastic sheet was installed on each target frame.  (Please remove targets faces and staples after use.)

Eight 2’x2’ corrugated-plastic target backers were made available for use.  The new backers are located inside the building on the 25/50/100 yard portion of the range. (After use, please remove targets faces and staples and return the backers to the building.)

The heater in the building on the 25/50/100 yard portion of the range was repaired.

The gutters on the 25/50/100 yard building were cleaned.

Number boards on the 300 yard range were removed and stored for the winter.

Thanks go the following individuals:  Larry Beardsley, Bruce Bickley (membership hopeful), Marty Didion, Darrel Fish, Mark Klingenberger, Mike Peek, and Jim Sweeney.

New Members

Please welcome new members Ed Klotz, Tony Spangler, and Craig Wallace.  These gentlemen became members at the October, 2022 meeting.

Discipline Reports

ACPDL & USPSA

Nothing to report

High-power (HP)

Winter 40-round offhand matches are being held the second Saturday of the month from November through March.    Check-in Time: 8:00 a.m.  Firing begins at 9:00 a.m.   More information concerning the High Power Program is posted on the Club’s website.

Important Reminders

Some of these reminders are repeated from earlier 2022 Newsletters.  They are being repeated because violations are still occurring.  Several members have reported violations but failed to advise offenders. If you see someone in violation, please courteously explain the rule infraction.

DO NOT HANDLE FIREARMS WHEN PERSONNEL ARE DOWN RANGE! Proper range etiquette involves opening actions, removing all ammunition from firearms, and stepping away from the firing line.  

DO NOT POST TARGETS ON TARGET FRAMES OR OTHERWISE INTENTIONALLY SHOOT TARGET FRAMES. All shots should pass through target backers and must land on impact bunkers.

THE RANGE STATUS FLAG MUST BE LOWERED AND RAISED EVEN IF YOU ARE THE ONLY PERSON ON THE RANGE.  Ensure that targets are removed and the status flag is lowered before departing the range.

THE RANGE MAY NOT BE USED FOR COMMERCIAL USE.  We had one report of a member administering what appeared to be a pistol training course to an estimated ten or more individuals.  Members may not undertake for-profit activities at FWRRC.  Be advised that to do so has historically resulted in membership termination.

MEMBERS ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR THE BEHAVIOR AND ACTIONS OF THEIR GUESTS.  Members may take a maximum of two guests to the range per visit, not counting family members.  Do not take more guests and/or family members than you are able to directly supervise.  If your guests or family members are new to the shooting sports, it is strongly recommended that the member refrain from shooting so that all of his/her attention can be devoted to supervision.

Please make certain to close the outhouse doors and to lower the toilet seat covers.

For Sale

A. Jewel single-stage trigger for a Remington 700 or 40X. Incorporates safety and bolt release, $180.00. 

B. 6.5 mm, 142 gr., Sierra, Matchking, BTHP bullets, Qty 4 boxes.  $50.00/box. 

C. 1 lb of Reloader 16, $60.00. 

D. 1 lb of Vihtavuori N550, $65.00. 

Contact Mark Strahan at (260) 927-5515 or ms9568@gmail.com

The High Power Range Officer has the following items that he would like to swap for “something”  that he can use with the Juniors:

A. Qty 100, 90 gr., .223/5.56mm, RMR, BTHP bullets;

B. Qty 900,  9mm, 115 gr., copper-plated, round-nose bullets.

Contact Larry Beardsley at FWRRHPDirector@aol.com.

The Newsletter Editor apologizes to the individual who sent ad information to him in early October.  The email containing your information was inadvertently deleted and  he cannot recall the member’s name.

Members who wish to sell shooting-related items may send ad information to Marty Didion at martindidion4@gmail.com.  Ads must be received two weeks before meetings in order to appear in the next newsletter.