February 2023 Newsletter

February 2023 FWRRC NEWSLETTER

FWRR Club Meeting

The next meeting of the Fort Wayne Rifle and Revolver Club will be held on Monday, February 6, 2023. 

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: Standard-format meeting.   Please make an effort to attend meetings, as a quorum is required to conduct club business. 

Attendance at the December, 2022 meeting was outstanding.  Thanks to all who took the time to attend the meeting at the busiest time of the year.

Election Results

The following individuals were elected to serve.

President:  Jim Sweeney

Vice President:  Matt Hice

Secretary:  Mike Miller

Treasurer:  Martin Didion

Director:  Larry Beardsley

Program Manager: Ryan Brammer

Range Safety Officer: Larry Beardsley

2023 Membership Renewal

2023 Membership Renewal Forms were mailed in early December.  Completed Membership Renewal Forms, proof of current NRA membership, and payments are due on January 1st each year.  

When responding, please read and follow the instructions at the top of the form. 

Dues must be received on or before March 1st to avoid late fees or termination of membership. Dues received with postmark dates after March 1st, but on or before March 31st, are subject to a $25.00 late fee. Dues received with postmark dates after March 31st 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 tor 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 are frustrating and time consuming activities. 

Renewal Status

At the time of newsletter publication, 58% of the membership renewals had been received and processed.

Special Thanks to Generous Members

The Executive Board wishes to thank the many members who made generous donations this year.  Items such as as insurance, facility maintenance, postage, printing, and utilities are recurring expenses. Your generosity goes a long way to making our facility one which we can enjoy and take pride in.

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 or copy the 2022 lock combination onto your 2023 Membership Card.

New Members

Please welcome new members Bruce Bickley, Devon Burton, Jeffery Doherty, Mia King, and Karl Pulver.  These individuals were inducted as full members at the December, 2022 meeting.

Discipline Reports

ACPDL

No report

USPSA

No 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.   For those who wish to use the range on those days, note that the match is typically over by noon.  More information concerning the High Power Program is posted on the Club’s website.

January Winter Offhand was a nice, sunny day!
We had a very good turn-out to start the 2023 season!

Important Reminders

Some of these reminders are repeated from earlier 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.

CLAY BIRDS ARE TO BE SHOT ONLY FROM THE HUT AT THE SOUTH END OF THE 25/50/100 YARD FIRING LINE.   Shot must land on FWRRC property.

Newsletter Delivery

Changes to newsletter delivery mode will go into effect with the mailing of the April 2023 Newsletter.

Sad News

Member Steve Clouse passed away in December, 2022.  He loved bowling, riding his Goldwing, camping, four-wheeling, and shooting with his best friend, club member Chip Seidel.

For Sale

Two (2) Russian 1891/30 7.62x54R Mosin Nagant rifles with bayonets. Price: $400.00/each.  Two (2) cases of  7.62x54R ammunition. Price: $250.00/440 rounds.  Contact Joe Hoffman at (260) 433-0402 or joeseph6430@frontier.com.

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.

Winter Offhand; January 14, 2023

Saturday, January 14th was the first Winter Offhand of 2023 and we turned over a fresh page for the New Year.  For a change – the weather was on our side.  It wasn’t snowing like it did for the matches in November and December.  It was beautiful (well at least for mid-January).  The sun was shining, there was almost no wind and at 29-degrees – it felt almost balmy!

Look downrange – that’s sunshine!

And, a note from the High Power Director – the High Power shooters spoil me.  Match time was 9:00.  I arrived about 7:55 to open up –  and the gate was already open.  I wandered down to the clubhouse.  The lights were on, someone had the heat running and the guys were already downrange taking down target frames and setting number boards.  By 8:30 the first relay was full with 12 shooters and we had four more shooters for the second relay – 16 shooters in all – more than we have had in a long time!

More sunshine on the low end of the line

Standings for the day:

Mike King            385-5X

Doc Habel           375-6X

Mark Walters     366-4X

Gary Mabis          359-3X

Mia King              355-3X

Season Standings after three matches (1200 point aggregate)

Mike King            1160-22X

Mark Walters     1082- 9X

Mia King              1065-15X

Doc Habel is on a hot streak with a 382 and a 375 for the last two matches – he is not out of the season competition by any means.

Oh, by the-way, Mark Richard sent his regrets, but he was in Florida this weekend.  He claimed that the weather was warm and he walking on the beach and sitting in the spa. 

Does this look like “Sunny Florida” to you?

BUT, he sent a picture along and I wonder if the weather there was any nicer than the Indiana weather today?