Fort Wayne Rifle and Revolver Club

FWRR Club Meeting

The next meeting of the Fort Wayne Rifle and Revolver Club will be held on Monday, December 2, 2024.  Meeting Place: VFW Post 857, located at 2202 West Main Street in Fort Wayne.  Meeting Time: 7:30 PM.  

Meeting Agenda:  Officer Election follow by a standard format meeting.

Election Ballot

Club Officers will be elected during the December meeting.  Positions include: President, Vice President, Secretary, Treasurer, Director, Program Manager, and Range Safety Officer. The term of a Director is six years; the term of all other elected officials is two years.   The election ballot is as follows.

President: Jim Sweeney (unopposed)

Vice President: Mark Walters (unopposed)

Secretary: Mike Miller (Incumbent), Joseph Penepent

Treasurer: Martin Didion (Incumbent), Douglas Burdick

Director:  Mike Toscos (incumbent), Jay Wehrle

Program Manager: Mark Walters (unopposed)

Range Safety Officer: C. Larry Beardsley  (unopposed)

Nominations will be accepted from the floor prior to the election.

2025 Membership Renewal

2025 Membership Renewal Forms will be mailed in early to mid-December.  Please remember to include proof of current NRA membership.  Either a photocopy of the membership card or a magazine label (or the label itself) are acceptable forms of proof.  If a photocopy of a membership card is submitted, it must display the expiration date.  Cards marked “Annual” and displaying no date are unacceptable.

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.  If your renewal form has not been received by mid-January, contact the Treasurer elect.

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, 2024 are not required to pay membership dues to the 2025 calendar year; nevertheless, they do need to return the renewal form with proof of current NRA membership.

Dues Increase

Basic dues for 2025 will increase from $80.00 to $85.00 and will be increased at a rate of $5.00 per year for the following three years.  Individuals inducted before January 2024 will be grandfathered with regard to Life membership.   Individuals inducted after January 2024 who have been members for at least five consecutive years are eligible for Life (dues free) membership in the year following their 70th birthday.  Ref.: Article XI, Sections 5 of the Bylaws, as amended to reflect these changes. 

Lock Combination Change Reminder

Retain your 2024 Membership Card until the lock combination change is made is made on Cleanup Day (mid to late April, 2025).

Maintenance Activities

The final mowing of the year was accomplished on November 11^th. The mowers, sprayer, and cistern were winterized. Number boards on the 300 yard range were removed and stored for the winter.

Mowing Crew

Thanks go to the following individuals who volunteered time and effort to maintain the grounds: Martin Didion, Tom Fortman, John Halter, Joe Harbor, Matt Hice, Jim Johnston, Russ McCurdy, Dennie McNabb, Ozzie Ostheimer, Karl Pulver, Rick Schwaiger, and Jim Sweeney.

Off Road Driving 

Off road driving between the west side of the ditch and a line straight North of the 100-yard impact berm is not permitted.  Members have been driving along the ditch to post targets on the 100-yard target frames in violation of this restriction, Exception: Ground conditions permitting, driving in this area is permitted for the purpose of placing/retrieving the number boards that are used during winter HP offhand matches.

Safety Note

On the Main Range, use of target frames or holders other than those provided is not permitted.  All shots are to pass through the cardboard backers that are placed on the target frames.  Do not intentionally allow bullets to strike target frames.  All firing is to be done from the designated firing lines.  Distances less than 25 yards may be shot in Bays 4 and 5 of the Pistol Pit, subject to the firearms type restrictions set forth in the Range Rules.  Shotguns may be patterned at 25 yards on the Main Range by placing the pattern board between the lower horizontal member and the ground.

(A note from the Safety Officer: On Thursday, 21 November I did a range safety inspection. I noted that at the 50-yard target stand, there were at least 25 bullet impacts in the top rail and another 10 in the bottom rail. There were also approximately 20 .223 cases in the gravel parking pad at the north end of the 100-yard firing line.)

Discipline Reports

ACPDL (Allen County Practical Defense League)

The last match of the calendar year will be held on 12/7.  Only ACPDL members are permitted to shoot.  The pre-match meeting begins at 9:00 a.m. and shooting commences at 9:30 a.m.  Matches are typically finished by 12:00 noon.  Observers and those persons interested in becoming ACPDL members are welcome.

Cowboy Action, PCSL and USPSA

Cowboy Action, PCSL (tentative) and USPSA matches will resume in 2025.

High-power (HP)

Winter Offhand Matches are shot on the second Saturday of the month, November through March. Registration begins at 8:00 AM.  Match start time is 9:00 AM. The Main Range is closed to informal practice during winter offhand matches but the pistol bays remain open.  As  always, informal practice in the Pistol Pit is limited to Bays 4 and 5 when formal matches are not underway on the Main Range and in the Pistol Pit.

The High Power Range Officer writes:

“The summer HP season has wrapped up and we had a busy and productive year. Our schedule included the 50/80 matches that provide competitors the opportunity to compete for both NRA and CMP classifications, as well as the very popular 300-yard 3 X 20 matches.  The 3 X 20 matches bring competitors from all over Indiana as well as from central Indiana and the Toledo area and have set attendance records for recent years.  With our electronic targets and beautifully maintained range, our high-power matches have become the premier place to compete for shooters in the Lower Great Lakes region.”

“We have the 2025 schedule in place, subject to Club approval and tweaking as needed to accommodate State and National Match schedules that are not as yet final.”

Electronic Target System Training Class

The Club has purchased a Silver Mountain Electronic Target System that will be made available to individual members for use at the range.  Users must be trained before access to the system is granted.  The first class will be held on Saturday, December 14^th following the Winter HP Offhand Match (about 12:00 noon). Interested members are asked to contact Larry Beardsley. (FWRRHPdirector @aol.com).

New Members

Please welcome new members Zachary Calci, Scott Davis (returning member), Andrew Harbor, and Lawrence Shinabery.   These gentlemen were inducted as full members at the October, 2024 meeting.

Distinguished Shooter Listing

The Club would like to have a listing of members who have been awarded Distinguished Rifleman and Pistol Shot Badges.  If you are a Distinguished Shooter, or if you know a club member not now living who was Distinguished, please notify Larry Beardsley (FWRRHPdirector@aol.com).

For Sale

77 gr. Sierra Match King bullets. Boxes of 500, $160.00 each.  Jaggi Shooting Glasses Frame with extra nose piece, lenses, blinders and case: $125.00. Contact Marty Didion at  martindidion4@gmail.com.

Arisaka Type 99, 7.7 mm rifle with Lee die set.  Chrome-lined barrel and wood are in very good condition. It has anti-aircraft wing sights, but no sliding breech cover.  The chrysanthemum has been ground off.  .30-06 brass can be reformed to work in this rifle.  $99.00.  Contact Larry Beardsley at FWRRHPdirector @aol.com.

A large quantity of 16 ga. field loads and rifled slugs are available.  Some 12 ga. and .410 bore shot shells are also available. Contact Mike Miller at  (260) 467-0640.

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

We kicked off Winter Offhand on Saturday 9 November on a crisp fall day.  It was a dull day – not a lot of light and just cold enough that you could see breath from most of the shooters.  There was plenty of help to get set up and we started shooting about 8:45 when we had 12 shooters, one good full relay.

This winter we are shooting in a two class system – High Masters and Masters are Class AA shooters, Experts and below are Class A shooters.  Scores and awards will be made in both classes with the best four scores of the five match season counting toward the season totals.

In today’s match, the Class AA top slot went to Mike King with a 389-12X tally.  Top score in Class A and High Junior went to Mia King with her 369-4X score.

Then after the Winter Offhand match closed out, two other activities shared the range.  The Winter Forty group held their first bi-weekly match with 8 shooters and the Junior Class of 2025 had a class and shooting session.

The Junior Class of 2025 had six shooters in attendance and after the class session (which included a presentation on shooter respect and safety) a shooting session focusing on sight alignment, trigger control and sight adjustment to center shot groups was conducted. 

Thanks to Kileen and Mia for helping with the classroom presentations and additional thanks to Mia and Marshall for their help in mentoring the Class of 2025 in their shooting session.

It was a busy morning at the range with three groups sharing the facilities and managing to play well together. The next Winter Forty match will be in two weeks on Saturday November 23rd and the next Winter Offhand/Class of 2025 session will be on December 14th.  Put the dates on your calendar and come out and shoot with us!