FOR SALE- SHOP OR GARAGE HEATER

Several years ago we replaced the heater in the new building at the range thinking it had bad controls or a bad gas valve.  It turned out to be a defective regulator on the LP-gas tank and we had replaced a perfectly good heater.  The heater has been sitting for two winters now and it is time for it to go to a new home.

It is a Mr. Heater Model MHU-50:  https://www.mrheater.com/50-000-btu-big-maxx-natural-gas-unit-heater-1336.html. A new one is priced at over $500.

It is a 30,000 BTU propane heater with a blower and it requires a vent.  If you have been in the new building when the heater is running, you know it can put out a lot of heat.

If you are interested in buying this heater, contact Marty Didion at:  martindidion4@gmail.com and make him an offer he can’t refuse!

Junior Practice – May 6th

We had the first High Power Practice yesterday, May 6th.  I have set the first Thursday of the month aside for a dedicated Junior session so we can work with them on basics and fundamentals or try to solve any particular problem they are having.

But – it had started raining about 2:00 yesterday and we had to change our plans.  Instead of practicing a CMP Games Match, we went up under the porch and worked on breathing, sight pictures and trigger control and just handling their rifles using benches and sandbags at 50-yards.  Our goal was to give the shooters confidence in their ability for them and their rifles to put shots on target at the point they were aiming.

We had three Juniors shoot and we had three experienced shooters to watch them and coach as needed.  Thanks to Greg, Jess and Larry for their help.  We shot a bunch of the Lake City ammo that Mark had donated as we shot for group consistency – not necessarily for centered groups. OPA (other people’s ammo) is as good as it gets.

What we gained from the session was that all three of the shooters have a better knowledge of applying what we had talked about at the High Power Clinic and they are a lot more familiar with the rifles they will shoot on Saturday at the CMP Games Match.  They finally got to make them go BANG!

All three Juniors were able to easily shoot 10-ring sized groups, load and unload the rifles safely, change magazines smoothly and improve the skills they need for a live match.  Even with the rain, it turned out to be a good day.

We hope to see everyone Saturday for the CMP Games Match!

FWRR At Camp Perry

FWRR Members Carl Johnson, Dean Didion, Marty Didion and Denny Shook grace the entry page to the CMP Clubs web page. We believe that this picture dates to 2009.

Check it out at thecmp.org/clubs/

This is the FWRR Club Team stepping out at the 600-yard line for the Rattle Battle. We’re not sure just who is hidden at the far end, but Brock Bell, John Halter and Mike Toscos are candidates for those last two spots.

High Power Clinic; May 1st

Is he going to get his thumb mashed?

Fort Wayne Rifle and Revolver Club CMP High Power Clinic participants, held on May 1, watch closely as CMP GSM Master Instructor Larry Beardsley demonstrates the proper way to close the bolt on an M1 rifle.  All of the participants successfully demonstrated their ability to close the M1’s bolt and no “M1 Thumbs” were experienced.

“You keep your finger out of the trigger guard until you are on your target…”
“Getting ready to close the bolt; watch closely now”

CMP Games Match – Saturday, May 8th

It’s Shooting Season again!

This Saturday, May 1, will be the High Power Clinic for new shooters.  Normally we would shoot a Garand Match as part of the Clinic, but after doing this a number of times I have figured out that trying to do both on the same day makes me hurry through the class and skip some things I want to cover – or run too long with the class and then I have to hurry through the match.

Saturday 8 May, our normal second Saturday Match, will be a CMP Games Match this year.  It will be shot in the Garand Match format; 5-sighters and 30-shots for record at 200-yards.  I am going to reserve the first two relays for the new shooters who attended the Clinic so we can work with them as they shoot their first match. 

Experienced shooters will be squadded on Relays 3 and higher.  This is a re-entry match, and as usual we will have entry categories for just about any high power rifle you want to shoot.  Bring as many rifles as you want to!

Match fees are $20 for FWRR members or members of affiliated clubs, $25 for non-members.  The first re-entry match is a flat $15 for everyone and if you want to shoot a third match, that will be $10.

I strongly suggest that you pre-register for the match so we can assign relays and firing positions in advance.  We will be using the Silver Mountain Targets, so bring your tablets, smart phones, iPads or whatever for a scoring device.

There will be M1 Garands available for loan and M2 Ball ammunition is available for sale at $20 for a 35-round Match pack.  Contact FWRRHPDirector@aol.com if you would like to use a loaner Garand for the match.

Summer 2021 Range Mowing Dates

Mowing dates are subject to weather conditions.  The times when mowing occurs are a function of volunteer availability.  The main range is closed during mowing but the pistol bays will remain open.

Mowing Dates:

April 28                  August 4

May 12                   August 18

May 26                   September 1

June 9                    September 15

June 23                  September 29

July 7                     October 13

July 21                   October 27

Mark, Mark and Mike at Camp Atterbury

Mark Richard, Mark Walters and Mike King shooting in the rain at Camp Atterbury

Either these Old Guys are tough enough to shoot on a drizzly damp day – or they don’t have enough sense to come in out of the rain.

I suspect they just like to shoot that much – and they’re determined.

Addition: After I posted this, I received this in an email from the Indiana State Rifle and Pistol Association:

“Congratulations to Saturday Match Winner Mike King, 784-25 … .

That’s a 98% score – well into the High Master range!

Congratulations Mike

FWRR Receives 2021 CMP Affiliation Certificate

FWRR has been certified as a CMP Affiliated Club for 2021. This means that an FWRR Member can use their membership card to verify that they are eligible to purchase an M1 Garand or other CMP merchandise. Participants in CMP Matches who are not members may use their certificates of participation for CMP merchandise as well.

Saturday, April 10 – First 50/80 High Power Match for 2021

The first 50/80 High Power Match of the year will be on Saturday, April 10th.

This Match can be fired as either an NRA 50 or 80 – round Match, or a CMP 80 – round match.  It is an either/or choice, not both.

It will be fired on Silver Mountain electronic targets, so make sure your display device is working.  We will shoot with seven persons per relay – two relays in the early session at 9:00 and two relays in the late session at 11:00.

Registration for the first session will open at 7:30.  I will need folks to execute CMP Liability Releases since we are shooting as a CMP Affiliated Club.

First shot will be at 9:00 – we don’t get good light until then this early in the year.

Match fees are $20.00 for FWRR Members and members of affiliated Clubs and $25.00 for non-members.  Juniors under 18 are $15.00.  I will waive NRA processing fees for the first three matches so shooters can get the required 240 shots to establish a classification. Later in the year I will charge a $5.00 NRA Processing fee since the NRA charges that to put scores into their system.

I know the COVID situation has eased considerably since last year, but please respect people with possible susceptibilities and wear a mask while you are in the Clubhouse registering or just hanging out.

For more information or if there are questions, contact Larry Beardsley at FWRRHPDirector @aol.com

April 2021 FWRR Newsletter

A Winter Offhand Morning

April 2021 FWRR NEWSLETTER

FWRR Club Meeting

The next meeting of the Fort Wayne Rifle and Revolver Club will be held on April 6, 2021.  Meeting Place:  New Haven Community Center, 7500 SR 930 East. (Enter at the east end of the building).  Meeting Time: 6:00 – 7:30 p.m. (The building must be vacated by 8:00 p.m.)  Venue Restrictions: No alcohol or firearms on the premises.  Please try to attend as a quorum is required to conduct club business.  Attendees are asked to wear masks and to observe social distancing protocol.

Agenda: Standard meeting format.   Clean-up Day activities will be addressed under the heading New Business. Please feel free to bring up ideas for work that you would like to see accomplished or started on Clean-up Day.

Election Results

The Club election was held on February 2, 2021.  Election results are presented below.

President: Jim Sweeney

Vice President: Matt Hice

Secretary:  Mike Miller

Treasurer:  Martin Didion

Director:  Tim Wunderlich

Program Manager:  Ryan Brammer

Safety Officer:  Larry Beardsley

Events Schedule

The 2021 Events Schedule is posted on the FWRR website.  Members who have elected to receive the newsletter via USPS will find copies of the schedule enclosed with this newsletter.

2021 Dues

Members who have not sent in renewal forms, proof of current NRA membership, and fees have until March 31st to pay their dues.  Please note that a $25.00 late fee must now be paid.   After March 31st, delinquency will result in membership termination.  Terminated members must reapply for membership and pay the new-member initiation fee if they desire reinstatement.  If personal hardship prevents timely payment, contact a club officer who may arrange for dues to be waived or payment to be deferred.

Newsletter Editor

The club is still seeking a volunteer to serve as Newsletter Editor.  The editor is responsible for collecting inputs from club officers and ROs, preparing the newsletter, and distributing it via email or USPS (per member preference) two weeks prior to club meetings. Interested members may contact Marty Didion (martindidion4@gmail.com) to volunteer and/or to receive additional information.

Clean-up Day

Clean-up Day is scheduled for April 24th.   

Sad News

The Club has been notified of the passing of two members:  Alan Abramow and Mark Heuer. Alan’s membership date was December, 1999.  He passed away on July 3, 2020.  Mark, a member since October of 1996, passed away in January 16, 2021.  Please extend condolences to their families and friends.

Mowing Crew

Thanks go to the members who served on the mowing crew during the past year. Anyone interested in becoming a member of the mowing crew should contact Marty Didion (martindidion4@gmail.com) to be placed on the 2021 Mowing Schedule.  A mowing schedule will be posted on the club website sometime in April.  Typically, mowing is performed on Wednesdays. Dates may vary due to weather conditions and grass growth rates.

2020 New Members

The following individuals  became FWRR members at the February club meeting: 

Bryan Bankert

Jarrod Dietel

Aaron Kohler

Michael Loeffler

Ross Loeffler

Brian Meyer 

Mike Doran is a returning member.  Welcome, gentlemen!

2020-2021 Winter High Power Offhand Matches

HP RO Larry Beardsley reports that the Winter HP Offhand season closed Saturday March 13, 2021.  Twenty-three shooters participated in the matches.  Division winner season results are presented below.

TOP DIVISION
Shooter Number of Matches Aggregate for Matches Fired Aggregate (Best Three Matches)
Mark Richard (High Master) 4 1555-40X 1171-29X
Mike King (High Master) 4 1516-17X 1147-12X
Mark Walters (Master) 4 1474-18X 1111-14X
ANCHOR DIVISION
Shooter Number of Matches Aggregate for Matches Fired
Gary Mabis (Sharp Shooter) 3 1052-7X
Joe Freiberger (Marksman) 3 880-2X
Aaron Kohler (Expert) 2 644-6X

Sale Items

Shotgun Shells for Sale:  12 gauge and 16 gauge field loads and 16 gauge rifled slugs.  Contact Mike Miller at (260)  467-0640.