April 13 50/80 Match

/ By / In High Power

 

 

 

                                                     Bright, Sunny and Brisk

 

 

Saturday, April 13th dawned clear and rain free –unusual conditions for a High Power Match of late.  The down side; there was a brisk westerly wind most of the day that made eyes water, noses drip and cheeks chap.  But, I never heard the usual shooter’s cry; “I can’t feel my fingers!”  High Power shooters can complain about most weather – so on the whole it was a nice day for an April Match.

Twenty shooters came to the line at 9:00 – a very good turn out for a first match.  And, it looked like a first match.  We had at least three folks with rifle problems and three of the four Motorola radio batteries died. (I thought those batteries were only a couple of years old, but when I opened the back of the radios it turns out I last replaced them in May of 2012.  Time flies when we’re having fun.)

Match winners were:

Match 1; Offhand:                  Jim Schieltz                 196 –   6X

Match 2; Sitting:                     Mike King                    199 – 10X

Match 3; Rapid Prone            Jim Jackson                 198 –  3X

Match 4; Prone                       Robert Working          199 –  11X

The overall results:

First:                Robert Working          775 –  26X

Second:           Mike King                    774 –   22X

Third:              Jim Schieltz                 764 –   20X

We finished up about 2:45.  Thanks to all who came out to shoot – and again a great big THANK YOU to Glenna and Mike Grannis for being our Stat Office people.

Oh, by the way – does anyone have a blank Wailing Wall score sheet? The NRA quit printing them about 2011 and we used the last one Saturday.

Work Day is Saturday, 20 April and the next match is May 11th.  See you then.

 

 

 

Lima Sabers Match Schedule

/ By / In High Power

The Lima Sabers Shooting Association has a number of members who come over to FWRR to shoot matches with us.  We are affiliated clubs, which means that Sabers shoot with us for member fee rates and FWRR members shoot at Lima for their member fee rates.

 
Since the Sabers shoot on the first Saturday, they don’t compete with our Matches.  Here is their schedule for this summer.

 

May 4

June 1

July 6

August 3

September 7

October 5

 

All Matches are 80-round Regional NRA Approved Matches per Rule 7.15.  Slow-fire prone will be shot at 300 yards on the MR-63 target, just like we do. Registration opens at 8:00 and shooting starts at 9:00.  For more information contact Jim Schieltz at jpschieltz@yahoo.com (567-204-5748) or Joe Bakies at bakies6@gmail.com (419-234-3750)

 

Brass and Trash Call

/ By / In High Power, Main

Steel Cases and Case Magnet

At the close of every stage of a high power match, we hold “Brass Call” when shooters pick up their spent cartridge cases.  Policing up brass reduces litter on the range and also reduces projectile hazards when we cut grass on the range.  Most high power shooters reload their brass and want to salvage as much of it as they can.

Casual shooters are not always as determined as high power shooters in finding their spent cases – especially if those cases are Berdan primed steel cases that cannot be reloaded or disposable aluminum pistol cases.  During the High Power Clinic I noticed that we were starting to accumulate a lot of steel cases around the firing lines.  I’m lazy, so I went to the hardware store and bought a floor magnet to help me pick up steel cases.

A couple of passes along the firing lines yielded a pretty good pile of cases.  The great majority of the cases are 7.62 X 39 cases; probably from AK and SKS rifles.

We are also accumulating a real pile of .22 rimfire cases along the front edge of the concrete.  A note to rimfire shooters; policing your brass does not mean kicking it off the front of the concrete into the grass or gravel.  We will put a broom and dustpan out on the covered firing points by the clubhouse to assist you in gathering up loose cases rolling around on the deck.

And, since we no longer have a dumpster, please be mindful of your trash.  Bring along a garbage bag to take it home.  We will also try to keep trash can liners in the new white building to use in the cans on the covered firing points.  Let’s take just an extra minute to keep our range clean.

High Power Clinic; March 30, 2019

/ By / In High Power

 

                               

 

      

Saturday, March 30 was the day we selected for the High Power Clinic back in December of 2018.  I am amazed at how accurate I have become in predicting a rainy day at least four months in advance.  Saturday dawned, if I can even attempt to use that term, cloudy, rainy and gloomy.

And – to add to the low expectations of the day – the gerstunken heater in the white building would not light off for us Saturday morning.  It had worked Monday, it had worked Wednesday.  It had even worked on Thursday.  But, No –  it – wouldn’t light for us on Saturday morning.  The good news was that it was about 55-degrees outside and after 14 students and a group of helpers gathered for the class, the building warmed up a bit.

After all of this complaining, I was very pleased to see 14 folks show up for the class. The class endured the less than ideal setting and based on the feedback sheets I received, things went better than expected.

About 10:30 or so, we had a very pleasant surprise.  Darrell Fish dropped by, set up his little Coleman one burner heater and whipped up a quick lunch of hot dogs, chips and cookies for the class.  Classroom work ended up about 1:00 and we adjourned to the porch for a shooting session.

Since it was raining, we set up targets at 100-yards. The course of fire was 15  shots from a bench to simulate a slow-prone stage followed by 10 rounds fired as a rapid fire string.  Targets were re-centered and pasted and a 10-shot offhand stage closed out the shooting session.  There were a number of club members present to give hands-on assistance to the students.

It turned out to be a pretty good day after all.  As one student commented; “This beats sitting home and watching it rain”.

I will probably miss thanking someone, but I want to thank Darrell Fish for fixing lunch.  A “Thank You” also goes out to Jim Sweeney, Mike King, Aaron Kohler, Jess Jessup, Mike Grannis and Glenna Grannis for their help with things.

Next on the calendar is the first 50/80 Match of the season on April 13th, barely two weeks from now.  I’ll see you then!

 

February 5 Meeting Minutes

/ By / In Newsletters

FWRR Newsletter

March & April 2019

 

Minutes February 5, 2019 Meeting

  •  Meeting held at Trion tavern called to order @ 7:30 BY Mark Strahan, V.P.
  • Pledge of allegiance recited ( no  flag present).
  • 23 members in attendance….inadequate for a quorum
  • Dec meeting minutes read by secretary   Mike Miller
  •             Motion to accept and seconded. Motion passed.
  • Treasurers report given by Marty Didion
  •           Motion to accept and seconded. Motion passed.
  • Discipline reports:
  • H.P.  Larry  Beardsley   Winter offhand matches proceeding..CMP Club registration is complete.   CMP HP Clinic is March 30.  Thursday HP practice will start in early May.  Bank balance $516
  • Black powder: Dennis McNabb.. Started in March..averaged 7- 9 competitors.  NMLRA matches held in June and September
  • U.S.P.A. :    Ryan Brammer submitted verbal report
  • A.C.P.D.L.  : Susan Renner submitted verbal report.
  •  New Member…No action due to lack of quorum.
  • Ryan Brammer  discussed available openings on USPA.
  • Motion to adjourn/ seconded/ Passed/ meeting adjourned
  • Dues Reminder
  • Dues received after March 1st are subject to a $25.00 late fee.
  • Members whose dues are not received by April 30th are dropped from the membership roll and must reapply for membership.
  • Thank You
  • Many thanks to those who have made donations.  Special thanks go to Life Members who continue to support the Club monetarily.  The Membership spends  a significant amount for insurance, taxes (property, federal and state), property maintenance, utilities,  postage, and other miscellaneous expenses. These expenses amounted to about $50.00 per member last year.
  • For Sale
  • Ed Brown, 5-inch, M1911, Drop-in, the Match Barrel and Bushing.   Never installed. The barrel is stainless steel and has cut rifling.  $125.00.   Call Marty at 260.633.0172.

 

6mm/22-250 long range rifle with loaded ammo, cases and dies for sale.  Contact Tim Momper at 260-437-1284 or         info@M1buddy.com

  • Our Condolences
  • Member Mike Halter passed away in early February.  Mike is member John Halter’s older brother.
  • Meeting Reminder
  • The next meeting will be at 7:30 Tuesday April 2nd

 

 

 

 

Winter Offhand Match – March 10, 2018

/ By / In High Power

Well, the 2018 – 2019 Winter Offhand Matches came to their close this Sunday afternoon.  Nine shooters and an observer came out into the wind for the last match of the season.

To say that it was not a good day for offhand shooting would probably be an understatement. It was windy – no one had one of those nifty Kestrel meters, but I would guess gusts well above 20-MPH.  (National Weather Service says 25 with gusts to 39). To aggravate the wind, it came from the west to north-west, which put it in the right eye of shooters.  Between bleary eyes and wind pushing rifles around, no one had a really good day – no season’s bests were set today.

The season had five matches scheduled and we shot all five of them – the first time we’ve been able to do that for several winters – no weather cancellations.  The winner for the season aggregate score was set as the best three matches of the five.  Although there were shooters who shot all five matches, their season aggregate scores were the best of their five matches.

Season three match aggregate winners and awards are:

Mike King                   1141 – 21X      $43.00 First Place plus $5.00 X-Man Award

Mark Walters             1095 – 13X      $22.00 Second Place

Jeff Beierke               1049 – 14X      $11.00 Third Place

Five match aggregate scores were:

Steve Kage                 1566 – 8X

Kris Hartwig                1514 – 3X

Jeff Beierke                 1351 – 14X

Congratulations to the Three Match and Five Match top three finishers.

And, in the best traditions of the sport, Joe Freiberger came out and shot all five matches and he wins the Anchor Man Award for hanging in there and giving it his best with his 1917 Enfield!

Joe Freiberger             752 – 0X          Anchor Award  $5.00

I want to thank all of the shooters.  We had 52 entries for the year and all of you helped me with setting up, putting things away, running a smooth and safe line and being respectful to your fellow shooters by taking the light hearted social chatter off the line so as not to disturb folks still shooting.

I’m looking forward to the High Power Clinic on March 30 and the first 50/80 Match on April 13th.

Range Critters

/ By / In Main

After our episodes with four legged, two legged and four wheeled trespassers, the fence by the high power pits was improved and mended.  We wanted to make sure that our easy access point had been secured, so we put a camera in a tree by the groundhog hotel.

We didn’t find any unwelcome trespassers, which is a good thing.  But, we did find out that there is a lot of traffic in that corner.  We recorded, mostly at night, several different skunks (who probably live in the groundhog hotel), possums, a small deer, numerous raccoons, a scroungy looking groundhog who has already started moving dirt, and a classy dude – maybe a Foxy Lady.

What does the fox say?

 

2019 Membership Dues

/ By / In Main

The deadline for members to renew their 2019 Fort Wayne Rifle and Revolver Club memberships is rapidly approaching.

The deadline for dues for is February 28th.  Any dues received on March 1st or later are subject to a $25.00 late fee.  Members whose dues are not received by April 30th will be dropped from the membership roll and must reapply for membership.

Any member having questions or who are experiencing extenuating financial issues should contact the Club Treasurer:

martindidion4@gmail.com;

or by mail at:

Treasurer

Fort Wayne Rifle and Revolver Club

P. O. Box 8295

Fort Wayne, IN  46898

 

 

 

 

CMP Affiliation Renewed for 2019

/ By / In High Power, Main

 

The Fort Wayne Rifle and Revolver Club’s affiliation with the CMP has been renewed for 2019.

What does this mean to members?

A member of an affiliated Club is, by virtue of that membership, entitled to buy “stuff” from the CMP.  “Stuff” can range from ammunition to air rifles to M1 Garands.  Our proximity to the CMP North Store at Port Clinton, Ohio makes it easy for us to make a road trip just to check things out, get a good Walleye or Perch sandwich and make it home with dayliight to spare.

THANK YOU!

/ By / In Main

Sometimes it seems that things just run all by themselves.  We go out to the range and notice that some of the supports on the target frames look like the mice and termites got into them, but the next time we’re out there, they look pretty good again. Guess what folks, things just don’t grow back or fix themselves.

 

Dennie hard at work            

 

Sunday when a bunch of us arrived for the Winter Offhand Match, Dennie McNabb was over under the bench rest shelter rebuilding target frame support.  He had several supports that had been shot up, his saw and power screwdriver and he was patching and splicing things together.  When he finished, the 25 and 50 yard target frames had been repaired and are ready for the rest of the winter.

 

        Watch out for the land mines

Oh, by the way – did anyone notice the ‘land mines” and “gopher mounds” on the range?  Those are from the wandering horses that got into the range through the fence wire down by the pit area that kept getting turned back .  Thanks to Marty and John for taking the time to drive a bunch of steel posts across the opening to block out trespassers and stray horses.

A big Thank You to folks who take the time to keep things working for all the rest of us!

Winter Offhand Match – Sunday, February 17th, 2019

/ By / In High Power

Eleven of the twelve shooters come to the line. There’s always one guy …..

                                   The Enfield Brigade

I’ll give you a hint – those are not frost heaves or gopher mounds out on the range.

February 17th dawned as promised; about 30-degrees, cloudy and gray with a prediction of anywhere from 60 to 100% probability of snow depending on the weather guru you consulted.  But, an even dozen shooters came out for the Winter Offhand Match.  It’s nice to have a full line!

It turned out not to be a bad day to shoot.  There were some icy patches that made footing a bit tricky in places, but nothing like the ice rink conditions of Thursday! The wind was from almost due east and the building provided a very nice wind break for all but the four low-end positions. At 26-degrees, fingers got cold, but manageable.  We had a full relay well before 1:00 so we started shooting about 12:45.

At the end of the day, the top three places looked like this:

Mike King        379  – 6X

Jeff Beierke     374 –  6X

Mark Walters   369 –  2X

The high string of the day was shot by Gary Mabis in the first relay; 194 – 1X.

After four matches, the aggregate standing leaders are:

Jeff Beierke     1351 – 14X

Steve Kage      1255 –  7X

Kris Hartwig    1239 –  3X

The last Winter Offhand Match is Sunday, March 10th.  The season champion will be determined by the best three scores out of the five matches.

And, we finished up by about 1:30 and everyone had time to get home and watch the Daytona 500 Demolition Derby.

High Power Clinic – Saturday, March 31 with Garand Match to follow  Experienced shooters are needed to help new shooters with the Match.  Helpers shoot FREE.

 

AWhhhh … Horse Pucky!

/ By / In Main

We have been notified that there is a lot of fresh horse pucky on the range again.  Again we have talked to the owner of the offending beasts about keeping his critters fenced up.

But, the real part of the problem is the breached fence just at the parking area by the high power pits.  Several years ago that fence was cut by someone who used the range as a 4-wheeler park.  We mended the fence, but it was breached again earlier in the fall and we got our first dose of horse pucky then.

Then, a week or so ago – another breach and more pucky.  We rolled the fence back and tied it, hoping to wait for warm weather, but, no luck.  We found it rolled back again this morning after folks told us about new deposits.  Once again the fence is tied back into place, but as can be seen from the pictures it isn’t horses that are opening the hole in the fence.  It is being rolled back and, although we are not expert trackers, there appear to be ATV tire prints near the road.

 

       

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We are going to do a much more permanent repair in the next couple of days using some barbed wire we have in the Wiedeman building.

In the meantime, please be aware that there may be critters (four legged) loose on the range that may appear out of the brushy areas very unexpectedly.  And, keep an eye out for two-legged critters on 4-wheeled vehicles.  If you see any of the last kind – avoid confrontations, but get as much information about the critters and the vehicle as you can so we can investigate and notify me @ fwrrhpdirector@aol.com.

 

 

High Power Clinic Program

/ By / In High Power

HIGH POWER RIFLE CLINIC

Fort Wayne Rifle and Revolver Club

Range Address – 15715 Rupert Road, Harlan, IN

For Clinic information, Contact FWRR High Power Director at fwrrhpdirector@aol.com

The Fort Wayne Rifle and Revolver Club, in conjunction with the Civilian Marksmanship Program (CMP) will present a High Power Rifle Clinic for new shooters and as an outreach program to Junior shooters (16 years or older) at our local range off Indiana Highway 37, north of Harlan, Indiana.

WHEN/ WHERE:  March 30, 2019.   Registration opens at 7:30.  Class begins at 8:00 AM until approximately 3:00 PM.  There is a lunch break after classroom instruction, but no lunch available on site – bring a sack lunch. Early registration is requested and recommended. Clinic is held at the Fort Wayne Rifle and Revolver Club range located at  15715 Rupert Road; Harlan, IN  46743

WHAT:  Classroom:  Approximately 3 hours of classroom instruction on safety, handling, aiming, ballistics, positioning and shooting M1 Garand and AR-15 type rifles. Instruction will be provided by CMP Certified Master Instructors.

LIVE FIRE:  Participants will compete in a 35-round John C. Garand Match to reinforce classroom instruction.

WHO: The Clinic is open to citizens of good character and good mental focus.  Priority will be given to Junior Shooters (age 16 to 20 years).  The Clinic is limited to 25 shooters.

HOW:  Contact the Ft. Wayne Rifle and Revolver Club High Power Director at fwrrhpdirector@aol.com.  Participants must complete a CMP and FWRR Release of Liability.  Participants under 18 years of age must have Liability Release signed by parent or guardian.  For safety reasons, participants must be able to safely hold a 10-pound rifle in the Offhand shooting position.

COST:  $25.00.  Cost includes classroom instruction, student guide handout materials and certificate of participation which will qualify participant to purchase an M1 Garand from the CMP.  Participants will receive reduced Match fees for 2019 FWRR Matches.  M1 and AR-15 rifles are available for loan and ammunition (.30-06 and 5.56 mm) can be purchased for participant use.  Discuss these requirements prior to Clinic date

January 13 Winter Offhand Match

/ By / In High Power

 

                                  A Bright January Afternoon – A Great Day to Shoot

 

13th dawned a bit foggy and cloudy, but by 12:00 when the shooters started to gather, it promised to be a very nice January afternoon.  The early arrivals started the heater in the new building and shoveled the snow off the porch.

Thanks guys.

By 1:00 we had eleven shooters and three people observing the match, a good turn-out.  The sun came out and we ended up with a bright, sunny afternoon in which to shoot.

 

For the day, the top five rankings were:

Mike King        379-5x

Jeff Beierke     367-5X

John Halter     353-5X

Aaron Kohler  334-1X

Kris Hartwig    329-2X

 

Season Leaders after three matches are:

Jeff Beierke                 977-8X

Steve Kage                  947-4X

Larry Beardsley           929-6X

Two matches remain on the schedule, and the season winner is still to be determined

 

Shooter Notes:

Congratulations to John Halter on his first match as a Grand Senior, shooting a 353-5X today;

and –

Congratulations to Mike King who just received his High Master card from the NRA.

 

 

Mike Toscos Featured in GCA Journal

/ By / In High Power

 

 

In the Fall 2019 GCA Journal article reviewing the Camp Perry National Matches held July 24 – August 6, 2018, along with photos of various GCA Teams and individual competitors, FWRR member Mike Toscos was featured along with a caption:

Mike Toscos – Mike surely has an interesting (M14) fiberglass handguard on his match M1