Fort Wayne Rifle and Revolver Club

Marshall Rohrbach won the Indiana State 100-Yard Championship on Saturday, September 14th at the Fall Creek Valley Conservation Club.  Marshall is the first Fort Wayne Rifle and Revolver Club Junior shooter to win a state match, taking the top slot in a field of 13 shooters representing the best shooters in Indiana high power. This match is the second of four matches whose scores make up the ISRPA Aggregate State Championship. 

Marshall’s victory was a bit sweeter because he outscored one of Indiana’s perennial top shooters (and one of Marshall’s mentors, FWRR member Mike King) – with a Creedmoor victory – a tied score with the winner being decided by X-count.  Both Marshall and Mike shot scores of 780, but Marshall took the win with a 24X count to Mike’s 19X tally.

FWRR shooters took four of the five top places.  Mike King was second with his 780-19X; Geoff Branson was third with 776-27X (high X-count for the day) and Mark Richard followed in fourth, just one point behind with 775-21X.

Gary Mabis finished just out of the top five with 768-21X, Emma Branson, another FWRR Junior tallied 758-11X and Doc Habel shot 749-11X. 

Congratulations to all of the FWRR shooters – now on to Atterbury for the season finale.

On Thursday afternoon we shot a 100-yard match as a warm-up for the Fall Creek 100-Yard State Championship on Saturday 14 September.  It was a warm afternoon, and not a weekend match, but 12 shooters showed up and we had to expand the match to a two relay match.  Thanks to all who came out – it just goes to show that if we offer a match; people will come.

Now, before you think that shooting a match at 100-yards should be simple, as we simulate longer and longer distances – the black of the target stays the same size, but more and more scoring rings get crammed into that 6-inch black center.  At a simulated 600-yards, the whole black is only about 1 ½ minutes wide!

Not surprisingly, Mike King took the top spot with a 490-20X score.  But, his 198-8X at simulated 600 wasn’t the top score in that stage.  Gary Mabis took second with a 488-11X – but with a 199-8X at simulated 600.  Jim Jackson took third with a 485, with a 199-10X at the simulated 600 yard stage.  Marshall Rohrbach took fourth place and High Junior with a 484-14X – solidifying his NRA Master Classification and just one stinkin’ point out of an NRA High Master score.  (That’s why it’s so hard).

Welcome to two new shooters; Aria Noel and Chris who shot their first sorta’ formal match with us.  And, good luck to the shooters who go to the Fall Creek match this weekend.  Knock ‘em down and make FWRR proud of you!

The ISRPA State Aggregate Championship series kicked off Saturday, September 7^th with the 300-Yard State Championship match at Wildcat Rifle and Pistol Club.  Twenty seven shooters came to the match on a very good day for shooting.  The weather was brisk in the morning with intermittent overcast periods through the day, and one very short period when it spit a few raindrops.  By the close of the match the sun was out and it was a pleasant day overall.

The match winner was Liam McKenna, an imported shooter from Wisconsin – so he could not be the Indiana 300-Yard Champion, but he did put on an impressive show of shooting.  After Liam dropped 3 points at the Offhand stage, he proceeded to clean the next three stages – posting a 797-51X overall score and taking the CMP Gold Medal.

Mike King of FWRR was the Indiana 300-Yard State Champion taking the CMP Silver Medal with a 789-30X score.  Andrew Beaver rounded out the medal category with a 783-33X for the Bronze medal.

Emma Branson, a FWRR Junior took overall fourth place in the match with a 782-20X, High Junior and High Woman in the match.  That score put her one place above her Dad, FWRR member Geoff Branson with a 778-32X for fifth overall.

FWRR shooters took the next two places; Gary Mabis was sixth with a 774-22X and Marshall Rohrbach (Junior) took seventh with 773-24X (High Expert).  Mark Richard took First High Master, Match rifle with a 768-12X.  Addiysn Shull shot a 712-4X in the Sharpshooter class and Taytin Shaffer posted a 665-7X in Marksman.

Congratulations to all of the FWRR shooters who made the trip to Wildcat and helped make a successful 300-Yard State Championship match.

Well guys (and girls), about once a year I have to fuss about things.  As Safety Officer, range housekeeping does contribute to range safety.  We do not have trash service at the range. We do not have a janitor to come around and clean up behind us. We have to clean up after ourselves.

I did a trash haul at the range yesterday. Both trash cans were full to overflowing.  We keep trash cans at the range for casual trash that wanders onto the range, not as community garbage cans.  The can over by the concrete benches looked like it had been used to dispose of trash from a picnic; food wrappers, plastic drink bottles, yogurt containers and – I’m not making this up – a dirty baby diaper.

Over at the 100-yard line the can was full of shot up targets, more drink bottles, potato chip bags and food wrappers.

If you come to the range, bring a Wal-Mart bag of something like that to throw away your trash.  If you bring targets or cardboard backers, take them back home with you.  Don’t leave them “in case someone else might need them”.

As an example, someone had built a nice target holder with a wooden frame to hold targets.  But – the frame was shot up and instead of taking the backer and frame back home, the person just laid it down beside the trash can for someone else to dispose of it.

Let’s talk about sandbag etiquette for a minute.

 We try to keep sandbags on the range for people who want to use them for sighting in or supported shooting. Building sandbags isn’t fun.  We get them from the county highway department and we have to fill them ourselves.  Each one weighs close to 35-pounds and loading them and unloading them gets to be work quickly. 

Sandbags are a thin plastic material that can be damaged and easily destroyed.  One way to destroy a sandbag is to rest the muzzle of your rifle on the bag when you are firing.  The muzzle blast blows away that plastic and lets all of the filling of the bag spill out.  Don’t rest the muzzle of a firearm on a sandbag; rest the fore-end instead.

Another way to destroy a sandbag is to rest a Picatinnny rail on it.  The serrations tear up the bag with the same result – the innards become outarrds. If you have a rail, lay a towel or a carpet square on the bag to protect the bag.

And, in case the string on the bag breaks, don’t just throw the bag on the table or lay it down on the floor for the sand to spill out everywhere.  Sit it up out of the weather and we’ll get a new string on it or we’ll slip it in another bag.  If a bag does spill, there is a broom and dustpan out on the apron to sweep up the spilled sand.

And, just one last comment – if a sandbag does spill its guts – throw it away, that is a valid use of the range trashcans.

Shooters:

We have Bad News and Good News:

The Bad News – The weekend matches at Camp Atterbury have been cancelled … .

The Good News – We’re going to shoot anyway!

Since the Camp Atterbury matches were cancelled and we lost a FWRR Shooting Legend this week, we have decided to have a Wild Bill Simon Memorial Pop-Up Match this weekend.

On Saturday, August 24 there will be a 3 x 20 Prone Match at the FWRR Range.  We will shoot a prone match, three stages of 20 shots each from the 300-yard line.  This is an any-sight match, so iron sights or scopes are OK.  Unlimited sighters are allowed in a 28-minute block time (three minute prep, five minutes for sighters and 20-minutes for 20 shots for record).

Registration opens at 8:00 and first shot is 8:30.  Since this not a CMP or NRA Match, just a club match, Match fees are $10.00 (a real bargain). 

The 100-yard range will be open during this match if other shooters want to come out and use that range – just co-ordinate Cease Fires between the two activities,

Saturday 17 August dawned as a clear, sunny day that turned out to be neither too hot, too cold, nor too windy – another perfect day for a High Power match after an iffy forecast for the earlier part of the week.

Fifteen shooters came to the line and the first shot went downrange at 7:58 – two minutes early.  Thanks to all shooters for being prompt and letting the match get started on time.  Everything went very smoothly and we finished up a two relay, 80-round Regional Match by 11:15.  Everything was put away and cleaned up by noon – about the time that the dark rain clouds rolled in.

The match saw some really great scores posted; of the fifteen shooters, seven shot NRA and CMP Master or higher scores.

Mike King took the top place with a 786-25X score, dropping only one point in the rapid fire stages.  Mark Walters followed up with a 769-15X and third place was taken by a visitor, Shawn Agne with 767-21X.  Tom Collins and Gary Mabis battled for the fourth and fifth spots, both posting 766 scores – but Tom Creedmoored Gary with a 21X count to Gary’s 17X score.

Marshall Rohrbach took top Junior with a 762-22X score, well into Master score range for both CMP and NRA .  Marshall cleaned the 300-yard Slow Prone stage with a 200-7X score. Marshall did this the hard way; shooting a 9 crossfire in Offhand and getting only 9 shots off during Sitting Rapid.

A brief Thank You note:  Jim Jackson enabled FWRR obtaining a number of iPads that we used in Saturday’s match.  Thank you, Jim.

Upcoming events for High Power shooters include:

September 7                                   300 Yard Indiana Championship – Wildcat 

September 12 (Thursday) yard NMC                                                4:30

September 21-22                      Atterbury Governor’s Cup – State Championship

September 21              Leonard Johnson Match                               9:00

This is going to be a quick story – Camp Perry is looming and there are way too many things that need to get done.

Saturday was a beautiful day, moderate temperatures and just barely enough wind to make the American Flags on the target stands wiggle a bit.  We had a modern record for attendance – three relays, 20 shooters and 23 matches shot (three re-entry shooters).

As usual, the top three match shooters were a 3-M Club, but there was a new “M” in the club this time.

Mike King took top slot with a 787-39X; that’s one “M”.  Mark Richard took second place with a 781-32X; that is the second “M”; no real surprises so far.  But, the third “M” was a different name in the 3-M Club – Marshall Rohrbach.  Marshall is one of our Juniors and has been coming on strong this year.  On Saturday Marshall shot a Master score of 774-19X, congratulations to Marshall.

We are off to Camp Perry this week; several FWRR shooters are shooting the CMP 2400 matches this week and the CMP Team match on Thursday. The Juniors are in the Small Arms Firing School, the USMC Advanced High Power Clinic and the CMP Advanced High Power Clinic.  FWRR looks to be well represented in the President’s 100, the National Trophy Individual Matches, The Hearst Doubles and the National Junior Team Matches.

The range mowing schedule is posted on the website at https://fwrrclub.org/index.php/2024/07/22/range-mowing-schedule

Efforts will be made to provide mowing date and time updates on the website.  The Main Range is closed during mowing and other range maintenance activities. 

Pistol Bays 4 and 5 remain open during mowing. 

It is recommended that members check the website for updates before traveling to the range.

Mowing dates that are scheduled to occur before the October meeting are:

July 24

August 7

August 21

September 4

September 18

October 2

Dates are tentative, depending on weather and ground conditions.  Mowing times vary according to volunteer availability. 

FWRR Club Meeting

The next meeting of the Fort Wayne Rifle and Revolver Club will be held on Monday, August 5, 2024.  Meeting Place: VFW Post 857, located at 2202 West Main Street in Fort Wayne.  Meeting Time: 7:00 p.m.  Meeting Agenda:  Standard meeting format.

Please make an effort to attend meetings, as a quorum is required to conduct club business. 

Maintenance Activities and Facility Improvements

High winds caused a cottonwood tree at the south end of the 100 yard covered firing line to be blown over.   Minor damage was done to the building’s sheet metal and gutters.   Thanks go to Tom Fortman and Jim Sweeney for their repair and cleanup efforts..

Work to install the new range status signaling system was completed in late June.  Instructions for the use of the system have been posted.  This effort was led by Larry Beardsley.  Jim Sweeney installed the conduit; Michael Grannis and Greg McClure assisted Larry with the installation.

A battery charger was purchased and is stored in the cabinet that is accessible to the mowing crew.

Mowing Schedule

The 2024 Mowing Schedule is available on the club’s website at https://fwrrclub.org/index.php/2024/07/22/range-mowing-schedule .

Efforts will be made to provide mowing date and time updates on the website.  The Main Range is closed during mowing and other range maintenance activities. 

Pistol Bays 4 and 5 remain open during mowing. 

It is recommended that members check the website for updates before traveling to the range.

Mowing dates that are scheduled to occur before the October meeting are: 7/24, 8/7, 8/21, 9/4, 9/18 and 10/2. Dates are tentative, depending on weather and ground conditions.   Mowing times vary according to volunteer availability. 

Driving Off Road

It is no longer permissible for any member to drive off road to the 100 yard target frames. 

Soil conditions permitting, it is permissible to drive on the grass downrange (west) of the 100 yard firing mound on the 300 yard range to access the 200 yard target frames. (Do not drive across the 100 yard firing mound.) It is permissible to park and drive on the grass in other areas, soil conditions permitting.

Operations Note

Users of the Club Cadet mower are asked to remember to remove the key from the mower’s ignition switch after use.

Discipline Reports

ACPDL (Allen County Practical Defense League)

ACPDL matches will be held on 8/3. 9/7, and 10/5.

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.

USPSA (United States Practical Shooting Association)

The following USPSA matches and practice sessions will be held in the August-September timeframe.

Matches: 8/18 and 9/15. Match start time is 9:00 a.m.  Practice Sessions: 8/1, 9/5 and 10/3. Practice session start time is 5:00 p.m.

High-power (HP)

The following matches and practice sessions will be held in the July-September timeframe:

• 50/80 Matches: 8/17, 8:00 a.m. start time. 
• Junior Practice Sessions: 8/6 and 9/5, 4:30 p.m. start time.
• Open Practice Sessions: Thursdays, 4:30 p.m.
• The Main Range closes to informal practice at 3:00 p.m. prior to HP practice sessions. 

The pistol bays remain open for scheduled and informal practice sessions.  As is always the case, informal practice is limited to Bays 4 and 5.

The Junior State High Power Rifle Championship was held at our range on June 8^th.  Madelyn Schnelle won the championship for the fourth consecutive year with an outstanding score of 790-33x, dropping only 10 points.  Madelyn represented the Wildcat Valley Rifle and Pistol Club which is located in Brookston, IN, just north of Lafayette.

The winner of the “Count the Bullets in the Jar” fundraiser was Mike King. Mike’s guess of 338 bullets was just one bullet over the count.  

Mike is the winner of a nicely-restored, Winchester, Model 94 rifle in caliber .30-30. This event was aimed at funding the purchase of three spotting scope stands and mounting heads for use by our Juniors.

Cowboy Action

Cowboy Action Matches will be held on 8/10 and 9/14. 

Registration opens at 8:30 a.m. for regular matches and at 9:00 a.m. for voluntary side matches.

Regular match start time is 10:00 a.m. 

The matches begin with a mandatory shooter meeting. The ammunition requirements for the regular match are 60 rounds for pistols, 60 rounds rifles, and 30 rounds for shotguns.  Only lead bullets and shot are permitted.  Shot may be no larger than #4 (shot sizes 4 – 9). 

PCSL (Practical Competition Shooting League)

PCSL matches will be held on 7/28, 8/25 and 9/22. 

Match time is 10:00 a.m. Registration starts at 9:30 a.m. 

New shooter orientation begins at 9:50 a.m.  Rifles in caliber .223 and pistols in calibers 9 mm, .40 and .45 are used in this competition.

Rounds counts are 120/match for rifles and 60/match for pistols.

New Members

Please welcome new members Robert DiDomenico, Alex Morales, Douglas Schroeder, John C. Sullivan and Tyrone Wilson.

These gentlemen were inducted as full members at the June, 2024 meeting.

Also, please welcome returning member Tim Momper.

For Sale

• Jaggi Shooting Glasses Frame with extra nose piece, lenses, blinders and case: $125.00. 8 round M1 clips:  $1.50 each.  Contact Marty Didion at  martindidion4@gmail.com

• Champion’s Choice, Cordura Shooting Jacket. 52” chest, right hand. New –never worn. $200.00.

NRA Leather Shooting Jacket. 48” chest, right hand. Used one season. $225.00.

Contact Jim Kinne at jkinne7@comcast.net

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. 

 

 

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We had a blow down at the range in the storms in the last couple of days. The Cottonwood tree at the south end of the 100-yard shelter blew down and did some damage to the corner of the roof and the rain gutters. Everything is functional, just a mess to cleanup.

It’s official now – the Indiana Junior High Championship Trophy has been updated to show that Madelyn Schnelle repeated, for the fourth time, as Indiana Junior High Power Champion. As the nameplates show, 2024 was her best score yet – dropping only 10 points across an 80-shot match.

The range signaling system is complete – the work at center line on the north pavilion was completed on Thursday, 27 June. All six switch stations are active and all four horns and strobes are working. Instructions for use of the system are posted on the door to the 100-yard building – please use the system to call a CEASE FIRE and to show when people are downrange. Revisions to the Range Rules will be forthcoming with instructions on when and how the system is to be used.

Thanks to Mike Grannis and Greg McClure for their help in putting the system together.