Fort Wayne Rifle and Revolver Club

There is a new game in town and it starts on Saturday, April 22 at the Fort Wayne Rifle and Revolver Club Range ay 15715 Rupert Road; Harlan, Indiana.  Cowboy Action returns to FWRR on that date when the Hoosier Outlaws Cowboy Action Club start the Single Action Shooting Society season. 

The next easiest way is to go to a GOOGLE Maps search and just type “Fort Wayne Rifle and Revolver Club” into the search box.  That brings up both a road map and a satellite image of the area. Google: 15715 Rupert Road for detailed directions.

The FWRR Cowboy action matches will be held on the 4th Saturday of every month from April 22 through October 28.  All matches will be SASS sanctioned matches.

Registration will open at 8:30 AM; side matches, which contestants are not required to enter, will start at 9:00 AM.  The start time for the main match is 10:00 AM with a mandatory shooters meeting prior to the main match.

There will be 6 stages for the main match with an ammo requirement of 60 rounds for pistol, 60 rounds for rifle, and 30 rounds for shotgun.   ALL AMMO MUST BE LEAD.  Rifles must be pistol caliber, and shot shells must be loaded with lead shot, #4 shot or smaller (4, 6, 7 ^1/2, 8 or 9).   

Entry fees will $15.00 for FWRR members, $20.00 for non-members.  Eye protection is mandatory, and ear protection is highly recommended – things do get loud!  It is always a good idea to bring extra ammo.  

For more information, contact Mark Walters, Cowboy Action Range Officer at MKW1427@gmail.com

The 2023 Summer High Power season got off to a good start on Saturday, April 8th.  Fourteen shooters, all five Juniors, came out of a bright but brisk day to see if equipment and bodies were ready for the upcoming season.  Since there were questions about both bodies and equipment, we shot this match as a Club match; scores were not sent to either the CMP or to the NRA. 

We took all the time we needed and there were a lot of sighter shots as folks warmed up.  On the equipment side, there were no major failures, but we did hear “I forgot my sling, does anyone have any extra earplugs, my tablet died” and the eternal “I forgot how to get into the server.”  As for body issues, the most common comment was; “Groan … I’m getting too old for this stuff”.  It was the usual set of high power complaints, nothing especially new.

The results (ranked by percentage) were:

First                      Mike King                    80 shots               781-27X               97.6%

Second                 Mark Walters              80 shots               764-22X               95.5%

Third                     Jeff Beierke                80 shots               752-15X               94.0%

Fourth                  Randy Jahn                 50 shots               467- 7X                93.4%

Fifth (Tie)             Doc Habel                   80 shots               744-15X               93.0%

                      Marshall Rohrbach           50 shots               465-  9X               93.0%

We had two new shooters join us for the match, Bradd Shull (Addiysn’s Dad) and Tayt Shaffer (Kileen’s younger brother).  Welcome to both of you, y’all come back, ya’ hear!

And, we learned that one of our long time high power shooters recently had some significant heart surgery.  Ron Dague is reportedly recovering well and will be back with us as soon as possible.  Get well Ron!

Our next match will be our annual CMP Games Match on Saturday, May 13^th.  This match will start at 8:00 AM and we will shoot the 30-round Garand Match Course of fire; up to five sighters and ten shots for record Slow Prone, ten shots Rapid Prone and ten shots Offhand from 200-yards.  We will shoot categories for Modern Military, Unlimited Modern Military, M1 Garand (As-Issued and Unlimited), 1903/1903A3 Springfield and Vintage Military (1917 Enfield, 98 Mauser, Swiss Schmitt-Reuben… etc.).  We have a category for just about every safe rifle.  Bring all of your rifles, shoot in several categories or shoot the same rifle as a re-entry match.

One of the goals of the FWRR Junior Program is to share the sport of High Power shooting with young people who are not familiar with the discipline.  On Sunday, April 2 we had a unique opportunity to do this.  The DeKalb County 4-H Hotshots, a 4-H Club that specializes in a number of shooting activities (archery, air pistol, air rifle and .22 rimfire) asked us to make a presentation about High Power shooting to their group.

We decided to present a Mini-High Power Clinic concentrating on the topics of firearms safety, shooting equipment and shooting positions. And, who better to make these presentations that the Juniors themselves?  Our presenters were Kileen Shaffer (4-H Hotshots President). Addiysn Shull (4-H Hotshots Vice-President), Mia King (an Ohio 4-H presenter) and Tayt Shaffer (4-H Hotshot member).

We prepared brief 15-minute presentations based on material from the NRA and CMP training materials, we did a rehearsal of the presentations on a Thursday gathering at the range and we executed our plan.  A major part of 4-H is making presentations and demonstrations, so this Mini-Clinic worked into both the High Power and 4-H skill sets.  We had about sixteen 4-H members present and we were well received by the group.

The Juniors proved to be excellent Ambassadors for the Club. Now that we have the presentation, we may have the opportunity to do it for an Ohio 4-H Club.

Sandbags – they seem simple.  But, I never thought I would have to comment on sandbag etiquette:

We get our sandbags from the Allen County Highway Department.  The Highway Department is  very co-operative, we just go out to the south barn, fill the bags, load them in the truck and bring them out to the range.  The bags are not terribly high quality, so we double bag the sandbags.  They should last a long time, but several factors make our bags wear out a lot quicker than they should.

FIRST:  People rest the muzzle of their rifle on the sandbag.  This is the biggest single factor that damages sandbags.  The blast from the muzzle burns a hole in the woven cover on the bag.  It only takes a couple of shots to melt through both layers of bags and the sand starts to drizzle out of the hole.  If we catch this soon enough, we can put what is left of the bag in another bag, but many times the bag is thrown on the shooting deck, the sand runs out in a pile and we end up having to clean up the mess and throw away the broken bag.

POINT OF ETIQUETTE ONE:  Don’t lay your muzzle on the sandbag.  Not only does this burn a hole in the bag – it is not a very stable shooting position.

SECOND:  Picatinny Rails:  A Picatinny Rail on the underside of your rifle will cut up the bag. Back to Point One, these are not really durable bags.  That rail is very hard on the bags.  We try to keep some carpet squares on the shooting benches to lie on top of the bags.  If the squares have wandered off, sit the rail on your hat and remember to bring a towel or something to put under the rail the next time you come out to the range.

POINT OF ETIQUETTE TWO:  Don’t lay a Picatinny Rail on a sandbag without some protection between the rail and the bag.

Third:  Wet Sandbags:  Please don’t leave sandbags lying in a place that will let them get rained on.  In the first place, it makes the bag about 50% heavier and harder to move around.  Most people don’t want to lay their rifle on a wet bag.  In cold weather, a wet bag freezes solid and turns into a block – not useful for bench shooting.  That frozen bag sticks to the bench and tears the bag when you try to pry it loose.

POINT OF ETIQUETTE THREE:  When you finish with sandbags, please move them to a location where they will not get wet from rain or snow.

The bottom line:  A little thought and courtesy will reduce the work associated with maintaining sandbags and will give everyone more bags and nicer bags to shoot from.

  Thanks to everybody!

We started shooting on our Silver Mountain Electronic targets in the summer of 2020.  That same set of targets served us through that summer, through 2021 and 2022.  By the end of the 2022 High Power season, the target faces were starting to show a lot of wear from the thousands of rounds that had passed through them.   There were ragged holes in the center of the plastic and the faces were badly distorted with a large hump around the missing center portion.  Possibly we could have gotten another shooting season out of them, but we had gotten our money’s worth and it was time to replace them at our leisure rather than having to make emergency repairs in mid-season when they finally came apart.

Over the winter we gathered up the material we needed and on Saturday March 25th a group of high power shooters came out to have a target overhaul work session.  Eight shooters came out and it turned out that eight people was a perfect number to get the work done.  We started about 8:30. About half of the old faces had been glued on with Liquid Nails adhesive and they proved to be a tough job to get off the frames.  Gary Mabis and Doc Habel set up a demolition station to take off the old faces. 

Chris Hartwig took on the job of cutting corners and handhold inserts. 

Martin Didion and Joe Freiburger set up one refacing station and Mike King and Mike Bailey set up a second.

Larry Beardsley just brought donuts, made coffee and stood around while people worked. Things went much more smoothly than we had expected and by 10:30 we were done and had our mess cleaned up.

Some clubs who use electronic targets do not do a fine-tune calibration to align the X-ring into the acoustic center of the target frame; their philosophy is;  ”After all, – that’s what sighting shots are for”.  But, at FWRR we do a fine tuning calibration on our targets.  We were able to closely match the original index marks on the target frames and target insert holding fixtures, so there should be minimal effort involved in recalibrating the targets for the high power season.  Weather permitting we intend to do that next Saturday, April 1st.  With that done, we will have a fresh set of targets ready for the 2023 and following seasons.

Thanks to all of the guys who came out to lend a hand;  it turned out to be easy work with a bunch of guys who are a pleasure to work with.

FWRR Club Meeting

The next meeting of the Fort Wayne Rifle and Revolver Club will be held on Monday, April 3,2023.  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 and a discussion of Cleanup Day activities.

Please make an effort to attend meetings, as a quorum is required to conduct club business.  Sincere thanks to members who take the time to attend meetings and to support the club in so many other ways.  You truly understand what it means to be members of a club.

2023 Membership Renewal

At present, approximately 30 members have failed to return their 2023 Renewal Form, proof of current NRA membership, and payment.   Attempts are being made to contact those individuals. 

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 (cf, Bylaws Article IX, Section 2). 

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.

Special Thanks to Generous Members

The Executive Board wishes to thank the many members who have made donations this year.  Your generosity goes a long way to making our facility one which we can enjoy and take pride in.

Cleanup Day (Date Change)

Cleanup Day was initially scheduled for April 15, 2023.  That date happens to coincide with the NRA Convention that is being held in Indianapolis this year.  To avoid the conflict, the Cleanup Day date has been changed to April 29, 2023

Lock Combination Change

The lock combination change is made on Cleanup Day.  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 Christopher Cuney,  Johnathon McDaniel, and Marshall Rohrbach. These individuals were inducted as full members at the February, 2023 meeting.

Reminder

Do not drive off-road when the ground is wet and subject to rutting.

Newsletter Delivery

Members who have made changes to the newsletter delivery mode (email vs. USPS delivery) will see those changes go into effect with the mailing of this newsletter.  If you are not receiving the newsletter per the selection that you made on the 2023 Renewal Form, please send a correction to martindidion4@gmail.com.

Sad News

It was recently learned that member Wilbur (Al) Hobson passed away approximately six months ago.

Discipline Reports

ACPDL

No report

USPSA

No report.

High-power (HP)

The last Winter 40-round Offhand Match was held on Saturday, March 11^th. 

The top five shooters for that match were Mike King, Mark Walters, Mia King (Junior girl, no relation to Mike), and Addiysn Shull (Junior girl). 

For the Winter Offhand season, the high shooter was Mike King, followed by Doc Habel, Mark Walters, Mia King (Junior girl) and Gary Mabis.

More information concerning the High Power Program is posted on the Club’s website.

Note to Mowing Crew

The 2023 mowing schedule will be mailed to crew members on or before April 15^th.

For Sale

Russian 1891/30 7.62 x54R Mosin Nagant rifle with bayonet. Price: $400.00.  One case of  7.62x54R ammunition. Price: $250.00.  Contact Joe Hoffman at (260) 433-0402 or joeseph6430@frontier.com.

Texan 16 ga, shot shell reloading press. Price $20.00.  Contact Darrell Fish at (260) 615-1046.

Jewel single-stage trigger for a Remington 700. Price $180.00.  One pound of Reloader 16. Price $60.00.  Vihtavuori N550. Price: $65.00.   Call or text Mark Strahan at (260) 927-5515.

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.

Third Annual Indiana Junior State High Power Championship

Saturday, June 24, 2023

Fort Wayne Rifle and Revolver Club

Date:  Saturday, June 24, 2023                            

Sponsor: Indiana State Rifle and Pistol Association

Location: Fort Wayne Rifle and Revolver Club Range, 15715 Rupert Road, Harlan, IN  46743   Google: “15715 Rupert Road, Harlan IN” for detailed directions.

Contact Information:  For additional information, contact the FWRR High Power Match Director, Larry Beardsley, at FWRRHPdirector@aol.com.

Open To: NRA or ISRPA membership not required.  All competitors must have a Release of Liability Agreement on file with FWRR, or must complete the Release at registration. Competitors must sign the Liability Release and a Parent, Guardian or an Authorized Adult must witness the signature.  An Authorized Adult must have signed Parental or Guardian consent to sign the Release of Liability.

Entry Fee: $30.00, payable at Statistics Office on Match day.  Cash or checks only please; no credit cards can be processed. 

                        (Match fees may be reduced by grants or sponsorships)

Ammunition:  Any safe ammunition permitted – No tracers or incendiary rounds.             

Time:  Registration opens at 7:00 and closes at 8:30.  First shot – promptly at 9:00 A.M.  Lunch will be available – free to competitors and may be purchased for $11.00 by non-competitors.

Pre-Registration:  Pre-registrations are encouraged.  Register at  FWRRHPDirector@aol.com.  Walk-in registrations will be accepted up to a range capacity of 28 competitors.  Adults may fire as “Out of Competition” shooters if range capacity allows.  Parents and sponsors of Competitors will be given preference for “Out of Competition” slots.

Course of Fire:  NRA 50-Round National Match Course.  The 600-yard stage will be fired at 300-yards on the MR-63 reduced target.

Rules:   2022 NRA High Power Rules will apply.  Match and Service rifles will be permitted. NRA Classifications will be used.  A Match Jury will be empaneled. 

Per NRA Rule 19.4.1, Coaching will be allowed for Junior shooters who have not established an NRA classification, or who are classified as NRA Marksman.

Targets:  The matches will be shot on Silver Mountain Electronic Targets.  Competitors are required to provide their own display device (Tablet, IPhone, IPad) or similar device.  Competitors are responsible for having enough battery capacity in their devices to support the operating time required for a match.

If, in the judgment of the Range Officer, a competitor is shooting in a manner that endangers the range equipment, that competitor will be withdrawn from the match and their match fees refunded.

Match Structure:  NRA Registered Match

Match 1– 200 yards, slow fire, standing, 2 convertible sighters and 10 shots for record, 12 minutes

Match 2 – 200 yards, rapid fire, sitting, 2 sighters and 10 shots for record, 63 seconds

Match 3 – 300 yards, rapid fire, prone, 2 sighters and 10 shots for record, 73 seconds

Match 4 – Simulated 600 yards, slow fire, prone, 2 convertible sighters and 20 shots for record, 22 minutes

Match 5– Course Aggregate: Matches 1-4.  Match 5 winner will be the Indiana Junior State Champion, subject to residency requirement.

Awards:   Match Winners:  An award will be presented to the winner of each Match.

Classification Winner:  The high scoring competitor in each Classification will be presented an award.  Classifications will be combined until a minimum of three Competitors are represented in each Classification.

Residency:  Indiana Junior State Champion must be an Indiana resident.

2023 Indiana State Junior High Power Championship

June 24, 2023 at the Fort Wayne Rifle and Revolver Club

15715 Rupert Road; Harlan, IN

(See the Match Program for details)

Name: _______________________________  Age (As of 31 Dec 2023):  ______

Address:_________________________

City: _____________________        State:             ZIP: _________

Club Affiliation: ___________________________________

Email:  ________________________

For Junior Participants; Lunch is free.  I want a free lunch:  ___ YES          ____ NO

Additional lunches for parents, sponsors and spectators @ $11.00/each;   # _____

For Junior Participants; an event T-shirt is free.    Size (S, M, L, XL, XXL)  ____

Additional T-shirts for parents, sponsors and spectators @ $12.00/each:

Small _____   Medium _____   Large _____   X-Large ______   XX-Large _____

For additional information, contact Larry Beardsley at FWRRHPDirector@aol.com

Winter Offhand closed out the 2022-2023 season on Saturday March 11.  For the first time in several years we were able to shoot all five of the scheduled matches (no weather cancellations).   In the five sessions, we had 19 shooters who shot 57 matches.  We had one of those Indiana “nice early spring days” even though spring is still a bit away.  It was above freezing (nice) the sun was shining (yes, in Indiana), no wind (even more remarkable) and we had about two inches of snow on the ground.  As I said, it’s Indiana – and northwest Ohio as well!

Since we were able to shoot all five sessions, the season standings would be determined by the best four scores competitors were able to shoot – if a shooter shot all five sessions, the low score was thrown out.  If you only made four sessions or fewer – you had to be on top of your game every time!

The last match of the year was a well shot match.  Mike King kept his lock on first place with a 387-7X. Junior Marshall Rohrbach took second for the day with a 373-8X (season high) and Junior Addiysn Shull shot a personal best of 370-4X to take third. Mark Walters (369-2X and Doc Habel (368-1X) closed out the top five shooters for the day.

The season aggregate top five shooters were:

Mike King            1927-39X             (Five matches)

Mark Walters     1824-14X             (Five matches)

Mia King              1763-16X             (Five matches, Junior girl)

Addiysn Shull       1502- 7X              (Five Matches, Junior girl)

Doc Habel           1495-16X             (Four matches!)

When the low score was thrown out (best four of five), the top five spots for the season were:

Mike King            1547-29X             (Five matches)

Doc Habel           1495-16X             (Four matches)

Mark Walters     1417-16X             (Five Matches)

Mia King              1421-16X             (Five matches, Junior girl)

Gary Mabis          1399-11X             (Four matches)

As the Winter Offhand season closes out, I want to say a huge “Thank You” to all the people who make things run so smoothly.  The shooters know what to do, and they do it safely and consistently.  In many shooting programs there is “that guy” who always has an issue or a problem. I am glad to say, he doesn’t shoot with us, we have a great group of shooters.   I could not do the things I do without the help I get with setting up and tearing down.  The Juniors pass out their own ammunition – I don’t have to worry about that.  Mark Walters stepped in and ran the match when I could not be there.  Thanks Mark.

Our shooting matches are family affairs.  Today we had mothers, fathers, grandparents and siblings there to support the Junior shooters.  Daryl Fish (the case fairy) brought us about 2,000 prepped cases and Gary Mabis added another 400 or so to the case bank.  Thanks to everyone for all of your support.

Summer high power starts in April – let’s make it another great season!

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 1^st each year. 

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

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, 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.