Fort Wayne Rifle and Revolver Club

I’ve been Safety Officer for several years now, and I thought I had seen just about every safety infraction, but I guess people are just more inventive than I give them credit for.  I was doing a walk-about at the range today and I saw something laying on the berm between the high power targets number boards and the pit area. 

I thought at first it was a piece of plastic that had blown off the burn pile, but when I went over – it turned out to be a piece of cast concrete that someone had used for a target at 300-yards.  They had hit at least once because it had shattered and there was spalled concrete scattered about.

This is a violation of any number of Range Rules and just everyday common sense!  For example:

Range Procedures

6. All firing is to be done only from the direction of the firing line toward the backstop. All projectiles must impact only on Club property!

Violations and Fines

Targets are to be placed so that bullets will impact the backstop. Bullets will pass over the backstop if targets are placed too high. Targets placed too low results in bullets hitting the ground short of the backstop may ricochet off the Range, especially when the ground is frozen in winter or packed hard as it sometimes is in the summer. If for some reason you wish to place a target close to the ground, walk up to the backstop and place the target at or near the base of the backstop.

Fine: $100.

PROHIBITED ITEMS AND OR ACTIONS

Hard metallic targets such as but not limited to gongs, bells, dueling trees, etc. are to be used only during Club sanctioned events due to the possibility of ricochets.

(Concrete blocks fall under this provision)

Any ricochet has the potential to shut down the range.

FINE:  $100.00

DUH!

The various Pistol Matches are not all the same format month after month. Folks often wonder “Just what do you guys do at a Match?” Well, here is a description of what happened at the March 2021 Match from Bruce Bunting.

STAGE ONE:    Red or Green     

This stage made use of 10 paper targets, five with a red head and five with a green head. Ranges to all the targets was 7 – 10 yards.  The shooter started with his/her back to the target area, weapon loaded, and holstered. Just prior to the start signal being given the RO randomly chose either Red or Green.

At the signal the shooter then turned, drew, and engaged the targets designated while proceeding into the rectangle. After engaging the initial color the shooter then regressed back through the rectangle while engaging the other color targets, 20 rounds, 20 hits for a perfect accuracy score.

With 20/20 we had two shooters, Dan Boyle and Tim Wunderlich, three shooters, Gary Walker, Brandon Carroll, and Steve Vinson scored 19/20 and Jay Wehrle and Emily Burdick shot 18/20.

STAGE TWO:   4 Target El Prez     

There were 4 targets in a line about 10 yards away. At the signal the shooter drew and fired 2x2x2x2, reload, 2x2x2x2. Score the targets and bring up the next shooter. To add some difficulty to the mix there were a couple of no shoot targets on a couple of the shoot targets.

The shooter did a draw practice and one reload practice. 16 rounds total for this stage. Only one shooter, Steve Vinson,  went 16/16. With 15/16 we had three shooters;  Tim Wunderlich, Jay Wehrle, and Emily Burdick. Bringing up my third place ranking with 14/16 were Brandon Carroll and Doug Burdick.

STAGE THREE: Accuracy      

This stage made use of three targets but no timer.

The shooter was focused on shooting accurately under different handling conditions.  The first part of the stage used strong hand only for all the shooting, the second part used weak hand only for all the shooting, and the third part used freestyle for all the shooting.   

Scoring was for points only. The shooter started in a shooting box located on the left side of the bay. At the signal the shooter drew the weapon using the strong hand only. The shooter then engaged a target located about three yards away, but covered by a no shoot target such that the only portion visible was the head of the shoot target.  From this same location the shooter engaged a second target located about 10 yards away with one shot only. The shooter then began walking toward the right side of the bay.

 Located in the middle were a pair of barrels.  While passing between the two barrels the shooter engaged a target at about 7 yards with one shot while moving. The shooter continued moving to the right side of the bay where a second shooting box was located. From this box the shooter engaged a target at about 5 yards with one shot to the body and one shot to the head.

The shooter then switched to the weak hand and reversing direction engaged the targets in reverse order with one shot only while using only the weak hand. Having returned to the original starting box the shooter switched to freestyle and headed back to the right, engaging the targets as before with one shot only but using freestyle for all shooting – a total of 15 rounds.

The shooter practiced one draw and one handed accuracy shooting. Given the handling difficulty scoring well was difficult for this stage. The best shooter was Ryan Boyle who managed to put 13/15 in the A zone of the various targets. Next best were a group with 11/15, including Chris Harmon, Steve Vinson, and Bruce Bunting. Then, with 10/15 were Adam Hyder and Terry Thoma.

STAGE FOUR: Tactical Reload Drill

Every now and then we have a stage with a different skill to practice rather than the standard “shoot the bad guys” stage. This was one of those stages in which the skill being practiced is the tactical or what I also call the no magazine left behind reload drill.

Since we shouldn’t know what is around the next corner the intent of this drill was to remove the most immediate threat, reload before moving from the safe location, and keep the partially spent or maybe even empty magazine just in case it is needed later on. This stage made eventual use of nine shoot targets spread out in three “encounter” locations.   Each target would be engaged with a minimum of two rounds so 18 rounds minimum would be needed. Prior to moving to the next encounter the  shooter performed a reload and then kept the spent magazine.

The shooter started in a start box, three magazines loaded with 8 rounds maximum (24 rounds maximum carried by the shooter), handgun loaded with one of the magazines, back to the most immediate targets, and in the surrender position. At the signal the shooter turned, drew, and engaged two targets (one at 5 yards and one at 10 yards).   Since this was an exposed location the shooter then moved to some barrels for cover and engaged another target at 10 yards. After engaging these first three threats the shooter reloaded, retained the magazine, then moved to the next cover position where another 4 targets were encountered.

These targets were from 2 yards to 10 yards. After engaging these four threats, the shooter reloaded, retained the magazine, then moved to the last cove rposition where the final 2 targets were encountered. The shooter could fire more than 2 rounds if desired but the best 2 were counted for score. The shooter practiced drawing, two tactical reloads, and the use of cover.

The distance to each target was not excessive but to add some level of difficulty a fair number of no shoot targets were present. A large portion of the group met the accuracy criteria. With 18/18 we had Tim Wunderlich, Brandon Carroll, Steve Vinson, Doug Burdick, Emily Burdick, and Chuck Glover. With 16/18 we had Ken Buckland, Dan Boyle, Adam Hyder, Ryan Boyle, and Chris Harmon. Finally, with 15/18 were Cody Wunderlich, Jay Wehrle, Terry Thoma, and Bruce Bunting.

STAGE FIVE:   BonusTime

This stage made use of four papertargets and one steel target. The steel target used was the new torso steel target we purchased last year. Two shoot targets flanking a no shoot target were arranged at 5 yards to the left of the shooter. Two shoot targets flanking a no shoot target were arranged at 8 yards to the right of the shooter. The steel torso target was placed 11 yards from the shooter in the middle.

The shooter started with 8 rounds loaded. At the signal the shooter drew and engaged the 4 paper targets with 2 rounds each. The shooter then reloaded and engaged the 4 targets with 2 rounds each. The shooter then engaged the steel torso target with 1 round only.

If the shooter hit the center cut-out area of the steel torso, 5 second bonus was awarded to the shooter. 17 round total expended. The shooter practiced one draw and one reload with this stage. Hitting all 17 “A” hits we had Steve Vinson and Emily Burdick.  Hitting 16/17 we had Brando nCarroll. With 15/17 there was Dan Boyle and Chris Harmon. And as honorable mention with 14/17 we had Jay Wehrle, Tim Wunderlich, and Doug Burdick.

It should be noted that Jay Wehrle was shooting with a handicap that day.  Jay came to the match with his strong hand in a sling and semi-rigid support. He did all his shooting one handed and weak handed to boot  –  but was still able to maintain high level of accuracy. Good work Jay!

Next month will probably be a different setup, so come out and join us!

I had a question about the various matches we shoot over the summer and I realized that I had not provided a lot of information about just what we do in any particular Match.  Here is a summary of our Matches and how we conduct them:

NRA/CMP Match:  This is a Match that will be conducted is such a way that the scores may be submitted to either the CMP or NRA for shooter classification purposes.  CMP Matches will be conducted as CMP Cup Matches (80-rounds, rapid fire strings start from position, sighters allowed).  NRA Matches will be conducted either as a 50-round National Match Course or an 80-Round Regional Match course (50 or 80-rounds, rapid fire strings start from position, sighters allowed).

50/80 Match:  As described above, an NRA Match may be shot as either a 50-round National Match or 80-round Regional Match course of fire.  The 50-round option is offered for shooters who do not have the stamina for a full 80-round match.

Mike Gingher Memorial M1A Match:  This match is similar in format to the Springfield M1A Match shot at the National Matches.  It is a 50-round match fired from 300-yards in Offhand, Sitting Rapid, Prone Rapid and Prone positions.  It is fired in two categories, M1A and Other rifles.

CMP Games:  This match is fired in a CMP John C. Garand Match format; 30-rounds fired at 200 yards on Slow Fire Prone, Rapid Fire Prone and Offhand positions.  There are entry categories for just about any rifle; M1 Garand, 1903/A3 Springfield, Vintage Military, M1 Carbine, Modern Military with Service Rifle and Unlimited categories in some classes.

Leonard Johnson Memorial Match; “The Toughest Two-man Team Match in the Country”:  This match is fired on the SR-42 target, a reduction of the SR-3 target designed to simulate the 300 yard stage of the National Match Course at 200 yard distance.  Each shooter in the team first fires 20-shots from 200-yards – using a .22-caliber rim fire rifle.  The team then moves back to 300-yards and fires 20-shots each at the same target face using a center fire rifle.

Mid-Range Tournaments:  These consist of three 20-round matches fired from 300-yards on MR-63 targets.  At least one of the three matches must be fired with iron sights for a competitor to be considered to be in competition.  Out of competition competitors may use optics in all three matches.

Hoosier Home Range Hundred Match:  In 2020 this match was started to add a State wide competition that could be shot at local Club ranges during the COVID epidemic.  It is an 80-round Regional Match Course fired at 100-yards on reduced range targets.  Every Club has a 100-yard range, so this made it a match that every club could facilitate.  It will be repeated in 2021.  Any club can conduct up to three Hoosier Home Range Hundred Matches.  Individual, Club and Team awards are given at the State level.

100-Yard Reduced Range Match:  This is an 80-round NRA Regional Match fired on reduced targets fired at 100-yards.

Match Fees:  $20.00 for FWRR Members and members of affiliated clubs, $25.00 for non-members.  Pre-registration is encouraged.

Targets:  All Matches except the Leonard Johnson Match will be shot on Silver Mountain electronic targets.  No pit duty for e-target matches.

Re-entry:  If range capacity allows, shooters are allowed to shoot re-entry matches in any given event.

2021 Dues Note from FWRR Treasurer

We still have a significant number of members who have not paid their dues. 

If you have not paid your 2021 dues, you are now delinquent!  Dues received with postmark dates after March 1, but before March 31 are subject to a $25.00 late fee.  This includes life members who would otherwise not pay a dues fee.

We get a lot of, “I never received a form” at this time of year.   This requirement to pay dues by 1 March is not anything new – it is a longstanding annual requirement.  It is the member’s responsibility to pay their dues promptly.  We don’t have time to call delinquent dues payers and remind them of their obligation. 

Dues and late fees must be received on or before March 31 to avoid membership termination.   After March 31, delinquency will result in membership termination. 

If personal hardship prevents timely payment, contact a Club officer who may arrange for dues to be waived or payment to be deferred.

Terminated members must reapply for membership and pay the new-member initiation fee if they desire reinstatement. 

Forms, proof of NRA membership, dues plus the late fee, should be sent to:

FWRR Treasurer

11011 Spring Oak Rd

Fort Wayne, IN  46845

The 2012 High Power schedule has been posted.

2020 was a bummer year, but we are going to try to make up for it this Summer with a lot of shooting opportunities.

Check out the June 11, 12 and 13 Mid-Summer Madness weekend schedule for a weekend full of shooting opportunities!

DEFENSIVE PISTOL (formerly IDPA) will be next sat 02/27/2021.

We will have a low round count match due to low ammo availability.

We might have some accuracy challenge shooting after the official match just for fun.

Bring your carry gun, or, your target gun, or any handgun you want!

Let’s all keep up our shooting skills the best we can. One thing sure we will be safe and have fun.

See you on the 27th.

Tim Roberts.

FEBRUARY 2021 FWRR NEWSLETTER

FWRR Club Meeting

Assuming that the Allen County COVID 19 status is not Red, the next club meeting will be held on February 2^nd.  Meeting Place:  New Haven Community Center.  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. If the meeting must be canceled, a cancellation notice will be placed on the club’s website.

Agenda: Club election and 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 Ballot

President: Jim Sweeney (present)

Vice President: Matt Hice (present, acting VP) and Dean Drews

Secretary:  Mike Miller (present)

Treasurer:  Marty Didion (present)

Director:  Jim Johnston, Gary Walker, and Tim Wunderlich

Program Manager:  Ryan Brammer (present)

Safety Officer:  Larry Beardsley (present)

Nominations will be accepted from the floor.  Thanks to Committee Head, John Halter, and the Range Officers (ROs) who assisted him with putting together the ballot.

Events Schedule

Ryan Brammer (Program Manager) is preparing the 2021 Events Schedule. When completed, the schedule will be posted on the club’s website and copies will be mailed to those persons who have elected to receive the newsletter via USPS.

2021 Dues

Dues must be received on or before March 31^st to avoid a late fee or possible membership termination.  Dues received with postmark dates after March 1^st  but before March 31^st are subject to a $25.00 late fee.  After March 31^st, 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 tentatively scheduled for April 24^th.  Refer to the 2021 Events Schedule for date confirmation. 

Foot Bridge

Through the efforts of Greg Peck, we have received steel trusses and bracing for a new foot bridge over the ditch on the 25/50/100 yard portion of the range.  Thanks go to Nucor (and Kian Dolsen of Nucor) for the donation of the trusses,  bracing, and assembly hardware.  The plan is to fabricate and begin installing the bridge on Clean-up Day, conditions permitting.

See the reverse side for more news.

Pistol Bay Work

Work to raise the height of the wing berms in the Pistol Bays by approximately four feet has been completed.  Thanks go to Matt Hice for coordinating the activity and to Ted Smeltzer and his son for helping with seeding and strawing.

Junior Program

After several attempts over the past 30 years or more to get youth involved in the shooting sports on an ongoing basis, it appears that Larry Beardsley may be succeeding in achieving that objective.  Larry has three juniors, who have parental support, interested in High Power competition.   Donations for the Junior Program were casually solicited from members over the last several months.  The response has been outstanding.  So far, over $2500.00 has been pledged.  The funds will be used to purchase two entry-grade rifles and optics, ammunition, components, and other essentials. Members interested making donations of funds , equipment, ammunition or ammunition components  may contact Larry Beardsley at fwrrhpdirector@aol.com.  Larry wishes to thank members (too numerous to list) who have donated brass to the program.  Special thanks to new member Mark Richard for his donation of a large quantity of M193 LC ammunition.

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 March.  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 in 2020:  Scott Davis, Anthony DiVita, Aaron Holdgreve, Patrick Jessup, Rick Jones, Mark Richard, Steve Vinson, and Austin Wunderlich.

Caution Note

Be aware of the slip/fall hazard posed by icy conditions at the range.  Known icy spots include the slope at the north end of the building on the 25/50/100 yard portion of the range and the concrete at the north end of the 100/200 yard covered firing line.

Sale Items

M1A for Sale:  Gingher-built rifle.  All USGI parts.  Match sights. Single-lugged receiver. Douglas barrel.  Laminated, glass-bedded stock.  Very good price.  Contact Tom Easley at gunner@artelco.net or (419) 393-4206.

Brass for Sale:  Lake City, 5.56/.223 brass, mixed dates, believed to be once fired, $50.00/1000. Contact Darrell Fish at dwtroll@yahoo.com or (260) 615-1046.

Junior Program Load Development

As we move forward toward a summer of Junior shooting, we are working to overcome the problems of not being to able to get the “good stuff” to load ammunition for the program.

As I’ve noted earlier, we have been able to find components, but they are not what are generally considered for “Match Loads”.  We have Russian primers, not CCI Match,  Remington 7 1/2 Bench rests or even WSR, but they are generally considered to be pretty good.  We are using military cases; LC, WCC and a few TW.  Most have several reloadings behind them, so we will need to watch for neck splits. 

Our bullets are Sierra 69-grain Match Kings.  For some reason they come up as available at suppliers and when I get an email notification, I grab some.  Natchez Shooting supply had 100-quantity boxes one day.  The next day they were gone but they had 500-piece boxes.  You bet your hat I grabbed some both days – we are pretty good to go on bullets.

The biggest unknown has been propellant.  I was able to buy two 8-pound jugs of WC-842 surplus pull-down powder in a parking lot at a convenience store way out  in the country south of Warsaw.  It wasn’t a midnight drug sale, but it did feel weird!  Surplus powder is a big unknown, it is a mix of powder lots from surplus ammunition that has to be demilitarized and cannot be sold as complete rounds.  It has to be characterized one jug at a time.

Just after New Year’s Day, Aaron Kohler and I did pressure tests to see just what this powder looked like.  We started at 20 grains which chronographed as way too slow and went up to a load that was a bit too hot – we pierced the primer.  But, we found that the sweet spot was between about 22.4 grains and 23.8 grains.

The next step was an accuracy test to find if there was a real sweet spot and if our components were compatible when we put them together.  I loaded six rounds at 0.2 grain increments from 22.4 to 23.8 grains.  The test protocol would be that Mike Grannis would shoot half from a match gun and I would shoot the others from my stubby barreled service rifle.  We would shoot on the Silver Mountain electronic targets and use the circle tool to record group size – easy/peezy.  We chronographed the service rifle for muzzle velocity and used the Silver Mountain system to get target velocity for both rifles.

The quick answer – we have components to make some pretty good loads.  Mike was shooting his Match rifle with a 20X scope and I was shooting the Senior Chief at 4X, so it would be expected that Mike would shoot tighter groups that I would, he actually shot groups about half the diameter I shot. But, in both cases we found that in the short barreled service rifle and the long barreled match rifle, groups were as tight as either one of us thought we were able to shoot.

The picture shows the 100-yard target we were shooting with a Shoot-n-See center.  Mike’s aim point was at 12 o’clock on the center and I was hitting at 6 o’clock on the edge of the black.  We chewed it up pretty well for a couple of old guys with runny noses and watery eyes on a chilly, breezy afternoon.

I am attaching a graph with a lot of data on it – look at it and I think you can see the same sweet spot I see.  Once we get our new rifles I am going to run one more test at 22.8, 23.0 and 23.2 grains of powder for a load.  I suspect that about a  23.0 grain load is going to give us the capability to shoot about half-inch groups off the bench.  That makes the shooter the limiting factor – exactly what we are looking for.

Now, we wait for rifles!

Winter Offhand Match

January 9, 2021

The shooters were ready for the 2021 season to get underway this morning.  By the time I arrived at the range at 7:55, folks were already there getting ready to go. The gate was open, the lights were on and the 25 and 50 yard target stands were taken down.  It was a good morning, a bit chilly – it’s January in Indiana after all – but the lack of wind made it a lot nicer than it could have been.  There were cold fingers and couple of drippy noses, but not too bad.

We had to do some target patching, but things went quickly and by 8:30 we had twelve shooters ready for the first relay.  We had our safety briefing and by 8:35 the first relay was under way.  There were four shooters who had to wait for the second relay and we had one Junior shooter. Marshall, who only wanted to shoot 20-rounds for his inaugural match, so five shooters made up the second relay.

We repeated the process, and on the second string of the second relay, we had another Junior who wanted to try his hand as well, so Zion was the fifth shooter on Relay 2, String 2.

It’s always good to get the group together.  I’ve learned that High Power shooters make their excuses early so that if something doesn’t go well – they have a reason to explain it.  One of the Masters of this Mark Richard – I poke fun at him with all the respect in the world. 

He had his list ready; it was cold.  His joints hurt, he had a crick in his neck and in his back.  He was unsteady and rocking around like he was on the deck of a ship, and that was why he was going to shoot such an awful score for the day.  Of course he took the top spot with a 194-13X.  I wonder what he would shoot on a day when he felt good?

Mike King took second place for the day with a 369-6X and Robert Davis closed out the top three with a 364-4X, good shooting guys!  For the winter season so far, Mark Richard leads the group with a two match aggregate of 773-24X.  Mike King follows with 755-10X and Mark Walters is third with 736-6X.

After the match I had a class session with our Junior shooter where we went over the basics of shooting from the sitting position.  It was a good session with an apt student.

Several other really good things happened on Saturday that I need to mention.  We had a donation of old shooting gear; leather coats, canvas coats, lightweight jackets and the like.  I had put them out for folks to take for a donation to the Junior Program.  At the end of Saturday, everything was gone and the Junior program was $106 better off.

We needed brass for Junior ammunition and several people brought me bags of brass.  Thank you to everyone who donated to the cause.  I have sorted through the donations and I have about 1500 LC, WCC and TW cases I am sending to a commercial brass processor to get them cleaned, deprimed, decrimped, sized and trimmed.

One more Thank You; Mark Richard donated a can of M193 LC ammunition (about 500-rounds) to be used for Junior practice.  This will be a great help and will ease the burden on our limited supply of components for match ammunition.

Upcoming events: 

The FWRR Club February meeting will be on February 2.  It will be held at the New Haven Community Center, behind McDonalds on Highway 930 (30) just west of New Haven.  This will be an election of officers meeting, so try to attend.  Just a social note; no guns, beer or smoking is allowed in the Community Center, so we need to be on our best behavior.

Our next match will be the second Saturday in February, February 13.  I will not be running the match that day.  My wife has decided we need to make our annual trip to Florida, so I regret having to be in all of that warm weather while you guys enjoy February in Indiana. I’ll think about you.

Be safe, stay well.

Hoosier Home Range Hundred 2021 

The initial Hoosier Home Range Hundred Match was well received last summer and the sponsors have decided to do it again this year.  The Match format will remain much the same; an 80-round Regional Match shot at 100-yards on reduced targets. 

Matches will be scheduled in August and September and a maximum of three matches may be scheduled at any Club. 

Organizations or businesses interested in joining as a Match sponsor should contact Larry Beardsley at FWRRHPDirector@aol.com for more information.