Saturday February 4th at 5PM Heritage Cafeteria
(Shopping center on Battlefield between National and Fremont)
Dalton Range – Saturday 8AM
| Date | Range | Match |
|---|---|---|
| January 21st | Dalton Range | Reloading Clinic, Classroom |
| February 18th | Dalton range | Fun Shoot |
| March 11th | Dalton Range | Competition Clinic |
| April 22nd | Dalton Range | Beginners |
| May 13th | Dalton Range | John C. Garand |
| May 27th | Dalton Range | Match |
| June 10th | Dalton Range | Match |
| July 22nd | Dalton Range | Rattle Battle – M1 Rifle |
| August 19th | Dalton Range | Match |
| September 2nd | Dalton Range | Club League |
| October 14th | Dalton Range | John C. Garand |
Springfield Bench Rest Club – Billings
| Date | Time |
|---|---|
| Sunday, March 19th | 1:00pm |
| Wednesday, April 5th | 5:00pm |
| Wednesday, April 26th | 5:00pm |
| Wednesday, May 17th | 5:00pm |
| Wednesday, June 28th | 5:00pm |
| Sunday, July 9th | 1:00pm |
| Wednesday, August 23rd | 5:00pm |
| Wednesday, September 13th | 5:00pm |
| Wednesday, October 18th | 5:00pm |
| Sunday, October 29th | 1:00pm |
We got shuffled to the back of the line for the annual dinner meeting, and the reloading clinic will actually be our first meeting. But bring your ideas for whatever changes you would like to see to the dinner meeting, Saturday, Feb. 4th at the Heritage Cafeteria.
We will also host some Osage Orange Events at the rifle range near Miller, Missouri (west of Springfield off Highway 96). We had 3 shoots there last year. We pay for use of this range ($75 per match), so our use is a little more limited. We’ll announce those dates later in the year.
Finally, on shooting, you’ll notice that I have not listed any smallbore events (.22 rimfire). I will probably convert at least one of our Dalton Range matches to smallbore. I’ll give you 2 months notice. We need to provide smallbore opportunities for youth, but with or without younger people, a smallbore match will be a chance for you to sharpen your marksmanship skills. I urge you to look at the CMP Guide to Rimfire Sporter Shooting on-line at the CMP:
http://www.odcmp.com/Competitions/rimfire.pdf
Remember, Joplin Rifle Pistol Club holds high power matches the 3rd Sunday of the month, 9am, March-October (but not September). Many of us attend those matches, and it’s a good place to experience something other than our home-grown style of shooting.
The Missouri Regional is May 6 and 7th . This is a good match to experience across-the-course or full-distance shooting. The Bucksnort range is fairly good for camping, and the drive to Marshall is not long.
Our January meeting has traditionally been a reloading clinic; in addition, we generally go over a few of the basics of rifle maintenance. Last year, Steve Milholland demonstrated his cleaning procedures for the M1, and I think he ought to do that again. If we have anyone who wants to re-barrel an AR-15, I’d be glad to demonstrate that too, but you have to get your own barrel.
The reloading portion of the clinic is quite low-key, and if anyone else would like to demonstrate something they think is important in the process, please contribute.
I intend to bring my setup and, once again, demonstrate my process from start to finish for .223 match ammunition. Even though most principles stay the same from generation to generation, each year I learn a few more things from club members. For example, the past 2 years, club members have brought the Wilson case gauge, a steel cylinder that is precisely reamed to the exact dimensions of the cartridge. It emulates a perfect rifle chamber. I finally purchased one, and forevermore I will not fire a cartridge without first putting it through this gauge. Once you see why, I’m sure you’ll agree.
A beginning reloading clinic may not be an attractive meeting for everyone, so we never expect a huge turnout. But I sure learn things from it. And one thing we can do to make the meeting more useful to the most number of people is include a sale and swap meet. If you have items you would like to sell or trade, bring them along. But be aware (and beware) this is a club function. Anyone exchanging merchandise or money must be a club member and it must be a personal sale. I’m sure the Conservation Dept. wouldn’t want it any other way.
We have slightly re-designed the membership form, and it should be on-line shortly (the webmaster has some technical difficulties). It would really help if everyone would fill out a form this year, since we’d like to make sure our records are current. The main changes are first, indicating that juniors get free membership if an adult from the family joins; second, that additional adults from the same address can join for $5.00; and finally, a box to check if email delivery of the news letter is not convenient.
I have not been sending news letters out via the U.S. Mail simply because of the expense and hassle. I know there are people who don’t read email, and if we can find a good way to subset the membership for this purpose, it would make it more convenient for everybody.
Our next raffle will be a shooting stool from Ray-Vin industries. It has the complete setup including solid wheels, handle, vertical rifle rack, and an off-hand table for your score book. It is a $235 value, so we will sell 50 tickets at $5 each. The odds of winning are 2% per ticket, and you can’t do better than that. So come prepared at the first meeting to make your investment
Besides the obvious, there is a real up side to winning one of these raffles. Sometimes having the right equipment gives a person that added confidence to get out and shoot in other venues. We hope these raffles give everybody a chance to get top-flight equipment, and we hope everyone will come to other matches. (But don’t feel like you have to win the lottery to attend the out-of-town matches. We’d love to have everybody join us. And most of us have equipment we can lend you to make your life go more smoothly at the out-of-town matches.)
One of the privileges of being President of this organization is that I get to meet everybody. Sometimes, in talking to my friends, somebody will refer to another shooter in this manner: “you know, that guy, with the short hair and beard…I don’t know his name.” It would be a good thing if we all made a point of getting to know each other by name as well as sight. I know it is hard to be sociable considering the pressure I put on you to get the match going and running, and we always seem to be pushing the time limit at the Dalton Range. It’s hard to have a relaxed conversation under those conditions. Additionally, I can be kind of brutal in my commentary when I see people standing around talking and there is work to be done to get the range organized for the shoot, so I know I don’t contribute to the camaraderie factor. But we can try. It might seem odd to introduce yourself to a guy you’ve been shooting with for three years, but it also might help.
One day last shooting season the Osage Orange Sharpshooters got an email from a non-member who had apparently showed up for one of our shoots at the Dalton Range and felt ignored. Nobody talked to him, and when he tried to pick up somebody’s rifle he was rebuked. (Frankly, I think he was wrong on both counts: he hadn’t called anybody to ask about the meeting, and although he says he introduced himself to someone, no one remembers meeting him; and it is bad form to pick up somebody’s collector’s item rifle when you don’t even know him.) We should all make a mental note that if you see folks you don’t know standing around watching, volunteer some information, introduce yourself, introduce him to someone else, or just give him the website address. Anyway, I think we have the best rifle club going, but that little note reminded me that no matter how well we are doing, we can always do better.
Speaking of doing better, your humble President really needs to eat some crow on the situation with alibis. Any of you attending the October John C. Garand match knows that we had some problems with ammunition (and rifles), and I allowed some alibis. Frankly, it was the wrong thing to do. The rules for a John C. Garand match are very clear: no alibis. Henceforth we will follow the rule book scrupulously. No alibis in our John C. Garand matches. And for further clarification, the John C. Garand matches are the events for which you must pay an entry fee, ammunition is issued, and the match is registered with the CMP.
Now, during our regular club matches we will allow our special Osage Orange alibi procedure. In general, if you have an equipment or ammunition problem that would qualify for an alibi during rapid fire, we will allow you to fire any saved rounds during the standing phase of the match. No extra time will be given. Please note that this procedure does not apply to simple saved rounds, the situation in which you simply fail to fire all 10 rounds in a rapid fire string. In order for you to get our alibi procedure, you must bring the malfunction to the attention of the match director, and he must certify your alibi.
Finally, let me remind you of the specific alibi procedures in highpower competition, and let me urge you to consult the NRA Highpower rulebook, which is the controlling legal authority. Any alibi condition (jam or failure to fire) must be brought to the attention of the range officer in the condition in which it occurs. Clearing the jam or failure constitutes “accepting the conditions,” meaning that you must continue to fire, and there will be no alibi for that particular occurrence. Now think about it: what will you do if the 2nd cartridge in the string doesn’t fire? In order to get an alibi, you must sit there and wait for time to expire, then claim the alibi and demonstrate that the defective cartridge is in the chamber. You will then be awarded 9 extra shots during the standing phase. I always keep an extra, loaded clip or magazine next to me in rapid fire.
We are getting to the point where we need to have new pamphlets prepared. Kent Ward has done this for a number of years, but he is a great deal busier right now. I have a few copies of the old pamphlet, and I would like a volunteer or three to read through it and make any changes you think necessary.
Also, our supply of decals and patches is getting low. As you know, a new member receives a decal and a patch with our logo. Additional patches and decals can be purchased at cost. I believe Owen Young, one of our founding members, took care of the patches, and he is no longer a member. Les Welch, I think, did the decals, but his supplier is no longer in business. Would anyone volunteer to take on the job of getting one or more of these things made. We have the logo as a digital file for any print shop that needs it.
Finally, this year I propose that we get a flag made with our logo. We have the banner, nicely done, to hang at the range. But given that we have anywhere from 10-20 members of the Sharpshooters attending the National Matches, I think we could use a flag, just as all the other clubs have. It should cost in the neighborhood of $200-300. Let me know if you think that is too much or if there might be other alternatives. It is definitely an “ego item, “ so I understand if there are objections.
As most of you know, the Sharpshooters contributed $500 to hurricane relief agencies this fall. That donation got me thinking about charities. Around Christmas time each year, my mother and I search out charities for our Christmas exchange. We long ago decided we didn’t want to get gifts, so we designate a charity for the other person to donate to in lieu of a gift. This year, one of the charities I researched was the Freedom Alliance, and if you don’t know about it, I’d like to tell you. Their scholarship fund supports the children of soldiers killed in service to our country. Right now, having two of my own children in college, I know what the financial burden can be, and I only shudder at what it must be like for the children where father or mother was killed. I think, given the interests of most of the Osage Orange Sharpshooters, that this is a good charity to lift up for your consideration this Christmas time.
http://www.freedomalliance.org/scholarship.htm
I have one more 8 lb jug of 4895 powder available for $83. A few people at the last Billings match wanted powder, so I ordered some.
I still haven’t ordered the CMP ammunition, but will do so very soon.
Please note that my email address has changed. My old one will work for a year, but the one below is the newest and best.
Any questions?? Contact… Bill Corcoran (417) 862-861 or send me an email