Funshoot good and bad

In a word, WOW! What a turnout! I am increasingly impresed with the turnout and attitude we are getting, especially given the weather. And you folks are just tooooo good, even Tee Time wasn't the total disaster it should have been.

On a bad note: Today, I caught one of the new shooters using a rock, and a shooting bench to add up their score, rather than a pencil and paper. I should have thrown him off the club grounds on the spot. I didn't want to cause a "scene". The more I thought about this, the angrier I got. You can bet your butt if I see or learn of this behavor again, from anyone, they will be gone as fast as I can throw them. I am proud to have a bunch of very dedicated and respectful shooters to play with every month, you are really a class act. This type of behavoir, befitting a high school punk, is a slap in the face to all of us, and will NOT be tolerated.

It is personally disturbing, and shakes me to my core, to have this kind of confrontation with anyone. The person in question has been informed he is not welcome to shoot with us again. As will anyone else who disrespects the club, its grounds, or it's guests.

Need a carry permit?

When: Saturday, March 7th, 9am - Noon

Where: West Shore Sportsmen's Association
564 Ridge Road
Lewisberry, PA 17339

Cost: $50.00
What to bring: Your carry gun, holster, and 50 rounds (* no magnums or hollowpoint ammunition permitted on the Indoor Range, where the shooting portion will take place)


Offered by Steve Silverman. http://www.f-r-i.com/ No pre-registration is necessary. However, a heads up that you are coming would be appropriate so Steve knows how many students to plan for. Steve can be e-mailed at steve@f-r-i.com

This class is necessary to acquire a non-resident Utah carry permit. The Utah carry permit is valuable to Pennsylvania residents who travel into those states that do not have reciprocity with PA, but do have agreements with Utah, such as Ohio or Delaware. The cost of the permit itself is $65.25, and is good for 5 years. Renewals cost $10.00; the class is not required for your renewal. The entire process can be done through the mail.

You can find out more about the Utah permit here:
http://publicsafety.utah.gov/bci/concealedfirearms.html

Feb FunShoot!!! Yee haaaa!

This months funshoot is Saturday Feb 28.

It will be a near carbon copy of last month (most of the steel is still frozen in place), with 3 or 4 stages of steel, choose your own, Bulls-eye and PPC, as well as a new, shooter inspired, stage, as yet to be named, but rest assured, the stage will be decidedly evil. Round count between 100 and 150.

We are adding something new:

Given the surprising response to the USPSA starter class last month, I am adding a USPSA squad to the funshoot. This will be a squad that will run the funshoot as if it were a USPSA match, with the proper commands, rules and timer and such, as practice for those of you who are interested in competing in our USPSA monthly match. This squad is completely VOLUNTARY, and will be run by Howard T. Every other squad will be as usual. Pre -registration is not necessary for this squad, but would be helpful if you let me know.

Setup at 9:00a
registration closes at 10 am
shooters brief at 10:15a
shooting at 10:30a.

fee is $15

A note about gear:
Any standard handgun that can hold a minimum of 6 rounds is required, and all start positions are from the low ready. You can carry your gun from a holster or bag or box or whatever.

Absolutely NO gun handling anywhere but the safe table and the firing line, when instructed, anyone with questions, please ask at registration and we will help you out.

A useful website

Check out this website if you want to see a video on how to fully disassemble and reassemble a 1911. It doesn't hurt to review this kind of thing. I think the guy does a pretty nice job. He expalins it slowly and in simple terms so even boneheads like me can understand it. The best part? It's FREE!

New AR lower available temporarily

Please note the selector moves from "unsafe" to "more unsafe". I just wish this wasn't really how many of our politicians feel.

RO class at York!

It is official. We will be hosting an RO class at our club June 6th & 7th. I don't know the hours yet, but if you definitely want to take this class email to hold a spot, and I'll instruct you what to do next. The fee will be $50 per person. USPSA charges us $40 and we're adding another $10 to offset the additional expenses of the instructors meals, rental car, and hotel room. It is rare to have one of these classes in our neighborhood so don't miss this opportunity. This class is limited in size so don't hesitate.

2009 Area 8 Multi-gun

I am proud to once again be the Match Director of the 2009 Area 8 Multi-gun championship which will be held June 19th-21st at Topton Fish and Game. Dean and I have finished preliminary drawings of the stages and it is going to be even bigger and better than last years match. We have increased the round count to about 400 rounds combined and kept the match fees the same. The big change for this year is that this match will be day and a half format. You'll shoot 6 stages on Saturday and 3 stages on Sunday. If you liked last year's match you're going to love this one. I've already started putting together a first class staff and everything is progressing rather well. If you haven't been invited to staff this match but would like to help please email me. Don't delay sign up today. We expect this match to fill up quickly. Follow this link to the application.

In order to shoot one of our USPSA matches...

Last year we had several new shooters who lied about their qualifications to shoot in our matches. There were some very unsafe acts, and their ignorance of of rules and procedures, inefficiency, and inabilty to follow directions fouled up two of our matches very badly. We won't let it happen again. To these ends we have drastically overhauled our process and we have strict rules governing who will be allowed to shoot our matches his year.

Unclassified shooters who have not successfully competed in a USPSA match at York Izaak Walton in the past, must pass a safety check. This safety check will only take a half hour or so, and there will be no exceptions to this rule. Make arrangements with the Match Director at hkbrt@verizon.net to schedule one. We will do them on some match days, but not all. We can also try to arrange on on a non-match day at our mutual convenience.

If you are new to USPSA please check out my series of free videos on you tube that explain many of the fundamentals of our sport.
USPSA 101 The basic equipment
USPSA 102 The divisions
USPSA 103 Protocols
USPSA 104 Targets and scoring
USPSA 105 Power factor
USPSA 106 Range commands
USPSA 107 Important rules
USPSA 108 Miscellaneous terms

Videos

I just completed filming the last of the videos. I should have them on the net by 7:00pm Friday. Please check them out and let me know anything else I need to cover to help a new shooter survive his or her first match. I didn't spend a lot of time on producing these, but hopefully the information that they need is there.

My new project

I've got a new project. I'm making a series of short videos aimed at helping shooters get involved in USPSA shooting. The subject originally came up at the Section meeting and after talking about it with Kevin S. and Gary S. I have decided it would be time well spent to video the presentation and post it to YouTube. Theoretically new shooters can watch the series and when we meet to do the range work we'll have a lot less material to cover. The bonus for them is they can do it in the comfort of their own den. The reward for me is I won't have to cover the same material over and over.

I've completed the first three segments and have them posted. If you get a chance watch them and let me know what you think. Try this link to the first video "USPSA 101" then you'll be able to see all my other videos. The other two I've completed so far are USPSA 102 and USPSA 103. You may notice there's a pattern developing. In total I think there will probably be a dozen or so videos in this series. If you have suggestions please email me or comment here or on youtube.

What a great day!

The weather was beautiful. Turnout was incredible. We had 18 shooters new to USPSA and with the assistance of Paul M. Dave R. and Gary S. I think we got them all up to speed. We look forward to getting them all classified next month. Rob B. Paul S. Dave A. Greg J. and a few others kept the rest of the crowd occupied on the steel in the back. A lot of ammuniton was wasted and everyone left happy. It won't be long now until the season starts in earnest. I know I'm ready.

February Match

Things are more definite about Sunday. It will not be a serious match. There is still too much snow and ice on the ranges. Even with the warm days ahead the ground will not be suitable for any running.

We will however be shooting Sunday starting about noon. Three items of interest for you: 1. We won't charge a fee, and there will be no advance sign up. 2. We will be doing an impromtu USPSA clinic for aspiring new shooters, while current shooters may use all other ranges and the steel that is already set-up in the back. 3. Some of our guys are planning on bring competition rifles and shotguns to play with also.

Weather in the 50s, no fees, and no rules, other than safety. How could you miss it?

February match

There is still a lot of snow and ice on the ranges, but there is a possibility of signifigant warming this weekend. We will be shooting Sunday at noon. I can't say how serious it will be, but if it's warm how can we resist? No fees will be charged Sunday. This will be a great opportunity to get new shooters qualified to shoot our matches. Bring them all. March will be a special classifier so it is important they're ready for that.

February match

The weather has not been overly cooperative. Even after a nice warm day which we took advantage of by practicing (you should try it) the snow and ice on the ranges has not melted much. Barring a heat wave, which the weathermen are not calling for, any serious match is out of the question. We do intend to get together and shoot some, if the weather is fit. The scheduled start time for Sunday Feb 8th is 12:00 hign noon. Stay tuned and I'll let you know how things look as we approach that day.