Osage Orange Sharpshooters
News April 2004

2004 Schedule - Online at
www.swampworks.com/OsageOrange.html

May 8 Sat 8 AM - John C. Garand Match
May 29 Sat 8 AM - Club Match
Jun 26 Sat 8 AM - CANCELLED
Jul 17 Sat 8 AM - Club Match (NEW DATE)
Jul 24 Sat 8 AM - Club Match - Carbine Rattle Battle
Aug 21 Sat 8 AM - Club Match
Sep 18 Sat 8 AM - Club Match
Oct 16 Sat 8 AM - John C. Garand Match

Please note that the June 26 meeting has been cancelled by the Dalton Range because of a conflict with another activity. Another match has been added on July 17 to replace it.

Other Matches
Joplin's next match is Sunday, May 16 at 9AM. It is a 100 yard match.

The Missouri Highpower Regional is Saturday, May 1, and the Team match is Sunday, May 2 at the Bucksnort range near Marshall. The matches begin at 7:30 in the morning, and you need to be there before 7am to get squadded. We have 4 people for one team for sure. It would be great if we could get 4 more folks to come shoot in the team match. For more information, contact Bill Corcoran or Les Welch.

Marshfield Range, News and Developments
We ran a Youth .22 Sporter Match at the Marshfield Range on Saturday, April 10. Jordan Bowles shot an astounding 539 (out of 600) to take the $10 first prize. Jacob Poole beat his brother Matthew by 10 points with a 447 to take the second place $4 prize, making Paul Kemm a proud grandpa. All six contestants received Osage Orange patches and decals, and a CMP 100th anniversary decal. Even though it was cold and rainy, everybody had a good time. Depending on how things go with the range, we will try to run a couple more youth .22 matches later in the summer.

I want to repeat and expand upon some of the items mentioned last month. We are still working out the final details of formal range membership and ownership. At this point in time, there is still no formal legal entity to own the range, but SOMEONE needs to incorporate a non-profit corporation to take ownership of the range. Missouri has its statutes on the web, and the non-profit statute is very clear on what needs to be done. It will just take a lawyer and someone who wishes to run the range. Any takers? I've got sample bylaws from the Joplin and Billings clubs, so working out the rules of running the club should be quite simple. If the legal work doesn't get done in the next month or so, the range will probably get shut down permanently. The landowner would jump at the chance to give us the range. It becomes increasingly less-likely that the Osage Orange Sharpshooters will formally take over the range unless YOU want it to happen. Running the range will take time, effort, and money. At this time, I am not willing to commit myself to accepting that responsibility. If you have any thoughts on the matter, I would love to hear them. Call, write, or email me.

April 17 League Match
The match at the Dalton Range, Saturday April 17 was a beginners match, and we had 27 shooters on the line. Steve Milholland shot a 463 to lead the pack. Tops in the combined Master-Expert class was Thomas Reemes with a 452, followed by Ed Bowles with a 439. Jeff Ikerd blew the doors off with a 422 to take top honors in the combined Sharpshooter-Marksman class, and the Unclassified group, with 7 shooters, saw Rodney Brown with a 410 edge out Jeff Brown's and Ted Weiss's 409.

Classification System
Based on the previous year's average score, each OOS member will be given a classification. Please consult the web page of 2003 scores to determine your average. If you didn't shoot 3 matches in 2003, your classification will be based on the average of whatever scores you fired.. In some cases we will look back at 2002 scores to make the classification. Classes are based on 90%, 80%, 70%, and 60%.

· Shooters with no Osage Orange Sharpshooters experience will have the option of firing in the Unclassified Master class or accepting a classification assigned by the match director.

· A shooter will receive a temporary classification upon firing one match with the Osage Orange Sharpshooters. After firing 3 matches, the average of all 3 will be used to determine the shooter's classification.

Shooters may be reclassified upwards or downwards only after the end of the season and only if the shooter has competed in 4 or more matches during the season. Scores posted on the web page will be definitive in deciding a shooter's classification

John Garand Match
The May 8 meeting is our Spring John C. Garand match. Entry fee is $30 and can be sent to Bill Corcoran. Forms are on the web page. I encourage everyone to get registered as soon as possible, because it makes it easier on the match director and allows a quicker start to the match. Furthermore, it looks like we are stretching the range capacity, so 2 relays will be probable.

The awards for this match will be:

Place medals
1. 1st Place Gold + name on plaque
2. 2nd Place Silver
3. 3rd Place...Bronze

Achievement scores based on Camp Perry:
Gold Medal: 460-500 92%
Silver Medal: 445-459 89%
Bronze Medal: 425-444 85%

Ammunition
We purchased a few thousand rounds of .30-06 ammunition from the CMP. Since the CMP only sells it in case lots (960 rounds) some members may find purchasing from CMP to be too capital-intensive. Osage Orange will make this ammo available by the ammo can (240 rounds) for $60 per can. You can save a penny per round if you order a full case from the CMP (just so you know).

.30 M1 Carbine ammo is available only for purchase at the club matches to shoot in the match. The supply is limited and CMP has decreased our allotment, but we will always have it available for club activities.

AMMO WARNING
There have been reports of various types of Korean ammunition blowing up and damaging rifles. Some place a web page exists showing problem lots of ammo. The general note is that any Korean ammo with a PS (looks like P8) headstamp is suspect. The stuff with a KA headstamp has not been known to "kaboom", but has been reported as corrosive in some lots. My own opinion is that it is not worth hazarding your rifle or your eyes to anything Korean.

Questions or comments????
Contact Bill Corcoran (417) 862-8618 wtc928f@smsu.edu