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Osage Orange
Sharpshooters ANNUAL CLUB
DINNER and MEETING: Event Schedule
for 2006 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 Other Dates 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. Reloading Clinic and Swap 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. Membership 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. Raffle 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.) Club Meetings 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. Alibis 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. Pamphlets, Decals, Patches and Flag 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. Freedom Alliance http://www.freedomalliance.org/scholarship.htm Powder and Ammunition I still haven’t ordered the CMP ammunition, but will do so very soon. Email Bill Corcoran E-Mail: <WilliamCorcoran@MissouriState.edu>
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