At a recent general membership meeting, a member brought up a safety concern that we would like to pass on to everyone. The member’s concern was related to shooters who were shooting more than one rifle, placing the second rifle on the shelves that are located behind the benches, mounted to the back side of the rain canopies. The member’s issue with this is that when the guns are sitting on those shelves, they are pointing along the firing line at other shooters. We realize that most people who are doing this are waiting for the barrel to cool off, so they don’t want to put the gun in the case and put it away, but we consider this a violation of rule #2 (Don’t point a firearm at anything you are not willing to shoot or destroy). Also consider that when you pick that gun up to bring it back to the line, you are violating rule #23 (All firearms should remain cased or holstered secure while being carried to and from the firing line. If not cased, they will be carried with the actions open and the muzzle pointed in a safe direction.) The bottom line is that we want everyone to realize that if you were shooting at Rattlesnake or another RO controlled range, you would not be allowed to place a gun in a position where it was pointing at anyone. We want the same level of safe handling to occur at our range, so please keep them pointed down range! If you are shooting more than one rifle and need to move one off of your bench, you can use the bench next to you if it is not occupied and no one is waiting to use it, or you can put it in your vehicle, or use one of the vertical racks so that it is pointed up instead of along the line.

Officer & board elections are complete. All the existing officers will be continuing for another term. Steve Schlegel will be continuing on the board for another term, and Wayne Rowett will be taking the open board seat. Thanks to all the officers, board members, & other club volunteers, we couldn’t run the club without you!

The 2013 club schedule has been completed, and is up on the club website. It will also be posted in the sign in trailer, and there is usually a copy at the general membership meetings each month. Please check it out and pay special attention to when the range is open to general shooting and when it is not. We don’t want you to waste the fuel and time to drive to the range and not be able to shoot, or have to wait around for a match to end before you can shoot.

There will be a work party on March 10, this will be your last opportunity to get your work credit before renewal time, so if you can make it, join us! If your physical abilities or work schedule prevent you from attending a regular work party, contact one of the officers, they will be happy to assign you some work that will fit your schedule or abilities so you have the opportunity to get your work credit.

We notice that several types of polymer sphere shaped target balls are becoming popular. We want you to remember that these types of targets are only authorized at our range if there is a proper backstop for EVERY SHOT. This means that you will most likely have to go cold every shot to reset your target. Also please remember that clay pigeons are limited to the shotgun area only, and golf balls and other trash type targets must have a proper backstop, and must be removed from the range when you are done, and finally glass and other non-removable targets are banned. We realize that there is an ever growing interest in reactive type targets, and we will try to add some more soon. In the meantime if you have your own swinger or other reactive target, you are welcome to use it as long as it is placed at the base of the berm, or even on the face of the berm. Remember that any bullets that hit in front of the berm will ricochet and could clear the hill and exit the facility, so make sure your targets are set so that the bullets hit in the berm. If anyone has any ideas of how to build reactive targets that will last longer we are all ears, or if anyone would like to volunteer to help with the maintenance of the reactive targets so that Greg isn’t constantly working on them, please volunteer.

It’s renewal time! Your membership expires on March 31, so if you don’t want to be locked out, get your membership dues in ASAP. Renewal is $50, or $25 if you attended at least one work party in this renewal cycle. Also please make sure we have your NRA membership info, and also that we have your current address and phone number. You can renew at a meeting, or you can send your check to the club PO Box listed above. We will mail a card to you with the new gate combination ASAP. If you intend to renew at a meeting, please show up a few minutes early so that the membership committee can get you taken care of before the meeting starts. If you wait until after the meeting, the committee can’t start new member orientation on time.

If you need to renew your NRA membership, there are several NRA recruiters in the club, and there are usually a couple of them at each meeting. You can save some money on your NRA membership by renewing with a recruiter, so seek one out when it’s time to renew with the NRA!