Redwood Falls Sportmen’s Club 2017 Fall Newsletter
It has been quite the summer. Lots of rain made for some muddy locations, delayed some projects and produced lots of mosquitoes. There has been a lot of activity at the range as usual. The new pistol bays have been very popular and have seen a lot of activity. The pollinator project is coming along nicely. It still has a year or two to go before it looks really good.
Pistol Bays
There has been some discussion about creating a pistol league. The concept is to focus on defensive applications with no specialized equipment requirements. It is still in the planning phases and we should know more about it next spring.
If you move up closer to the steel targets make sure you get no closer than 21 feet/7 yards/6.4 meters for safety reasons. Wearing of safety glasses is strongly recommended. If you find any damage to the steel targets or supports let us know immediately.
Rifle Ranges
There has been a flurry of activity again this fall with hunters sighting in their firearms for deer season. We hope everyone had a successful hunt. Considering all of the shooting that was done there were only a few individuals who failed to pick up their shotgun hulls and brass. We want to encourage everyone to clean up after themselves. If you leave your brass in a neat pile someone will pick it up for recycling. Less trash means less chance of the lawnmower damage or damage from lawnmower launched projectiles. Please don’t shoot the target boards with shotshells. When you are 15 or so feet from the target it makes a really large hole in the plywood. Demonstrating how big a hole you can make with a shotgun is foolishness. Shooting the board with slugs tears it up too but that is part of business. We have received a couple of inquires about 50 BMG. Regretfully we do not allow them for safety reasons.
Shotgun Range and Range Improvements
We have submitted a grant request to the DNR this year to complete trap house #3. Up until now the two houses have been meeting our needs. However, with the growing popularity of the High School Trap program we are taking advantage of the DNR grant program. This year we had on average 75 high school athletes from three schools competing. All three schools brought back some bling and bragging rights from the State Tournament.
When using the range for practice we request that you set up your thrower in a position where the targets will fall into the tall grass if you miss them. We also request that you do not use the trap houses as patterning boards. Have you ever noticed the plastic box on the left hand side of the trap house. It houses the wireless receiver for the trap system. Someone used one for target practice and destroyed it. They either used 00 buckshot or a pistol, there were nine hits in the concrete.
Youth at the Range
As in years past we have seen a lot of youth coming out to the range. Many come out with family. A lot of them are members of the 4H Shooting Sports, shooting one or more of the shooting disciplines, Hunter Education Field Day events, and the fast growing and popular HS Trap. If you are interested in assisting any of these programs let us know. Contact us on our website (rwfsportsmensclub.com), or Facebook, or one of our meetings!
Volunteerism at the Range
Is there something special you would like to do to make the club an even better piece of paradise on the NW side of town? Use the ‘contact us’ page on our website (rwfsportsmensclub.com) or on Facebook if you’d be interested in running a match, writing a blog, fix broken targets, assist with Hunter Education, 4H Shooting Sports volunteer or something else! There are many of us who have time and skills just waiting to be asked. Not sure when and where we can use your skills but you’re being asked! As an example: we could use a couple of people to run a Rimfire Sporter Match. Training is available!
A shout out to Ryan Becklund. This summer Ryan helped build wood duck house with Northland Lumber at the County Fair and talked his dad in helping out as well. He also built the bow hangers you see on the archery range. And if that wasn’t enough Ryan also conducted an archery shooting competition in September.
Keeping the range looking great isn’t an easy task. We have to thank Robert Rohlik for the grass cutting and target board maintenance, Pete Weis for planning and coordinating dirt works, and Gene Malecha for moving dirt with his cat.
We are seeking individuals to be on some of the different committees: rifle, pistol, shotgun, and archery.
Membership 2018
The memberships are annual with renewal in April (kind of like a fishing license). However, if you want to gift someone a 2018 membership for Christmas or birthday prior to the annual renewal they are available after 19 December. You can mail in your renewal, obtain it online at our website, visit the sporting goods counter at the Redwood Falls Running’s or River Valley Arms and Ammo in Morton.
Join us at a Meeting
We are always open to questions, inquiries, and the like. We like to talk about shooting, hunting, reloading, and other things as well. During the winter months when we seem to have more free time we are meeting on the second Wednesday of the month at the Redwood Falls Legion starting at 7:00 pm Come out and join us: Dec 13, Jan 10, Feb 14, and Mar 14. Our annual banquet will be in April. Come to the meeting and help us finalize the date and planning for that event. We are in need of some help.
Check us out on Facebook: www.facebook.com/rwfsportsmensclub/
Safety First
As always we ask you to be safe. When going down range to check targets unload your firearm and leave the action open. When someone is down range stand away from your firearm.
- Treat every gun like it is loaded.
- Never point your gun at anything you don’t want destroyed.
- Do not put your finger on the trigger until you are ready to shoot.
- Be aware of your target and what is beyond it.
We want to wish everyone a safe Holiday Season.
Best regards,
Larry Weidell, Secretary/Treasurer of the Redwood Falls Sportsmen’s Club