"Bullet-In" club newsletter #298
for February/March 2017
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FROM THE COMMITTEE:
The next meeting of the Committee will be at the RANGE Wednesday 29 March 2017 at 7:00 pm (last Wednesday of the month); all new members are encouraged to attend, & all members are welcome!
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PRESIDENT'S NOTES
From The President & Committee:
Trails End 2017 Friday 24th – Sunday 26th March.
TE started on Friday with the Black Powder, Long range single shot, pistol calibre long rifle and rifle calibre long rifle events.
Saturday morning, following an introduction from Wild Ben, the 46 cowboys and cowgirls were addressed by Carterton Mayor John Booth and NZ First Deputy Leader Ron Mark. Both made some very supportive comments. John Booth then lit the fuse to discharge a canon. The resounding boom echoed off the cliff announcing Trails End 2017 well and truly open.
Registration numbers have increased over the last few years and this year it was encouraging to see the numbers include three juniors engaged in the 3 day event.
A huge thanks to 'Wild Ben' and 'Dusty' for all the behind the scenes work and effort, setting up and packing down after the event and also a huge thanks to Jess, Lois and the girls for the hours they spent preparing the food and keeping the cook house running like clockwork.
Ron Mark attended the closing ceremony, addressed all present regarding the continuing battle we have ahead to retain our firearms in order to continue with our chosen sport. The grand finale was the prize giving and Trails End declared closed.
Ban On Police training:
The action to ban police from training at our facility was not taken lightly. While we have every respect for the difficulties front line police encounter, and identify the need for arms training, Police management needs to seriously wake-up. After a quite brief discussion it was an easy decision and the committee voted unanimously to the 'ban' and cancel all Police bookings.
A few days after the club's press release, club representatives met with the Wairarapa Area Commander Inspector Donna Howard and Arms Training Sergeant Mike Kiri. The ensuing discussion was quite positive and Inspector Howard gave an assurance she would be reporting our concerns to her superiors.
As an act of good faith the WPSSC reinstated the first of four cancelled training days but advised Police we would review any progress prior to a decision on the three days booked (cancelled) in April. As of today the club is yet to receive a response from the Commissioner's Office!
I visited the range when police were training and spoke to Sergeant Kiri to reiterate 'Our actions are not directed at front line Police”. He said “They (indicating to all staff present on the range) all know that”.
Our action has received tremendous support and been applauded by many other shooting clubs. Within hours of the WPSSC press release their were many supportive comments on overseas firearm forums and comments from some regretting they had not taken similar action when their rights were threatened.
Police management and Politicians alike, are hopefully waking up to the fact it is not an easy task to find a suitable location to build a range, land is not cheap, the required consents and council approvals are difficult to obtain and it is a prolonged process, logistics, travel expenses, accommodation, and government funding etc., create obstacles they do not presently encounter while they have use of the many club ranges around the country where front line police train.
As mentioned in the past, “Shooting is fast becoming a privilege rather than a right”. Likewise, Police management and Government need to wake up to the fact that the use of Gun Club facilities is a “privilege and not aRight”.
Anyone wishing to discuss the WPSSC's 'ban on police using our range for training purposes', are welcome to attend the committee meeting at the club room 7 pm, Wednesday 29th March.
Warm Barrels
GARY
OTHER NEWS:
On the Range: please remember that members (committee included) go to the club to engage in activities, have a plink, test re-loads, sight in a rifle etc and often have limited time to do so.
In the interests of keeping this a positive environment in which one can relax and enjoy, please refer club politics to a monthly committee meeting. Meetings are well advertised, and all members are welcome to attend. Here views can be expressed in a controlled manner and steps taken to resolve issues in good time.
Safety on Range 6: Please note that if you are on Range 6, & need to go downrange (for whatever reason) after closing the range, place the orange "Range Closed" cone in front of the firing point to advise anyone coming to the range. There has been one occasion where a person was observed (in time, & safety) emerging from the bush downrange before shooting was to commence.
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IPSC: Phil Dunlop
PNZ training manuals: hard copies of the General Coaching Skills Manual were recently ordered and are available. FYI, manuals for all disciplines are available on-line at: http://www.pistolnz.org.nz/training.aspx.
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$$$ BUY, SELL, SWAP $$$
For sale
Brass, all once fired:
250 x .223 $25
300 x 9mm $25
357 brass $20 per box of 50 (when available)
Limit: one bag of each to club members only.
See Gary at range or email skoota5@gmail.com
You can pay using online banking; please use your surname and a reference e.g. .223 brass
Club a/c 030687 0313678 00
OTHER ITEMS:
Send any photos and descriptions for Bullet-In either via email (preferable) or post to :
- The Secretary, WPSSC, P. O. Box 175 Carterton 5743.
The Club version is on the WPSSC Trading Post page, including details of projectiles from Terry Kerrigan.
Pistol NZ also have an on-line Buy Sell Swap system operating on their website; click their 'Trading Post' button for instructions and items.
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Section Activities:
The Range schedule and Section Directors info' is published on the website.
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(you are required to produce your firearms license,
AND contact the armourers if you require ammo' to be brought to the range)
- Roger Castle (06 306 9453) for 20 and 12 gauge shot gun ammo
- Andrew McGlone has .22, 9mm, .223 and 12 gauge
Chamber flags are also available – remember, the club requires you to have and to use them.![]()
Range Schedule
For details and changes, check the range schedule from the website ; copying it has problems in that things change, and when the schedule is printed, members end up with out of date info.
So, the basic range schedule is as detailed below. You don't even have to log on to see it!!!
(Basic) RANGE SCHEDULE:
| First Saturday |
Simulated Game Bird
IPSC |
| First Sunday |
Can be Multigun, Service Rifle or other (e.g. Jungle lane shotgun or .22 rifle) |
| Second Sunday |
CAS
ISSF (Service Pistol) |
| Third Saturday |
Simulated Game Bird |
| Third Sunday |
3-Gun |
Fourth Sunday
Fifth Sunday
|
Speed Steel & CAS training on R1 & R2
As negotiated with/advised by committee |