"Bullet-In" club newsletter #290 for May 2016

FROM THE COMMITTEE: 

The next meeting of the new Committee will be at the range next Wednesday 25th May (last Wednesday of the month); all new members are encouraged to attend, & all members are welcome!  

PRESIDENT'S NOTES

The three gun nationals held at the WPSSC 28-30 April 20016 were a great success. Phil D has forwarded a report which is included below in this Bullet-In.

Earth works range 5 & 6: the weather remained favourable so the scheduled (extensive) earth works on range 6 went ahead as planned. The 20 ton digger, bull dozer, tipper truck and tractor with levelling bar made quick work of this rather large task resulting in minimum range closure. A large amount of spill was carted to fill the low area between the 50 and 100 meter mounds which will hopefully relieve the flooding issues. We now have four more ranges on range 6 with 2.5 meter dividing barrier mounds enabling these ranges to be used similtaniously. All mounds are at right angles and when in use all shooting will be directed toward the cliff.

This area has been totally tranformed providing far more versatility; capability to set more stages, run national matches, areas to conceil clay traps, a large parking area (if/when required) and overall a more usable/functional facility. There are pic's on the club web site, or better still visit the range and have a look.

Monday morning I learnt the digger was not require elsewhere as initially indicated, so after completing a little touch-up work on the 100 meter mound the landlord made good use of the machine and had the operator remove some problem willows from the river at the north end of the olive grove while I obtained committee approval and planned the earthworks for range 5 which commenced Tuesday morning. It took a little more and longer than anticipated to get the 50 meter range we hoped for but it was achieved. Once the terrace at the back was dug out, every meter back into the hill meant another 100 plus meters of spill to move. The safety walls left and right have been extended and should now qualify for range certification.

A huge thanks to those who turned up to assist and those who provided personal equipment to get the job done.

Committee: due to personal commitments two members have recently resigned their position as committee members. If you know anyone who can serve the club please forward their name to the secretary or myself. In particular, the clay section would benefit from having a member on the committee.

Financial: the club has spent quite an amount of coin over the past three months but it has been money well spent on improvements, stores and ammunition. We have a shed full of clays and heaps of club ammo on hand and new ear muffs. The clays and ammo is simply a debt the club carries until the dollars are retrieved through shoots, ammo' sales and corporate events.

Earmuffs: the recently purchased high vis. earmuffs had their inaugural outing at a recent corporate shoot. They looked a lot more professional and were more user friendly. The earmuffs are secure in the storeroom and although purchased mainly for corporate events are available to members. If you require the use of club earmuffs, see a committee member who will issue and record the fact you have muffs. Failure to return the muffs will result in a $40 invoice to that member and any not returned after a corporate shoot will result in the group being invoiced accordingly.

They are good quality high vis ear-muffs. Please treat them accoringly and do not leave them laying about in direct sunlight. After use, please return to a committee member who will record their return. A limited number of these earmuffs will soon be stored in a locked cabinet near the sigh-in table for club use.

Grumble Time: this portion of the column is prompted as the result of many comments expressed by the 'do-ers' in our club which have unfortunately become far more frequent of late so if this appears a little harsh, put yourself in my position as the recipient of these negative comments.

Observation: many members do not appear to realise or appreciate the work that goes into running the WPSSC. Some have the view or expect privileges and everything to be done for them because they pay a sub and simply front up, use the facilities or shoot the scheduled shoot and leave.

These people are usually the first to moan, bitch, criticise and complain, and the last, if ever, to help out, attend a working bee, participate in a clay 'pick-up', take the initiative and sort something, or come to a meeting to take part in the function of the club, put forward a view or suggestion.  Moan because the stapler is out of staples or there are no targets on the range, or some other trivial time and energy wasting complaint and appear content to complain rather than get off their 'A', rectify it, or ask a simple question such as “how can I help?”.

It is rather irritating for those who organise, run matches and corporate shoots, do the logistics, strive to improve and keep our club functioning at a high standard as well as improve our facilities, liaise with other clubs, PNZ, the Police, the council and remain a venue envied by many other clubs.

The secretary, treasurer and committee, along with the section directors and the dedicated few, work hard, (mostly & often in their own time, at their own expense), or sacrifice their shooting time to keep the club operating efficiently for all to enjoy.

These members often struggle to juggle personal life, work commitments etc to do a thankless task no-one else wanted or are prepared to take on, organise set-up and run corporate shoots, matches, order/receive supplies, liaise with the landlord, the farmer re stock, mow the lawns, spray the weeds, maintain the electric fences, replace/repair damage, build the toilet block, plan improvements and organise the same, replenish targets on the many ranges, order targets, purchase stationery, maintain the traps, put out for quotes on targets, ammo, clays, club guns, attend committee meetings etc and the list goes on..........

Constructive suggestion and action is far more fruitful so help out or suggest rather than complain or ignore. We all have a common interest in shooting no matter what your preferred discipline, whether you are a competitive shooter or a casual plinker.

If you haven't checked the white, club notice board, advised the secretary you are not receiving a news letter, familiarised yourself with and checked the club website or confirmed with a fellow member, and turn up only to find your event postponed or cancelled, don't make it a fruitless visit: at the very least make use of a portion of the time you have put aside for the shoot, take your blinkers off and have a look around and take note of what we have and try visualise what it took to acquire the materials, do the earth works, build our facilities and the man hours involved by volunteers to achieve this.

See what is happening in whatever shooting event is in progress, talk to the members involved and if you display interest chances are you will get a shot or three out of whatever is sending lead down range. Better still take a moment or two to read the notice board, empty a rubbish tin, check the water level in the hot water urn or put something back in it's place, check the gear for your particular discipline, clean the toilets, or the kitchen. Don't blame someone else or another discipline and bugger off in a huff because you failed to do a simple check and got it all so wrong thereby inconveniencing yourself.

The work-load for the do-ers seems to be increasing as they are expected (or left to) do more and more. So remember, there is no favouritism, dispensation, fuel vouchers, tool allowance, discount on subscription or privilege if you are one of the dedicated few or a committee member. We all pay a sub.

If this sounds like a complaint, bitch or a moan, you've got it. If it has hit a nerve then perhaps you need to up your game, have an input and stop relying on and leaving it all to others.

A classic example of one of the simple things that would make life so much easier for the few, and save time that could be spent more productively: glass bottles, tins, metal, drink cans do not burn so don't walk past the skip bin to throw them in the incinerator because it is easier or more convenient. Think about it?

Imagine if the 'do-ers' in the club suddenly stopped do-ing???

Two x 15 round mags have been purchased for the club Ruger 10/22 and are now availble.

The club has also ordered a good quantity of the CCI standard velocity .22 ammo.  Don't panic, we still have a few bricks in stock.  The last we could get and a price enabling us to hopefully (depending on whether we can arrange transport from Auckland) keep it at $50 a brick.

A couple of corporate shoot (tentative at this stage) bookings which we may need help for so keep your phone handy.

IPSC Nationals:Report from Phil Dunlop

It had been 12 years since the Wairarapa has hosted a 3 Gun Nationals but after a couple of North Island Champs, that all changed at the end of April when 42 shooters from all around the country descended on Gladstone for three days of challenging competition over 19 stages.

The shooting calendar is pretty full these days, so we were forced to take a late date in terms of the weather, but it turned out to be stunning, warm but not hot, and dry until the end.

The shooting was tough at times, but most people seemed happy with the match, though there were two disqualified for dangerous gun handling during the shotgun match. This was a timely reminder, handling guns, long or short at speed, under stress requires lots of practice and attention.

Our club was well represented with all four members getting places in the aggregate or individual matches.  Chris Robinson from Christchurch won the open tournament, and I was lucky enough to win Standard.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank the club for its support, for providing a fantastic facility for this event, and thanks too to all the members who contributed time to the setting up and running of the match, particularly, Pam, Bevan, Nikky, Brandon, Neville Eric and Lindsay.

I have applied to host the North Island pistol champs next year, and watch this space for New Zealand's first IPSC Rifle Champs at Gladstone in the spring.

Phil Dunlop

OTHER NOTES

Leaving the Range: when last leaving the range ensure all fence rails on ranges 1 & 2 are in place, lock/close all doors and gates and electric wires. There is a check-list on the outside wall beside the main door.  Don't assume all is secure. It doesn't take much time, thought or effort to do a final check prior to leaving.

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

10th World Action Pistol Championships need helpers!

Whangarei Pistol Club is proud to host this event and is seeking RO's, assistant ROs and helpers to attend. Match is to be conducted between 8th November to 11th November 2016 inclusive.  For details: http://www.wapc2016.com/index.php/the-event/ or WAPC 1st April 2016.pdf

$$$   BUY, SELL, SWAP $$$

Send any photos and descriptions for Bullet-In either via  email or post to
The Secretary, WPSSC, P. O. Box 175 Carterton 5743.

The Club version is on the WPSSC Trading Post  page. 

Pistol NZ also have an on-line Buy Sell Swap system operating on their website; click their 'Trading Post' button for instructions and items.

Section Activities:

The Range schedule and Section Directors info' is published on the website. 

• Speed Steel – Neville ;results: TBA
  

• Service Pistol & Rifle – Colin

• IPSC – Phil Dunlop (new email: phd121@hotmail.com) 

• Clay Target Results - (Brigitte); check the Shotgunners page
  

• Cowboy Action Shootin' – Eddie Henrard; T

• Roger Castle (06 306 9453) for 20 and 12 gauge shot gun ammo

• Ben Garrett currently 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 As negotiated with/advised by committee