Ridgway BPCR Newsletter
April 2016
In three short weeks it will be the start of the 2016 BPCR Silhouette season at the Ridgway Rifle Club. Come join us for the 40-shot match on April 24. Carolyn and I are looking forward to getting back down there, seeing old friends, meeting new friends, and hopefully tipping over some steel while we're at it.
2016 promises to be an exciting year. We'll be welcoming a few new competitors to the sport and welcoming back some who've not shot at Ridgway for a few years. With the club's help, we'll be making available 4 points in the center of the firing line for shooting from the seated position. We hope to have that done by May - stay tuned. I'll be doing some work at the 500 meter rams, to make it easier to see where one bank ends and the next starts. The chicken swingers will be attended to as well.
For those unfamiliar with the club, there is a fully equipped loading bench in the High Power club house. The range is always open for practice at least one day before the match, two if we get there soon enough. If you arrive early and bring your own components, you can do load testing at the range. There will be folks there willing to give you advice on what works and what doesn't. Try your ideas under actual range conditions! I'll have a Magnetospeed V-3 chronograph available. I'll also bring along my Hawkeye bore scope if you wish to check your cleaning regime. Practice is fun!
Match-Day Info
7:00-8:45 Registration
8:00-8:45 Sight-in
8:45 Mandatory shooters meeting
9:00 Match starts
Shoot is open to NRA and non-NRA members. Current NRA silhouette rules apply. 2016 NRA Silhouette Classification book required and may be purchased at the match. Entry fee of $25 (Junior Shooters $10).
See
www.ridgwayrifleclub.com for lodging options. Primitive camping (no hookups) at the range. Bring your lunch. Bottled water and coffee will be available.
Thoughts about the Eastern Nationals
I'm happy to have been given the opportunity by both the NRA and the Ridgway Rifle Club to host an event like the Eastern Nationals. I took a ride down to Ridgway the beginning of February as I wanted to attend the monthly club meeting. We spent some time talking about the Eastern National taking place in September. I'm pleased to say that the club is fully on board with the idea and willing to work to make it a great event for everyone involved.
Increasing interest and attendance in the Black Powder Silhouette sport has always been near and dear to my heart. When Carolyn and I first volunteered to be Match Directors it was to preserve the sport at Ridgway. For without a match director there would be no matches.
Our first year was a bit intimidating, much like opening a small business. We got through it with help from the folks shooting there. We made mistakes, we learned and we listened to the competitors. One of the things I kept hearing was how nice it would be to hold a National event at Ridgway. It made me chuckle to think about it, as we were mainly worried about making it through the season without dropping the ball too badly.
This news letter was Carolyn's idea, as was the survey we sent out early last year. We feel it's important to keep in touch with folks interested in shooting the matches at Ridgway. We made other changes such as drawing names for the prizes awarded. That idea came from a Master Class competitor and it was a great idea. We award a $25 Midway gift certificate to the most improved shooter at every match. For the National match, CPA rifles is building a 22 silhouette rifle. We'll have our other sponsors as well.
This match in September is very much a work in progress. It's new and different and "not the way things have always been done." I don't believe in copying failure and expecting success. Once it became my responsibility to run matches I decided I wasn't buying into that mindset. It's a self-fulfilling circle.
For as long as I can remember, most of what I've read in printed editorials and on various internet forums has been all doom and gloom about the decline and death of the sport we all love. I feel that taking the same amount of energy expended in tearing things down with negativity can be better utilized building things up.
See you at Ridgway!
Sincerely,
Craig Duncan
Match Director, Ridgway BPCR
45bpcr@gmail.com
603-434-5796 (weekdays)
603-845-9727 (cell)
Ridgway BPCR Silhouette Match Director, 19 Bowers Road, Derry, NH 03038