Promoting Conservation and the Shooting Sports in North Iowa Since 1968

April 2009 Monthly Newsletter

I want to thank all the volunteers that worked the gun show. We had an excellent show and it is all thanks to the volunteers that pulled together and worked hard. This is basically the only fund raiser the club has thru the year.

We had a record attendance for Saturday and not too bad for Sunday with the weather that was forecast. The concessions didn't do as well as we expected - but not too bad for the first time. It was a lot of work in the kitchen, but we sure had a good time.

The outdoor range came thru the winter in fine shape. The road into the range is a little soft, but please stay on the road because the ground on either side is even softer.

We will have the range clean up the same weekends as in the past - April 25th & 26th and May 2nd & 3rd. Projects for this year include the usual picking up and burning and cleaning up some of the construction materials off the hill, pouring the cement under the 100 yard cover, setting the forms and pouring the cement for the sign in - sign out structure and if there is time we will continue the renovation of the club house.

We will be holding a range orientation after April's meeting and all club meetings here after. We will be moving our meetings to the outdoor range in May.

Steve Hays

This summer we will be offering a metallic silhouette league. Matches will be held on the 2nd Saturday of the month, June thru September at around 1:30 pm . There will be a $5 fee to cover expenses and prizes.
Metallic silhouette is descended from an old Mexican sport, dating to the early 1800's, where live game animals were staked out at varying distances as targets. By 1948, metal cutouts of the animals were used instead of live animals.
A rim-fire silhouette match is fired at metal targets of, chickens, at 40 meters, pigs, at 60 meters, turkeys, at 77 meters and rams, at 100 meters .Contestants have 2 1/2 minutes to shoot each bank of 5 targets. There are 40 metal targets in all. To score a hit the target must be knocked off its stand. Each group of targets must be shot left to right, if the first target is missed, then the next shot is taken at the next target. Any target hit out of order is considered a miss. Shooters are allowed a spotter who watches where the shots land and advises the shooter on corrections.
All shooting is done from the standing position. There are some specifics describing the rifle and ammunition used. For the most part any .22 rifle weighing less than 10 lb with scope, a trigger pull of greater than 2 lb, with a magazine that will hold 5 rounds will work. Exact details can be found on the NRA website under silhouette rules.
If you have questions, or want more info please contact: Matt Smith 641-454-2384 (Home). 641-421-1811 (office) or Andy Hill. 641-430-2012.

Matt Smith