Hoosier Hills Rifle & Pistol Event - July 8, 2010 (Brown County)

[dr632]

Thank you in advance for your attention as we are trying to get the word out to potential guests in the immediate area beyond our current membership email list.

The Hoosier Hills Rifle & Pistol Club has organized a beginners introduction to active pistol shooting on July 8th starting at 6pm at the outdoor range in Gnawbone, Brown County off Moneto Road.

Details and a map are available on Hoosier Hills Rifle and Pistol Club or I can send them to your attention if needed. I can also post these details on INGO if it is allowed and appropriate.

Background. Many of our membership has expressed a desire to learn more about safety, basic equipment requirements, and basic pistol handling techniques with respect to active pistol shooting. July 8th will include a short introduction to these fundamentals with dry fire practice. Once everyone is comfortable with the concepts, we will go live with two USPSA style multiple target sets to reinforce these fundamentals. We will allow participants to shoot each set as many times as daylight will permit.

Requirements:
- Eyes & Ear Protection
- Pistol & 2-3 Magazines
- A USPSA Defined approved holster (one that securely holds your pistol and fully covers the trigger)
- Belt and Mag holder (the target sets will require speed/tactical reloads)
- 100 rounds (more if you wish to shoot the strings multiple times)

- A desire to learn, participate, and help others.

I'm not an officer of the club, but there is a nominal fee ( please don't hold me to this ... $5 or $6) to cover our clubs costs on targets, tape, etc.

The intent here is to help our local membership and any guests to understand safety rules, proper technique from the holster, cold range rule protocol, concept of safety table, etc. We will also help, as time permits, anyone with other questions and issues.

All that are interested are welcome to attend and participate.

Thank you for passing this along to anyone that you know has expressed a desire to GET STARTED and has no idea on who or where to go.

Regards. Dave.


May you have a blessed and great Independence Day Celebration.

You might consider taking a moment to give thanks for those that have given all so that we may enjoy these liberties and freedoms or perhaps even giving a call to a service person still among us to express your appreciation for their service.

 

[ar15_dude]

Sounds like good training, I plan to attend. Thanks.

 

[U.S. Patriot]

How did it go? I'm looking to join the Hoosier Hills Gun Club. When do you guys shoot at the indoor range? I would like to come and find out more information.

 

[nighthawk80]

It was great, very informative. I learned alot! Had some very good teachers.
Also learned that I just might like doing USPSA!

You can check out our website and come on out some Thursday evening. They are always having a different kind of shoot.

 

[dr632]

Thanks for those that attended.


We had 17 shooters and five RO's.

The thunderstorms moved through by 4:45 and we had plenty of time to set up the safety tables and the two stages designed to reinforce the evenings instruction.

The evening began with confirmation that every pistol was bagged, cleared, slide down/hammer down, and secured in their vehicle. A primary objective of the evening was safety and we wanted to make sure everyone understood the protocol required when arriving at any of our area ranges -- even when just headed out for practice.

We began with a review of the 4 safety rules.

Next we covered the basics of presentation (Modern Technique).

We made sure to carefully explain the safety table concept, 180 rule, cold range rules, and other prerequisites expected at any sanctioned match.

After some very good questions, everyone retrieved their pistols and went to one of the two safety tables to transition their pistol from the bag to the holster. We tried to help anyone with deficient equipment as best we could. Everyone ended up properly outfitted, at least from a safety perspective. A few had retention features on their holster and added unnecessary complexity for the evening, but in the end we managed.

Next, all the shooters formed a line facing downrange and our lead instructor reviewed the safety rules and presentation technique. The RO's stood behind the line and spread out so each RO could focus on 3 to 4 shooters. Within 15 minutes we had all the issues and questions worked out. This also provided an opportunity for the RO's to identify anyone that needed additional instruction or equipment fixes before we allowed shooters to retrieve their ammunition.

Once everyone was comfortable, we loaded our mags, put on our eyes & ears, and divided into two groups.

Stage 1. Six targets. Shooters were to engage T1, T2, and T3 from a 4'x4' box in any order, best two hits counted. T1-T3 ranged between 7 and 15 yards away from the shooting box. Then, shooter was to safely transition (about 20 feet) to a second box to engage T4, T5, and T6 in any order. We found a 2x4 frame that simulated a window and T4-T6 were engaged through this structure. A mag change was required between the two boxes. We introduced the concept of cover on T4 with a partially covered target painted black. Our shooters did well on this stage and as we expected muzzle control during the transition and reload illustrated more work is required by most.

Stage 2. From a 4'x4' box the shooter had all the steel poppers we could find in the shed looking at them (3 large, 2 small). T6 and T7 were placed to the right of the steel so a mag change was required. We introduced the concept of no-shoots on this stage with T6 having two white targets only exposing 6" of the center body mass. T6 also required precision as we were very generous with the distance between the shooting box and the placement of T6. I was not the RO on Stage 1 so I don't have any observations to share ... but who doesn't like laying down steel?

Once everyone shot each stage, we debriefed quickly. Those that needed to leave departed and the balance of the shooters were free to run the stages as many times as ammo and daylight permitted. It was very encouraging to see a few of the new shooters working hard on safety, muzzle control, and their presentation.

It was certainly a privilege to have this opportunity to help individuals advance their safety knowledge and pistol handling skills. I'd like to thank our Hoosier Hills Rifle & Pistol Club Officers for giving us the opportunity to offer this session. We are already at work laying out the venue for July 22nd at the outdoor range in Gnawbone on Camp Moneto Rd at 6pm.

Stay tuned for more details if you are interested.