President’s Message
(May 2018)
A small fire was discovered by two of our members that were performing maintenance on the low house 2 skeet machine. The fire was in the mulch under the stair case next to the fence on skeet field 3 and was extinguished immediately. The fire burned a small patch of mulch and the bottom tip of two fence boards. After some investigating, it was determined that it was not an electrical fire as the nearest power lines are about four feet away. Spontaneous combustion of the mulch was also ruled out. Therefore it is surmised that smoking material was thrown into the mulch and that it simmered for several hours before catching fire. Assuming that this assumption is correct, I caution all smokers to completely extinguish any smoking material and dispose of it in a proper manner. We dodge a bullet as the fire could have been much worse if it had not been discovered as early as it was.
In the near future the three skeet fields will be landscaped with additional dirt and seeding. The skeet fields will be closed when work begins and should only take a day or two to complete. I will let you know in advance when work starts.
The March 2018 election results were revealed at the annual meeting in March. I was reelected President, Al Perry was reelected Secretary, and Harley Shepherd, Terry VanDenBoom and Todd Hendrey were reelected Directors.
The annual spring cleanup on Saturday May 5 went well. I want to thank all of the members that gave of their time and effort to spruce up the club. Great job to all. Oh yeah, thanks to Larry Ohda for doing the cooking.
We will be organizing 5 stand shoots/events starting this spring. I will send an email detailing the dates and times for the events in the near future. The plan includes resuming shooting on Thursday evenings. If you haven’t tried this venue, I encourage you to come out and give it a try. It is a lot of fun and who knows you may get hooked.
We held our first hand gun shoot on April 28. The winners were: 1st Dan Retzer, 2nd Bill Shold, 3rd Caleb Davis. Congratulations gentlemen. Another handgun shoot is schedule for Saturday June 2 at 10 am. The rules for this shoot are as follows.
- Course of fire will be a modified PPC (practical pistol competition). Three stages of fire.
- First stage: At 7 yards shooter will fire 6 shots, reload and fire 6 more shots. Time is 25 seconds.
- Second stage: At 15 yards shooter will fire 6 shots, reload and fire 6 more shots. Time is 25 seconds.
- Third stage. At 25 yards shooter will fire 6 shots in 12 seconds.
- 30 total shots. Shooters will need 2 magazines or if a revolver is used a speed loader is required.
- This event is geared more towards concealed carry license holders so no 22 caliber handguns will be allowed to shoot for prize money. If someone wants to try this course with a 22 pistol for fun there is no charge.
- Shooters will use 2 hands and start with handgun on the bench.
- There is a 5 dollar entry fee and all money goes back to the shooters. 50% for first place, 30% for second place and 20% for third place.
The club has purchased a new gas grill and it is available for use by all members. Just be sure to keep it clean.
2018 Club Projects
- Skeet Fields Landscaping in process
2018 Club Events
- Vintage/other gun shoot – 6/23/18
- Silver Dollar Registered Skeet Shoot – 7/14 & 7/15
- Old Geezer Shoot – 8/8/18
- Landfill Lunch – 9/14/18
- Braggin Rights Shoot – 10/6/18
- Turkey Shoot – 11/10/18
Best Regards,
Sam Valenza
President, Rockford Skeet Club
Rockford Skeet Club Mission Statement
The Rockford Skeet Club’s objectives are to encourage organized target shooting; to forward the development of those characteristics of honesty, good fellowship, self-discipline, team-play, and self-reliance which are the essentials of good sportsmanship. It is the duty of all members to contribute to the wellbeing, to protect, to grow, and to enhance the club and its members now and in the future.