Entries are slowly filling up the roster for the Overlord Memorial Cup Regional NRA Action Pistol Championship and the Cardinal Cup Va State NRA Action Pistol Championship matches at the end of September.  Get your entries in before the September 8^th deadline if you plan to shoot with us in case we fill up as has happened in the past with some shooters being turned away.  These are the largest AP matches east of the Mississippi and the third largest in the U.S.

   The prize tables will be visited by random drawing, so everyone has a chance at the "good stuff".  Anticipated prizes will exceed $10,000 with over half that already received.

   Work was needed on B range (Practical/Bullseye/Rimfire Benchrest) due to "bullet erosion" on the crossties from Bullseye and Rimfire Benchrest matches.  The replacement of those was projected to take 2 days to complete and the range was originally to be closed on August 19^th and 20^th.  More volunteers than anticipated showed up to get the work done!

   Due to the talent and commitment of John Vinblad, Jeff Bertrand, Gary Gallion, Steve Kalinski and Clark Spencer the "two day" project on range B of tearing down the old crossties and replacing with the new timber took five hours.  The crew worked diligently in the 95+ degree weather in order to complete the project.  The work is 95% complete with the need to allow the lumber to dry, seal it, and paint numbers on the designated the target areas before the matches next month.

   Thanks again for a job well done. 

{click on the date above for photos of the range work}

   The Summer shooting season is in full swing so here's an update on club involvement:  Action Pistol and Cowboy Action shooting are in full attendance even in the heat.  Skeet matches are getting a good level of shooters as are the other events being held by our club. 

   Several new applicants are being processed while we are in the transition period between June and August when dues are payable, and several members have taken advantage of becoming Life Members upon reaching the age of 70 and clearing a slot for new paying members.

   Plans are progressing for our annual State and Regional NRA Action Pistol events in September.  Different courses of fire are being used this year which has brought in some new competitors from the past participation lists.  Our hopes are to raise the numbers since this year we go back to NRA sanctioning for those events again.

   Range maintenance and upgrades are taking place over the Summer to accommodate newer events as suggestions arise and to keep us as a first-class range for the events that we host each year. 

   Some events have gone by the wayside due to lack of interest/participation, but new ones are being added over time.  Check here on our web site calendar for more info on those situations. 

   As new blood enters our ranks, new interests appear along with new/different events that are added to the shooting schedule which is updated on the first of each month after the meeting on the first Monday. 

   Steel Challenge is one of the newer events that have been added to the schedule on the second Sunday of each month.  Handguns are welcome at this event as well as Pistol Caliber Carbines.

   In the news now are the efforts to get the September Action Pistol matches Registered with the NRA.  This is being handled by 2 two of our top AP shooters, Greg Davis and Kevin Angstadt along with Melissa and Rob Wilson who volunteered to help coordinate the match duties along with Steve Kalinski handling personnel assignments as before.  We are in hopes that getting those events NRA "sanctioned" again will increase participation once again after the  failure in 2018 to draw the number of competitors who have shot here in the past without NRA Registration.

   Also, there are membership openings available again for the first time in a while after the members voted to drop the membership limit to 100 from 135.  This has been accomplished through attrition along with the aging of the membership.  Those over 70 who have been paying members for at least 5 years are now accorded the status of 'Honorary Life Membership",  don't count in the overall limit of 100 and no longer have to pay dues as an option.  As of this date there are openings for 4 new members.

   The next big events in the shooting community are the season opener for Action pistol on 2 March at our range and the ongoing Cowboy Action Matches that are on the first Sunday of each month year round, weather permitting.

   Starting in April, the Bullseye matches will begin again for the season on the second and fourth Thursday evenings @ 6:00 P.M.  Other events will be added to the calendar after the weather warms in the Spring and requests are made for more events during the monthly meetings.

   Two of our members, Kevin Angstadt and Greg Davis, participated at the World NRA Action Pistol Championship and the Bianchi Cup National Action Pistol Championship at Columbia, MO at the end of May finishing in 13th and 28th respectively at Bianchi.  In the World Championship, Kevin finished 3rd overall and both he and Greg were on the US Team that placed First.

   Three of our members, Kevin Angstadt, Ben Boyette and Greg Davis traveled to Chambersburg, PA to shoot at the NRA Action Pistol Regional and the Keystone Cup State Championship matches held on 21-22 July.  On the first day at the Regional match they finished 1st (Kevin), 4th (Greg), & 5th (Ben) in Centerfire and 2nd (Ben) in Rimfire.  The next day was a bit better in both sections as they swept the match with the top scores: 1st (Kevin),  2nd (Ben) & 3rd (Greg) overall in Centerfire and 1st (Ben) in Rimfire.

   This brings Kevin's career match wins at State, Regional and National levels to 90!  National wins include the Bianchi Cup and the New Zealand National Championship added to 88 State & Regional Championship events here in the US.  A record unequaled by any other NRA Action Pistol shooter in the world!  He travels the country shooting at nearly every available match, missing only the State & Regional events at Cheyenne, WY.  A shooting celebrity in our club and the world.

   Entries are coming in for our September Action Pistol matches and we're a bit over 25% full at this time (7-23-18).  Don't wait until the last minute to enter as you may get turned away as happened the last couple of years.  These matches have the 3rd largest participation in the country and the most east of the Mississippi.

 Three of our members fired at the Crawfish Cup in Lake Charles, Louisiana last month at their Regional NRA Action Pistol Regional Championship match. Scott Stump achieved first place in Marksman category. Kevin Angstadt won 2nd place in the Open/Rimfire Aggregate. Kevin & Ben Boyette had gun malfunctions in the Open category preventing higher scores in that division.

At present there is only one application in the process for new membership. Memberships will probably open in the summer as some drop out, making openings available by the August 29th deadline for dues.

Some BRRC members will participate in the Bianchi Cup National Action Pistol Championship match as well as the World Action Pistol Championship matches in Columbia, MO later this month.

Negotiations are still in the works for a Memorial Bench honoring Andy Krantz to be installed at the range in the next few months.

Match participation is running high with the events that we host. Our September Action Pistol events have been well received by the shooting community without the sanction of the NRA. USAMU has committed to shooting with us again this year as have shooters from Canada and Missouri.