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2016 Fall Newsletter

September 10th, 2016

Membership Meetings

Meetings are held the 3rd Monday of the month. Please try to attend & offer your voice & ideas. This is your club! Meet your fellow enthusiasts. Next meetings: 9/19, 10/17, 11/21, 12/19 @ 7:30 pm. Come on an empty stomach, there is always a good meal afterwards. $2 beers!! 50/50 raffle!!

Fund Raiser: $5 Gun Raffle

Mike Brown has volunteered to be chairman of our $5 Gun Raffle. Should you have any questions or need tickets his number is 548-4940. Tickets should always be available at the club. Tickets are now available for our drawing to be held on November 21st. First prize is a 243 Winchester Bolt Action or $500 cash. Second and third prizes are $50 and $25 respectively. Profits benefit DEC Camp and building maintenance. Only 500 tickets are available. So let’s try and sell them all.

Membership

Hopefully everyone has received their dues invoices and dues are paid up. If you haven’t received your notice please contact Dave Brooks at 649-8762.
Membership applications can be printed from the BVCS web site http://bostonvalleycs.com. Dave Brooks, our membership chairman, may be reached at 649-8792 or email at daveb45cal[at]yahoo[dot]com.

What's happening @ your club?

Pistol

Our fall House Pistol League begins on Thursday, September 29th. As usual, there will be three relays; 6pm, 7pm, and 8pm. Please see the complete schedule at the end of the Newsletter.

Open Pistol Shooting

Tuesday nights; doors open @ 7pm. Members’ range fee is $4 and nonmembers’ fee is $8 per night. All are welcome but we encourage frequent non-members to become members and support the club. Please be aware that non-members must fill out a one-time waiver. Forms are on hand at the range.

Trap League

Fall trap? Are you serious? It's still in the high 80's, with very high humidity suited to summer shooting. Alas, it is September & actual fall is only 2 weeks away, so follow through we must! 3 weeks into the league there are 32 shooters, so far, compared to 41 for the fall league last year, with hopefully more to follow. All shooters have until the 22nd of Sept. to sign up for our league. Things have gone fairly well so far with enough of the weekly faithful coming out to keep the well oiled machine we call the BVCS trap program running with only minor distractions. Thank you to those people! As stated earlier, there is still time to get involved. Thanks; Trap Person.

Suburban Pistol

We’ll be starting again on Wednesday, October 5th. The complete schedule can be found at the end of the Newsletter.

BVCS Light Rifle & Heavy Rifle Matches

Spring 2017 Schedule, Matches using .22 cal rim fire rifles & air rifles.

Shooting position is off-hand standing with the target 50 feet.
The sport is designed so that expensive special equipment is NOT required.
It is possible to be competitive with equipment you may already own.
There is a maximum weight on scoped or open sight guns of 8.5 pounds for
Light Rifle, any heavier would be considered Heavy Rifle.
We will have 2 classes of competitors: Light Rifle & Heavy Rifle.
Slings or other devices that provide artificial support are not allowed.
A match consists of one completed target with 30 record shots per target.
Each target has two sighter targets & ten record targets with three shots on each.
Shooters are given 5 min.for sighters.
Shooters are given 40 min.for record shots on 10 bulls.
Target used is the NRA Official Light Rifle Target A-32 (2 together)
A perfect match score is 300.
Registration and a one time weigh in of each rifle is required before shooting the matches.
Cost per match is $4.00 ( paid before shooting )
A prepay $40.00 for 8 matches to secure a time slot and range position is available. Any additional scores would be $4.00
You may shoot ahead or behind for all dates.
You may shoot unlimited matches & your top 8 scores will be for record.
Prizes based on number of competitors.
Pizza Party : April 19th after the matches

MATCH DATES:

MARCH: 1,8,15,22,29 APRIL: 5,13,19

Relays : 6pm, 7pm, 8pm

REMINDER: non-members MUST sign insurance waiver forms REMINDER: you may compete in BOTH Light & Heavy Rifle matches but required to pay $4.00 for each match REMINDER: shooting positions are on a first come paid basis unless you are a prepay $40.00 for 8 weeks reserving a time slot and range position. ANY questions call : Jerry or Betty Dobson at 867-4814

Air Pistol

The 2016 air pistol began on Wednesdays in August. Air Pistol League times will be relays at 6 pm, 7 pm, and 8 pm. Also, a prepay of $40 will secure a time slot and range position for the 8 weeks. Walk in is still $4 but only the 6 pm and 8 pm are available at this time. Cost is $4 per relay. Pellets are available to purchase as needed. If you need to borrow an air pistol please call prior to the match, 867-4814. Distance is 33 feet. After sighter shots, 40 shots are taken for the record. Dates are as follows: Aug. 3, 10, 17, 24, 31 Sept. 7, 14, 21 Pizza party will be held after the match on Sept. 21st.

2017 Schedule *Relay starts at 6pm, 7pm, 8pm on Wednesdays

Cost is $4.00 to shoot per score
A prepay $40.00 for 8 weeks will secure a time slot and range position
Any additional scores would be $4.00 ( unlimited shoots- top 8 scores used)
Pellets available to purchase as needed
If you need to borrow an air pistol ( call 1st) 867-4814
Distance is 33 feet. Sighters shots & 40 shots for record.
DATES: August. 2,9,16,23,30
September. 6,13,20 Pizza party after the matches on the 20th
Any questions call Jerry & Betty Dobson 867-4814

Young Guns

For information on Young Guns contact Howard Hoelscher at 649-3432.

2017 Lottery Calendar Raffle

Our new orange 2017 Calendars are available at the club. This is a fantastic fund raiser for the club and could even be better if we have a sellout. Calendars are a $20 donation with an opportunity to win every day in 2017. Your number may come in more than once. Winners are based on the PA evening 3 digit lottery number. You do not have to watch the numbers. Checks will automatically be mailed out at the end of each month. There will be an Early Bird drawing for paid tickets returned by November 10, 2016. They make great gifts.

Clubhouse Rental

The clubhouse will be used by one of our members on Friday, October 7th.

Website

We try to keep the website as current as possible. Please check it out as it has a calendar of events posted as well as the newsletter and other information. https://bostonvalleycs.com

The next Newsletter will be out in early January. The deadline for information will be December 31st, 2016. Please email information you would like to have published, or to add or remove your email address please email Mary Beth Rosiek at rosiek56[at]gmail[dot]com. Copies of the current Newsletter are available at the club or on the website.

S.C.O.P.E.

Erie County SCOPE Chapter holds monthly meetings every 3rd Thursday of the month. Meetings begin at 7pm at ‘The Chicken Coop’, VFW Post 8113, 299 Lydecker Rd. in West Seneca. Located at the intersection where East & West Rd. ends at Lydecker.

Erie County Chapter

Carl Leas Chairman carlpride[at]msn.com 716-656-0350

Herb Berry, Treasurer hsberry1[at]localnet.com 716-825-4174

Frain Boncore, Secretary frankboncore[at]hotmail.com 716-674-3523

Please show your support for your 2nd amendment rights with your membership to the NRA and SCOPE. There are many links through these organizations to support your gun rights. Be pro-active in contacting your politicians.

2016 Summer Newsletter

July 11th, 2016

Membership Meetings

Meetings are held the 3rd Monday of the month. Please try to attend & offer your voice & ideas. This is your club! Meet your fellow enthusiasts. Next meetings: 7/18, 8/15, 9/19, 10/17 @ 7:30 pm. Come on an empty stomach, there is always a good meal afterwards. $2 beers!! 50/50 raffle!!

Fund Raiser: $5 Gun Raffle

We are currently looking for a new Gun Raffle chairperson. If anyone is interested, please let the board know at the next meeting. We would like to thank Jim Bugenhagen for his many years as chairman of the Gun Raffle. Jim will be glad to share his knowledge to the new chairperson.

Membership

Membership dues are coming due this month. Dave Brooks will have dues invoices at the next meeting on July 18th. It would save the club money as well as Dave’s time if members could be prepared to pay on July 18th. Those not present at the meeting will receive their dues invoices by mail. Please include your email address on your returned invoice so we may update all email addresses.
We have decided to run another membership drive beginning April 1st through July 31st. Dues for new members that currently belong to the NRA are $50. Non NRA members will need to add an additional $40 for their NRA membership.
Membership applications can be printed from the BVCS web site http://bostonvalleycs.com. Dave Brooks, our membership chairman, may be reached at 649-8792 or email at daveb45cal[at]yahoo[dot]com.

What's happening @ your club?

Pistol

With enough participation we are looking forward to our Fall Pistol League beginning in September. More information will be posted in the fall Newsletters.

Trap League

The Doubles League is in the 5th week with 1 more remaining. We have 7 shooters for the doubles league. This has been the average amount for the past few doubles leagues with some practice shooters also participating. At the conclusion of 6 weeks, there will be a pizza & wings party for paid up shooters. The B.V.C.S. Fall Trap League will begin on August 21st & run for 10 weeks. Shooting sign up times will be Sundays; 9:00 am - 12:00 noon & Thursdays 6:00 pm - 8:00 pm. We hope to see some new shooters along with the regulars. I would like to thank those that make the Trap Chairman's job much easier by being there week after week & doing the bulk of the labor. John Mentlewski, Dave Gwynn, Bob Schneider, Jim Gamel, Dave Smith, Dave Bortel, Dave Plaza & anyone else not afraid to get their hands dirty. Trap Person; Ernie.

Suburban Pistol

We’ll start back up in September. More information and schedules will be posted in the fall Newsletter.

Open Pistol Shooting

Tuesday nights; doors open @ 7pm. Members’ range fee is $3 and nonmembers’ fee is $7 per night. Due to increased costs, beginning in September, range fees will increase by $1 ($4 and $8 accordingly). All are welcome but we encourage frequent non-members to become members and support the club. Please be aware that non-members must fill out a one-time waiver. Forms are on hand at the range.

BVCS Light Rifle & Heavy Rifle Matches

.22/air riffle matches will resume next spring. Stay tuned for more information. Questions? Contact Jerry or Betty Dobson 867-4814.

Air Pistol

The 2016 air pistol schedule will begin on Wednesdays in August. Relays start at 7 pm. Cost is $4 per relay. Pellets are available to purchase as needed. If you need to borrow an air pistol please call prior to the match, 867-4814. Distance is 33 feet. After sighter shots, 40 shots are taken for the record. Dates are as follows: Aug. 3, 10, 17, 24, 31 Sept. 7, 14, 21 Pizza party will be held after the match on Sept. 21st. Any questions call Jerry & Betty Dobson 867-4814.

Young Guns

For information on Young Guns contact Howard Hoelscher at 649-3432.

Website

We try to keep the website as current as possible. Please check it out as it has a calendar of events posted as well as the newsletter and other information. https://bostonvalleycs.com

The next Newsletter will be out in early September. The deadline for information will be Sept. 1st, 2016. Please email information you would like to have published, or to add or remove your email address please email Mary Beth Rosiek at rosiek56[at]gmail[dot]com. Copies of the current Newsletter are available at the club or on the website.

S.C.O.P.E.

Erie County Chapter

Carl Leas Chairman carlpride[at]msn.com 716-656-0350

Herb Berry, Treasurer hsberry1[at]localnet.com 716-825-4174

Frain Boncore, Secretary frankboncore[at]hotmail.com 716-674-3523

2016 Spring Newsletter

April 14th, 2016

Membership Meetings

Meetings are held the 3rd Monday of the month. Please try to attend & offer your voice & ideas. This is your club! Meet your fellow enthusiasts. Next meetings: 4/18, 5/16, 6/20, 7/18 @ 7:30 pm. Come on an empty stomach, there is always a good meal afterwards. $2 beers!! 50/50 raffle!!

Fund Raiser: $5 Gun Raffle

Gun raffle tickets are available at the club or contact Jim Bugenhagen at 200-3466. The raffle will be held May 16th at our membership meeting. First prize is the SCOPE 50 year anniversary Remington 870 20 ga. or $500 cash. Second prize is $50 and third prize is $25. Only 500 tickets are to be sold. Please be sure to return all unsold tickets to the club by May 16th.

Membership

We have decided to run another membership drive beginning April 1st through July 31st. Dues for new members that currently belong to the NRA are $50. Non NRA members will need to add an additional $40 for their NRA membership.
Membership applications can be printed from the BVCS web site http://bostonvalleycs.com. Dave Brooks, our membership chairman, may be reached at 649-8792 or email at daveb45cal[at]yahoo[dot]com.

What's happening @ your club?

Pistol

With enough participation we are looking forward to our Fall Pistol League beginning in September. More information will be posted in future Newsletters.

Trap League

Spring trap started March 20th. The 3rd week started April 10th. Since that time we have had only 3 days of decent shooting weather. This, up until now has kept attendance pretty low. With the coming of better weather the week of. April 11th and on, hopefully things will pick up. There is still much time left to come out and participate. A shooter has until April 28th to catch up all of their needed scores. As always, all are welcome to participate at any time, league, practice, or help out when needed. THANX; Trap Person.

Suburban Pistol

Our league ended in March. We should have final results at our April meeting. We’ll start back up in September. More information and schedules will be posted in future Newsletters.

Open Pistol Shooting

Tuesday nights; doors open @ 7pm. Members’ range fee is $3 and nonmembers’ fee is $7 per night. All are welcome but we encourage frequent non-members to become members and support the club. Please be aware that non-members must fill out a one-time waiver. Forms are on hand at the range.

BVCS Light Rifle & Heavy Rifle Matches

Spring matches are under way with one remaining match on April 20th. Questions? Contact Jerry or Betty Dobson 867-4814.

Air Pistol

Young Guns

For information on Young Guns contact Howard Hoelscher at 649-3432.

Website

We try to keep the website as current as possible. Please check it out as it has a calendar of events posted as well as the newsletter and other information. https://bostonvalleycs.com

The next Newsletter will be out in mid April. The deadline for information will be July 8th, 2016. Please email information you would like to have published, or to add or remove your email address please email Mary Beth Rosiek at rosiek56[at]gmail[dot]com. Copies of the current Newsletter are available at the club or on the website.

S.C.O.P.E.

Erie County Chapter

Carl Leas Chairman carlpride[at]msn.com 716-656-0350

Herb Berry, Treasurer hsberry1[at]localnet.com 716-825-4174

Frain Boncore, Secretary frankboncore[at]hotmail.com 716-674-3523

2016 Winter Newsletter

January 1st, 2016

Annual Installation Dinner and Chinese Auction

Cocktails at 6pm, dinner at 7pm
Cost; only $10 per person
Contact Jim Bugenhagen for reservations and tickets at 200-3466
We need to have a final count by Monday, January 11th
Chinese auction items may be brought to the club on Friday, January 15th or contact Rich Hoellig at 668-1852
Work party to set up for the dinner; Friday, January 15th at 6pm - Volunteers needed
Dessert donations are welcome the night of the dinner
This year the board decided on food from Three Star Restaurant. our menu will include baked chicken and roast pork, penne pasta with red sauce, red roasted potatoes, green beans with almonds, chef salad, rolls, and butter.

Membership Meetings

Meetings are held the 3rd Monday of the month. Please try to attend & offer your voice & ideas. This is your club! Meet your fellow enthusiasts. Next meetings: 1/8, 2/15, 3/21, and 4/18 @ 7:30 pm. Come on an empty stomach, there is always a good meal afterwards. $2 beers!! 50/50 raffle!!

Fund Raiser: $5 Gun Raffle

Stay tuned for more information on the next gun raffle.

Membership

Membership applications can be printed from the BVCS web site http://bostonvalleycs.com. Dave Brooks, our membership chairman, may be reached at 649-8792 or email at daveb45cal[at]yahoo[dot]com.

What's happening @ your club?

Please welcome Poncho Gonzalez

As our newest board member and Club President. Poncho could use all of our help through the transition since he has large boots to fill by outgoing president Jim Bugenhagen. A special thanks to both of these gentlemen; Poncho for stepping up to the position and to Jim for his years of hard work and dedication to the operation of the club. Jim has graciously offered to continue assisting in the many tasks required to run our club.

2016 Calendar Sale Fundraiser

As of the last report, it looks as though we may have topped our last year’s calendar raffle sale. A final tally should be available for our January meeting. Thank you to Dave Karb for chairing this fund raiser and to his assistant Jerry Jensen Sr.

Pistol

Our winter league will begin on Thursday, Jan.14th at 6 pm. It’s a fun league with 3 relays per evening with a make-up night at the end. Please come out and have fun and support your club. Members and nonmembers are welcome. Please see Cliff’s flyer and schedule at the end of the Newsletter.

Trap League

Our trap season started on 22 March, 2015 and ended on 25 October, 2015. The trap committee and helpers spent 50 plus days serving shooters in 4 leagues, unloading targets, moving targets to the houses and maintenance. During this time frame, our club threw approximately 29,000 targets. I would like at this time to thank all of those that helped and those that supported the trap program. We expect to begin next season on 20 March, 2016, hopefully to good weather and an abundance of shooters.

Suburban Pistol

Our new season began on Wednesday, October 7th. This is a .22 caliber competitive league against other clubs. Whether home or away is on the schedule we always shoot at Boston Valley. This is also a handicapped league so all shooters of every level are important. New shooters are always welcome and encouraged. Please see the schedule at the end of the Newsletter.

Open Pistol Shooting

BVCS Light Rifle & Heavy Rifle Matches

.22 caliber rim fire rifles & air rifles may be used. The league begins March 2, 2016. Please see the complete information and schedule at the end of the Newsletter. Questions? Contact Jerry or Betty Dobson 867-4814.

John Battershell has taken the time to write a letter regarding his experience with the above .22 rifle league. Please take the time to read it. You will find it at the end of the Newsletter.

Air Pistol / Air Rifle

Young Guns

For information on Young Guns contact Howard Hoelscher at 649-3432.

Website

We try to keep the website as current as possible. Please check it out as it has a calendar of events posted as well as the newsletter and other information. https://bostonvalleycs.com/

The next Newsletter will be out in mid April. The deadline for information will be April 8, 2016. Please email information you would like to have published, or to add or remove your email address please email Mary Beth Rosiek at rosiek56[at]gmail[dot]com. Copies of the current Newsletter are available at the club or on the website.

Ceiling Tile Replacement

With the job now completed, we hope to have a very minimal amount of accidental holes in the new tiles. Unfortunately, there are a few already. More than likely these are caused by inexperienced shooters. Although we do not want to discourage any new shooters, plans are being developed to restrict members from using the range until they have completed instructional training. Members are responsible for their guests. More information on new range use rules to follow. We all know that accidents can happen, and as long as they are always down range and no one is injured, tiles and lights are somewhat trivial.

S.C.O.P.E.

Rumor has it that we may have met our goal of 50 new or renewal SCOPE members. If so, we will be eligible for a Remington shotgun to be used for a gun raffle. Each person that signed up during this promotion will automatically be entered into the raffle. Thanks to Dave Bunn for his diligent work to promote this drive. All fire arm owners should be members of SCOPE as this organization fights aggressively for our rights in NYS.

Erie County Chapter

Carl Leas Chairman carlpride[at]msn.com 716-656-0350

Herb Berry, Treasurer hsberry1[at]localnet.com 716-825-4174

Frain Boncore, Secretary frankboncore[at]hotmail.com 716-674-3523

2016 Winter Pistol League

DEAR PISTOL SHOOTERS,

I AM PLANNING ON STARTING THE WINTER LEAGUE JANUARY 14, 2016 THE FIRST RELAY BEGINNING AT 6 P.M., A SECOND STARTING AT 7 P.M. AND A THIRD RELAY STARTING AT 8 P.M. TUESDAY WILL BE OPEN SHOOTING ONLY WITH THURSDAY RESERVED FOR LEAGUE SHOOTING. EACH WEEK TWO NATIONAL MATCHES PER RELAY WILL BE SHOT FOR SCORE AT THE 25 YARD LINE. YOU CAN SHOOT ONE GUN (22 CAL.) OR TWO GUNS (22 CAL. AND C.F.) FOR A SCORE EACH WEEK. COME OUT, HAVE FUN AND SHOOT THE LEAGUE. IT WILL BE GREAT TO SEE YOU AGAIN.

IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS, PLEASE FEEL FREE TO CALL ME AT 337-3555 or E-mail cwfjr45[at]gmail[dot]com

CLIFF

John Battershell: My family experience in the .22 sporting rifle league.

Good afternoon, I am John Battershell. Some of you may know me, some probably not. I am a relatively new member at BVCS but am becoming increasingly active. I have two sons and a Daughter with my Wife Lisa. My Sons Alex and Adam have been coming up to the club on Wednesday evenings to compete in the friendly 22 sporting rifle league hosted by Betty and Jerry Dobson. We have been coming the past three seasons. I thought it would be appropriate, with the new season approaching, to offer up my experiences and some things I have learned and helpful ideas to pass on to anyone thinking about this fun league.

First off, let me start with saying that what Betty has repeated often, this is a fun shoot without serious pressure. The only competition really should be with yourself and trying to improve your own shooting. Simply going through the 8 week league will make you a better shooter for offhand shooting.

Yes, this shoot is standing offhand without any support. Slings are also not allowed. The distance is only 50 feet and the target was designed by the NRA for sporting rifles. It is a relatively generous target compared to what Olympic and other national shooters would use. Although that is not to say it will challenge you. It is not easy to get 9's and 10's on a regular basis and the majority of the shooters are generally getting 7's, 8's some 9's and an occasional 10. But all shooting are having fun IMO.

I would like to talk a little about equipment needed and the bare minimums. Basically, any 22 rifle is allowed. It can be a repeater like a ruger 10/22 or such or it can be a bolt gun like a savage, marlin, ruger, Winchester, CZ or such. Also, any sight is allowed. You can shoot old school with peep sights like I and a few others do, or mount a scope (any magnification) or a red dot. Saying that, if you are just beginning to shoot or want to try this for the first time, I would recommend a scope of 4 power or higher. 9 power is about perfect for most all shooters so many of the common 3x9 power scopes work out great. If you are looking to buy a new scope, I recommend finding one with an adjustable Objective. That allows you to focus the scope for the exact distance we shoot and the cross hairs and the target can be made to be in perfect focus. Ask Poncho how much better his shooting experience is with an adjustable objective scope.

You might wonder how accurate your rifle must be to be competitive. Well, for this target at 50feet, I don't know if there is a rifle out there that cannot put all shots into the 10 ring if shot from a rest. What that means is essentially, every rifle out there, unless damaged or really dirty, can put the shots into the bull. While the rifle you have can do that, it is up the shooter to make it happen and is why it is challenging. But I think it isn't too frustrating knowing that the rifle can be accurate and that missed shots are your fault. It is more frustrating for me if I don't think the rifle is capable and therefore missed shots are not known if it was you or the rifle.

For me and my sons, we started shooting our ruger 10/22's. Although they were modified with aftermarket barrels and some trigger work, they were still 10/22's. We have gravitated towards bolt action rifles for a couple reasons that we found we liked. The bolt action rifles we bought, CZ-452's, were heavier than the Ruger's and therefore, felt a bit steadier in the offhand shooting position. But also, the boys and I enjoy the working of the bolt and the slower pace that comes with operating a bolt action rifle. Let me expand on that last thought. When shooting a repeating rifle, it is often too easy to take multiple shots during your hold. As in, we would pick up the rifle intending to shoot one shot, but after the first shot, we decide to take another or even a third before putting the rifle down to take a rest. That sure can get you through the match quick but is not the best for getting your best score. It is simply too tiring for you to hold the rifle the steadiest for that long of a hold. As your muscles start to get slightly tired while holding the rifle, your steadiness begins to deteriorate. A little at first, so slight that you might not notice, but then more unsteady as the seconds add up. So the first shot will be your best and the second or third, not as good as possible. I will call this my first real shooting tip of this article and that is to take your time and rest the rifle on the bench between each shot. You don't have to put it all the way down, just rest the weight of the muzzle on the table and take some deep breaths. Don’t think about the last shot; just concentrate on trying to make a good next shot. That last shot is history and cannot be taken back, all you can do is try and make a good next shot.

This slowing down was something I had to work with my sons on. And it is not limited to young adults either. Anyone, including me, can get caught up in trying to go too fast. I caught myself in our first season taking two shots per hold with the auto loading 10/22. But that second shot was rarely better than the first one. So I spent one on one time with each son getting them to be calm, go slow, take some deep breaths in-between shots and if need be, don't take a shot if you haven't done so in 10 seconds or so. Meaning, if after you shoulder the rifle, you haven't got the shot off in say 10 seconds, put the rifle down to take a rest and try again. After 10 seconds, your hold and steadiness is not going to improve but only get worse. You will be the best in the first 10 seconds. Again that is why taking more than one shot per hold isn't wise. Once they got this habit of going slow ingrained, their scores improved once again.

We also concentrate a ton, and I mean a ton, on trigger control. This second tip cannot be understated. In short, each shot you take should surprise you when it goes off. You should never try to pull the trigger and try to pop it into the bullseye. That just doesn't work and a quick trigger pull will always pull the rifle off target. What you want to do is concentrate on the target and try your best to make your wiggle as small as possible while simultaneously going for the slowest/gentlest trigger pull you can so that it goes off surprising you. The absolute best shots on a regular basis are the ones when you don't know exactly when the rifle will shoot. You are just holding it as steady as possible on the target as best you can and then pop!, it goes off. Once you have got into the habit of taking your time, now you concentrate on a gentle trigger pull which surprises you each time. This was the second most important skill my sons learned and propelled them into 2nd and third place last year.

On the subject of triggers, that is an area of your rifle that if upgraded, will give you the best ""bang"" for your buck. I have turned into a trigger snob (as are my sons now), because once you get a chance to shoot a rifle with a good trigger, you will not want to go back to your stock factory trigger. A light and crisp trigger allows you to make that surprise shot release easier with less effort. Less effort usually means less wiggling to the rifle during the shot. The ruger 10/22 is very easy to upgrade the trigger from a quite heavy stock trigger to a very nice crisp trigger for as little as $35 plus shipping. Look up Brimstone triggers, www.brimstonegunsmithing.com, and his Tier 3 trigger is just $35. I had his tier 2 trigger for $75 and was really great. The full meal deal is about $105 and is really a delight. We also upgraded our 10/22 triggers with drop in units from Kidd. His website is www.coolguyguns.com and anything from him is the best. Other guns can also get trigger upgrades in general and you just need to look up on Google what is available. Try www.rimfirecentral.com for a complete go to forum on 22 shooting.

We also decided to upgrade our stocks on our guns. Not because the stock one wasn't good, but because an aftermarket stock can improve the shooting experience and hold for offhand shooting. Pistol like grips often help in getting a better trigger pull. If you were to look at the top rifles from Anschutz, you would see all of them have a pistol type grip. It does help a bit and feels very comfortable. It will not make you a bullseye shooter all of a sudden, but if you want to improve your feel of the rifle and are willing to spend a little for a new stock, they are nice.

Another area I worked with for my sons was getting control of the emotions. During any shooting sport, or any sport for that matter, there will be times that you will be disappointed with your performance. Hitting a bad golf shot, missing the bird in trap, missing a foul shot in basketball, the list is endless. What you do with that frustration will set you apart from others. Not letting the frustration or disappoint control you is the key. Look, bad shots happen. You must learn to not get anxious and try to make up for the bad shot on the next shot. Your anxiety to get a good shot off will likely leave you with two bad shots to be mad about. You have to suck it up, take a deep breath or two, close your eyes maybe, and just think about the basics for the next shot. Keep calm and shoot on is my motto. And this is not easy to do, it's human nature to get upset at yourself. I like the sport as it helps me to continuously practice overcoming that natural tendency to get over anxious about things. The more I work on it, the better I get at it and that helps in other facets of life.

I certainly could write more and I probably will. I will say this with all honesty: I have several rifles that I have tuned up to be great shooters. I will let anyone shoot these at the league shoot so you can get an idea of what you might want to do for your own rifle. I have some scoped and another one with peeps if you want to try that sight option out. Please, just let me know by emailing me at jbdesigns@roadrunner.com and put bvcs 22 league in the title or something like that so I don't miss it. I have tricked out 10/22's and a couple other CZ-452 bolt action rifles.

I hope you found something helpful in this and look forward to see you at in march on Wednesdays.

Cheers, John.

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