Jul/Aug - uspsa

Starting From Scratch,
Three Years Later
F
BY SETH NADEL, CL-89
our years ago, my wife and I
moved to the White Mountains
of northern Arizona.
They held everything we
., anted — great people, wide-open
spaces, wonderful climate. The only
thing missing was a USPSA club. So, as
reported here several years ago, we
started a club from scratch. We had no
host club, no infrastructure, no known
USPSA members. What we did have
was desire, experience, and a plan. The
desire came from shooting my first
practical (then called combat) match in
1971 and having been an active competitor
and range officer ever since.
The experience came from RO'ing at
six nationals and three World Shoots,
and shooting at innumerable clubs in,
and out of, the Unites States. My wife
is a CRO, while I reached the rank of
RM in 1984. I have also held every
board position in one of the several
clubs where I have been a member.
The plan called for advertising at
local gun shops and the local Elks gun
show, followed by an organizing meeting.
The plan worked, and we gained
enough members and USPSA members
to start the White Mountain Practical
Shooters (WMPS). On Oct. 28, 1999
we had our first match. With the assistance
of a former USPSA member who
re-upped, and a GUNSITE graduate,
we conducted a brief safety orientation
www.acc-u-rail.com
Doug Jones
2271 Star Court
Bldg. 4
Rochester Hills MI
"309
(248) 852-6490
and a few simple stages. For a place to
shoot we used a barrow pit on National
Forest land. We carried our targets,
stands, and our two crude props
in our 4-by-6 utility trailer. With the
backing of our local gun shop,
Hunter's Paradise, we had some seed
money to get started.
"For a place to shoot we used
a barrow pit on National Forest
land. We carried our targets,
stands, and our two
crude props in our 4-by-6 utility
trailer"
Time passed and our club grew. We
went from one match a month to two,
and as interest grew, donations started
to come in. Our largest donation to
date was the shooter who gave the club
a 20-by 8-foot utility trailer. A local
welder made up more target stands of
us, one of the shooters who works in
wood made up some barricades, and
membership and attendance grew. We
were given a 4-by-6-by-4-foot box,
which went on the trailer for target
storage, and I got my shed back!
After one year as a club, we hosted
a range officer seminar, graduating 16
new RO's. With the training came a
real increase in the quality of officiating
at our matches. As the officials became
more professional and comfortable,
the shooters became more relaxed
and there was a general increase
in the quality, of our shooting, with a
corresponding decrease in the number
of penalties issued per match. We have,
from the first day, emphasized safety.
As a result, there have been very few
DQ's in our history.
With increased attendance some
money came in, and the club bought
timers, clipboards, a water cooler, and
all the bits and pieces that make the
matches happen. In a calculated move,
my wife and I stepped down as secretary
and president to get others involved
on the administration side of
the club. We have also been working
with other club members, helping
them become match directors. Our
goal is to ensure that this club continues
by introducing other members into
all phases of the club operations.
We still shoot on National Forest
land, which means we do not charge
for our matches, but we do accept donations
(it is illegal to charge for use of
Federal land). The net result is we usually
collect more money than entry fees
would have been — we are still getting
donations. In fact one of our members
has developed and built a "pop up and
down" target system, and his latest creation
is a gravity operated lateral moving
target. His current project is a
"clamshell" target. He so enjoys 1PSC
shooting that his back yard is turning
into "Target Systems Are Us!"
Our membership, in a town of
about 10,000 year-round residents, is
around 50. Average match attendance
is about 30, including a few new shooters
as well as the regulars. We continue
to grow, although with any club there
are a few dropouts every year. We
hauled our gear to a new range in the
next county and ran a demo match for
a club that had never seen USPSA
shooting. Our success has led them to
organize their own USPSA club, and
they have invited us to run a third
match every month at their facility!
This is one of the benefits of working
out of a trailer — we have a USPSA
"road show!"
Our club has gained a bit of a reputation
as a friendly, outgoing bunch,
with a relaxed attitude toward competition.
Our group includes those shooting
carry guns, those preparing for ma-
Three Years Later, Continued on Page 76
FRONT SIGHT • July/August 2002