Small Group Schutzenfest

[Quoheleth]

I've been thinking about putting on a small-group shooting day at my local gun club for my elders at church, between 6-10 guys, depending on who can come. I've talked with the president of my gun club and he said he would be willing to work out the logistics of the event, including getting other club officers to be present as range & safety officers. Club rules mandate that guests all be registered guests, so we do have some logistic things to work out, i.e., getting additional guest passes.

But, I'm also thinking of what shooting events to have. I have guys who are pretty good shooters to novices, so I want three or four "events" that work up in skill level from basic to challenging. For simplicity's sake, I'm thinking "pistols/revolvers only" for this first time out and have two categories - rimfire and centerfire.

Event one would be a simple bulls-eye target.
Event two would be some kind of selective target - like last month's rimfire match of "playing cards" - you shoot the "hand" you want to play
Event three would be a smallest group target.
Event four would be a reactive target at a longer distance - steel plate, perhaps, at 25+ feet - for a "longest string of hits"
Event five would be some sort of long distance/timed event - a timed plate rack or clay pidgeon tree - successfully engege six targets the quickest.

All club rules would apply.
You may shoot any pistol you own.
I would bring some of my guns for others to use/try, but they provide the ammo.
Reloads would be allowed, but only the ammo maker can shoot them and only out of his gun.
Steel plate event will be lead bullets only.

So, two questions - one, do you think this is managable with 8 +/- guys for an afternoon's shoot?

Two, if so, what distance would you recommend for rimfire and centerfire? Do both at 7 yards? Ten yards? My range has a 50 yard pistol berm, so for the longer-range stuff, we can back it up a good distance.

A quick note about liability...The "sponsoring" of the event would be by the church/Office of the Pastor with a written waiver for my guests to not hold the chuch or me (Pastor) liable. Further, as registered guests, the club insurance is in effect for the men who participate.

Whatcha think?

Q

 

[GodGuns&Guitars]

Why limit it to just guys? We had an anti lady at the church that my brother and I finally convinced to go shoot. She now has her CHL and is such an avid shooter that she's become some what of a pain in the a$$. Well, maybe not that much of a pain, but she really loves her shooting now and is even in the stages of joining the NRA.

 

[NMGonzo]

I like the idea.

Playing cards @ 50 meters shoulder fired.

 

[Grey_Mana]

Depends on how good an organizer you are. For me, it would be easy to go too big too fast. Better to start small, something that will be successful and draw more people later, than to anger/scare folks somehow by a lack of planning.

For a mixed crowd, stick with rimfires. Everybody likes rimfires. Old time crack shots still like to shoot 22s. Less noise = more communication.

Shooting balloons (easy to make different sizes), colored paper/plastic plates, playing cards are fun; but try to rig the difficulty so everybody wins. Bullseye targets can be discouraging. As long as the target is smaller than a HD target (i.e. a torso or a head), even expert shots will enjoy.

5 events is a lot of events for novices. I'm usually ready for a meal break after 1 church event.

Novices worry about how to take apart and put together their gun, how to clean it; stuff experts take for granted. Maybe schedule a gun-maintenance event (where novices learn to clean their guns and the guns of the experts under supervision). That would be an opportunity for collegiality. The NRA classes tend to be skimpy on gun cleaning, despite it's importance.

 

[Quoheleth]

As this is the first such event for my church and, I think, also for my club, I want it small. Moreso, I want this to be a bit of a group effort for this group of men - my elders - at church. Nothing against women, I promise! Down the road, if this is successful, I could do more with a broader group from church - women, youth, who knows?

I know several of the men have centerfire pistols; not sure how many have rimfires. That's why I was going to have both rimfire and centerfire. Of course, that could also give me a reason to check the local pawnshop to see if that used Ruger Single six was still there...

The balloon idea sounds good. That might work in lieu of the clay birds.

Hmmm...