ON TARGET…Canadian Firearms Institute’s Monthly Newsletter Making a Difference by Working TOGETHER
Vol.4 Issue 2 Mar 2012
In this issue... Club Level Safety Instructor Course A Success Canadians Take the Podium for the first time at the IPSC World Shoot. Gun Gadgets GunAddicts.com Ladies Day at Parry Sound Angler and Hunters Club Rifles & Reels Bunker Build Canadian Gun Control Gun Shows Seasons Just for Laughs
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Club Level Safety Instructor Course A Success! CFB North Bay – March 17th & 18th, we held our first Club Level Safety Instructor Course at the base in North Bay. A big thank-you to the mess hall guys & gals– the food was fantastic and of course to the fellows who arranged the facilities – you know who you are. The course was taught by our Master Instructors – the Marks Yourkevich of Guide to Game and by all accounts was a resounding success. Some of the comments received are as follows: “The only negative comment I have is that the course is over – I wanted it to go on & on.” “Great presentation, very informative, valuable input to take back to my club. I am more optimistic about the future my club because of this course. THANK YOU” “Mark SR & JR make excellent teachers and I personally have come away with much more than expected. In my youth I was the Kid with the attitude, “those that can, do, those that can’t, teach. Wisdom comes with age” Thanks” “Well managed and controlled. Presentation & time line - on the money. Thoroughly enjoyable & well done. Keep it up guys.” “I was very comfortable throughout the whole class and I am very pleased & confident upon completion.” If you or your club is interested, please contact CEO Jim Newman (jim@canadianfirearmsinstitute.ca or 800.749.3108).
The First Graduates of the CFI Club Level Safety Course March 18th, 2012, with Master Instructors Mark & Mark Yourkevich, CFI CEO Jim Newman and Vice Chair Pyper Unitt.
ON TARGET…Canadian Firearms Institute’s Monthly Newsletter Proud of our Heritage...Protecting our Future! The Club Safety Course was designed to achieve three main goals. The first was to develop a course designed to allow the clubs to devise individualized courses specific to their needs and environment; secondly to provide uniform fundamental safety training nation wide and thirdly to provide the trainers with the skills and tools required to teach effectively. The course is 14 hours in length & held over a two day period. Day 1 focuses on a generic CFI Shooting Club Safety Course. Day 2, on Instructor Training. Take home materials include: Instructors Manual, Sample course handout, teaching aids, Power Point presentation. As well as one on one administration & course development assistance, if requested. Because the course is expansive – it can easily be adapted to meet the needs of clubs that shoot both handguns and long guns.
Canadians Take the Podium for the first time at the IPSC World Shoot. Better Late than Never – Kudos to two CFI members, Mike Auger and Robbin Hudson for being the first Canadians to ever win medals at an IPSC World Shoot. Recently while speaking to Robbin, he mentioned his success at last year’s IPSC World Shoot and I asked him to fill us all in on his and his team mate Mike’s accomplishments. Here is his story. P The IPSC world shoot was held on the Greek island of Rhodes, there were approximately 68 Countries and 1250 shooters at the event. It began with quite some fan fare in a stadium cut out of stone a thousand some odd years ago, with the teams and competitors dressed in their national colours and waving the flags of their country. We all marched around the stadium and the different countries were announced. The event opened with the President Nick Alexakos and a number of Greek dignitaries speaking to us. And we were entertained by traditional Greek dance and entertainment. The Monday morning began five fun filled days of competition with challenging and varied 35 stages. Following the completion of the match on Sunday we had the closing banquet and awards ceremony. There were over a thousand people in attendance all cheering for there friends, family, and country men. Mike Auger was the second Canadian ever called to the podium and he won first open super senior in the world, our national anthem was played in his honour. I was the first Canadian to ever be called to the podium and to my shock I won second standard super senior for the world. I think most people thought I had won as I was quite motivated on stage cheering and giving a few fist pumps. The other chap an Austrian who was first was rather timid. Nick Alexakos the world President of IPSC and Dino Evangelinos the president of IROA were on stage presenting the awards with smiles and pride in our Canadian accomplishments. (both Canadian themselves) My wife Sandi worked her way to the front and got a pretty good picture of me after receiving my two silver medals. This was my fifth World Shoot and the match itself was certainly one of the best. The next World Shoot will be held in Frost Proof Florida at Frank Garcia’s Universal Shooting Academy in 2014. It will certainly be a huge and exciting event that I will be attending. All the best. Sincerely - Robbin Hudson ON
Robbin proudly celebrates his win.
ON TARGET…Canadian Firearms Institute’s Monthly Newsletter Proud of our Heritage...Protecting our Future!
Gun Gadgets by Al Voth
Last month we took a look at gun cleaning; working on the premise that this is a good time of year to do a detail strip and clean of your most used firearms. The other thing you’ll want to be doing over the course of a long Canadian winter is loading ammunition. I know one serious shotgun competitor who sets aside a weekly television hockey game as the time to load his ammo for the coming season. That gives him about three hours a week, all winter long, during which he cranks out the shotshells he’ll need for the summer. While I can’t condone doing potentially distracting things like watching TV and loading ammunition at the same time, I do admire his foresight and routine. It’s important to remember that one doesn’t have to completely load cartridges to make progress toward having a supply of summer ammunition. The preparation of cartridge cases for the reloading process is something that can be done well ahead of reloading them and getting those cases clean is the first step in the hand loading process. Performing that step in advance can be a huge time saver and is a good way to spend some winter evenings. Vibratory cleaners continue to be the most common systems in use. And why not, they are reasonably priced, the media is cheap and they do a great job. The latest in technology are ultrasonic cleaners, and while I haven’t taken the plunge into that world yet, the results I’ve seen from them look great. For years I have counted on a Lyman vibratory cleaner to keep brass shiny and prevent dirt and grit from getting into my reloading dies. Mine is a Turbo 1200 and has served me faithfully, producing shiny cartridge cases in about one hour. These days, it’s rare that I will reload a cartridge case without cleaning it first. If you haven’t added a case cleaning system to your reloading routine yet, it’s definitely something you should consider. Most high-volume handgun shooters clean and sort their brass, but that’s all they’ll usually do to it. Once this is done, the brass is ready to reload. For rifle shooters, cleaning is just the beginning. And if you’re trying to squeeze every last drop of accuracy from a rifle it helps if you have an obsessive compulsive disorder. For the rest of us, who want to get through the reloading process as quickly as possible, the technology is available to help us do that. One of the biggest time savers in reloading is the volume powder measure. All progressive machines use one in some form and many shooters have a stand-alone measure on their bench to speed the handloading process. Used within the parameters of their abilities, volume measures work great. However, they aren’t the answer for all powder dispensing jobs and every handloader needs a scale. Using that scale is unfortunately a slow process. Digital scales have really helped speed the process of weighing individual powder charges and for the last two years I’ve been working with a Lyman 1500 XP that has made this chore a lot easier.
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Lanark Community Centre - April 21st & 22nd 905-623-1778 Canadiangunowner@rogers.com
ON TARGET…Canadian Firearms Institute’s Monthly Newsletter Proud of our Heritage...Protecting our Future! This scale has a built in powder trickler that mounts on either the left or right side of the pan and quickly brings a too-light charge, up to being just-right. I dump an intentionally light charge into the scale’s pan using an appropriate scoop from a LEE Powder Measure Kit and then bring it up to the correct weight using the trickler. When I’m set up and running I can weigh out a powder charge every 30 – 40 seconds. That process gives me an accurate weighed charge of powder in a short time frame.
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But before putting powder in that case, the handloader has to answer the dual questions of what type of powder and how much. That’s where reloading manuals come in and just like guns, there no such thing as owning too many manuals. While we’re on a Lyman theme, I might as well mention their manual too. They produce a great hardcover version that is unique in a couple of respects. First, it’s one of the few manuals produced by a company that is not selling reloading components. Therefore the reader gets a good mix of what’s in the marketplace. The recipes are not limited to one company’s bullets or powders. The other great thing about Lyman’s manual is the number of cast bullet loads listed in the recipe section. If, like me, you shoot cast bullets in rifle and handgun, Lyman is the go-to source for load data. Manuals like the Lyman are too large and comprehensive to produce every year, so the company’s that publish them all work on a multi-year schedule. However, Hodgdon, the powder company, manages to publish a mini-manual in magazine format every year. This is a great source for data on the latest calibres and components. As an example, this year’s edition contains data on Hodgdon’s new CFE 223 powder and load data for the new 300 AAC Blackout. But as you would expect, it is limited to the powders Hodgdon distributes. In Canada you can often find it at magazine specialty stores or at dealers who stock Hodgdon powders. Don’t bother looking in a Chapters or Indigo. It’s a gun book after all, and Heather is reluctant to sell them. Be sure to check my blog for more stories: http://www.coyoteschool.blogspot.com/
GunAddicts.com Since its launch in September 2009, GunAddicts.com is proud to have processed over $355,000 in successful sale transactions
between members on our site here in Canada! What's more their site has well over 20,000 different visitors across the country every single month. And you don’t have to a member to browse the site listings!
March 31st, 2012 The Royal Canadian Legion Hall, 27 Wellington Street West, Creemore, Ontario
ON TARGET…Canadian Firearms Institute’s Monthly Newsletter Proud of our Heritage...Protecting our Future! GunAddicts.com offers Canadian buyers and sellers of firearms - a fun, fast and safe way to buy and sell firearms online. Their unique listing service allows sellers to create auction or fixed-price listings which buyers can then bid on, or choose to immediately purchase all for no fees or commission! All ads get posted instantly on our site and there are no approval queues or wait times for listings to appear. We also have no limits to how many ads per category you can post, and our site also allows members to communicate using private messages so your personal information is never revealed to others until you are ready to disclose it - and this means no spam or junk mail in your email account. GunAddicts.com also remains Canada's most innovative website for buying and selling firearms in the country, and for three consecutive years in row has earned the highest rating awarded by CWA (Canadian Web Awards) organization. We boast that our website is truly unique and different from other sites for example that over 95% of our listings contain picture photos of the items for sale, and as they say a picture is worth a thousand words. We also support our site around the clock to combat spam, scams and suspicious users and this truly puts our website a step above the rest. For example any suspicious activity involving members is instantly communicated to any parties who may have been in contact with the abuser. How many other sites do that? As we are very excited to head into our third year on the web, please join our website and help make us even bigger by listing your firearms or old gear and equipment and be sure to tell all your friends and family about us! As always, we thank you for your continued support of our website. GunAddicts.com now has a FAN PAGE on Facebook! Please visit us and like us at www.GunAddicts.com/facebook.
Ladies Day at Parry Sound Angler and Hunters Club The idea of a ladies' shooting day at the Parry Sound Angler and Hunters Club was started when Georgina Arnott was given the task to research if there was an interest in the community. The intent is to generate interest in the sport, let the locals know what goes on at the club and increase our membership The first event in July 2011, was organized by Georgina Arnott, and had 12 women and one man in attendance. It was such a huge blast that there was a call for the next Ladies' Day, which was in September of 2011 with 19 women attending. That was my introduction to target shooting, gun safety and a variety of guns. I was both excited and nervous. My anticipation was quickly replaced with confidence and laughter by the instructors. Firearms safety was the most important lesson then we split into three groups with a number of range officers to assist each group. There were women from all walks of life – from those who had never seen a gun to others who grew up in families where hunting was a way of life.
Strengthening the community – Nationally & Around the World! If you are interested in joining the Alliance, please contact Jim Newman, 705-252-0477 jim@canadianfirearmsinstitute.ca We look forward to working with you!
ON TARGET…Canadian Firearms Institute’s Monthly Newsletter Proud of our Heritage...Protecting our Future! The ladies who went off to the pistol range were excited and talking about Dirty Harry and Cagney and Lacy guns. It was quickly obvious who really enjoyed shooting pistols. The group at the shot gun range was wondering if they would be sent back 10 ft by the recoil. An excited volunteer gets expert instruction and hits all 3 clays, looks at the crowd of amazed bystanders, and yells “I love this!” Then there is the group at the riffle range who have a variety of guns with scopes and without. Since most of us were novice, I tried the iron sites and was quite amazed that I hit the targets. In no short order I was named “Annie Oakley”. There was so much laughter and learning that day that a number of attendees connected on Facebook and still keep in touch. I have joined the club and now taking part in organizing the next event in May 2012. In closing, I find it to be a thrill to be involved in the shooting sports! - Alicia Maynard If you are interested in joining the next Ladies Day Shoot scheduled for May 12th, 2012, please contact Alicia or Georgina at 705-746-3707 stairguy@vianet.ca or 705-774-5299 garnott@live.ca, respectively. Click to see their posting on our events calendar.
Rifles & Reels Bunker Build We recently constructed 4 wooden bunkers to house our steel targets. We have 2 bunkers at the 100 yard mark another at the 50 yard mark and the 4th at our 200 yard range. After rough drafts of the design were submitted to the CFO, the approval was given to begin construction. After planning, site preparation, distance and placement of the bunkers the work began. Our work party stepped up to the plate and put in many hours of heavy labour. With equipment utilized from members of our club we were able to keep the cost of construction minimal. After the first bunker was built everyone had a clear understanding of its design. With 6” x 6” beams all four bunkers were built 12’ wide 5’ high and 4’ deep. Tin roofing was added to keep the sand on top of the bunker so that it would not sift through the joints. Chains were suspended from the roof and sides were back filled for support meeting CFO requirements. The bunkers were roped off until the final inspection of the CFO was completed. One of the CFO’s recommendations was to post signage stating the minimal distance of engaging the targets. At our club handguns are restricted to a maximum of 50 yards and more signage was posted. Steel gongs of various sizes were purchased and were found to be too soft. Additional steel was purchased with a harder grade and held up to the maximum caliber allowed at our range. It has been one year since our bunkers have been in place and our club members have enjoyed the thrill of reactive targets under safe and proper guidelines.
Rifles & Reels Game & Fish Club Inc. is a group of range facilities located in Garson, Ontario (near Sudbury). The club offers a safe & relaxed environment for shooting various firearms as well as archery. The club has been operational since the 1970s, with a current membership of over 100. We welcome new memberships, and prospective members should look under the membership tab for further information. Visit us at http://riflesandreels.ca/
The 6th Annual Harvey Outdoor Adventure Show & Sale Saturday April 28 from 9-5 At the Harvey Rec Center, 58 Hanselpacker Road, Harvey, NB 506-366-3496
ON TARGET…Canadian Firearms Institute’s Monthly Newsletter Proud of our Heritage...Protecting our Future!
Canadian Gun Control Canadians are probably the nicest and most unassuming people I have met in over forty years and seventy countries. This should be a wonderful accolade, but unfortunately it is a double edged compliment. Over the border in the States a very different ethos rules. Americans have inalienable rights and are very pugnacious about protecting them! The idea that we should be more like our cousins over the border frankly horrifies most Canadians (even shooters!) and yet their rights are protected while ours are being erased. For us as members of the firearms community, this erosion is a direct result of the apologetic and slightly guilty way most shooters view their sport. I have several friends in the shooting community who treat their sport as a potential threat to their job and place in society, to the extent that when asked what they do with their spare time they talk about fishing or golf, rather than to admit to being involved in such an antisocial and potentially dangerous sport as target shooting. The idea that we should attempt to emulate the crazies over the border that use their pistols for self defence as well as sport, is an anathema and unacceptable to civilized Canadians. Hunting has become a just about acceptable “If slightly cruel” pastime in the eyes of most urbanites and the obviously irrelevant use of handguns is worrying and potentially dangerous in the opinion of many people country wide. I am originally from the UK and the mental hand wriggling Canadian shooters are going though is EXACTLY the same as we went through twenty years ago! The “Hungerford Massacre” at which a deranged individual killed 17 people, caused the ordinary citizen to wake up and realize that guns were in sportsmen’s hands and that they weren’t just shotguns for bunny bashing. The government banned several types of firearm and made the acquisition of several other types much more difficult. This did not reduce the level of firearm crime (Recognise a pattern?). The plus side was that the firearm groups started to protest and take the government to court to recover the property and privileges of the affected gun owners. Unlike the US, the British public have no rights enshrined in a constitution and any government can amend any act of parliament and affect the basic “rights” of the populous! (The pattern seems similar). An interesting side effect of the adverse publicity produced by the horrifying tragedy in Hungerford was that thousands of new shooters applied for FACs. They were unaware that they were actually available and the sport “especially pistol” became much stronger. Exactly the same situation is developing here in Canada, over the past few years there have been several incidents where firearms have been misused by unstable individuals. Based on these statically few incidents, the authorities have attempted to restrict our sport in ways which are both insidious and based on erroneous “facts”. An example of the later occurred recently. A fairly senior politician asked me to comment on the NDP’s stance re the long gun registry. Specifically the point that “Sniper Rifles” should be excluded from the deregistration, as they were much more dangerous than hunting rifles and had no place in the hands of civilized Canadians! All long range target shooters and varmint hunters use heavy barreled high velocity rifles which only differ from a sniper rifle in that their construction is generally slightly lighter. As a sport shooting is no more dangerous or immoral that Nascar racing. To take the NDP’s rationale to it’s logical conclusion, we must ban sports cars. After all they have the potential to far exceed the legal speed limit and there are more deaths in Canada from one week’s vehicle “accidents” than a full years worth of firearms tragedies.
Just for Laughs…
ON TARGET…Canadian Firearms Institute’s Monthly Newsletter Proud of our Heritage...Protecting our Future! As sports men and women we need to walk out of the closet and explain to the politicians and press at all levels that ALL forms of shooting are a legitimate sport and that if we believe in freedom as a nation, reducing shooter rights and calling them a privilege is just plain wrong. Peter Eliot - Ballistic Services - Ballisticservice@eastlink.ca
Seasons
Gun Shows Please visit our Events Tab on the Website for a full listing or contact Pyper 705-689-3167 for a listing.
In life, it seems we are all influenced by ebb and flow of the seasons, spring, summer, fall and winter. For the staff and volunteers at the Canadian Firearms Institute we seem to be influenced by the “Show Season’ It usually starts in early March and runs through till late September. Last year our staff and volunteers attended over 30 shows or events across the country. The preparation and logistics of attending these shows, coordinating staff and volunteers, making travel and accommodations arrangements, printing and shipping literature, booths and display materials is always a challenge. But it is certainly well worth it. Attending these shows and events gives us a chance to talk one on one with “gunnies” across the country. Listen to their concerns; find out what is important to them and to share that with others across the country. Attending the shows also gives the opportunity to introduce the Canadian Firearms Institute and how partnering with the CFI can help save, support and celebrate Canadians’ firearm heritage. We started the 2012 “show season” with the ATLANTIC OUTDOOR SPORTS & RV SHOW in Halifax on March 9th through till the 11th. This show is always one of my personal favourites. At the risk of offending some of the other show organizers, the AOS &RV Show is one of the best organized in the country and has the friendliest and most accommodating staff. A big thank you to the “family” for all your hard work. Your friendly attitude and the fun atmosphere you create is reflected by the exhibitors and the visitors alike... Again this year they set record attendance records. A special thank you to our CFI volunteers Stephen Joudrey and Terry Harris for helping out at the show. They did a great job. We gave away another firearm at the AOS &RV show. The winners were Colleen & Bob Blom Bob is a director of the Halifax Wildlife Association. Their organization is the oldest Wildlife Association in Canada. Check out their web-site http://halifaxwildlife.ns.ca/board.html. Check out the coming events on our web-site www.cfiicaf.ca for a comprehensive list of upcoming gun shows and events near you. If your group or organization is holding an event and it’s not there send us the info and we will get it up CFI Volunteer Terry Harris on the web-site. & winner Bob Blom To continue and expand the CFI presence at events and shows we are looking for volunteers. If you are interested in helping out or would like more information please contact me at: jim@canadianfirearmsinstitute.ca or my direct line 705.384.9492 See you at an event. Jim
Targets Available NOW! Download Rifle Target Order Form
Download Pistol Target Order Form Also Available: Range Officer's Vest Blaze Orange, Sizes L, XL & 2 XL $35.00 plus HST and shipping Range Signs Red writing on White background, Coro-plast, 12 in X 16 in $4.50 + HST & S&H Range Flags Two different sizes of range flags as recommended in the Canadian Firearms Centre's Range Design & Construction Guidelines, September 1999
Large Size: Solid Red or Green, Polyester material with grommets. 1m x 2m (39" x 78") $40.00 + HST & S&H
Small Size: Solid Red or Green, Polyester material with grommets. 0 .75m x 1m (30" X 39") $30.00 + HST & S&H
TO ORDER CONTACT: Jim Newman 800.749.3108 705.384.9492