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August 14, 2011: Steve and I get together for a multigun session. The open format gives us more flexibility than a match. Steve contributes a stage based on the box drill, with an emphasis on movement and transitions. My contribution comes from a 2008 biopic, Mesrine.

July 4, 2011: Cynthia enjoys shooting a gamut of firearms -- revolver, auto, lever, shotgun, and bolt -- in celebration of Independence Day. She likes the Smith the most because she gets a kick out of the muzzle flash. I think she works the Model 700 the best, though. Her left eye is so dominant that she fares better shooting left-handed.

June 21, 2011: The CGC treasurer hasn't been around, so I give the club's financial materials and records to the next match director, Howard B. -- thanks for stepping up, Howard! -- and make plans to turn over the computer as well. Howard and Chet will be running the matches now.

June 10, 2011: I deposit the last of the Wheelgun funds at CB&T ($670); and finish boxing the Wheelgun trophies and mail them ($60). Financial routine: that concludes my portion of the financial activity this month, so I update the spreadsheet. Total club funds: $1480.

Quarterly summary: The club collected an additional $206 in improvement fees, then spent $40 on the frequent-shooter giveback. So the $1480 breaks down as $1303 earmarked for range improvements (last quarter's $1137 plus $206 minus $40) and $177 in working capital for another sanctioned match or other projects.

Five years ago, Cherokee IDPA began with $30 collected from 15 CGC members at the first, trial match. Since then, that money and support has grown into: 375 unique shooters; $4026 in range fees to CGC and $300 contributed to the annual banquets; $500 in CGC seed money toward pistol bay 9 and $500 in IPSC seed money passed onto the Bullseye club; $1000 in steel targets and $443 for a youth shotgun; $840 in IDPA memberships for frequent shooters; two Safety Officer training classes and two major IDPA matches; not to mention an inventory of timers, tools, and scoring software & hardware; and $1480 to boot. And I have a library of IDPA stages to run a year's worth of matches, a BUG match, two major matches, with multigun variations. My thanks to all!

June 8, 2011: I pick up the Wheelgun trophies from Specialty Engraving ($731) and start boxing them for shipment.

May 26, 2011: Financial routine: I deposit $120 in Wheelgun entries at CB&T; and leave checks for range fees ($86 and $132) for the club and Wheelgun matches at CGC. Total club funds: $1601.

May 21, 2011: scores Twenty-three wheelgunners and three revolver-toting multigunners compete in the second Wheelgun Championship, providing enough competition to bump up one SSR shooter in classification: great shooting, Lee! My thanks to all the Safety Officers (without you not); to Marie for posting the results quickly; to Chet, Allan, Myron, Joe, and Steve B. for leaving the range even better than found; and to everyone for coming to the match!

Lessons learned: The Wheelgun Championship once again proved to be a worthwhile way in which to encourage revolver shooting (at least in the SSR-dominated field; still too few ESR shooters) and use our surplus cash. Claude wrote up an article on the Championship.

May 19, 2011: In addition to UniqueTek's kindly donation of reloading supplies, I pick out more prizes for the Wheelgun Safety Officers ($314), deposit the club match fees (also $314) at CB&T, pick up the Wheelgun T-shirts (and pay the $222 balance), and reimburse Marie for Wheelgun registration and scoring supplies ($45).

May 9, 2011: I place an extra order for targets and pasters ($75) and reimburse Marie $249 for purchasing a licensed copy of ForScore and two modules, which she will use to score the Wheelgun Championship.

May 5, 2011: After receiving a phone call and several emails that shooters cannot find this blog, I discover that its link and my contact info have been removed from the CGC webpage. And with a major match coming up. Sheesh.

May 4, 2011: I mail IDPA some checks ($72 for targets and pasters and $40 to renew a frequent shooter's membership) and place the order for the Wheelgun Championship T-shirts ($226 downpayment).

May 1, 2011: scores Forty three shooters compete on a gusty afternoon. The club collects $314 from the 36 IDPA members, 1 CGC member (12 total), and 6 new shooters. My thanks to all the Safety Officers (without you not); to the setup crew (Chet, Howard, Steve B., and Kenneth); to Claude for providing the stages; to Marie for registering everyone; and to the shooters for leaving the range even better than found.

Lessons learned: The scores took an unexpectedly long time to post because of the evaluation of the new scoring software and other Wheelgun Championship matters. Get more targets and pasters. And Steve Wi. uploaded some videos. Claude wrote up an article on the match; and May 17 he will be holding an IDPA Skills class at Sandy Springs Gun Club, which will handle the signup.

Classified shooters: Your info is online, and I can sign your classification card at the Wheelgun match.

April 26, 2011: Financial routine: I deposit $467 at CB&T; leave a $120 check for range fees with the updated spreadsheet in the CGC treasurer's mailbox; and pick up another batch of Wheelgun entries. Total club funds: $2633.

April 19, 2011: At the Club board meeting I announce my retirement as Cherokee IDPA match director, effective June 30th. After 5 years it's time to step aside. The Wheelgun Championship will be my final match and going-away party. Hope to see y'all there!

April 5, 2011: I deposit $300 in Wheelgun Championship entries at CB&T; mail IDPA some checks ($74 for targets and pasters and $35 for a new membership); attend the Club membership meeting; and pick up another batch of Wheelgun entries.

April 3, 2011: scores Sixty shooters compete on a flawless afternoon. The club collects $432 from the 51 IDPA members (including 16 CGC members) and 9 new shooters; plus $35 for one new IDPA membership. My thanks to all the Safety Officers (without you not); to the setup crew (Chet, Howard, Steve B., and Allan); to Ron for registering everyone (with Marie) and working up the Classifier scores; and to the shooters for leaving the range even better than found.

Lessons learned: Get more targets and pasters. The match used 6 stages from last April, 2 from last May, and introduced 4 Defensive Multi-Gun variations. Dave S. uploaded some photos, and Jason & K.C. uploaded some videos.

Classified shooters: Your info is online, and I can sign your classification card at a future match.

April 2, 2011: Financial routine: I deposit $430 at CB&T; leave an $88 check for range fees with the updated spreadsheet in the CGC treasurer's mailbox; pick up another batch of Wheelgun entries; leave Chet a working copy of the stage descriptions for tomorrow's match setup; and shoot the Cherokee IHMSA to practice long-range shots: for $15 you get one entry, 50 rounds of ammo, a gun rental, and a chance to win the rental gun at a future raffle -- and you don't have to clean the gun, a Smith & Wesson 686 -- and/or bring your own gun and ammo and pay just $5 for an(other) entry. Total club funds: $2235.

Quarterly summary: The club collected an additional $320 in improvement fees, then spent $40 on the frequent-shooter giveback and $60 on gunsmithing the club shotgun. So the $2235 breaks down as $1137 earmarked for range improvements (last quarter's $917 plus $320 minus $100) and $1098 in working capital for the 2011 Wheelgun Championship.

March 6, 2011: scores Forty-four shooters compete on a sunny, spring afternoon. The club collects $360 from the 40 IDPA members (including 16 CGC members) and 4 new shooters; plus $70 for two new IDPA memberships. My thanks to all the Safety Officers (without you not); to the setup crew (Chet, Howard, Steve B., and Allan); to Ron for registering everyone and working up the Classifier scores; and to the shooters (especially Myron P. and Myron T.) for leaving the range even better than found.

Lessons learned: Reimburse Chet for the staplers. Get more targets and pasters. The match used 7 stages from last March, 1 from 2007, and introduced 4 Defensive Multi-Gun variations. Claude wrote up an article on the match and its options. Joe W. slicked up the club shotgun nicely.

Classified shooters: Your info is online, and I can sign your classification card at a future match.

March 1, 2011: I deposit $120 in Wheelgun Championship entries at CB&T; mail $14 to Northside Graphics for the balance on the scoresheets; attend the Club membership meeting; and pick up another batch of Wheelgun entries.

February 15, 2011: Financial routine: I mail two checks to IDPA ($64 for targets and $40 to renew a frequent shooter's membership); deposit $696 (match proceeds, training course proceeds, and Wheelgun Championship entries) at CB&T; hand Chet a working copy of the Wheelgun stage descriptions at the Club board meeting; leave a $142 check for range fees with the updated spreadsheet in the CGC treasurer's mailbox; and pick up another batch of Wheelgun entries. Total club funds: $2037.

February 13, 2011 Claude conducts a Safety Officer Training Course, 9 IDPA members become certified SO's, and 2 sit in for a refresher. The hands-on portion includes 3 stages to run everyone through shooting, scoring, and timing. The club collects $69 and reimburses Claude $3 for photocopies; and Claude writes up an article.

February 6, 2011: scores Sixty shooters compete on yet another pleasant sunny afternoon. Only 27 complete the match, with the last shooter using a flashlight. The club collects $447. My thanks to all the Safety Officers (without you not); to the setup crew (Chet, Howard, and Steve B.); to Ron and Dan for registering everyone; and to the shooters (especially Lynn) for leaving the range even better than found.

Lessons learned: Get more targets and pasters. The match used 6 stages from last February and introduced 2 new stages and 4 Defensive Multi-Gun variations.

The record turnout was simply more than my format can efficiently handle: At most it can have 4 squads. In November and December there were 35 and 26 shooters -- near the ideal of 9 shooters on 4 and 3 squads. With more than 9 shooters per squad, the match quickly begins to drag. The DMG squad especially should be limited to 9 total shooters, but with 60 shooters we couldn't do that; and 15 is just too many whatever way you count them.

If future matches have squads with 11 or more shooters, I'll just throw out 4 of the 8 stages, the 4 that have DMG variations, and only the DMG shooters will shoot all 8.

February 1, 2011: Financial routine: deposit $351 (the match proceeds less $5 to shore up the petty cash) at CB&T; give a $90 check for range fees with the updated spreadsheet to the CGC treasurer at the Club membership meeting; hand Chet a copy of the upcoming stage descriptions; and pick up the first batch of Wheelgun Championship entries. Total club funds: $1590.

January 21, 2011: I mail IDPA some checks: $70 for targets and pasters; and $140 for twenty-eight Safety Officer training packets. And $69 to Northside Graphics for Wheelgun Championship scoresheets, via Ron.

January 2, 2011: scores Forty-five shooters compete on a pleasant sunny afternoon. The club collects $356 from the 40 IDPA members (10 CGC members) and 5 new shooters. My thanks to all the Safety Officers (without you not); to the setup crew (Chet and Howard); to Peter for registering everyone; and to the shooters (especially Chet and Lynn) for leaving the range even better than found.

Lessons learned: Get more targets and pasters. The match introduced several Defensive Multi-Gun variations for the stages from last January. The DMG squad will be limited to 9 total shooters; this should reduce overhead more than a "hot zone" (for loading lever guns and assembling others), which will only be used in the DMG sidematch of the Wheelgun Championship.

The club shotgun has already revealed some DMG match weaknesses: The last stage, Desert Heat, should have been more challenging for shotgunners (I'll give myself a Failure to Design Right on that one); the timer had trouble picking up my final shots on the 4th stage, Quick Retreat; and the Cowboy's clay holders worked far better than tape.

Annual reminders:

• no shooting before the match, please;
• be sure to include your IDPA and/or CGC numbers on your scoresheet (and fill out the legalese on the back);
• make checks payable to "Cherokee Gun Club -- IDPA";
• please paste as many holes as you shoot and pick up as much brass, too;
• "understand that this is a volunteer sport and volunteers do the work necessary for you to shoot matches and become classified; the more you offer to assist, the better the system works; be an active shooter by contributing your time and talents"; CGC members are Hosts, non-members are Guests, both are volunteers;
• non-members may shoot after the match -- only if accompanied by a CGC member; (see me if you can't find one)
• please remember that one of the responsibilities of IDPA membership is to shoot the Classifier at least once every 12 months;
• there are usually enough shooters to sort the match results by classification; if we ever have enough shooters to sort the results by division as well, then we have more shooters than our match format can handle; so, if you enjoy these matches, don't tell anyone about them.

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Last modified: 10/12/2011