Upcoming Changes to Operations on the Rifle and Pistol Ranges

There has been a recent spate of reported safety violations on the rifle and pistol ranges. Additionally, there's been considerable damage inflicted upon some of the range infrastructure that will be difficult and costly to repair. (You've probably seen the closed lanes; this is the reason.) While we understand that these occurrences are not due to malice on the part of any of our members, they are due to those isolated cases of carelessness and inattentiveness.

Due to these issues, there will be a number of changes taking place on the ranges in the near future. Most specifically, the club will be implementing a program of Range Safety Officers (RSOs) on the weekends. The volunteer RSOs will -- by necessity -- come from the large pool of club members that use the rifle and pistol ranges. Once the RSO program has been initiated, RSO supervision will be mandatory in order for the ranges to be open on the weekends. For those times that no member has volunteered to RSO, the ranges will be closed. Details of the RSO program will be released soon, so keep your eyes on the web-site and the Waltonian.

In the immediate future, the most noticeable changes will be made to the 25-yard rifle range. Because of the repeated use of the taller target frames meant for other distances, the 25-yard rifle berm was shot through again. This resulted in damage to the baffle uprights downrange, which has created a safety issue. To help prevent further problems, the use of target frames is no longer permitted on the 25-yard rifle range. In their stead, a pair of parallel steel cables will be strung horizontally across the front of the berm at the correct height. Over-sized binder clips will be provided to retain pieces of backing cardboard between the cables. The cardboard must be sized to 32" tall, by (ideally) 26" wide. The cardboard height is critical, as it cannot extend beyond the cable or it will increase the risk of severing it. If any of the cables or binder clips should ever become damaged, notify the clubhouse immediately so that they can be replaced. By the time you read this, the cable system should be in place. Please take care of it; it was the sweat equity of your fellow club members that installed it!