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Updated 01/01/10
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All future activities of the Deep South
Shooters Association have been cancelled. The club has disbanded. |
02/08/09
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We have an
opportunity to return to shooting at the Gulfport Police Department range
with the Deep South Shooters Association. However, there are some
conditions that we would have to meet that may affect our desire to shoot
at that range. I am looking for feedback from anyone who is interested in
shooting there, even with the new restrictions. Just email me at
bjinpass@gmail.com. Here are the
conditions we would have to meet:
Range conditions:
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All matches
would be held on Saturday afternoons
beginning at 1 PM. The range is not open to
anyone on Sundays, any more. It would likely be the fourth Saturday, since
we shot on the fourth Sunday before. We would not be allowed onto the
range until 12 Noon to begin setting up, as the range will be opened to
the public until Noon. This is the only option for any day and time during
any the week. |
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The city of
Gulfport would charge each shooter $5 to
cover wear and tear on the range. This would be in addition
to the match fee, which would likely be $15, for a total of $20. Our
insurance would have to be renewed, and that is quite costly. |
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All range
officers would have to be formally certified with USPSA or NRA. We would
have to ensure that we always had enough qualified people present to
safely conduct the match. Only a small percentage of USPSA members are
actually certified Range Officers. |
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One of the
GPD range officers must be present at all matches. Fortunately, three of
the GPD officers on the tactical team are qualified range officers at that
range, and have been shooting with us for over a year, and would be
willing to come out to support us. |
We are
extremely fortunate that the city of Gulfport is willing to let us back on
the range. However, before we make a commitment to them, we need to make
sure there is enough interest to warrant the amount of time and energy it
takes to put on a match each and every month. As the president of the DSSA
for the past 4-5 years (pre-Katrina), I can tell you that one person can't
do it alone. There was always one or two committed individuals who would
come out early to help me set up. Without their help, it would not have
happened. Without that kind of commitment for additional help, I won't be
able to do this by myself, either. The Poplarville club, where I am also
president, requires approximately 6-8 hours of work before and after the
actual time at the range for each match. This doesn't include arriving
early and staying late to set up and tear down the great stages you shoot.
There are certainly many individuals who pitch in and help at Poplarville,
but when we last shot at Gulfport, our turnouts were averaging only 8.6
shooters a month for 2005. This isn't enough to justify the work needed to
put on a match, and wouldn't even pay for the insurance for the entire
year.
I am interested in your thoughts, so send me an email.
Even if you aren't interested, email me why you aren't interested. I am
not making any commitments myself, until I hear for the shooters. Thanks
for taking your time to read this far... |
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