Oh, and don't forget the "Practical Shotgun" match, also in August, and also hotter than Hades.
This past Sunday, SWMBO and I made the 70-minute drive up I-5 to Wilson, took the North Wilsonville Exit to Day road, left to Scholls Ferry Road, Right to Tonquin Road, then 3 more miles to the TCGC "Training Facility". They have a huge facility there, including trap, skeet, sporting clays, indoor and outdoor small-bore ranges, outdoor pistol range, black-powder range, a beautiful clubhouse, bench-rest ranges out to 600 yards, an on-site rock quarry where Practical Rifle matches are held at least once a month, and . . . the Action Pistol Range.
This range not only features monthly IPSC and Cowboy Action matches, but is used as a training facility for several county sheriff's departments and municipal police departments, as well as the National Guard. (The U.S. Marine Corps 6th Engineer Support battalion pays for their range time by using the heavy-equipment of their Engineer Company to perform range improvements. Not only does the club benefit from their essentially free labor, but the Marines have a place where their Engineers can keep their skills sharp with earth-movers of various kinds.)
This club owns 220 acres of forested hills within a half-hour drive of downtown Portland. At a guess, there are about 2000 members, and the annual dues are$120 with a one-time initiation fee of $175. (Information from the TCGC website.)
As is the case for many shooting clubs near major metropolitan areas (Portland is the 30th largest city in America, by population), TCGC has fought a running battle with land developers who want to shut them down so surrounding property can be 'developed'. That means, they (not the gun club, the developers) would cut down all the old-growth fir trees, level the hills to fill the surrounding wetlands, bulldoze roads and build tacky-but-expensive houses all over the place.
Fortunately, TCGC counts among its members a number of successful lawyers who have, through the years, donated their time and legal expertise to fight this urban incursion. It's not a cheap battle, nor an easy one, but it helps that the original 172 acres were purchased in 1944, which establishes a clear precedence over the
immediate needs of the developers in this rural area. The nearest town is Sherwood , (which holds an annual Robin Hood Festival), "One of the fastest growing towns in Oregon".The club has recently more-or-less completed a major improvement on the Action Pistol Range, which provided them with 13 bays. Some of the bays are about 100 feet square, which not only allows them to set up some outrageous run&gun stages but also provides plenty of rooms for rifles to be used.
Because of these developments, TCGC has recently been selected to host the 2006 Area 1 Match (July 16 - 18, 2006) by the United States Practical Shooting Association.
Oh, I almost forgot to mention the outcome of the Sunday IPSC match.
I didn't win, but Beven Grams almost did.
However, I took pictures!
You can view the album here.
Film includes some excellent examples of moving-while-shooting, in Stage 3. It also includes some embarrassing moments on Stage 1, where competitors often forgot to shoot at ALL of the targets. Well, it was a confusing stage.
The album contains a sub-album, with unedited full-length raw film showing the agony and the ecstasy of IPSC competition. Unfortunately, there's more agony than anything else. The files in the sub-album run up to 23mb in length, although the edited *.wmv versions in the main album are usually 4mb.
Knock yourself out.
Nobody got sunburned, it didn't rain, and even thought most of us hadn't been shooting for 6 weeks before the weekend, we all had a great time. What more can you ask?
No comments:
Post a Comment