Home on the Range

Saturday 23 June 2012
0600

I love to shoot rifles and pistols. I collect them for reasons of technical and historical interest, and I love to shoot them for fun and relaxation.  Since I was mobilized in September of 2006, I have had very limited opportunities to get out and pursue this passion.  One of the attractions of coming back the United States was that I would once again have the chance to shoot regularly.

While stationed at Fort McPherson, GA for three months at the beginning of last year, I found a local range and did a small amount of pistol shooting. It was expensive and inconvenient, however, and because I was living in a hotel I only had a couple of my firearms and very little equipment. I was really looking forward to moving here to Fort Bragg, because I thought there would be ample opportunities to shoot right on post – ranges, rifle and pistol leagues, etc. It turned out not to be nearly as convenient as I had thought it would be, but since arriving here in April 2011 I have managed to get out a few times – certainly much more than I was able to do previously.

The only range on Fort Bragg that is open to privately-owned firearms is not very convenient to use.  It’s only open until 1700 daily.  I’ve gone out there on work days during lunch a couple of times, but it takes 30 minutes to drive there and set up, and the same amount of time to break down and get back to the office.  So the only way it works at all is if I’m willing and able to take an extra-long long lunch break.  I went out once on a Saturday, and there were 15 people waiting in line for an open firing point.  Since they only have a 100-yard rifle range, and don’t even allow shooting from the prone position, this was decidedly non-optimal.

I did find a local rifle and pistol club that has regular matches that are open to the public, and I started going to rifle matches there last year.  It’s called the Cross Creek Rifle and Pistol club:

http://crossecreekrifleandpistolclub.com/

Located about ten miles south of Fayetteville, it’s 17 ½ miles by road from where I live. They have several covered outdoor ranges for rifle and pistol, with rifle firing points out to 300 yards.  Most importantly to me, their matches are open to the public and posted on their website so I was able to go shoot there.  I started going to as many matches as I could get to last year, although it was challenging because due to our work on “A Thousand Letters Home” I had very little free time at all. Every moment doing anything other than working on the book sort of felt like it was stolen time, and like it was putting us in danger of missing our self-imposed deadline.  Nonetheless, even during that intense period of focused activity, I managed to get out and shoot a few times and to get to know some club members who run the matches.

This year I made a concerted effort to get out to their matches, especially the Vintage Rifle matches, and actually got out there a few more times than I did last year – enough to be able to talk to someone there about sponsoring me for membership.

This club is organized very similarly to other clubs of which I’ve been a member – in order to become a member you have to be invited and sponsored by an existing member. First you have to go shoot with that member so they can observe that you know what you’re doing and have safe shooting habits. Then you have to attend a safety class and range orientation. You have to be nominated for membership, go to a club meeting, introduce yourself, and be voted in by the existing members. I was finally able to pass all these hurdles and join the club last week.

This is HUGE for me, because now I am no longer limited to attending the scheduled matches or arranging to shoot with a club member when he happens to be out on the range.  I can go there anytime during the club’s open shooting hours, let myself in, set up my targets, and shoot to my heart’s content at my own pace.  And the shooting hours are by far the most liberal of any club of which I’ve ever been a member - they are open for shooting every day from 30 minutes prior to sunrise until 30 minutes after sundown, with the exception of Sundays, when there is no shooting permitted until 11 AM. 

The membership meeting was interesting. They meet once a month on Tuesday night.  They have dinner at 6:00 PM (fried chicken, mashed potatoes & gravy, biscuits, corn, pudding, and sweet tea), which is a very nice touch. They start the business meeting at 7:00.  There is no clubhouse at their club, so they borrow the use of a building at a local conservation club.  I don’t remember the name of this other club (which is just as well). 

When I entered the clubhouse, the first thing I saw was a pair of stuffed animals, which is pretty typical for a conservation club.  Then I saw the Confederate battle flag draped along the wall.  Since I’m in the South, this is not in itself unusual.  Turning around, however, I saw that on another wall was a prominently-displayed picture of General Robert E. Lee.  “Prominently displayed” in this case is a bit of an understatement – it might not be too much of an overstatement to call it a “shrine”. Hanging at intervals around the room were the various national flags of the Confederate States of America, and also the 1861-1865 version of the state flag of North Carolina.  The dais had a sign reading “Sons of Confederate Veterans”. I felt a little bit like I had felt when I visited the Museum of the Confederacy in Richmond back in the 1980’s, and I kept hearing the song “I’m a Good Old Rebel” playing in my mind. In any case, I definitely knew I was in the South, with a capital “S”. 

Now, I don’t suppose there’s anything really wrong with nor sinister about this, in itself  – I don’t know the people whose clubhouse it is, and they could be perfectly nice folks who just keep the historical memories of their heritage alive. But the symbols of the Confederacy have become so associated with racial hatred in many people’s minds that it was a little difficult not to feel out of place, despite the fact that the people I was actually there meeting with had nothing to do with it and went out of their way to say that this was “not them”.  The funny part was that I had come very close to wearing my “Michigan Coalition for Responsible Gun Owners” shirt from Camp Perry 2003, which has a prominent depiction of the State of Michigan on the back.  If any of the members of the conservation club that owns the building had been there, they might have run me off their property as a “damn Yankee”.  J 

Seriously, though, the Cross Creek Rifle and Pistol Club members could not have been more gracious and welcoming.  A friend of mine from work was also being sponsored for membership the same evening. We each got up and introduced ourselves, and told a little about our backgrounds. Then they voted to admit us to the club. They proceeded with the club business, and broke up around 9 PM or so. 

Last Sunday I went out to the club on my own for the first time, and I have to say that it was really awesome finally to be able to just go out, set up, and shoot at my own pace, on my own terms.  I have had so many things I need to do and no real opportunity to do them.  I spent the day determining the zero settings for the new barrel on my M1 Garand in the various shooting positions, so that I’ll be prepared for the next match. (different post, if I can get the time).

So, I am “finally* a member of a shooting club again.  It makes me feel that much more settled and at home here.  I look forward to taking advantage of the opportunity simply to head out and shoot casually for a couple hours after work or on the weekend when I have time. It is very relaxing for me, and will serve as a very effective venue for regular “mental health breaks”. 

Mood: Happy
Music: Silence (maybe I should have played “Home on the Range”).