Airfield Shooting Club

🚫 Buckshot Violation Alert 🚫

We recently discovered buckshot shell casings on the shotgun range.

⚠️ BUCKSHOT IS STRICTLY PROHIBITED ON THE SHOTGUN RANGE. ⚠️
This includes trap, skeet, and 5-stand areas.

✅ Allowed Shot Sizes:
Only shot shells size 7.5 or smaller (e.g., 8, 9) are permitted.
🔍 Why? Larger shot can travel beyond our designated shot fall zone, posing a serious safety risk.

🔁 Where Buckshot Is Allowed:
Buckshot, slugs, and similar loads may be used on the SRB or 25/50-yard and 100m ranges.

Let’s keep our ranges safe and enjoyable for everyone. Please follow the rules and help us maintain a safe shooting environment.

Violations of this rule will result in disciplinary action.

I was recently shown a video of a group on a firing line. The safety violations were staggering. These weren’t new shooters — they appeared experienced, but likely complacent. When I was flying aircraft, we had a saying: “Complacency kills.” These folks were lucky that phrase didn’t hold true.

Let’s talk about firing line safety. While each range has its own rules, there should be a universal baseline of safe behavior. Here are a few fundamentals:

1. Bringing a Gun to the Line
   Always bring your firearm to the line in a case, and ensure it’s unloaded.
2. Uncasing
   Before touching the firearm, rotate the case so the barrel faces downrange. Otherwise, you risk pointing the gun in an unsafe direction the moment you touch it.
3. Open the Action
   Before placing the gun on the bench, open the action, remove any magazines (if applicable), and lay it down with the ejection port facing up. Firearms should never be set down with a closed action or a magazine inserted — except in an emergency. If you have chamber flags, use them.
4. Cold Line Protocol
   When the line is cold and someone goes downrange, step back from the shooting points.
5. No Handling During Cold Line
   When someone is downrange, there should be zero handling of firearms. Many ranges also prohibit loading magazines or handling ammunition during this time (ours included).

All of these rules were violated by multiple individuals in a short video I just watched. Shooting sports are enjoyable and historically very safe — but only when we uphold basic safety standards. Let’s stay vigilant and keep it that way.

I was at the range today on the 100m.  I found a lot of broken clays on the crest of the slight hill just forward of the shooting points. I found bullet strikes on the ground where the shooter missed the clays.  Per our rules we prohibit shooting anything on the ground unless it is at the berm.  You cannot use portable targets anywhere other than at/in the berm.  Because the ground is not stone free, a round could have skipped off a rock and ended up in the road.  We do have cameras just for this type of situation so we will track down who did this or you could save us the trouble and let the board know if it was you.

It doesn’t matter if you were shooting rifle, pistol or shotgun.  This is not allowed.

Rimfire Challenge – ARA Modified Benchrest 50-Yard Precision Skill Challenge

Experience the fun of a friendly ARA-modified bench-rest shooting event uniquely designed to test and challenge your shooting skills. Join us on Sunday, September 21st, 2025, for a day of fun 22LR shooting.

The shooters will follow a modified version of the ARA Benchrest Shooting Competition, shooting two to four official ARA 25 bull targets, depending on participation.  Each shooter has 20 minutes to complete each target, whether it’s a factory or unlimited target classification. The cost is $5 for ASC Members and $10 for Non-Members.  Please bring exact cash.

All participants must attend the Safety Meeting to shoot!  The range set-up/sighting-in period lasts until 8:30 AM, and then the range goes cold for the 8:30 AM Mandatory Safety Meeting/Instructions. The match starts promptly at 9:00 a.m. and lasts until noon.

All participants must attend the Safety Meeting to shoot!  *** The 25 – 50 Meter Range is Closed for this Event. *** For more information about this event, contact the Match Director, Tom Sanford, at [email protected].

Airfield Shooting Club Newsletter 3rd Edition.  Enjoy and feel free to contribute by taking photos of events or your day at the range, writing articles about items of interest, or sharing what you’ve been researching or learning.  Email all inquiries or submittals to the [email protected].

ASC Q2 Newsletter 2025