VISALIA SPORTSMEN’S ASSOCIATION MAY

PO BOX 105 VISALIA, CA 93279 2018 Established 1893 (www.vsma.us) Visalia Sportsmen’s Association is a non-profit organization which is governed by the regulations set forth in the Internal Revenue Code of

1986. The section of the code which we fall under states that we are to be exclusively a social club, organized and operated for the pleasure

and recreation of our members. The specific purposes of the club are: 1) to unite in the effort of solving local, county and statewide

problems pertaining to the protection and propagation of fish and game and other natural resources in our area; 2) the conservation of our

natural resources through the promotion and fostering of good public sentiment for better fish, game and forest management; 3) The

encouragement of organized shooting activities among adult and junior members and the general public, so as to provide a better

knowledge of safe handling and the proper use and care of firearms; and, 4) to take lawful steps to bring into effect those measures deemed

to be in the interest of member sportsmen.

The next GENERAL MEETING will be THURSDAY, MAY 10, 2018, at 7:00 PM. Meetings are held on

the second Thursday of the month and are open to all club members. New members are encouraged to attend the

meetings to become more informed and more active in the club activities. Members are invited to bring a guest to

introduce to the Visalia Sportsmen’s Association. The club is located just north of downtown Visalia at 536 W.

Roosevelt Avenue, one block south of Houston Ave., just east off of Sante Fe.

The next BOARD MEETING will be TUESDAY, MAY 15, 2018, at 6:00 PM. If you want to present an

item for discussion at a board meeting, please contact a board member to be on the agenda. Board meetings are

held on the Tuesday following the general club meeting.

Please contact any of the officers or board members for any issues or concerns you may have regarding your

Visalia Sportsmen’s Association.

Club House Phone # (answering machine): 559-635-7175 Jim Mayfield – Chairman of the Board: 559-802-7967

Dennis Thornbury – President: 559-732-4401 Jeremy Chavez – Board Member (e): 559-302-8718

Russ Beechinor – Vice President: 559-280-4061 Frank Tebeau – Board Member (e): 559-731-0090

Treasurer: xxx-xxx-xxxx Bob Gaalswyk – Board Member (e17): 559-625-5855

Chris Norman – Secretary: 661-805-0164 Ernie Kumpe – Board Member (a17): 559-802-8446

Dirk Steelman – Exec. VP (FFL operations): 559-732-7726 Sean Vedenoff – Board Member (e17): 559-786-6184

Royce Nalls – Board Member (a17): 559-730-8485 Bob Maxwell – Board Member (a): 559-733-5501

Loren Metzler – Board Member (a): 559-280-8287 Ed Thomas – Sergeant at Arms

At the APRIL meeting:

RSO CLASS: Class date for new RSOs has been set for Saturday, May 12th, 8:00 am, at the club house. New

RSOs that have not yet taken the NRA RSO class need to register on-line. If you have difficulty in getting to the

correct web page (Visalia Sportsmen’s NRA Basic Range Safety Officer course), contact Russ at

cflytech@comcast.net. There is a $40 fee to cover the cost of the course book and NRA fee.

https://www.nrainstructors.org/CourseDetails.aspx?Courseid=474652&seats=16&State=n&zip=93291&radius=2

5.1&id=5&bsa=&youth=&women=

Russ said that we need more RSOs on duty on public shoot days when the pistol range is up and running.

RSOs in “training” need to contact Russ for confirmation of the May 12 training class. The pistol “bays” have

been installed – nice diamond plate aluminum! The final details are being checked off the list such as painting,

cleaning up the berm and signage.

Ticket and table package sales for the VSA 100 Gun Dinner have been strong! These last few days before the

event will be action packed trying to accommodate the last minute attendees. Don’t delay any longer in reserving

your table or for buying your individual tickets!!! Last month it was proposed that 10% of the net proceeds of the

dinner be donated to the CRPA, it was approved by the board. Let’s make this event better than ever to keep

moving ahead on the VSA programs and improvements as well as fighting the anti-gun movement in California!

VSA 100+ Gun Dinner – Saturday, May 5, 2018 Tulare County Fairgrounds ~ Building 3

Doors open at 5:00pm for happy hour, dinner at 6:30pm. Dinner tickets $50 per person. Table packages for 8

people per table start at $1,500; includes a handgun, raffle tickets, sponsor only tickets, VSA 1-year membership,

eight VSA range passes (one day), and more. Contact Royce: 559-730-8485, or Loren: 559-280-8287.

PAGE 2 MAY 2018 PAGE 2 Phone # for the club: 559-635-7172 Phone # for the range: 559-651-1415

MAY 2018 JUNE 2018

2 Wed Public Shoot Bill Baker/Ed Blanco/???/???

5 Sat Public Shoot J Sindlinger/T Holmes/B Zentner

6 Sun High Power/Junior Rifle/4-H

9 Wed Public Shoot J Johnson/Ed Blanco

S Schorzman/M Garcia/B Baker

12 Sat Public Shoot J Dearborn/C Calloway/D Lehman

13 Sun Public Shoot Marc Price/Aric Price/Jim Price/??

16 Wed Public Shoot Lee Miller/J Threadgill/B Ferguson

19 Sat CBRSA Benchrest Shoot – all day

20 Sun CBRSA Benchrest Shoot – all day

23 Wed Public Shoot Ken Rahn/???/???

26 Sat TULARE COUNTY 4-H MATCH

27 Sun Black Powder/Junior Rifle/4-H

Learning to become an RSO is easy. The responsibilities

is rewarding! Ask any RSO at the range, then call Russ at

2 Sat RANGE CLEAN UP DAY – All Day

3 Sun Public Shoot J Dearborn/L Cote/D Lehman

6 Wed Public Shoot ???/???/???/???

9 Sat Public Shoot Sindlinger/T Holmes/B Zentner/???

10 Sun High Power/Junior Rifle/4-H

13 Wed Public Shoot John Threadgill/???/???/???

15 Fri Benchrest set up & practice – all day

16 Sat CBRSA Benchrest Shoot – all day

17 Sun CBRSA Benchrest Shoot – all day

20 Wed Public Shoot Ken Rahn/???/???/???

23 Sat Public Shoot R Broyles/Scott Willis/B Zentner

24 Sun Black Powder/Junior Rifle/4-H

27 Wed Public Shoot John Threadgill/???/???/???

30 Sat Public Shoot ???/???/???/???

are not small, but, the satisfaction in running a safe range

559-280-4061, to start the training process.

Please contact the following for more info on the programs that are offered at the range: Black Powder – Mike Benyo 559-731-4666;

High Power/Jr. Rifle Club – Steve Quinn 559-686-1945, steveq@carifle.com. CBRSA (Benchrest) – Dennis Thornbury 559-732-4401.

More from the APRIL meeting:

COS Equestrian Team members and their coach were present at the club meeting. Coach Kim introduced the

following members: Jennifer, 3-year team member, pre-med; Adrianne, one-year team member, animal science;

Vanessa, 3-year team member animal science (will graduate this year and will graduate out of the program;

Cheyenne, 2(?)-year team member, animal science; Anna 2 year team member, just graduated, animal science.

These talented young ladies told us that the collegiate equestrian program is a year-round series of competitions

mainly amongst California schools, with some traveling as far as North Carolina!

Coach Kim announced their fundraising event, the “BEAST FEAST!” Team riding demonstrations, dinner

with exotic meats, dancing, silent auction, and more! Saturday, May 5th, at the Livestock Pavilion,

4999 E Bardsley Ave, Tulare. For tickets, info, or to donate, please call Coach Kim Pitigliano at 559-731-1010.

A motion was made at the meeting to “pass the hat” and to have the club match, for a total of $710.00. Congrats!

About half of the equestrian team will be at our 100 GUN DINNER as servers and helpers. Thank you!

WILD GAME FEED About 125 members enjoyed a variety of dishes prepared with fish, bear, wild goat,

wild pig, moose and more! Our cooks really threw the gauntlet down and made the best of what they had. Some

of the dishes were limited in their portions and the cooking pots were cleaned out to the bottom! Congratulations

to TJ M., Jeff K., and Eddy in winning a gun after purchasing a drawing ticket. Two of the winners were present

and absolutely elated! The third winner probably was just as happy after listening to his voice mail.

YARD SALE – Sporting goods yard sale at the club will be Saturday, June 9th. Gates open at 8:00

am. To reserve your table(s), please call Linda at 559-308-6906, or Esther at 559-732-7638. Do you

have a desire to clean out some of the excess “treasures” you have been holding on to? Want to make a bit of

extra money and re-home some of those memory makers? Reserve a table indoors or on the patio; more space for

your large item (boat or trailer, etc.) can be reserved in the parking area. If you only have a few items, carry ‘em

on in for the fun in bartering with buyers. Or, if you know you can’t make it that day, call Linda or Esther to

accept your donation and they’ll get it to the right persons.

Veterans This one’s for you. The Visalia Memorial Building, 609 W. Center Ave, 93291, has just completed

their “Patriot Pub”. Enjoy the camaraderie of having a cold drink and elbow up to the bar with some friends.

Open to vets and their guests. Key fobs can be issued for admittance to the Pub. Call 559-732-1613 for more info.

SHOOTING ON THE PISTOL LANES IS NOT ALLOWED AT THIS TIME UNTIL COMPLETION!

RSOs: THIS APPLIES EVEN FOR “OFF” DAYS AND AFTER 3PM.

PAGE 3 MAY 2018 PAGE 3

Wild Game The board of directors wanted to include this in the newsletter: The offer of wild game to be

donated to the club really turned into a “wild game” of offers that never came through and after a round of phone

calls, messages were not returned and phone calls were blocked. So, what is a sportsman? The standard

definition is: one who plays fairly. What does it mean to be a sportsman? A person(s) who behaves generously in

defeat or victory. And what does it mean to be sportsmanlike? Showing the moral qualities of a good sportsman.

Now, we all realize that this isn’t a case of winning or losing. If you are a member of a club that is organized

to further the benefits of the members and to enhance the overall community in which it is based, basic tenets

simply dictate that your word should be your bond; your handshake should be more than enough to seal the deal.

What happened here to break down the communication – to block phone calls? Was this a prank, a hoax, an

effort to spoof someone? It appears to be a deliberate effort to deceive many persons. If so, that’s too bad.

Ladies Night at the Range – WEDNESDAY, MAY 1st - Ladies are welcome to head to the range to spend

some dedicated trigger time with their rifles and pistols. The first Wednesday of each month, RSOs will be on

duty from 5 pm to 8 pm (or until dusk) for women and girls to shoot and share hints and tips with each other.

Some things to remember: there is NO charge to shoot and you do NOT need to be a member, so please tell your

female friends, family and co-workers. Bring your own guns and ammo along with eye and ear protection (some

loaner eye and ear protection may be available). You can bring your own targets, or buy some at the range.

Ladies Night at the Range begins Wednesday, April 4th, 5:00pm to 8:00pm.

CCW CLASS: Wade Roberts will hold the CCW class at the club the first Monday of each month. As a

benefit of your club membership, the CCW class is at no charge. Non-members can attend the class for a $40.00

fee. Wade can be reached by phone at (559) 303-2848, (call or text). He will cover the recent and upcoming

changes to the CCW permit process.

Club Website: http://vsma.us. For more info about the club, programs, activities, newsletters (current and past), visit the

website, or call Jim Mayfield at 559-802-7967. Jim is our master club coordinator as well as the best source for any tickets

for club events or drawings.

For any of your newsletter concerns, “wanted” or “for sale” items, please feel free to contact me, Chris Norman, editor, at:

visaliasportsmen@hotmail.com, or by phone/text: 661-805-0164.

PAGE 4 MAY 2018 PAGE 4

THIS JUST IN: The pistol range is getting close to opening. One of the new procedures for shooting pistols

will be the requirement to keep pistols in cases until you are at the pistol shooting lane stall. When the pistol

lanes become open for use, do not remove the handguns from the case(s) at the benches. After shooting at your

pistol lane, confirm your handgun is clear of ammunition and place the handgun in the case. No change in the

rifle handling from the benches to the tables…use an open bore indicator and muzzles up! Always, always,

always, remember to never approach a bench during a cease fire. Do Not cross the red line to approach the bench

or shooting lane stall during a cease fire. Any questions, please ask one of the RSOs for answers and assistance.

Shooting Training – CCW Classes and more: Col. Jeff Cooper stated that there are three things you must

have to be a competent “martial citizen”: Mindset, Gun Handling, and Marksmanship.

Jeff Sanders of Legacy Defense offers these three things. 1) Mindset: You will acquire this from his CCW permit classes that

are generally held on the third Wednesday of each month for Tulare, Kings and Fresno County, and Utah (which adds the

following states not covered by CA permits: NV,WA, WY, ND, LA, WV, GA, DE, (subject to change)). Jeff will hold the

class at your location – home or business, or the VSA clubhouse – for as few as four attendees! 2) Gun Handling: This can

be accomplished IN YOUR HOME using laser equipment and inert firearms, or at the range, or by combining both training

regimens. 3) Marksmanship: This too can be accomplished IN YOUR HOME using laser equipment and inert firearms, or at

the range with live ammo, or by combining both training regimens. Bring all three measures together in YOUR environment

- home or business - with a customized training session that will prepare you to win a violent confrontation.

Check with Legacy Defense. Jeff Sanders: 559-901-8360. www.facebook.com/legacydefense