Newsletter Archives for the V.G.C.A.

V.G.C.A. NEWS June, 2003

This Month's Topics:

General Picnic Meeting Schedule...
Secretary's Subtleties President's Corner  

General
Please do not forget that we will have a VGCA meeting this month. It will be VGCA-NRA joint sponsored at the NRA Headquarters at 7 p.m. on Thursday, 26 June. The program will be presented by Scott Meadows, who is the author of Colt Government Models. For the uninitiated, that means .45 caliber pistols. He will speak about them, and you are encouraged to bring one or two that you may have to Show and Tell.

Picnic
We had something different at the picnic this year: no rain until the end. The weather report was against us, and the local northern Virginia weather that morning was watering the grass and shrubs. Out at the NORVA facility, it was totally different. There was no rain until all the food was gone, and the last round was expended.

Those who attended were once again treated to a fantastic chow line. Everything was more than just good. The wives who sent their husbands to the picnic with something for the luncheon meal again outdid themselves.

The only drawback to the picnic was losing electrical power, which meant the shotgunners couldn’t shoot Trap and Skeet after lunch. Added treats on the regular firing line this year were German MG 34 and 42 machineguns, a 20-mm antitank rifle (cannon), Ed Costello‘s little cannon, and 50 caliber ritles. The mini-.50 rifles were brought by CEO Paul Leitner-Wise of the Leitner-Wise Rifle Company. After an introductory briefing, anyone who wanted to was allowed to fire the rifle, which has been adopted by the Coast Guard. The 20-mm piece was also available for anybody who wanted to fire it.

The .50 rifle fires a mini-.50 round that is supposed to equal the M2 machinegun round out to 300 yards. Te rifle either is or will be available to the civilian market, and the rifle’s upper attaches to any M16 or AR 15 lower.

Meeting Schedule for the Rest of 2003
There will not be a meeting in July. On 28 August at 7 p.m., the second VGCA-NRA presentation of the year will feature Mike Kerrick of Gun Report, who will talk about the guns of Lewis and Clark. The semiannual gun show will be at Hugo’s on 27-28 September, and the meeting for August will be at 7 p.m. It will be the third joint VGCA-NRA presentation of the year and will feature George Maddis, the world-class author who will speak about Winchesters. The November-December meeting will be at 7:30 p.m. and feature our own Hob Sears, who will present a program on Winchester Model 1895s from an engineering point of view.

Secretary’s Subtleties
The attitude on the firing line was simply outstanding this year. I think the only one who picked up a weapon while people were down range was me, and somebody called me on it even though it was on a table behind the line. That’s what it takes, all of us looking after everybody else. There were many who helped Addison run the range. Lee Turner, Ralph Ennis, Mike Orsinger, Alecia Reaney, and Ed Costello did yeoman/yeowoman work along with many, many others.

Even with all the hoopla over the machineguns and the new rifle, there was plenty of firing of our personal firearms by the rest of us. It was great t o see the number of young boys and girls at the shooter’s tables being instructed by their parents. It was also gratifying to see the way the kids conducted themselves.

President’s Corner
Thanks to all who made the picnic what it was, and a special thanks to Ed Bokinsky for arranging for us to see and shoot the new .50-caliber rifle. The terrorists and drug runners will not like being on the receiving end when a Coast Guardsman has to fire at them. Speaking of being fired upon, many of us didn’t realize the German machineguns we had at the picnic fired up to 1,200 rounds per minute. It makes us respect all the more those who faced them during WWII, and I get goose bumps thinking about what it must have been like on the beaches of Normandy.

The 20-mm was something else. Seeing what an 800-grain slug powered by 600+ grains of IMR powder traveling at 3,000 feet per second From an 8-foot barrel does to a bowling pin at 100 yards is a sight to behold. The optical sights on the gun were simply amazing.

It seems to me as if the activities of the VGCA just keep getting better and better. I appreciate everyone’s cooperation in making this shoot the safest ever. I look forward to the June meeting with Scott Meadows, and I hope you will be there. Bring in Show and Tell stuff, and please remember to come early, as the meeting starts at 7 pm., not 7:30. Food etc will be there as usual. Bring guests and be prepared for a fun evening as all our meetings are.

Ed Johnson’s BBQ was simply superb as usual, and there was enough food there in the covered dishes to feed half of Frederick County. Great meal. Again, thanks to everyone who helped make the picnic so much fun and so safe. -- Addison