President's Newsletter

April 2026

What a great spring we are headed into so far! The weather is fantastic and everything is starting to green up a month early. Both ranges are in full swing and many improvements have been made on both. We seem to have many more people using the ranges on a regular basis thanks to the Discipline Directors keeping things organized and welcoming. Going forward, I’ll be including match results each month—partly to recognize the shooters, and partly to nudge a few more of you off the sidelines and onto the firing line. Remember, all scheduled matches are open to non-members, so bring a buddy, a neighbor, or that one friend who’s been “thinking about it.”

Vale Range Updates

If you’ve driven out recently, you’ve probably noticed the smoother ride in— a fresh layer of gravel on the road to smooth things out has made a huge difference. This was accomplished by very generous donations by club members and those on the board. Special thanks to Dennis Stanley for donating both his time and his dump truck.

Now all we need to do is try to keep the washboards down. A little tractor work on a regular basis will certainly help but the biggest difference will be made by all of us coming and going. Please take it slow on the road and we just might be able to keep those washboards from coming back anytime soon.

We have started repairs on the east fence around the range. It has fallen in disrepair and it will be a summer long project getting the wire back up and new signs installed. A huge thanks to Jerald Holloway and his crew for installing six new railroad ties for corner posts. Jerald is the gentleman that provides the cows every summer for our much needed fire control at Vale.

We also had the hinges upgraded on the outhouse to self closing. This will really help with wind damage when the doors aren’t closed completely. The Scoring Shed roof will be replaced as soon as the weather warms enough to tab down the shingles. A big thanks to Kristen and Rob Nieskens for volunteering to take on this task. It’s efforts like these—from a lot of folks behind the scenes—that keep the range running right. We appreciate every one of you.

Vale Match Results

Short Range Benchrest – March 7

100 Yard Score

Kevin Muir – 0.2754 MOA (1st)
Bob Smith – 0.3486 MOA (2nd)
Paul Wunische – 0.3622 MOA (3rd)
Shane Compton - 0.4096 MOA average
Dave Cook - 0.4174 MOA average
Dave Bingner - 0.4689 MOA average
Kerry Kegel - 0.4749 MOA average

200 Yard Score

Bob Smith – 0.7526 MOA (1st)
Kerry Kegel – 0.7556 MOA (2nd)
Paul Wunische – 0.7638 MOA (3rd)
Shane Compton - 0.7893 MOA average
Kevin Muir - 0.7953 MOA average
Dave Bingner - 0.9404 MOA average
Aggregate Winner:
Kevin Muir – 0.336525 MOA

Thanks to Kerry for running another solid match—and to everyone who pitched in.

22 Benchrest Match - March 28

Open Rifle:

Kerry Kegal 745-35X 1st
Bob Smith 745-27X
Curtis Larson 740-18X

Factory Target:

Art Freund 738-23X 1st
Casey Cleaver 729-13X
Dave Brown 344-1X

Factory:

Art Freund 725-11X 1st
Chuck Otte 713-17X
Jim Todd 680-12X
Howard Benson 647-4X

Good turnout and a smooth event—thanks to all who showed up and helped make it happen.

Coming Up

Practical Pistol, High Power Rifle, and 600-yard Benchrest all kick off in April

Please don’t forget we have the annual Bang O Rama match April 21st thru the 26th.

That means the main covered range will be closed during those dates. This is the largest event we hold at our Vale Range. Black powder cartridge rifles, big booms, and enough smoke to make you feel like you stepped back in time. It’s loud, it’s historic, come check it out!

Ontario Shotgun Range Update

Things are picking up here too! Pat has launched his second skeet league, shooting Thursdays and Sundays. It’s not too late to jump in—good shooting, good people, and a solid way to spend an afternoon. We’re also working on getting the card system live on Skeet Field #2, which will eventually allow members to shoot seven days a week. Stay tuned…. In the meantime, give Pat a call or email for more information or to sign up for his league.

Trap shooters—good news. John Dollar is now opening the trap field on Sunday afternoons as well. If you’re looking to shoot a round or two, just show up and he’ll get you squared away. Give John a call or email with any questions.

Behind the scenes, a lot of work has gone into the shotgun and sporting clays ranges. Curtis and a crew of volunteers have put in serious hours improving the grounds, and Gary McClellan continues to keep the throwers running smoothly— with the large number of machines on the Sporting Clays, Skeet, and trap ranges this is a vital asset to the shotgun range and the club.

NSCA Event Recap – March 14

Curtis kicked off his first NSCA event of the season with a strong showing—over 50 shooters and more than 8,000 targets thrown. Not a bad way to start the year. He and his wife even kept everyone fed, which never goes unnoticed. Curtis will be hosting monthly events through December, so plenty of chances to get involved.

Main Event – Sporting Clays

High Overall: Hunter Sells – 89
Master: Dee Searles - 83
AA: Jed Yore - 86
A - Ed VAn Etten - 81
B - Ian Hastie - 86
C - Rich Hopkins - 79
D - Roger Raymond - 76

Super Sporting

High Overall: Adam Regner – 90
Master - Ed Najar - 88
AA - Jed Yore - 84
A - John Yrazabal - 83
B - Ian Hastie - 83
C - Ted Graham - 78
D - Doug Cook - 78

That’s all for this month. Yes—it’s a bit long, but there’s a lot going on, and that’s a good problem to have.Let me know if you like seeing the match results included. If it gets more folks out shooting, we’ll keep it going.

See you on the range.

Bob Smith

President, Snake River Sportsmen