July 14, 2022
There is action in the Illinois General Assembly because of the Highland Park Shooting. These are so-called “assault weapons bans”. In The Illinois House of Representatives, the bill is HB5522 and in the Illinois Senate the bill is SB2510. We expect action on these bills shortly after Labor Day in a special session. In the meantime, contact your legislators and oppose these bills or others like them. They may switch the bill numbers at any time. We have seen this tactic before. Also go to the ISRA website and go through the tutorial on how to fill out witness slips. We will keep you informed.
Gun owners of Illinois and the United States are facing the toughest attacks we have ever seen. There is a well-organized, well-funded anti-gun movement taking hold. On Wednesday, there was a March in Washington D.C. We were seeing hotels giving discounts for online reservations even through Ute and GoFundMe pages to offset expenses. There had to backing from other sources to put all of this together.
There was a shooting of an off-duty Chicago Police Office early Tuesday morning. Officer Danny Golden and two other officers were at a bar after attending a fundraiser for families dealing with cancer. A fight broke out and he was trying to break it up. He was reportedly shot at 22 times. One bullet struck him in the back paralyzing him from the waist down. Another bullet is still lodged near his heart and cannot be removed. Three men are charged in the case. All have criminal records and should have been in jail at the time of the shooting. They were originally scheduled to be released, but protests from law enforcement groups caused them to be held without bail. They are charged with aggravated unlawful use of a firearm, unlawful discharge of a firearm and aggravated battery.
They got the guns in a gun swap from a street gang. I am shocked they didn’t go through a universal background check. One of these characters was in prison for attempted bank robbery. He was sentenced to the Federal penitentiary for 46 months plus three years of supervision. He was also sentenced to three years in state prison, but his federal time counted toward his state time so essentially, he got nothing. This is exactly what is wrong with the system and why we have so much crime, but they want the law-abiding gun owner to pay for it. The other perpetuators were almost as bad, but I am running out of space. One of the many questions is “Why aren’t these guys charged with attempted murder?” These people should be serving their full sentences. If they are let out early, whoever let them out should serve the rest of their sentence.
In New Jersey, a school security guard was fired for being honest about deficiencies in the school security in the school he was employed. The school was leaving the front door unlocked and, of course, the school did not want to talk about this at all. A parent asked the guard if it was open and he told them it was, and he got fired. I have experienced this in Illinois. One day, I got a call from a Chief of Police who wanted to use the ISRA range for special training related to school security. A couple of days later, he called back and said he was canceling the training. The school told him they did not want policemen in the school for active shooter drills because it might upset the children. Sorry school Superintendent, but that is a dumb as dirt response. When something happens, it’s always everyone else’s fault but the schools – not so.
The CMP has notified the ISRA that they have a limited number M-1 Garands available. If you are interested, I would act quickly.
It is the beginning of the summer shooting competition season and ISRA teams are already at Camp Atterbury, Indiana, and Bristol, Indiana, competing in the NRA Highpower and American Smallbore Shooting Association (ASSA) Championship. The ISRA Gold Highpower team is leading in the High Masters category and the ISRA Master team is leading in the Master Class division. Many reading this may not understand all of what I am talking about but to be a High Master or Master shooter means that you know what you are doing.
At Bristol, our Smallbore shooters are seniors shooting individual matches and so far, we have a couple of second place finishes and one first place finish. Well done everyone.
In a few days, ISRA shooters will be going to Camp Perry, Ohio, and then move to Camp Atterbury, Indiana. As I keep telling you, if you want to learn to shoot, you should join the ISRA. That is a start.
At the end of July, the ISRA will be opening its new office in Sparta, Illinois, at the World Shooting Recreational Complex. This coincides with the opening of the Grand American Trapshooting Championship. The National Trap Shoot Championship opens with the AIM youth trapshooting evening on Friday, July 29, 2022, through Sunday July 31, 2022. The Grand American starts Wednesday, August 3, 2022, and goes until the 13th of August. If you have never been to the World Shooting Complex in Sparta, you should try to attend. The firing line is 3.5 miles long.
In September, the National Muzzleloading Championship will be held in Friendship, Indiana. We will have Illinois shooters there also.
The ISRA will hold Pistol, Highpower rifle, F-Class Highpower rifle, Smallbore rifle and Muzzleloading Championships this Summer and Fall. The Conventional Bullseye Pistol Championship will be held at the ISRA range in Bonfield on August 13th and 14th. This is a little earlier than usual. If you are a Bullseye shooter, you should go.
Training opportunities at the ISRA Range are fabulous this year:
Midwest Training Group (MTG) which will be holding an Advanced Handgun Skills Course at our range in Bonfield, Illinois, on August 6th and 7th. Designed by Bob Houzenga and Andy Kemp as an addition to Massad Ayoob’s LFI curriculum and originally taught as LFI Advanced Handgun Skills, this two-day course is fast paced and demanding, focusing on high-speed drills designed to build the optimum blend of speed and accuracy. Ideal for the advanced shooter who wishes to hone and fine-tune his techniques. Novice shooters move up to the next skill level. Emphasis on individual diagnostics and the subtle nuances used by six-time National Champion, Bob Houzenga. From fast and furious, up-close shooting, to accuracy work at 25 yards, this program offers students of any skill level, an opportunity to take their skills to the next level. Recoil management for super-fast follow up shots, rapid first shots from the holster, swift engagement of multiple targets, strong and weak hand techniques, “catching the link”, and shooting “out of the notch” are just some of the topics covered. Many students find their speed doubles or triples with better accuracy. 1200 rounds required. Prior formal instruction is a pre-requisite. Contact Andy Kemp at 208-771-3413 or Andy1911@imaxmail.net or visit www.midwesttraininggroup.net
The Massad Ayoob MAG 80 Course is an intensive study of defensive firearms that teaches extreme speed for hits, and includes shooting at greater distances, and management of such contingencies as weak hand draws, one-hand only reloads and malfunction clearing if wounded, etc. Students receive several hours of hands-on training in handgun disarming, and in countering attempts by an attacker to disarm them. Shooting while moving, and the use of long guns for defense, are among the areas covered. Round count: 500 handgun, 100 long gun. Prerequisites: MAG-20/Classroom plus MAG-20/Live Fire; MAG-40 or LFI-I. Contact Andy Kemp at 208-771-3413 or Andy1911@imaxmail.net
CMP will be conducting in-person training for Level II Range Officer training on Friday, September 30, 2022. They will be offering a Rifle Range Officer Level II training from 8:00 am to Noon on Friday September 30, 2022. The Pistol Range Officer Level II training will be from 1:00pm to 3:00 pm on Friday September 30, 2022. In order to attend these classes, you will have to show completion of the Level I class before you can register for the Level II class. The Level I class is $75 and is an online class; register here: https://thecmp.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/2021-RO-Level-I-Application.pdf.
The Level II class is $40: use this link for the Level II application: https://thecmp.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/2022-RO-Level-II-Application.pdf. I encourage all active RSO’s to do this training.
The Marksmanship 101 Rifle Class is a two-day class, and it will be held on October 1 and October 2, 2022. The cost is $95 for adults and $85 for Juniors. You must register through CMP here: https://ct.thecmp.org/app/v1/index.php?do=match&task=edit&match=22445. Firearms and ammunition will be provided by the CMP. The second day of this class will be a an M16 Highpower rifle match fired on Konsberg Electronic targets.
The Marksmanship 101 Pistol Class is a one-day class with classroom instruction, range training and practice, followed by firing of an M9 match. The cost for Pistol 101 is $95 for adults and $85 for Juniors. This class will be offered on October 1 and October 2, 2022. Firearms and ammunition will be provided by the CMP. You must register through the CMP for this class: https://ct.thecmp.org/app/v1/index.php?do=match&task=edit&match=22445.
As of July 12, 2022:
FOID – 2,401,001
CCL – 434,886
Tidbits:
I am going to vary the Tidbits this week. I try to build on significant events that happen during the present week throughout American History. This week there isn’t anything that excited me very much, so I am going to write about my favorite WWII fighter plane, the P-47 Thunderbolt. When you read articles, see documentaries, or hear stories, they love to talk about the sleek sexy fighter planes like the P-51 Mustangs, British Spitfires, Messerschmitt 109s and Japanese Zeros. I like the P-47 the best, maybe because it is kind of like me.
The nicknames of the P-47 were not flattering. They included the “Jug”, Flying Tank”, and the “Tractor with Machine Guns”. The fact is more Aces flew the P-47 than any other fighter. The top two pilots had 28 kills and 27 kills respectively. The P-47 Thunderbolt was three feet wider than the P-51 Mustang, four feet longer and 50 percent heavier than the Mustang. The Thunderbolt weighed twice as much as the Spitfire. The Thunderbolt was powered by a 2600 horsepower Pratt & Whitney Double Wasp 18-cylinder engine as was the Navy’s Hellcat and Vought Corsair. The Thunderbolt was land based and not carrier based and could be made more versatile because it did not have to be so compact. In straight and level flight, it could fly at 440mph like the Mustang. Some experiential models flew at 505mph, and the model M Thunderbolt could fly at 473 mph in straight and level flight. The plane had a ceiling of 40,000 feet well above other fighter planes so it could swoop down before the enemy knew it. The P-47s could reach 725mph in a dive, breaking the sound barrier. It is true that other fighter planes were more maneuverable, but if you were a German or Japanese pilot and a Thunderbolt got above and behind, it was curtains. In 1943, the Thunderbolts started arriving and wherever they were used, the enemy planes got pounded.
The P-47 was equipped with eight .50 caliber machine and carried 3400 rounds of ammunition, twice as much as other fighter planes. In a one second burst, the Thunderbolt could deliver 106 rounds on a target. The P-47 carried half of the ordinance of a B-17 bomber and packed the punch of a 105mm howitzer with its rockets. If you were in a Nazi column and you saw a flight of Thunderbolts coming your way, you knew hell was coming to breakfast and you were on the menu. Thunderbolts flew 500,000 sorties in WWII accounting for 4000 enemy aircraft, 9000 trains, 88,000 trucks, 6000 armored vehicles and who knows how many enemy soldiers. When Great Britain was under attack by German V-1 rockets, the P-47s were used to shoot them down.
In July 1944, when the U.S Army and Allies were pushing the Nazis back to Germany and attacking the Japanese in the Pacific, above them were the unsung P-47 Thunderbolts protecting them, my favorite WWII fighter.
Thanks for being a member!
Upcoming Events: ISRA Calendar
For more information, visit www.isra.org
Saturday, July 16, 2022
Covert Carry Handgun Course
MTW Consulting LLC NRA 1st Step Pistol Seminar
Sunday, July 17, 2022
Springfield Armory Pistol Match
Monday, July 18 & 25, 2022
Military Bench Rest League
Tuesday, July 19 & 26, 2022
Tuesday Night Irregular Rifle League
Wednesday, July 20 & 27, 2022
F-Class Rifle League
Bench Rest League
Paper & Steel League
Thursday, July 21 & 28, 2022
ISRA Smallbore Prone/F-Class League
Saturday, July 23, 2022
ISRA Academy NRA Basic Pistol Class
Locked & Loaded
Sunday, July 24, 2022
ISRA Bullseye Match
Saturday, July 30, 2022
Armed Women of America
Sunday, July 31, 2022
Glock Summer League
Gun & Trade Shows
Bloomington Gun & Knife Show – Bloomington, IL
Interstate Center
Dates: July 23 & 24, 2022
Hours: Saturday: 9:00-3:00
Sunday: 9:00-3:00
Admission: $6.00
DeKalb County Sportsman’s Show – Genoa, IL
Genoa Veterans Hall
Date: July 31, 2022
Hours: Sunday: 7:30-1:30
Admission: $5.00