Northwest DuPage, Post 1084 | The American Legion

Post 1084 Shooting Sports

Marksmanship; An American Heritage

Firearms Safety

The Junior Shooting Sports is safer than any other sport that our youth can participate in. Every year the safety record of Junior Shooting Sports Programs, nationwide, continues to go virtually unscathed. In fact, it is far more likely to receive a serious injury participating in Cheerleading than it is participating in the Jr. Shooting Sports Program.

But this incredible safety record does not come out of thin air. It takes responsible adults to teach proper firearms safety. It is the responsibility of every parent, to teach his or her children firearm safety. Unfortunately, they will not receive this potentially life saving information in our local schools. Even if you do not own a firearm, your child may encounter one at a friend’s or family members home, and if they are unprepared, the outcome could be disastrous.

If you do own a firearm, you must take away the mystery of firearms, kids will figure out how something works, whether you teach them the safe and proper way, or they learn the hard way themselves. If you need any assistance teaching your children Firearm Safety, please contact us, we have Certified Instructors that can help you.

Here are 5 basic firearms safety rules that will keep you safe.

#1, Always treat all firearms as if they are loaded

#2, Always keep the firearm unloaded until ready to fire

#3, Always keep the muzzle pointed in a safe direction

#4, Always, keep your finger off the trigger until your sights are on target and you are ready to fire.

#5, Always, be sure of your target and what is beyond your target

Here is an Eddie Eagle Video to show the younger members of your family.

The Shooting Sports - A Perspective

Today, the shooting sports are an important recreational activity in America. Nearly 70 million people own firearms, with over half of all U.S. households containing at least one firearm. Tens of thousands of competitors participate in matches from neighborhood tournaments to the Olympic Games. More than 20 million hunting licenses are issued annually in the United States, generating vast sums for the conservation of wildlife and wildlife habitat.

Marksmanship is a proud part of our national heritage. Our forefathers fought the Revolutionary War to gain their freedom as individuals and independence as a nation. Just a few years later the United States of America was called upon to defend its newly-won independence in the War of 1812.

In both of these wars, skilled American riflemen played a deciding role. It is easy to understand why Americans were skilled marksmen during the Revolutionary period. They had to know how to shoot accurately to put food on the table and for their own protection. Marksmanship skills have been valuable national assets.

There is still a need for these skills. Today there is another call for expert marksmen in the exciting sport of competitive shooting. In recent years, the United States has been a dominant force in international shooting competition.

You are starting a sport that can, with study, practice, and hard work lead your junior shooters all the way to the Olympics.

Competitive marksmanship does not require great physical size or strength. Even though physical fitness and stamina are important, mental qualities determine whether a shooter will ever become a champion. Being able to concentrate completely on a task and being able to relax under pressure are two of the mental keys to success.

What is Shooting?

Shooting is a skill sport.

Skills learned in shooting are valuable in other aspects of life. Learning to be a safe shooter teaches responsibility. Learning to hit a difficult target teaches self-discipline and self-control. Learning to hold a firearm steady and hit the target teaches concentration. Knowing that the shooter alone is ultimately responsible for his or her performance teaches self-reliance and enhances individual esteem.

Shooting tests how well one can control his or her body in using a firearm to hit a target. It's hard to imagine being able to control one-self so well as to almost always hit a target the size of a typed period from 10 meters away, but in shooting that is what your participants will learn to do.

Shooting is a participation sport.

No one has to sit on the sidelines and watch; everyone can take part. This active involvements is important because sports are fun when young people can participate personally instead of watching others. Persons with physical disabilities also can take part in shooting, often right alongside other shooters in matches.

Shooting is an Olympic sport.

The summer Olympics have rifle, pistol, running game target and shotgun shooting events. The winter Olympics have a biathlon event that combines cross-country skiing and shooting. Shooting is the third most popular Olympic sport. Only two sports - track and boxing - regularly have more participating nations.

Shooting also offers international championship events in the Pan American Games, World Shooting Championships and Shooting Championships of the Americas.

Shooting is a safe sport.

Injuries are so rare in target shooting that accident records are not even kept. Shooting is safe because it has a strict code of safety that all shooters follow. Like water safety training, the firearm safety training associated with a shooting activity is of lasting value, even if the young people don't develop and ongoing interest in the shooting sports.

Shooting is a lifetime sport.

Persons of all ages participate successfully in shooting. Children as young as eight or nine can learn to shoot using BB guns and lightweight air rifles.

Shooting is an exciting sport.

There's special thrill in being able to hit a target the shooter isn't sure can be hit. It is fun to see shooters' abilities improve. The challenges of preparing shooters in your club to compete against other shooters throughout the nation makes every practice session an exciting event.

Shooting is a sport for girls and boys.

Boys and girls compete equally in shooting. Recent national junior championships and The American Legion junior Air Rifle National Championships have been won both by girls and boys.

Records Broken at 2007 American Legion Shooting Sports Contest

Noel Maxwell, a 13-year-old female shooter from Bowling Green, Kentucky preformed under intense pressure in the final shoot-off to capture the sporter crown at the 17^th annual American Legion Junior Air Rifle National Championship, August 9-11. One record was broken as thirty junior air rifle competitors met at the Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs.

Maxwell, the youngest National Champion in the 17-year history of the program, claimed the sporter championship firing a 2309.7/2509. She shoots for the Corvette City Shooting Team, which is sponsored by Post 23.

Dempster Christenson, 17, of Sioux Falls, S.D., won the overall Precision championship with a score of 2462.2/2509. Christenson is a member of the Humboldt Sharpshooters, sponsored William H. Crippen Post 62.

Also observing the competition was 1992 rifle Olympic Gold medalist Launi Meili. Meili, got her start as youth through a shooting program sponsored by the Cheney, Washington American Legion Post. She recently assumed the duties as the rifle coach for the United States Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs, Colo.

Kurt Hakola set the new sporter final shoot-off record of 96.4 out of possible 109, eclipsing the old record of 93.7 set in 2004. Hakola also finished fifth overall in the sporter category with a score of 2263.4. The Port Crane, New York native shoots for the Binghamton Rifle Club, sponsored by Post 1845.

Rounding out the top five in the two categories were:
Precision competition - Kyle Smith shot a 2459.9 to take second place honors. Smith is from DuBois, Pa., and shoots for the, DuBois Rifle and Pistol Club, sponsored by DuBois Post 17.

Abigail Stanic of Wadsworth, Ohio, fired a 2452.8 to capture third place. She is a member of the Ashland Eagles, sponsored by Fairview Park Post 738.

Joseph Walkowicz finished in fourth place with a 2457.0. He is from Nashville, Tenn., and shoots for Montgomery Bell Academy, sponsored by Brentwood Post 156.

Rounding out the top five was Matthew Pueppke of Amenia, N.D., who shot a 2448.0. Pueppke, a 2005 national championship finalist shoots for the Buffalo Sharpshooters, sponsored by Dokken & Schroeder Post 223.

Sporter competition - Second place went to Marco Aguayo of McAllen, Texas, with a score of 2308.3. He is a member of the Pharr-San Juan-Alamo H.S. JROTC marksmanship team, sponsored by Vermund G. Hanson Post 101.

Kaitlyn Martin of Peralta, N.M., fired a 2288.5 for third place. She shoots for the Valencia County 4-H Shooting Sports team sponsored by Post 85.

Taking fourth was Joe Montanez shooting a 2272.7. Montanez is also a member of the Pharr-San Juan-Alamo H.S. JROTC marksmanship team

The tournament staff selected Kaitlyn Martin as the recipient of the annual Francis M. Redington Sportsmanship award. The Francis M. Redington Sportsmanship award was established in May 2005 in the memory of Redington, a long time tournament staff member, who passed away in 2003. Martin was selected as the athlete competing in the national championship who best exemplified good sportsmanship and fair play.

The American Legion’s Junior Shooting Sports program offers junior shooters the opportunity to participate in Olympic-style competition while also providing instruction on the safe handling of firearms.

Our History...........

A program of Northwest Dupage, Post 1084, the American Legion. This program was created by members of Wheaton Squadron 76 and Roselle Squadron 1084 of the Sons of the American Legion, who felt that there was a need for an adult shooting program in the American Legion. After a couple of years of kicking the Idea around, and doing some research to get ideas on how to run are own shoot, we starting having our monthly Practical Pistol Shoot. It was not easy to get to that point. It took a lot of leg work to find an indoor range that could accommodate us, and without knowing how many shooters would show up, we had no idea what it was going to cost us. So on a Thursday night in January 2002 we had our fingers crossed that 10 shooters would show up, that shoot was a success with 12 shooters and it has kept growing ever since. In January 2003 we set our attendance record with 19 shooters from five different American Legion Posts!

What is the Practical Pistol Shoot?

It is an informal fun match that is divided into four stages of friendly competition. The first two stages are loosely based on bullseye type competition, we feel accuracy is very important and these stages help foster that. They both have time limits to fire six rounds of ammunition, the first being 1 min. and the second being 30 sec. We use 50ft slow fire targets at a distance of 25ft. so that new shooters are not overwhelmed and are encouraged to keep coming back. The last two stages are timed action, one using 3-4 IPSC style targets and the other using six bowling pins as knockdowns. The action targets are placed at several different distances and have “A” and “B” hits. Scoring during the timed action stages is accomplished by adding the total score of the stage and then dividing it by the time it took to shoot the stage. Even though this is an informal fun match, we do keep a record of scores so that shooters can see their improvements from month to month. This shoot is challenging enough for experienced shooters to have fun, yet is not to overwhelming for beginners and we have had several first time shooters get introduced to the sport at this shoot. Many thanks go to Gun World Inc. in Bensenville, IL. for fitting us into their busy range schedule and allowing us to use their tactical range for these shoots.

What is the Family Fun Shoot?

After our first Practical Pistol Shoot season was over, we felt we needed something to keep the shooting sports on everyone’s mind, so we decided to get a group together and go out to Buffalo Range Inc. in Ottawa, Illinois and have some fun! This public range has several areas to shoot including a 50-75-100yd rifle range,75ft pistol, shotgun, and a plinking pit. They also have a nice picnic area were you can BBQ (remember to bring a garbage bag!). Everyone that attends gets the chance to shoot both historical and modern military rifles and pistols dating from WWI thru Viet Nam, and we always have plenty of youth sized .22 rifles on hand for the junior shooters. This is a great time to bring the family to an outdoor range and have some fun.

What’s in our Future?

As of June 1st we have 20 members, six of them are Junior members and four of them are women. As our membership grows so will our programs. We are currently working on; a High Power Rifle program, a Marksmanship Qualification program for Juniors, and a Firearms Safety program for Juniors. We look forward to working with area youth groups to achieve a greater knowledge and appreciation for the shooting sports and firearm safety. For any information regarding our club please contact us.

Membership

Adult Members must be a member of the American Legion Family with a home Post within the 11th District of Illinois. Junior members do not need to be members of the Legion Family nor do their parents, however they must have their parents permission. $15.00yr for Adults, $5.00yr for Juniors age 20 and below, $30.00 Auxiliary membership

Family Fun Shoots

June 8th, July 27th, and August 24th, Cost- we charge nothing, just pay your range fee and give us a donation for ammo

10am-- until about 2 or 3 pm

where? Buffalo Range Inc. in Ottawa, IL.

Practical Pistol Shoots

October-------April, Cost- $20.00 members, $25.00 non-members

6pm until 8pm on Thursday nights, Oct 9th, Nov 13th, Dec 11th

Where? We are currently seaching for a place to shoot the Practical Pistol Shoots.

Contacts

President, Dan Hendrickson, Sqd 1084, NRA certified Range Safety Officer, NRA Certified Rifle & Pistol Instructor. 1084shootingsports@sbcglobal.net

Vice President, John Graeff, Sqd.76, NRA certified Range Safety Officer & NRA certified Rifle Instructor jkgraeff@aol.com

Treasurer, Greg Hull, Sqd 1084,