350th Match -- Wow, what a day!

Recap:

(Be sure to scroll down past all my verbiage for links to the photos, donations, and scores.)

Thirty years and 350 consecutive monthly matches   --   WOW!    What a great reason for a Gala Celebration!

The September 14, 2002, Fun Steel Match of the Rainbow Combat Club has now come and gone, but leaves memories to cherish for all who attended.    Nearly 100 shooters, along with their friends and families gathered under hot and sunny skies at the outdoor Rainbow Range, home of the monthly matches for three decades.   After the newcomers were signed up and every shooter got his/her free commemorative T-shirt and raffle ticket, everyone congregated on the hill to hear of the day's activities.

It started with key organizer, Ron Walter, who welcomed everyone and started the festivities.    Special recognition plaques that displayed each of the Pin Awards and appropriate words of acknowledgment were presented to Bill Hahn and Tom Duncan for all that they have given over the years.   Mr. Hahn was joined by his wife, also a shooter of great repute and avid supporter of the range, the match, and the sport as well.    Mr. Duncan, whose father L.E. Duncan founded Rainbow Range, and who follows in those footsteps, graciously allows us to hold the match there and supports and encourages the shooting sports.   Without these folks, there wouldn't have been a 35th match, let alone a 350th match, and to them we are deeply indebted.

Ron then introduced some of his accomplices who put so much into the match each month, including Fred Jacobs, Kevin Spangler, and Donna Leiber.    Roy Dunn, longtime member (and ultimately, the fastest shooter of the day!) and "old enough to know what's been going on over the years" was asked to speak briefly about the rich history of the club, the match, and the range.

As usual, Ron then covered some of the safety rules, and walked everyone through the five pistol stages, and the rifle and shotgun stages.   His goals in laying out the courses of fire were to afford good chances of winning pins on this noteworthy day, and in doing so, left out any hostage targets and spray-painted all existing targets with an assortment of flashy rainbow colors.  Bill Heyder met with the shooters new to the match under the old oak tree, as always, and went over more of the rules for everyone's behalf and to answer any and all questions any newcomer might have.

The familiar call for "eyes and ears" went out and the shooting started.   Competitors polished off the individual stages, the steel plates were put away, and the hinged poppers were set up for the final event.   (Since there were so many shooters, the typical two-person and four-person relays were not held.)    The Walk-N-Draw had shooters pair off and take their turns at walking toward the targets together until RO Ron Walter blew the whistle, at which time the shooters drew their weapons and fired.    In each pair, the winning shooter would go on to the next round and the loser would be out, until it was eventually down to the final two.    Ronnie Walter dueled Gregg Onley for the coveted Gold Pin (and you'll have to go to the Photos page to see who won!).

Then it was time for the food and drink, the pin awards for the top scores, cutting the special cake, and holding the free raffle for the fabulous donated prizes.   Ron had several of the younger attendees take turns drawing the tickets (to insure randomness) and as the numbers were announced, the winners checked in with donation-diva Donna Leiber, browsed the prize tables, and selected their gifts.    The shotgun, discounted pistol certificate, and hundreds of dollars of store gift certificates were snatched up quickly, but practically everyone who remained to the very end was able to take home something.   (Be sure to check out the list of donors and patronize them!)

It was a fun and remarkable day and everyone is to be congratulated.   We hope that the newcomers come back next month and we'll count on the "regulars."    Let's work and play together to keep this going for another 30 years or so!

Click any of the buttons below (left column) to be dazzled!

			One set of great photos of the glorious event, thanks to George Ward.
			More wonderful photos, courtesy of Ron Walter.
			Donations, donations, donations! (Generous donors and the happy recipients.)
			Scores and Pin Awards from the Match

Special Thanks:

to Brian Howard, Marty Sprick, Shawn Graham, Gary Jones, and Ron Walter for volunteering to RO the stages to keep the pace moving;
to Deenie Woolery, Linda Howard, Bill Heyder, and the Oceanside Pistol League for procuring and serving the delicious cake, hot dogs, chips, and water;
to Ron Walter and everyone who helped design and set up the colorful match stages for the day;
to Brian Howard, George Ward, and Donna Leiber for helping arrange and display the 63 donated prizes, gift certificates, and their rainbow-colored signs;
to Fred Jacobs, Ron Walter, Kevin Spangler, and Donna Leiber for planning the event, soliciting the donations, securing the commemorative T-shirts, ordering the honoree plaques, and all the other behind-the-scenes work they put into making this the success it was;
to Kevin Spangler, Linda Howard, Deenie Woolery, and Fred's best bud Bob Roberts (who came from Scottsdale to shoot the match) for helping sign up the dozens of shooters new to the match and handing out T-shirts and raffle tickets;
to George Ward and Ron Walter for all the great photos;
to all the shooters and observers, old and new, who came out to enjoy the celebration;
and to all the companies and individuals who donated prizes for our free raffle, including our own Linda Howard and her seven beautifully handmade gifts.

(Page last updated September 19, 2002, by Donna J. Leiber.) Visitors so far:

(Just for a change, the two photo sets are presented with different interaction styles. Tell me which you like best!)

Click here to return to Rainbow Range Fun Steel Match's Main Start Page.