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From December 2015

As tradition has it there'll be no Club Meeting in December! Instead on Sunday December the 13th we'll set that time aside so that we can have a small get together to celebrate The Holiday Season! The festivities will start at 2pm! Under the guidance of Chef Moe Barbera The Club will be serving roast turkey! Spiraled ham and of course all the trimmings! There'll also be finger foods and some of Giuseppe's famous pizza! If you feel like bringing along a confection for after dinner or even a home made item please feel free to do so! Remember this is a free event for all members and their immediate family! If you plan on attending please let us know! Knowing how many will attend makes Moe happy and a happy cook is one we don't have to be afraid of! From Last Meeting: Based on a majority vote President Wilkes will be purchasing three emergency medical kits! These kits will be placed on both the Rifle and Pistol Range with the third being placed inside the Clubhouse! CPR: at the same meeting it was decided that we should look into having a CPR class at our Club! If this goes as planned the class would be open to all Range Officers and members! Onward:

Christmas Party Raffle:We'll be having a small raffle the day of the party! Many items such as .22 ammo,knives ,firearms reference books and accessories will be included! Tickets can be purchased that day or in advance! They'll be priced at $5.00 each or Three for $10.00! Winners need not be present to win!

Winter Blues: Ever notice how that time between New Years and the first day of Spring just takes forever to arrive! Well maybe we can help some of our members to make that time go a bit faster! What we've done is set up a schedule of events that might be of interest!

Saturday January 19th: Utah Pistol Course: Graduates can Legally carry a concealed pistol in 30+ states with the Utah pistol permit.The class is approximately 5 hours, covering firearm safety and Utah law. Finger prints and photos are included in class. All you need to bring to class is a black pen and your Driver’s license. When you leave the class all you need to do is enclose a check made out to Utah BCI and put postage on the envelope. In about 60 days you should receive your permit (as long as you have no disqualifiers). The cost of this class is $150.
Please make all checks payable to Northeast Firearms Training, LLC or you can purchase the course online. An option is available to receive both your Utah and Florida permit for a discounted cost of $210. Checks and completed applications can be mailed to:
111 Barnerville Rd PMB #119,
Cobleskill, New York 12043
For more info call Dan @(518) 322-2045. Or go to northeastfirearmstraining.net to fill out and application!

Saturday February 13th: Economy Basic Pistol Permit Course!Basic Pistol Safety Course instructed by Northeast Firearms Training at Our Club! This is a class for beginners – people looking to get their New York pistol permit and for those who are just getting started with formal training. Learn the basics of safe pistol shooting. This course fulfills the NYS pistol permit requirement, and does not include books or range shooting. Cost of course is $75.
Please make all checks payable to Northeast Firearms Training, LLC or you can purchase the course online. Checks and completed applications can be mailed to:
111 Barnerville Rd PMB #119,
Cobleskill, New York 12043
For more info please call:
Daniel Bartholomew, dmbpps@yahoo.com, (518) 322-2045

Saturday February 13th: available as an upgrade: NRA Full Basic Pistol Course instructed by Northeast Firearms Training at Our Club. This is a class for beginners – people looking to get their New York, Florida and Connecticut pistol permit and for those who are just getting started with formal training. Learn the basics of safe pistol shooting. You will learn the basic knowledge and fundamentals of shooting, and the skills and attitude needed for owning and using a handgun safely. Class is approximately 7 to 10 hours long depending on if you already have your NY permit or not. Those that do not have a NY permit will do classroom only. And upon passing the test at the end of the class will receive a certificate to aid in getting your NY permit. After receiving your permit you are invited back for a free 2 hour class on the range with your gun. Those that have their NY permit or are coming from out of state will do the same class as above plus 2 hrs. On the range after classroom that day. You will need your pistol, 50 rounds of ammunition, a strong side holster, eye and hearing protection and a baseball style hat. Dress for the weather of the day. Cost of the course is $100 and there is also a $10 range fee.
Please make all checks payable to Northeast Firearms Training, LLC or you can purchase the course online. Checks and completed applications can be mailed to:
111 Barnerville Rd PMB #119,
Cobleskill, New York 12043

From October:

Items on that agenda: Picking up on past discussion on posting safety and procedure rules on Ranges! Discussion on Future use of of .22 rim fire rifles on Pistol Range!

We're happy to report both the Pistol Range and Rifle Range have received their updates!

Rifle Range: During the rebuild it was noticed a good deal of tires on the lower levels were getting the majority of hits and being torn open! this caused the sand in the upper tire rows to drain down and eventually out! Because of that it meant that all tires on the lower levels had to be removed,along with the upper level ones. Then all filled with sand!Quite a bit of work! So in an effort to extend the life expectancy of the impact berm and make it easier to maintain we've shrunk the both the 100 and 50 yard backer boards down to 18"x24". We're hoping that doing this will help to keep hits on the upper rows of tires WHICH are far easier to replace! ...... Ouch! I just reread this and got a headache! Maybe it would've been better to say we're conducting an experiment with smaller backer boards that will hopefully save us time and money and left it at that

In closing we also should thank a few others for their recent help! Jesse Lundy, Mohammed Zamani ,John Livolsi and Pat Rinaldi for their assistance in our Rifle Range Rehab!

That's it for now.Thanks for reading and don't forget to visit Mark over at www.tvrgc.com

From September:

Items on that agenda: Annual election of Officers!

Creation of Range Procedure Signs !

Report on Annual Raffle/Auction! Onward:

Pistol Range: Finally the weather cooperated and this years work on that range is mostly done! When you visit you'll find that the range was widened to comfortably accommodate 7 shooters! This allows for a distance of four feet, left and right, from one shooter to the next! Also the shooting distance has been lengthened to 25 yards!(you can still shoot less though) This is a definite plus for our members in law enforcement who train and qualify at this distance! .22 rim fire rifle shooters should also be aware that a rifle bench has been placed at the 25 yard mark too! That's something that many members have requested! For those who complain of seasonal wet feet the range also has been pitched and covered in crushed stone! For the safety concerned the impact berm has been raised to 15 feet and sides from 7 to 12'! The only problem now is all this new work has made the old shelter look pretty shabby! So the week after Labor Day we're going to solve that with a new coat of paint! All this all said come check it out and hopefully enjoy!
P.S. Hats of to our Excavator Ron Showers! That guy is the Mickey Angelo of bulldozer operators! Without him none of it would have been possible!

Rifle Range: Weather permitting we hope to start and finish this the week after Labor Day!

Picnic: we had a great turnout that day! an unofficial headcount puts attendance at about 100 people! Thanks go out to Scot and The Fraternal Order Of Eagles for their food donation! To Pat,Scot,Moe and Mrs Barbera for their cooking efforts and to all those who brought salads and sweets! A huge thanks also to the guy who marinated the chicken! That process made that chicken the absolute best the world has ever seen or tasted! At least that's what people are saying!

Members Only Raffle: Happy to report we did well financially with this! In fact better then last year! We're happy also because the firearms were won by one of our longest tenured member and one of our newest members! Congratulations to the following members:

Mossberg Patrol Rifle! Winner :John M
CZ 455 .22 Rifle: Laura S
Lee Reloading Set Up! Ulysses W
2016 Dues paid: Ulysses W
.22 Bulk Ammo: Mario S
Rich K
Gary M
Tony O
Joe C
Members who've won ammo must pick it up at Neil Browns shop! Neil can be reached at 283-1307! Please pick up by the end of September!

Utah Pistol Course and Florida Live Fire: On Saturday September 19th the Club will be hosting another Utah Pistol Course! Instructed by Dan Bartholomew of North East Firearms Training those completing will be given certification in quite a few States!
For more info contact Dan @ 322-2045 or visit http://northeastfirearmstraining.net/utah-pistol-permit-training !

New York State Hunter Safety Course!Friday September 25th at 6 to 9pm and Saturday September 26th from 8:15 to 5:00 pm: Instructed by Kevin Busch and Mark Caruso this course features all of the things needed for a new hunter to learn . It also includes a live fire for all students! For that reason we ask that a few of our Range Officers lend a hand on Saturday for that aspect!
The Club will provide a free lunch for all students, instructors and helpers!

The Return of The Mad Shotgunner: Many of you may recall visits from The Mad Shotgunner this past Winter! It was then he stopped by the Pistol Range and kind of destroyed the place! Several times! As a result that area was closed off to him and innocent others. This June many of us gathered to make a place for the innocent tactical shotgunners to enjoy their sport! Seems TMS ,in a show of appreciation, has visited that place too! He recently peppered the footage markers there with #8's and finished one of them off with a slug! To make matters worse the slug left that marker in a direction that would have it leaving our property! During his next visit he shot up the archery target and slugged a pine tree so severely it had to be taken down! To make matters even worse those slugs were found imbedded in trees that were directly in line with the Pistol Range! We think it goes without saying that this person could easily hurt or kill someone with such antics! He could also get us into a lot of trouble with our neighbors and the town! Trouble that could be very expensive to get out of! So the question is what needs to be done?
Lets talk about this on September 13th! If you know who this is let us know! Such info would be treated discretely!

For Sale or possible trade: It's been suggested that we add this section to our monthly email! So if you have item or items ,be it cars, firearms or whatever send it in with your contact info and we'll include it. Please also remember all firearms and ammo sales must follow current laws!

Neil Brown 283-1307 tells us: He HAS OVER 50 PRE OWNED BIG GAME HUNTING RIFLES AND SHOTGUNS THAT HE IS LIQUIDATING AT ROCK BOTTOM PRICES IN ORDER TO MAKE ROOM FOR MORE COLLECTABLE FIREARMS! He also has one 100 round box of American made .223 and one 100 round box of 40 cal S+W for $35.00 each!

1999 Toyota Avalon. Clean car with leather interior and sunroof! Price:$2000.00. Contact Ara at 892-6158 for more info!

Browning 1885 cal 45/70: Rifle appears new and features nice sights and great wood! Price $750.00 ! Contact Ara at 892-6158 for more info!

Train Set: 3 boxes of Lionel stuff with track cars engine etc! Price $25.00! Contact Walt @ 618-8792 for more info!

2003 Hyundai Sonata: V6 ,109k,inspected! clean in and out! Price $3500! If interested call Scot @ 421-5102 for more info!

Rear Bumper: From Walts full size Chevrolet pickup! After market but almost new! You remove price $50.00! Contact Doc!

that's it for now: Thanks for reading!!

Work Party: Starting at 10am Saturday August 15th. The focus of this effort will be to make the Club House and picnic area ready for Sunday the 16th's festivities!

Gutters: gutters over the front door have been replaced thanks to Neil Browns efforts!

Annual Picnic: don't forget it will be held Sunday August 16th with a start time of 1pm. Food items will be hot dogs,burgers,chicken breasts etc! If you feel like bringing something please do! This is a free event open to all members and their immediate family!

Members Only Raffle: A reminder the drawing for the below prizes will take place August 16th at our annual picnic! Those who need more tickets can contact us here all call Doc @469-8584 . Tickets can be returned the day of the picnic or mailed back before.Our address is: 420 Dater Hill Road Troy NY 12180!

Second Place Prize: C Z 455 !

Third Place Prize: Lee Reloading Set Up!

Fourth Place Prize: $$$$$$$$ Your Dues Paid for 2016!

Runner Up Prizes #'s 5,6,7,8,9 and 10! One bulk carton each place (our choice) of either Remington or Federal .22's!

Small Auction: We have some bulk .22 ammo which we intend to auction off the day of the picnic! We also will have,thanks to a donation from Neil Brown,a youth size .22 rifle called The Cricket! The particular one donated comes with a pink stock! Update: we can also add the following items to our Auction: More .22 ammo! .223 ammo! .40 S+W ammo and 9mm ammo(thanks Carlos)! Heads for reloading 9mm(thanks Nick)! ww2 era helmet and liner(US) and a very nice fishing knife(thanks Doug)!

Bulletin: as this was being written Neil Brown contacted and informed us he's donating a quantity of Mexican .22 ammo for our auction! When asked where it came from his reply was "I've got this tunnel that starts in my shop and that's all I can tell you"! Hmmm! Could it be the rumors of the Poestenkill Cartel aren't just rumors?

Swap Meet: don't forget about this! we've been told of some interesting items that will be appearing! Included are a pump action exposed hammer shotgun! Many knives! Hunting and fishing gear! Lionel train sets and equipment to name just a few!

Money: Please consider bringing some smaller bills with you on the 16th! We try to have a few hundred dollars on hand for change making purposes! Unfortunately a few hundred dollar bills eat that up quickly!

Utah Pistol Course: On Saturday Sept 19th the Club will host another Utah Pistol Permit Course! Instructed by Dan Bartholomew of NEFAT those completing will be given certification to carry concealed in quite a few other states! For more info contact Dan @322-2045 or visit:

NorthEastern Firearms Training

Hunter Safety Class: The Club will once again hold a Hunter Safety Class! Hosted by Instructors Kevin Busch and Mark Caruso this class will be held the last weekend in September! As this month progresses we'll have more info.So look to next months email and Encons website for more details!

From July:

Items: Announcement of availability for office by candidates!

Discussion and vote to allow NEFAT to host another Utah Class in September at our Club!

From Last Meeting: Section 5 amended by 2/3rds majority vote to read that new members( starting in 2016,)during their first year will work 10 hours at Club related maintenance. 5 hours their second year! Failure to do so will result in a fine equal to 50% of the current years dues!

Onward!

Range Officers: We're pleased to announce that ten of our members will be attending the Range Officers Class at Our Club! This class will be held Saturday July 25th! Start time on the 9 hour class will be 9am.

Road Repair: As a result of a few serious rain storms our entrance road was becoming seriously rutted! Left unattended it would have worsened to the point where it could have become a muffler eater! Thanks to the efforts of quite a few of our members and some outstanding work by our Excavator, Ron Showers, the road has again been stabilized and made passable!

Members Only Raffle: A reminder the drawing for the below prizes will take place August 16th at our annual picnic! Those who need more tickets can contact us here all call Doc @469-8584 . Tickets can be returned the day of the picnic or mailed back before.Our address is: 420 Dater Hill Road Troy NY 12180!

First Place Prize: Mossberg Patrol!

Second Place Prize: C Z 455 !

Third Place Prize: Lee Reloading Set Up!

Fourth Place Prize: $$$$$$$$ Your Dues Paid for 2016!

Runner Up Prizes #'s 5,6,7,8,9 and 10!

One bulk carton each place (our choice) of either Remington or Federal .22's!

Small Auction: We anticipate having some bulk .22 ammo which we intend to auction off the day of the picnic! We also will have,thanks to a donation from Neil Brown,a youth size .22 rifle called The Cricket! The particular one donated comes with a pink stock! You may find it interesting to know that the manufacturer makes many other stocks for this rifle! So you could change that young ladies look to a boys model for as little as 40 bucks! It's also possible to buy an adult backpackers stock too! With it's 16.5" barrel this little rifle would be the perfect gun to carry on a camping trip or underneath a long coat for a hike in Troy!

Rifle and Pistol Range Work: We're once again at the mercy of Mother Nature! Current weather has left the ground wet,muddy and unable to support the bulldozer and bucket loader that are needed to do the work! According to our excavator guy we need at least seven days in a row of dry warm weather for him to start! Lets all keep our fingers crossed!

Daniel Boone Award? Congratulations to Mark Caruso! A few weeks ago Mark broke a 31 year old record when he shot a fly that had landed on his target at a distance of 50 yards! This beats the previous record ,set by the late James Glynn, who struck a bee at the same distance! Mark claims the shot wasn't perfect since he was actually aiming for the bugs head and struck its tail!

Donation from The Fraternal Order of Eagles: Scott Schmiedeshoff ,who's a member of TVRGC and The FOE,recently contacted us and informed us that we're going to be the recipient of 80 1/4 burgers with buns to match for our picnic!! We thank Scott and his fellow FOE members for this gift and wish them to know if there's ever anything we can do to assist them we will be happy to do so! Oh and a few things you might not know about the FOE! They were the group that headed the charge on establishing Mothers Day in this country! They also did the same for creating a Social Security System! Established in 1898,they're described as an international non-profit organization that unites fraternally in the spirit of liberty,justice and equality to make human life more desirable by lessoning it's ills and by promoting peace,prosperity,gladness and hope! Sounds as if we should be honored to be associated with such a group!

From June:

Tactical Shotgun:
thanks to the efforts of many a new target holder, framed in fluorescent orange and located forward and to the right of the Skeet Field,has been built and is now operational!
We remind all shooters that they must coordinate with those on the Rifle Range before using! We also must point out that this area is for the use of shotguns firing only shot! All slug firing is to be done on the Rifle Range! Users must supply their own cardboard targets and dispose of same when done! Target material can be attached to the two clips located on the underside of the overhead support piece! Please do no staple to the target frame!

Range Officer Class:
A date of Saturday July 25th has been set!
Start time on the 9 hour class will be at 9am. Prospective students are reminded that the Club must have their $30.00 check no latter then 6/14/15.
Those attending must also bring a pen and notebook!

Items on that Agenda: Discussion and Vote on Amending Article V of our Bylaws!

Announcement of availability of Candidates for Office!

From Last Meeting: Funds approved for Pistol Range Improvement!

Funds approved for expenditures of annual raffle!

Relocation of Tactical Shotgun area approved pending construction!

Work Party: There will be a work party Sunday June 7th starting at 10am! The purpose of this work party will be to clean up the pistol range area of trees and undergrowth and make it ready for excavation! Similar work will also be done on the area slated for The Tactical Shotgun Area! Those attending are advised to dress accordingly and be prepared to work in the underbrush(bug spray)! If you have a chainsaw and a weed whacker please bring it! If you're not capable of doing physical work please come anyway and be a Supervisor! According to Taconic Tradition 7 Supervisors are required for every one person working. Potential Supervisors must be willing to tell all laborers that whatever they're doing it's being done wrong and they have a better way of doing it!

Meeting Times: Please note that we are now on our Summer Meeting Schedule! Meetings for June July and August will start at 11am!

Range Officers: As a result of our work with Northeast Firearms Training we are now in a position to offer members the opportunity to attend Range Officers School! This NRA Certified course usually costs upwards of 145 dollars plus travel and an overnight stay to complete! Thankfully those of our members who wish to attend wll complete the course in one 9 hour sitting on a Saturday in July at our Clubhouse! The only costs for member attendees will be $30.00 for the necessary books that must be purchased from the NRA! Non Members are also welcome to attend for a fee of $145.00! In order to attend this class prospective member attendees must have sent a check for $30.00 in by 6/14/15! Non Members $145.00 by the same date! Please also be advised that those graduating this class will be asked to occasionally act as Safety Officers at Shoots,check in on ranges during busier times of the shooting year and help acclimate new members to range use all in a diplomatic and mentoring way! We also hope that some of these graduates will move on to the next level and become Chief Range Officers! After obtaining that credential they are allowed to sponsor new Range Officer recruits! This would help us in maintaining a level of qualified safety people for the future!

Rifle Range Rebuild/Pistol Range Work: We've been in touch with the people responsible for working in both areas and advised them that ground conditions are perfect for working! Based on that they will be starting work as soon as their schedules allow! As soon as we're advised on dates we'll pass on that info to our members! Our goal is not only to complete this work asap.It's also to do that with minimal closure time on both ranges! Where possible we'll make arrangements to at least have these areas partially open or open in late afternoon and weekends! So please hang in!

Annual Members Only Raffle: As mentioned last month we'll be having our annual raffle! A recap of the prizes is as follows!

First Place Prize: Mossberg Patrol Rifle !

Second Place Prize: CZ 455 Target Grade .22 Rifle!

Third Place Prize: Lee 50th Anniversary Reloading Setup! Runner Up Prizes: Last month we mentioned having several thousand rounds of bulk Remington .22 ammo! This month for the more discerning target shooters we've added several bulk cartons of Federal .22 match target ammo!

Tickets will be $5.00 each and five tickets will be mailed to each member this month!!

Annual Picnic: don't forget it will be held Sunday August 16th with a start time of 1pm. Food items will be hot dogs,burgers,chicken breasts etc! If you feel like bringing something please do! This is a free event open to all members and their immediate family!

Flea Market: As last year members and their immediate family are invited to bring any type of item for selling or swapping !Firearms and ammo transaction must be handled in a legal fashion! Neil Brown will be on hand to help in that area! Flea Marketers can start setting up as early as 9am! They must provide their own tables and blankets.They also are reminded they must take all unsold items with them at the end of the day!

Taconic Items for Sale: Tee Shirts: Black with orange lettering! Sizes small,medium,no large,ex large,2x,3x and 4x! Normally $3349.00 clearance priced at 15.00 each! Ladies Tee Shirts pink with black lettering! One medium! Normally $33000.00 clearance priced at $15.00! Taconic decals: Normally two for $99.00 now clearance priced at $4.00 each! Taconic 1927 Replica Tin Badges: Normally $5800.00 now $5.00!

NRA: Don't forget we're an Official NRA Recruitment Center! That means we can sign up new members(for as little as $10.00) ,renew and extend old ones! Questions contact George @421-9635 0r Doc @469-8584!

FROM MAY
Approval of funds for pistol range enlargement!

Approval for relocation of tactical shotgun area!

Rehashing of Article 5 of Bylaws!

Approval for funds to proceed with Annual Raffle!

From last meeting: Bylaw change!

Approved starting in 2016:
Addition to Section 5 to read: New members must donate 10 hours of work time to Club related projects during their first year! New members must donate 5 hours of work time their second year! Failure to comply with section 5 will result in loss of membership.

Annual Raffle: Based on the success of last years raffle and the fact we like to give firearms to our own Clubmates this years will be the same! All prizes will be for members only! Drawing for these prizes will be held at our Annual Picnic Sunday August 16th at 2pm! Winners need not be in attendance ! So what's on the giveaway agenda? Well take a look: First place prize: will be a Mossberg Patrol! This rifle, per Mossberg's spec sheet, is in caliber .556/.223.It is equipped with an A2 flash hider ,Picatinny Rail,16.25" medium bull barrel and takes readily available AR-15 type mags(comes with a ten rounder) Tests have shown this rifle will shoot less then minute of angle at 100 yds right out of the box! Second place prize: will be a CZ 455 Target Grade Rifle!

This classic styled rifle ,reminiscent of the Winchester 52 Sporters, will be supplied in .22 cal rim fire! Thanks to a special design by CZ engineers an optional barrel in either 17cal or 22 mag can be purchased and easily installed! The rifle has an adjustable trigger and comes with a classic European type stock with a Schnabel forend! Tests have shown this rifle will surpass the rim fire target benchmark of firing 5 rounds into 1 hole at 50 feet! It will also cut less then .5" inch at 50 yards and will print under an inch using carton quality ammo at 100yds!
Third place prize: Lee 50th Anniversary Reloading set up!

Tired of not being able to find your favorite calibers of ammo! And when you do it's not in the right weight or design you want! Then paying way more then you should have to for that inaccurate stuff! Well you can change all that by winning the below! Just add powder.primer and projectile! 50th Anniversary Challenger Kit

Runner Up Prizes:! Bulk .22 Ammo! We have over 2000 rounds now and will get more!

Tickets will be $5.00 each and five tickets will be mailed to each member some time in June!

Annual Picnic: as mentioned above will take place Sunday August 16th! Cooked under the guidance of Chef Moe Barbera, Burgers,hotdogs,chicken breasts and soft drinks will be provided free of charge to all members and their immediate family! As always if you feel like bringing something we promise to eat it! Food will start being available around 1pm!

Flea Market: As last year members and immediate family are invited to bring any type of item for selling purposes! Firearms and ammo sales must comply with all laws! Mr.Brown will be in attendance to help in this area! Please bring your own tables and blankets! All unsold items are not to be left behind! Set ups can start as early as 9am!

Utah Permit Class: Saturday May 9th: Openings still available! If you haven't signed up yet you need to go to:
www.northeastfirearmstraining.net
click on the Civilian section and then the Utah section then the application section! Fill out that application and mail it in to NEFAT with the appropriate fee! If you have any questions contact us here or call Dan at 518-322-2045 ! Class will be limited to 30 students so act quickly.

Thanks to the members who've contacted us about the porch roof collapsing!
We are aware of it and are taking steps to stabilize and temporarily repair the damage!

Admission of new members!

Catch Up with some of the items from the cancelled February Meeting!

Items from Last Meeting: None!

Stinkin' Badges: We remind everyone that badges must be worn when shooting on any range! The only possible exception to this would be our Treasurer! Last week he managed to get his entangled in the side view mirror of our plow truck and almost hung himself! Thankfully the Eagle Mills VFD was able to cut him free! Unfortunately he was deprived of a crucial amount of oxygen during this time! So please don't pay any attention to him if he tries to talk you into voting for Nixon in November! While on the subject of badges please note that our newbie members will be sporting yellow ones! When you see someone wearing one of those please do your best to keep him or her on the right path!

Snow: This last week of the month has been a challenge ! We've had a few small powdery snowfalls that haven't seemed like much from an accumulation point of view! Unfortunately the powdery types cause more havoc then any other! Seems that lighter snow then blows from west to east and then collects on our driveway! In just the past four days this area and other parts of our club have been plowed out 8 times! Please know we're doing our best to keep the club open and available!

Thanks go out to: Neil Brown for his donation of a bore sighter! To Frank Spallane for his assistance in helping to keep the snow drifts at bay!

Thankfully that's it for now! Sorry to all who know and practice the rules for the repeats! Hopefully those who don't read them!!

A late fee for dues paid after December 31st.

Discussion on 2015 budget!

Range Plans for 2015!

Creation of Mandatory Indoctrination Program for New Members!

Possible shut down of tactical shotgun area!

Christmas Party: It appears that went well! Over 75 people were fed,6000 rounds of .22 ammo dispersed and a couple of dozen nice gifts given out! Add to that the Club ended up making enough money to pay our National Grid bill for a year makes it sure seem to indicate a success! All that didn't happen without the efforts of quite a few! Those folks definitely deserve a mention! So here goes: Moe Barbera and Family for cooking that fabulous turkey,ham and all the trimmings! Tom Batsios for his generous donation of all the pizza! The Bornt, Spillane,Patton and Rinaldi Families for their food donations! Doc for bringing a partial bag of Cheetos! Mark Yamin,Chris Huff and Ryan Oppelt for their donation of prizes! Mark Caruso,Wayne Burch and Neil Brown for their combined work on procuring and legally dispersing .22 ammo for our auction! Tony Dethomasis,Paul Quinn and Kevin Taylor for reaching deeply into their wallets and buying that ammo! Robyn and Jay Wilkes for their host/hostess ticket sales and poster work! Last but not least Frank Spillane for sanding and salting our road and parking lot! I'm sorry to say I know more helped and donated but with all the commotion we didn't get to see the who and what! To these folk we also give a big thanks!

Dues: Thanks go out to the majority of our members for their timely payment of dues! Unfortunately there are still a few that haven't! If you're one of those please send your check for $ 80.00 to: Taconic Valley Rod and Gun Club! 420 Dater Hill Road,Troy New York! If you don't wish to stay a member please respond to this email with "I withdraw"! This will allow you to reenter at a future date(current backlog appx 2 years)! Please keep in mind that you may have to go on a waiting list to do that! Also as of January 1st those who have not paid their dues are not allowed to use the Club or any of it's facilities! Sorry but insurance prohibits this! Reminder: those who haven't yet paid now have until January 31st to do so.If payment is not received by then you will,as per our bylaws,be expelled! Expelled members are never again allowed admittance nor are they allowed on the property! In closing on this subject we want to add we don't want to lose anyone because of a monetary problem! So if that's the case please contact us. It's possible that something (with the approval of our members) could be worked out and your name would not have to be mentioned!

Tactical Shotgun Use:! For some time now combat shotgun users have been allowed to use the open portion of the pistol range! For the most part this has worked out acceptably! In the past few months on four occasions this hasn't been the case! A shotgun user or users has decimated the 2'x2' backer boards and the 2'x4' ers that support them leaving behind several hundred empty hulls and an area that looks like an explosion at a saw mill! These actions are ,shall we say,irking our pistol shooters! We've done our best to sign that range to indicate its proper use but it seems to go unread! So at the next meeting we're going to have to decide what to do next quickly! Let's face it,our handgun shooters shouldn't have to tolerate this type of behavior!

Ranges: In the last seven years we've made some significant improvements to our ranges! In particular the rifle range! The additions of berms and trying to maintain their heights and impact areas have definitely been steps in the right directions! The question now is what can be done to improve them even more? What can we add that will make them safer and help to insure that spent projectiles stay on our property and open up the possibility of adding other then shooting paper targets to our menu?! The answer to those questions might be baffles! We'd like to discuss this at the next meeting!

Mandatory Indoctrination Program For New Members: As per our bylaws we give every new member an introductory tour of our club! The focus always has been on range use and safety! While that's obviously good its just not good enough! We're currently working on a program that would involve a class where all new members would be educated not only in depth about the use of our ranges but also the importance in maintaining them and the rest of the facility! This class will be launched in March as our new folks arrive! So if you have any ideas as to what else should be touched on please bring them to our January meeting!



Please be advised that as of 1/11/15 The Tactical Shotgun Area located on The Pistol Range has been shut down! This decision is based on a majority vote held at the regular monthly meeting this date! Members unhappy with this decision are invited to state their displeasure or present an alternate plan ,such as relocation of that area, at the next meeting on Sunday February 8th at 2pm! All members are also reminded that The Rifle Range is absolutely off limits to any shotgun firing shot! Slugs only are allowed!

Thanks to all in advance for their cooperation!

December 14th:
As tradition has it there'll be no Club Meeting in December! Instead on Sunday December the 14th we'll set that time aside so that we can have a small get together to celebrate The Holiday Season! The festivities will start at 2pm! Under the guidance of Chef Moe Barbera The Club will be serving roast turkey! Spiraled ham and of course all the trimmings! There'll also be finger foods and some of Giuseppe's famous pizza! If you feel like bringing along a confection for after dinner or even a home made item please feel free to do so! Remember this is a free event for all members and their immediate family! We do though ask if you're going to attend please email back and tell us how many in your party so that we can make the proper preparations! We don't have to water down the jello again like we did last year!

Christmas Raffle:The list of prizes continues to grow as we get closer to December 14th and The Christmas Party! As it stands right now we have close to 3000 rounds of hard to find .22 rimfire! We also have Gift Certificates! One for Verdiles Restaurant in Troy! Also fellow member Chris Huff, who's also owner of Advanced Orthotics and Prosthetics, donated two coupons each for a free pair of custom arch supports! (I spoke to one of Chris's customers about these.He told me because they're custom fitted they're incredibly comfortable! They're also worth upwards of $350.00) We also have a nice Cabalas knife and a custom shooters gift basket put together by Ryan Oppelt and his wife.Oops I almost forgot to mention even more .22 ammo thanks to Mark Yamin! So if you haven't bought tickets you should! They're priced at $5.00 each or three for $10.00! Winners need not be present to win!

Dues: Another reminder! All member's dues expire on December 31st! So if you intend on staying a member please mail a check for $80.00 to the Club before then! If you don't intend on staying a member please simply respond to this email with "I withdraw". Withdrawing will allow you to reenter at a future time! Failing to withdraw will warrant an expulsion! Expelled members are never allowed back in again as per our bylaws! Please keep in mind if you do withdraw and then decide to reenter down the road you start at the back of the waiting list!

Good News: It appears Fall has brought back with it a lot of shooters! Use at both the rifle and pistol range seems to be up sharply! The bad news is the 2'x2' backing boards are getting shot up much quicker then before! That's not the problem though! Getting them replaced in a timelier fashion is! So in an effort to change this we're going to do the following: Precut and leave on the porch of the Ladies Auxiliary Building a stack of 2'x2' pieces! Then leave inside the Clubhouse a cordless drill! With these items range users will be able to repair targets themselves! Hopefully this effort will help keep the ranges ready for use by all! Ok! Before some of our older members email me I do remember what happened the last time we left a cordless drill out! I have to remind them though that the person or persons responsible for screwing the picnic tables to the plow truck are older and more mature now! So it's very unlikely it will happen again!

that's it for now!

Hope to see all at our Christmas Party! Oh and drop in at www.tvrgc.com and say hello to Mark

Next Meeting: Sunday November 9th at 2pm!

Items on that agenda:
Updates on Rifle Range Berm!
Information update on Clubs 911 Status!
Possible discussion on enhancing Pistol Range, other areas or no areas in 2015! Discussion On Mandatory Work Program!
Preparation for Christmas Party!

Now Other Stuff:From November

Christmas Party: Will be held Sunday December 14th starting at 2pm! As always this will be a free event with food being furnished by The Club! This year we'll be serving, with the trimmings, roast turkey and spiraled ham! Of course we can't leave out pizza too! Something new for this year also! Seems that our two Chefs at large,Moe Barbera and Tom Batsios, will collaborate on roasting a lamb donated by Tom, outdoors over a spit! Sounds both interesting and tasty! So please bring yourself and immediate family! It should be fun!

Christmas Raffle: We intend on having 15 or more items for this drawing! As of right now we have: Several thousand rounds of hard to find .22 ammo! A $50 gift certificate to Verdiles Italian Restaurant in Troy and a very nice knife and combo tool from Cabalas! We will be adding onto this list more items as time gets closer to December 14th! Tickets will be: $5.00 each or 3 for @$10.00! This will be a Members Only Raffle and the winners need not be in attendance! Want tickets? Call Doc @469-8584 or send an email here!

Dues! All membership dues expire on 12/31/14! As per our bylaws(section 9 paragraph 1 for those of you who think I just make this stuff up) the Board Of Directors has elected to bring a slight increase to our 2015 dues. This means they will rise by $5.00. This makes our new yearly fee $80.00! Please send checks or money order for that amount to :Taconic Valley Rod and Gun Club.420 Dater Hill Road Troy New York 12180 by December 31st! Keep in mind that members who have not paid by that time will not allowed the use of the facilities!

Initiation Fee: As per the same above section of our bylaws Initiation Fee for 2015 will be $50.00!

Hunter Safety Course: Back on October 3rd and 4th Instructors Kevin Bush and Mark Caruso put on a very successful Class! We really need to thank those two guys for doing a great job! Especially after dealing with some of the curves life tossed at them prior to the Class! Also to be thanked for assistance are: Ken Kaskoun! Charlie Testo and Dan Place! Those guys managed to standby ready to help for two days! Of course we can't forget Mr Brown! He was kind enough to loan three shotguns for the live fire aspect of the Class!

Improvements for 2015: As our Club New Year approaches we're trying to make some plans for improvements for the upcoming year! One of the ideas kicked around has been our Pistol Range! Another The Shotgun Range! As most of us know both of these areas ,aside for some light maintenance, haven't been updated in years because we didn't have the money needed to do so! That's now changed! Thanks to the hard work and support of our membership we will be in a financial position this new year to do something! Or if you prefer...nothing! Please come to the next meeting and let us know what you think! Your opinion really is needed!

Shotgun use on Pistol Range! A reminder Shotguns firing shot only are to be used on the open portion of the pistol range! this is mentioned again because several times in the past few weeks some inquisitive individual needed to know what happens to plywood when it's hit with #8's from 7 yards with a shotgun!

Firearms Recall list: Fellow member Dan Place has set up a recall list in a bound book at our Club! Dan tells us he'll update this when he learns of any new or old firearms or ammo problems! He also encourages fellow members to leave such information in this book if they hear of any problem!

With a little help from our friends Dept. We all need to thank Carlos Correa for his recent cash donation! Carlos apparently forgot to return his August raffle tickets and felt obligated to make up for that! It should be said his donation far exceeded the ticket value too! Also Walt Johnston! Walt, who's often harassed by our Treasurer for his frugality, donated a utility trailer a few months ago! When he found out we couldn't use it he arranged for it's sale then donated the money to us! Wish we had more like these two guys!

Rumors: We've all probably heard there's going to be another indoor range opening in the future! This makes two! Now to adding one more to the potential pile is the rumor that the largest firearms dealer in Poestenkill is now considering a similar move! According to the gossip channel he's now working with a well known distributor and looking at locations! Hmmm! Does this mean that outdoor ranges like ours will soon go the way of the dinosaur,honest politcians and K-mart? Guess time will tell!

A few items that were lost recently! If you have them or know who does please call Doc @ 469-8584 ! Thank You

Men's Jacket: Left in Clubhouse Monday October 27th!

Deerskin covered sandbag(sentimental value): Left on rifle range appx one month ago!

One Item Found: Ring in Clubhouse, today!


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From October
Progress report on Rifle Range Berm Repair!

Discussion on enlarging Pistol Range!

Possible change in criteria for new members!

From Last Meeting: Use of pistols on Rifle Range suspended pending results of investigation by several members of the

Board of Directors!(suspension lifted see accompanying info)

25yd small bore target temporarily removed from Rifle Range and relocated to Pistol Range for 15yd use!

Results of Annual Election of Officers!

President: Jay Wilkes!

Vice President: The Honorable Tom Batsios!

Secretary: Robyn Wilkes.

Treasurer,beating out Bernie Madoff by only one vote,Doc McGarry!

Board: Pat Rinaldi!

Phase 1 Of Rifle Range Berm work was completed! Thanks to the following members for their help pushing dirt and slinging shovels:

Jay Wilkes!

Robyn Wilkes!

Jim Sleicher!

Anthony Deththomas!

Bob Bornt!

Pat Rinaldi!

Ken Kaskoun!

Neal Brown!

Walt Johnston!

Doc McGarry (who claims to have been there but no one saw him)

Special thanks also to Mohamed Zamani for dirtying up his brand new truck to make an absolutely essential delivery to us!

Cool Heads Prevail: Early this past Spring we had an incident on our Pistol Range! It seems one of our members suffered a severe medical emergency! Fortunately this happened when another shooter was present. That member kept his composure, lent assistance to the stricken shooter,dialed 911 and walked down to Dater Hill Road to meet Emergency Personal and guide them back up to our fallen member! Thanks go out to Brian Baker for being that cool headed person! A sidebar on this was that the 911 people had no idea where our Club was. We've since contacted them to make that info clear! We also advise members to remember the Clubs address.In case you don't have it handy it's 420 Dater Hill Road Troy NY 12180. Oh,forgot to mention the good news.Our stricken pistolero was back shooting within a few weeks.

Our Club Today ♣



Old Glory


tractor


range


range


range


range


range


lunch


RULES


range

Library of Congress

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Updates On Berm Rebuild! Vote for Honorary Membership!

From Last Meeting: Ken Kaskoun was appointed by President Wilkes to go over the treasurers books!

Raising Of Membership: Tabled pending more study!

Doc McGarry was also appointed by the President as Temporary Parliamentarian!

Members Only Raffle Winner! Tony Oppelt was the winner of the Henry .22 rifle! Congratulations to Tony on that and we hope he enjoys that gorgeous rifle! Thanks to all who supported this raffle too! We made enough to pay for our well and road problems this Spring which is good news! That means we won't have to remove funds from our savings to cover the unbudgeted expenses!

Picnic: In all we were very lucky to have such a perfect day for it! I didn't count attendees but those who did told me we had well over 80 people show up! Judging from the amount of food we went through it appears they were pretty hungry too!

Swap Meet! Seemed to go well! Like anything this being our first time out it wasn't perfect! Next year though, with the help of Dan Place, we'll make some improvements based on this years experience and Dans observations and we promise it will be even better!

Rifle Range Side Berm and Pistol Range Berm was completed by Ron Showers in August! The increased heights hopefully will insure projectiles don't stray off of our property!

Rifle Range Impact Berm: We've gathered material and are poised to start but Mom Nature hasn't been cooperative! As of Saturday 8/30 the ground is still far to soft to put on any of the equipment needed! So wait we must!

Entrance Road: Thanks to Tracy Church,Frank Spillane,Tony Oppelt,Walt Johnston,Mark Caruso and Ken Dippel our entrance road was repaired! Looks like these guys did a heck of a job too seeing it's held up to several heavy deluges! I'd also like to take the time to deny the rumor that says I was hiding in Rays cornfield when this work was being done! The simple truth is I became disoriented from the heat ,wandered in there and just became .......lost! Or something like that!

Honorary Membership: As mentioned above we'd like to award that position to someone who's unfortunately very ill! This person is a life long friend of one of our members! it seems one of this persons strongest desires is to be able to target shoot as long as failing health allows! We'd like to help them with this.If you feel the same way please attend the September Meeting and vote accordingly!

Hunter Safety Class: Will take place Friday October 3rd from 6 to 9 pm! Saturday from 8:15 to 5pm! Registration for this class: WILL NOT be handled at Club level as in previous years! Potential Students must sign up at DEC's website when class is posted late in day on Thursday September 4th! Potential students are advised that this class will occur both inside and out.So please dress accordingly! Lunch will be provided by our Club on Saturday! Please also be aware that because of insurance regulations we must shut our range down on Saturday October 4th! Any questions write here or call 469-8584 !

In closing: We'd like to say thanks to Tracy Church! Tracy,who's famous for loving to wear is ID badge, generously donated two truck loads of crushed stone for our road repair! He also donated the use of a vibrating pounder that packed the stone down like concrete! Even better then that he wouldn't let any of us use that machine.Probably because he knew we'd all end up in the Emergency Room! This all said thank you Tracy!

Speaking of thanks we have to say that to Ken Kaskoun, Pat Rinaldi and Moe Barbera.They did an outstanding job preparing food at the picnic! Also Jim Davin for bringing himself and 40 lbs of salad! Boy was that potato salad outstanding! Thanks also to our Mr Brown for.....well truth is he's got his hands into so much it's hard to pick one! Lets just say Mr Brown thank you for all you do!

One final Thanks! This one for Mark Caruso! Seems Mark knows a guy who can fix anything in life! I'm not kidding! If you think I am tell Mark your problem and he'll pull his phone out and in no time he'll hook you up with that guy! Such was the case when our standby Hunter Safety Instructor Guy said he couldn't hold a class this year! Well I mentioned it to Mark and sure enough he knew this guy and ....well that guys....is...running our class this year!

Now I'll say thanks for reading and hope to see you soon!

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FROM AUGUST

→ Discussion on Rifle Berm Rebuild!

→ Wiring repair for Ladies Auxiliary Building!

→ Discussion on possibility of having .22 r/f rifle Metallic Silhouette shoots!

→ Possible creation of a Facebook Page for our Club!

Purchase of Olympic size swimming pool postponed till all Life Members agree to become certified lifeguards!

→ Opening of Taconic Valley Rod Gun Casino Resort Aquatic Park Convenient Store and Trailer Park postponed pending zoning board approval!

→ August 17th Members Only Rifle Raffle: Tickets are available! They're priced at $5.00 ea or 3 for $10.00! They can be picked up at the Club most Thursdays and Sundays! Or if that doesn't work for you call 469-8584 or write us here and we'll arrange to get some to you! First prize will be a Henry Heritage .22 lever rifle! Runner up prizes(and this list will grow as we get closer to the drawing date) are as follows! 500 rounds of Federal .22 l.r. 525 rounds of Remington .22 l.r. hp's! One Years Dues for Taconic Rifle Rod and Gun Club!

→ Swap Meet/Flea Market! Sunday August 17th! Members and members family members are invited to bring any type of item that day for swap or sale! Items can also include firearms and ammo! An FFL holder ,Mr. Neal Brown, will be on hand to make sure all Federal ,State, local and intergalactic laws are observed! For all who just have one or so items they'd like to get rid of The Club will also have a table! Donated items can be dropped of there!

→ Annual Picnic: Will also take place Sunday August 17th! As always this is a free event to all members and their immediate family! The Club will be serving real hamburgers ,chicken and soft drinks! If anyone would like to bring an additional food item it's definitely encouraged!

→ Carry In/Carry out! Thanks to all members who've made an effort to not leave their trash behind! After the first month of the start of our busier season the grounds are looking remarkably clean! We all hope it stays that way too!

→ NRA: A reminder we're an authorized membership station for the NRA! If you wish to join, renew or upgrade we can handle it for you! Questions? Just write us here!

→ New York State Rifle and Pistol Association! We have applications to join if interested(and you should be).

→ With a little help from our friends: Thanks go out to Bob Dore for his tractor expertise and advice! John Rubino for his emergency repair of our pump house wiring! Mark Jolicoeur for his donation of wood! And last but not least Tom Madsen for cleaning up our metal mess!

→ A fond Farewell! We've learned that Glen Hammond will be leaving our Club in July! Seems he and his family are moving back to Arizona! While we can't say we blame him for that we will say that we'll all miss him! Glenn was a heck of an asset to our Club! We all wish him and his family the best and hope he knows he's welcome back any time he's in town!

Doc

→ From May

→ Discussion about repairs and architecturally correct historic restoration of our pump house! (in other words lets bang some nails into it quick before it falls down)

→ Relocation or repair of Club Sign at entrance!

→ Discussion on filling out application to turn Club into a casino!

→ From Last Meeting: It was reported that an anonymous donor had made a number of telephone poles available to the Club for its berm work!

→ Meeting times: were temporarily changed by majority vote! Please be advised that for May, June, July and August start time will be 11am! (please note also May meeting rescheduled to third Sunday in observance of Mothers Day)

→ Disposition of Ford plow truck: Approved by majority vote!

→ Well: Just prior to the monthly meeting it was learned that our well was not operating! By majority vote it was decided to have repaired!

→ Oh well! As mentioned above we experienced loss of water from the well! After attempts to solve problem by fellow members failed we had to bring in a professional! The end result was replacement of our 40 year old pump! Hopefully this will be the end of any water problems for another 40 years!

→ Reminder on Range Use! NO SHOTSHELLS ON RIFLE RANGE!

→ PLACE TARGETS SO THEY ARE NOT TOUCHING TARGET FRAMES!

→ Guests: Please remember you are responsible for your guests behavior! That said have them read our Range Rules before using any of our ranges! "I didn't know" will no longer be taken as an excuse for violations!

→ Garbage: We've mentioned before we don't have a waste removal service! That means if you bring it with you make sure you take it home! This includes cans,bottles,coffee cups old targets and empty shells! Oh ,and umbrellas too! Someone actually left a broken one on the range! We don't want to threaten anyone! The fact is most of our fellow members are going the extra mile on this! The very few who aren't and won't though may want to consider looking for another Club to join!

→ Stinkin' Badges: Please remember they must be worn when using any Range!

→ Club Clean Up! Is scheduled for Sunday May 18th following the monthly meeting! Please do your best to help out!

→ Taconic Valley Rod Gun and Gambling Casino! As we mentioned earlier we intend on applying to become a Casino! We've filled out all the needed paperwork but have lost our backer on the million dollar application fee! Seems our money man,Neil Brown,had the funds buried where his wife planted her new rose bushes .He now won't be able to make a "withdrawal" till Fall! So if there's anyone else interested please contact us!

→ Dues! Another reminder that every members dues will expire on December 31st!
That means it's time to send in your check for $75.00. Our mailing address is: 420 Dater Hill Road Troy Ny 12180. If you feel you don't want to stay on as a member please send a brief note saying so. This could allow you to enter at a future time. It will also stop you from being expelled in February as per our bylaws!

→ New Members! We are currently accepting applications for membership.
admittance by new members is contingent on availability of membership positions.

→ Sign in Sign Out!
At the November meeting a compromise was reached on this issue! What was voted on and approved was the wearing of neck badges that hold our Club membership card! These are to be worn when using any of the ranges.
As members pay their dues we're giving out these badge and lanyards set ups free! If you've paid yours and haven't received one yet( they arrived just prior to Thanksgiving) give a shout. We can either mail you one or they can be picked up at the Clubhouse most Thursdays and Sundays.

→ Annual Picnic! Will be Sunday August 17th! As always a free event for members and immediate family!

→ Swap Meet/Flea Market: Will take place the day of the picnic! Members,members family and friends of members are invited to bring their goodies and set them up on their own tables! Any type of item may be brought along! This includes firearms and ammunition! These items must be dealt with according to all laws! Meaning the sale or swap of these must go through an FFL holder who will be in attendance! Thanks go out to Neil Brown for providing that service!

→ Gun Raffle and Drawing that day! If you recall last year we had a very successful rifle drawing! Three nice firearms were given away and the Club made quite a few dollars! That was great! What wasn't so great was that none of our members won them! This year we're going to change that! This year we'll be raffling off a very nice Henry Lever .22 rifle! This raffle will only be open to members ! This means The Club probably won't make any money! That's ok though! As long as a member wins and we break even things will be ok! Tickets will be $5.00 each! Or 3 for $10.00! If you're interested contact Doc!

→ T-shirts! We have a limited amount of Taconic Valley T-shirts available! Price is $12.00.If interested call Doc @ 469-8584

→ With a little help from our friends! Thanks go to Bill Halse and Chris Loiselle for searching out our recent electrical problem!

That's it for now! Doc

From April:

→ Continued talks on Rifle Range Berm rebuild and target return system!

→ Scheduling of a Spring clean up day for Club!

→ Approval for disposition of Ford Plow Truck!

→ Funding approval for Ford Tractor repairs!

→ From Last Meeting: Based on reports that some members were refusing to wear badges when on ranges meeting membership unanimously approved a mandatory 30 day suspension for any offender! So please wear your stinkin badge!

→ Raising of Membership cap! Put on hold pending farther range use observation!

→ Amended By laws! Essentially those found on page 8 of our Clubs bylaws were approved for change! The details of this have been posted in the Clubhouse!

→ Ranges! Once again we remind all members that paper targets are not to be posted on the wooden parts of target stands!

→ Shotgun/skeet range! A reminder that only field load (low brass) 6 to 9 shot is to be used!

→ Muddy conditions: Please be careful where you park!

→ Sunday April 27th staring at noon! Informal shotgun shoot! We'll be using our automatic machine for this! Shooters interested must provide their own skeet and shells! There'll be no prizes but don't complain because there's no entrance fee! Hotdogs and burgers will be available at incredibly low prices!

→ Lost and found! If you can tell us the manufacturer of the following items they must be yours! Magazine for semi automatic pistol! Folding pocket tool!

→ With a little help from our friends! Thanks to Tom Batsios for his donation of a very nice refrigerator!

From March

→ More discussion on Rifle Range Retaining wall!
→ More discussion on rifle range target return system!
→ Admission of four new members!
→ Discussion on possibly raising membership cap!

→ LAST MEETING: 11 new members admitted!
By-law changes for election and voting approved(details will be posted and existing bylaw copies changed to reflect this)!

→ Newer plow truck: the February 13th/14th snowfall left two feet of heavy wet snow on our property! Drifts that ranged from 2 to 4 feet filled the driveway! Our old Ford managed to clear all of this before end of day on the 14th! Apparently it was a bit much for Ol' Blue because it passed away quietly on the 15th! According to our mechanic the cause of death was listed as a bad fuel pump! This left us in a lurch. Resurrect Ol' Blue(cost several hundred dollars) or find a replacement fast! Fortunately a replacement was found! A 2002 rusty Dodge 2500 with a plow became available! We had our mechanic go over it ! he told us although ugly it was a sound vehicle. So it was purchased and now stands ready to finish out the snow season!
It's understood that The Ford Museum in Dearborn is now in negotiation with President Wilkes on purchasing our old vehicle. Seems they want to put it in their collection. Guess it might be placed next to Charles Kuralt's motorhome!

→ In search of Mr Whipple: Back in November of last year the Board of Directors instructed the Clubs Treasurer to put together figures that reflected a five year average for monies spent on the different areas of the Club. Apparently this was needed so they could create our 2014 budget! The Treasurer reported that this was relatively easy for the most part! Things like insurance, taxes and utilities are always recorded! Where he had problems though was in finding out how much money was spent on a very important item! Toilet paper! It seems in going back 5,10 and even 20 years he couldn't find where the Club had even purchased a single roll of that important paper product! Given that how could we estimate the cost for this year? Could it mean that toilet paper couldn't be purchased? Well one morning the answer came. The Clubhouse door opened and in walked Pat Rinaldi with a case of Charmin! When asked what the cost was Pat replied "nothing. I've been donating this, hand towels and soap for the past 20 years"! So mystery solved. The next time you see Pat don't squeeze him.Just say thanks.If my guestimate is correct he's saved this Club over a thousand bucks since he started his donating!

→ As I sat down to write this I received a phone call. The caller told me that he'd just heard that in Connecticut The Police had started confiscating unregistered "assault weapons". I don't know how true this is but considering the Whistle Blowing Reward that's now offered here it's a distinct possibility it could start happening in NYS! That's why it's of the utmost importance that if you're not a member of one or both of the below organizations you become one quick! Don't forget the old saying! There's strength in members!

→ NEW YORK STATE RIFLE AND PISTOL ASSOCIATION: We now have applications on hand! They can be picked up at the Clubhouse or mailed to you! Contact Doc if interested.

→ NATIONAL RIFLE ASSOCIATION: you can join for as little as 10 dollars a year.If interested contact George or Doc and we'll get the paperwork to you!

→ With a Little help from our friends! Thanks go out to Jack Stroh for his generous cash donation! Dan Hartnett for helping us out with snowdrift control! Also to Anonymous for the $200.00 donation toward the purchase of our new old truck! Oh! And one final thanks! This one to Tracy Church for always wearing his "stinkin" badge!




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From Previous Meetings:

→ Bylaw change discussion on voting procedures!

→ 2014 Club Budget!

→ Funding approval to begin search for a new plow truck!

→ Discussion on 100 yd rifle berm rebuild!

→ Dues: Thanks go out to the majority of our members for their timely payment of dues! Unfortunately there are still a few that haven't! If you're one of those please send your check for $ 75.00 to: Taconic Valley Rod and Gun Club! 420 Dater Hill Road,Troy New York! If you don't wish to stay a member please respond to this email with "I withdraw"! This will allow you to reenter at a future date! Please keep in mind that you may have to go on a waiting list to do that! Also as of January 1st those who have not paid their dues are not allowed to use the Club or any of it's facilities! Sorry but insurance prohibits this! Reminder: those who haven't yet paid now have until January 31st to do so.If payment is not received by then you will,as per our bylaws,be expelled! Expelled members are never again allowed admittance nor are they allowed on the property!

→ Badges: As of January 1st we all must wear our badges when using any of the ranges! The exception to this would be any member who has the Club logo tattooed on their back. It must though be similar in size and proportion to those worn by the Sons Of Anarchy Motorcycle Club! This tattoo must also be in the proper colors! While on the subject of badges we are mailing them out as dues payments are received! Please allow about ten days to receive yours! If this fails to happen please call Doc @469-8584 and it'll be taken care of! One final thing on this subject! If someone asks to see your badge please don't respond with "I ain't got no stinkin' badge! I've already used it to death and have been threatened with physical violence if I say it again!

→ Christmas Party: close to 70 people attended and had a great time! Thanks go out to all who brought goodies! There were some wonderful food items there to say the least!

→ Club accessibility: we do our best to keep the Club open and ready for use! Often there's a lag between snow ending and plowing though! If you have any doubt about our road being open call Doc @ 469-8584 before heading out!

→ Ranges: Please remember paper targets only!

→ Pistol Range: Our excavator was able to get most of it done before bad weather set in. Unfortunately there's a small gap between the backstop berm and the right hand berm. So for the time being please shoot no closer then the 21 foot mark!

→ Applications for membership: We're still accepting them! While we can't guarantee those submitting new applications membership it appears we'll be allowing about 30 in. We currently have 25 apps on file!

→ With a little help from our friends! Thanks to those members who made a donation this month! thanks also to Neil Brown for his work on our plow truck! That's it for now! Hope to see all soon!

→ Pistol Range Problems!
Thanks to a report from Bob St.Dennis we're now aware of a potentially dangerous situation! This problem involves the right side of the pistol range. It seems with the foliage down it's very apparent that a stray projectile could easily leave our range and land on the neighbors property. It seems the quickest way to solve this situation is by constructing and earthen berm on this open side. We've contacted our excavator man, Ron Showers, and he's given us an outstanding price of $1000.00 to do this. We'd like to take a few minutes of the upcoming Christmas Party to make a formal vote on this! We hope no one minds but it's felt this really needs to be taken care of asap!

Well that's it for now! We'd like to take this opportunity to thank all of our members for their help and support this year! We'd also like send them wishes of a safe and happy holiday!




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→ September Election Results:
♣ President: Jay Wilkes
♣ Vice President: Tom Batsios
♣ Secretary: Robyn Wilkes
♣ Treasurer: Doc McGarry
♣ Director: Mark Caruso

→ NRA Membership: George Hillje wishes to remind all members we're still an official NRA Recruiting Station! That means if you want to join or renew and existing membership we can do it! Any questions write us here or call George @421-9635. Don't forget part of your NRA dues come back to our Club as a donation!

→ Hunter Safety Course: Our thanks again go out to Instructors Johnny Bobo and Mohamed Zamani for conducting another Hunter Safety Course at our Club! Thanks to their efforts in September there will be 30 new hunters afield this year!

→ Club Dues: Last year a few members asked for an earlier reminder that dues will be do January First! Well this is it! Kidding aside please don't forget that we must receive your payment no latter then January 31st! Changes in the bylaws now tell us that after that date a member can be expelled! So lets try to avoid that and get your check for $75.00 before then!
Our mailing address is: 420 Dater Hill Road Troy NY 12180

→ A little help from our friends: Thanks go out to Jay Wilkes, Pat Rinaldi, Bob Kelleher, John Siple, Mark Caruso and Neil Brown for their efforts in rebuilding our 100yd berm. It not only is safer it looks pretty darn nice!

→ From September:

→ Voting On Motion to sign in and out on Ranges

August Auction and Picnic! Thanks to all the many who helped make this day successful! When the dust cleared the Clubs Treasury was $2000.00 richer! This may not sound like much but that amount covered the cost of our School Taxes and recent road work and rifle range excavation!

Ranges: A reminder that when using a shotgun at the Pistol Range you are to shoot cardboard targets on the first 8' as you face that range! The 16' to the right is reserved for pistol use! Thank you!

Rifle Range: Please no shooting from in front of the enclosed firing point! And please place your targets within the boundaries of the target frames! Not on them!

Lost and Found: Lost during our Auction! One Mec 12 ga reloading press! Please return it or send in a check for $60.00!

Left Over From Auction:
One green 5'x8' wool oriental rug! Once owned by Mike Tyson this rug can be yours for $30.00!
Two Vietnam era medium size field jackets! Price $25.00 each!
One box .45 acp 230 grqin box of 50 rounds! Price 25 bucks!
One 1957 Ferrari 275 Spyder color black; Clearance priced at $27,000,000.59!

Conversations with our liability provider indicate that we may have to start a mandatory sign in sign out procedure!

Allocation of funds to do road repair work and re-dig drainage ditch located along side and behind rifle berms!

With a little help from our friends dept! Thanks go out to Charlie Testo and Neil Brown for their work in rehabbing a few of our picnic table! Also thanks to Moe Barbera for his donation of a brand new deep celled battery for our skeet machine!

From July

Possible Vote on raising membership!

Announcement by prospective candidates for Office!

Possible formation of a week night or weekend league to shoot Sort Of Trap!

Candidacy for Office: As mentioned potential new Club officers have to the July 14th meeting to announce their interest in seeking office! As per the bylaws any member in good standing(must have been a member for 1 year) may do so.Also prosepective candidates need to have attended at least three meetings in the prior year! Prospective candidates should also have a very strong understanding of The Clubs Bylaws and Roberts Rules of Order! They should also be aware of the duties and limitations of the Offices they are interested in as described by both Our Bylaws and Roberts Rules of Order!

In other words please know what the Hell you're doing and getting into! You're only going to gum up the works if you don't!

Trap Machine: We recently took delivery of a Do-All automatic trap machine.This unit is portable and can't be left outside permemnatly! What we'd like to do is make its use available to as many members as possible.In order to do this we'd like to work out a schedule where responsible members would have access to the machine and also make sure it was properly returned to storage after use.If anyone is interested please contact us here!

There'll be no fee for the use of this machine but please bring your own clays!

Fathers Day Sort Of Skeet Shoot: Moe B and Ken K did a wonderful job with this.In all 21 shooters participated while close to 20 onlookers....looked on I guess!

Winners were: Ladies Division: 1st Place Danielle J

2nd Place: Amelia B!

Mens Diviosion: 1st place: Moe B!

2nd place: Nick C

Dead Last in both mens and ladies divisions: Doc

Copies Of New By-laws are available for pick up at the Clubhouse!

T-shirts and Beer Mugs: Still available and priced at $12.00 and $5.00 respectively!

With a little help from our friends: Thanks to Bob Bornt and Skip Collins for their expertise.It helped us save close to $700.00! Thanks go out to Neil Brown for his plumbing abilities and the use of his front end loader! Thanks also to Chuck and Emily Aloia and Joe Hunt for their donations. Also Dave Robillard and Alisha Gimlick for the loan of their Trap machine!

From June

From last meeting! New bylaws have been passed! We hope to have copies available by mid June for members to pick up at the Clubhouse! Please make a note that as result of these new changes Hunting on Club Property is no longer allowed. Also the time for dues to be past due has been shortened to 31 days( This means January 31st). After that a non paid member can be expelled from the Club! This is just a partial list of the changes. Please make sure you read the entire new set! Sorry to be brief but there's a lot going on.

June 2nd Raffle Winners:
1st place: Henry Engraved Golden Boy Winner: George M! Ticket sold by Bob H!
2nd place: Henry Blue Lever Winner: Gerry W: Ticket sold by Robin W!
3rd place: Henry AR-7! Winner: Lee H! Ticket sold by Wayne H!
4th place: $250 gift certificate to Veterans Gun Dept: Paul T! Ticket Sold by Paul T!


Thanks to all who sold tickets! This was the most successful Raffle we've ever had!

--> from May ♣

Ladies Auxiliary Building! At least that's what it was called in 1932.Since then it's deteriorated and become underutilized! That's changing though.Thanks to an effort spearheaded by Pat Rinaldi the building will again become of use.Pat is currently leveling floors and enclosing a wall.When completed this building will be used for storage and a repair shop. This means the very overcrowded and congested closet in the Clubhouse will be emptied and then turned into a much needed office. Thanks Pat for your work on this. It's really appreciated!

Rain drops keep falling! Have you ever stood outside the Clubs front door when it rained? If you have you've gotten wet. That's not a wonder though given the condition of the roof! Well that won't be the case anymore! Seems Fred Job,Dick Beeble and Ray Patton have taken it on themselves to remedy that situation.Recently they tore off the old and replaced it with new.The end result is a new roof that's guaranteed to keep all who stand underneath dry. Thanks to all of them for taking the time for that improvement!

One door closes and another open! Least that's how the old saying goes! This was never the case in our Clubhouse though! As you may have noticed we only had one door.This is no longer the case though! Thanks to the combined efforts of: Joe Gable,Mike Groudas,Bob Kelleher,Tony Deththomas and Mike Stefalono we now have a second door.These guys were amazing to watch. They worked together like a team of top surgeons as they cut open a wall and hung the new door.So precise was their work they even managed to not harm our existing siding.That may sound like much but not having to replace that siding saved the Club several hundred dollars. I'm sure I'm not alone when I say thank you to these five for your work.It really does look great!

Freds Souveneer Shack! Fred would like to remind all of the following:

The Classic Black is Back: The time honored and highly collectable classic black and orange Taconic T is again here! Available in sizes from small all the ways up to 4x.All sizes are priced at the incredibly low price of $12.00 bucks.So make sure to grab one!

Ladies Limited Edition Taconic T in pink.That's right pink! Available in sizes from small to extra large these pastel beauties are only $12.00. So buy one before they're gone!

Taconic Beer Mug: Hand crafted by a retired firefighter from Sycaway these mugs are sure to become a collectable! While supplies last,I mean we can't do this forever,they're only $5.00!

Taconic Decals! Available in small and large they're priced at $3.00 and $4.00!

Items on the agenda:

Ongoing bylaw changes
Expulsion Procedure
Trap/Skeet Range Improvements
Nocturnal Renting of Fred's Truck

→ Pavilion/Garage: Has been ordered. When weather is better ground excavation will be started. Fred Job and Joe Gable are preparing to add our new door and reside the outside of the pistol range side wall. If all works out we hope to have the structure up and all completed for the June 2nd Picnic!

→ Fred's Souvenir Shop! Fred Job will be opening a Taconic Souvenir Shop in the very near future. Located in the closet at the Club it will specialize in Taconic Gun Club merchandise. reds already come up with a few deals for his Grand opening(slated for April 21st).Among these will be: Taconic Decals: Offered in two sizes($3.00 and $4.00 respectively) they are the perfect way to show your support for your Club! Taconic Classic T-shirt: Available in sizes from small to 3x and priced at $12.00 this is the perfect item to show you're a gun owner and Club supporter. Fred also reminds us that with graduation and wedding season not the far off they're also the perfect gift for that graduate or bride to be! Now if that's not enough Fred informs us he's working on a line of unisex fragrances. His first,which will be called Fragrance de Taconic,will be blended with Hoppe's # 9 and burnt gun powder.FJ tells us that this combination is not only pleasant to the nose but also tells those within smelling distance to be careful because the wearer is probably packing! Sounds good Fred let us know when it's ready!

→ Membership: As of this writing it looks as if we've retained our highest percentage of members ever. While that's good news it also means unfortunately we won't be allowing any new members in this year. The earliest possible new admission will be February of 2014!

→ NRA Membership: Given the political climate there's no member who shouldn't be a member. George Hillje can help you out if you'd like to join too. For only $10.00 George can sign you up! Interested? Call George at 421-9635!

→ There are still good people: On July 15th 2012 ,one of our own,TFD Captain Tom Witkowski arrived at the scene of a blaze in Troy.He then took actions that resulted in the lives of three people being saved. On March 15th of this year Tom was the recipient of The Maltese Cross Award.For those unfamiliar with this award its given to a Firefighter that has shown beyond doubt his willingness to sacrifice,if needed,his own life in order to save others. As fellow members and friends of Tom we here at this Club are in awe of Toms actions and we are very proud to say he is one of us! Congratulations Tom!

→ With a little help from our friends: Thanks go out to Pat Rinaldi,Dick Beeble,Tom Witkowsky and Matt Plumley for their combined efforts on disassembling,moving and reassembling one of our woodsheds. Sounds like a simple task but it certainly wasn't. Also thanks to Bob Kelleher and Fred Job for selling a crazy amount of raffle tickets. Without guys like those two our drawing wouldn't be nearly as successful! ♣

From March:

Ongoing proposed bylaw changes
Updates on rifle range improvements
Updates on Storage/picnic pavilion
Updates on Rifle Raffle
Potential Trap Range Construction
Introduction of evidence for expulsion of member
Creation of an emergency bank fund

→ Rifle Raffle: Firearms have been purchased. Engraving has been ordered and tickets printed. Tickets can be picked up at March tenth meeting or will be mailed to each member shortly after!

→ Rifle range: fill has started to be brought in. Railroad ties for reinforcement have been located!

→ Shotgun Range: Throwing machines will be inspected and parts ordered where needed and then replaced!

→ Archery Range: New target to be purchased. Input needed from archers as to what is the best type!

→ Pistol range: Input needed from clubs pistoleros as to what improvements they'd like to see this year!

→ Dues! It's last call time for those who haven't paid their 2013 dues. If dues not paid by the end of March delinquent members will be expelled from club in accordance with our bylaws. To avoid this please pay or withdraw. Those withdrawing will be allowed back in at a future date. Keep in mind that readmission is subject to availability. In other words you could be placed on a waiting list! Currently we have 20 people on that list!

→ Topics to be discussed

→ Wedding At The Taconic: One of our members and his bride to be have requested the use of The Club Grounds for a Saturday afternoon wedding in September. With your permission their wish will come true!




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SHOTGUN SHOOT!

PLEASE NOTE NEW DATE! ON SUNDAY JULY 11.TH we're going to have our Summer Solstice Shotgun Shoot and Cookout! The rules will be the same as before. First and Second place Trophies will be awarded in Adult Male, Adult Female and Junior Division (both male and female) Entrance fee will be $8.00 and Food will be $5.00 per individual or $10.00 for the entire family. Like last time bring a dish if you like. The bottom line is this! Come out and have some fun.

NEXT MEETING!

Sunday June 13th,2pm! Of importance will be discussing and possibly voting on the expenditure of funds to lengthen the existing Rifle Range Burm by anywhere's fom 6'x6'x 80' to 6'x6'x 160 feet ! Estimated cost between $1200 and $2400.Please make sure to attend,air your opinion and perhaps vote one way or another!

HUNTER SAFETY COURSE!!!

To be held Saturday September 25th and Sunday September 26th by our fellow member and Cerrtified Instructor John Bobo! This two day Class will be limited to 30 attendees! Members and family of members will get first preference! Preregistration is a must! Contact Doc to make arrangements! p.s. we'll need members to help out with this!

TREE COMMITTEE!

Trees have been planted along entrance road thanks to the efforts of Frank Castle and George Hillje!

CHANGES IN CLUB OFFICERS POSITIONS!

Sadly our long time Treasurer Rocky Harris passed away in early May! Needless to say he will be missed! His excellent work as our Treasurer will be hard to duplicate! Still we must try! elected by a majority vote at our May Meeting as Rocky's replacement was Doc McGarry! Filling the Board Position vacated by him was Dan Hartnett!

T-SHIRTS!

Yes we still have the orange ones! Price is still $11.00 and sizes S to 2x are still available!

POLYMER TARGETS/RIFLE RANGE!

These reactive targets have been ordered and received.It's expected that Committee Members Dan Hartnett and Moe Barbera will be installing them within the next two weeks! we'd like to remind people these targets react best to slow moving round nosed ammo(ie .22 rimfire) So don't waste your time and money popping them with pointed bullets! The targets will not react!

NEED A PLACE TO CAMP OUT...for free?

Other then your back yard there really wasn't such a place! Up until about a week ago that is.That's when John and Nick Wagar along with Eric Christianson decided to do something abut it! They spent days hacking out campsites in the woods near our pump house! The end result is there's now about five places to set up tents! Thanks to them these spots will be available to all members and their families(when accompanied by the member of course) on a first come first served basis!

ANNUAL PICNIC!

Will take place Sunday August 15th! For all those who don't know it this is a free event for all members and their family! Hotdogs,burgers,salads and soft drinks are supplied! As always if you'd like to bring a dish feel free to do so!

50/50 Raffle!

Tickets have arrived! Each member will receive 20 tickets! If you'd like more that can be arranged too! Drawing will be held on August 15th at Picnic! Last years winner took home about a $1000.00! Who knows maybe this year it will be you!

AUCTION!

we're hoping we'll be having one at our Picnic! Right now we're searching for items! If you have something or a lot of somethings this could be the perfect time to get rid of them and put some money in your pocket too! If that's the case let us know! We can arrange for your items to be picked up and stored to the Auction Date!

GROUNDS!

Right now they look a bit shaggier then we'd like to see them! The reason is equipment problems! Currently that's being worked out! We hope very soon to correct things and return to our former manicured country club like setting!

WEBPAGE!

( www.tvrgc.com )Many of you have contacted us and told of problems logging on! Our webmaster ,Mark Maloney, is aware of this and currently working out a solution to that problem! as soon as he does it will be emailed to you.So please hang in there!

WITH A LITTLE HELP FROM OUR FRIENDS DEPARTMENT!

Special thanks to the following for helping us in the Month of May! Without members like this I'm not sure where we'd be!

John Wagar!

Nick Wagar!

Eric Christianson!

Dan Hartnett!

John Bobo!

Paul Frangie!

John Livolsi!

Doug Duell!

Doug Doyle!

That's all for this month! Hope to see you soon!

April 11th Shotgun Shoot and Spring Fling party! It appeared to be a good day for many. Including participants and bystanders about 50 people showed up The winners were:

Adult Division: 1st: Hady H. 2nd: Fred T.

Junior Division 1st: Vincent W. 2nd: Cole M.

Ladies Division 1st: Vickie B. 2nd: Juliette B.

The shoot and party went very well thanks to the efforts of a lot of members who stepped up to help out. In all about $500.00 hit the Clubs treasury as a result. So we're going to do it again!

Archery Range! Thanks to efforts on the part of Chuck A. and Bob S. that range has taken on a new orderly look. Stop by and check it out. I think you'll like it!

Shotgun Range! A 5th clay thrower has been added. This ones a high powered model that will prove to be more challenging then he others. This also means one more type of shot you can practice for bird season. It also means our competitions will move 20 percent quicker. Check it out and let us know what you think!

Amnesty Program! Over the years we've had a few members drop out because they couldn't come current with their dues fee. It's been suggested we offer these past members the opportunity to get back in by just paying current dues. This will be discussed at our May meeting. If you have feelings one way or the other that meeting will be the place to air them!

Uninvited Shooters! Recently three shooters were found on our range. When asked if they were members they replied no. They were told they could use the facility by a quote long time member. As it turned out the long time member they mentioned was dropped from our lineup several years ago for for non payment of dues. This is being mentioned to remind all members that they need not be shy when it comes to approaching another shooter at the club and questioning him or her on their membership. We need to do this to cover our butts. Non guests are not insured. If an accident were to take place liability could fall not only on the Club but also its individual members. So don't be afraid to ask and don't be afraid to tell a trespasser to leave!

with a little help from our friends dept! Thanks to the following for making an effort to help improve our Club this past month via a donation of time, money or materials; Chuck A., Matt B., John L,. Al C. Sr., & Scot B,. Speaking for all members we appreciate what you've done!

Wood! Lots of wood! Next door neighbor Ray P. as donated a HUGE oak. It's been downed and cut up into 18" pieces. Most of them now are near our woodpile. Approximately two cords are still on Rays property. Help is needed getting them from Rays to the Club. Then of course splitting them up! We realize that everyone is going to want to help with this. Unfortunately space constraints will limit us to only ten splitters. So avoid being left out and sign up quickly.

Dues! As of this writing only 64% of our members have sent in their 2010 dues. This means we still can't figure out our 2010 budget. So please send in your dues ASAP! Also keep in mind our Insurance Liability Update must be sent in by 3/31/10. This list will contain the names of all members currently on the paid list and cover them insurance wise. If your name isn't on that list our insurance carrier will prohibit you from using the ranges!
So please send your check to:
Taconic Valley Rod and Gun Club
PO Box 18
Poestenkill New York 12140


In the very near future we'll be sending out a questionere. In it you'll be asked what areas of shooting interest you'd like to see addressed better. Please do your best to fill it out and send it back. we'd really like to make improvements that fill your needs!

Next meeting Sunday March 14th 2pm - Hope to see you then!

Topics to be discussed and possibly voted on:

→ Proposed 12'x30' addition to be used for storage of equipment!

→ Proposed improvements to archery range!

→ Proposed rebuilding of 200 yd burm!

→ Not proposed yet: Improvements you'd like to see!

→ Rifle range shed!

So make sure you show up to air your opinion or let your proposal be known!

Summer Camp Program! Much to our surprise only one member showed an interest. As a result Cole Madsen, son of Tom, will be attending camp this year! Congratulations Cole! enjoy!

Lost and Found Department! Found! Small video recorder! If you can identify it must yours! Contact us here!

Once again we'd like to remind you about NRA Membership! The Taconic Rod and Gun Club is an Official Recruitment Station for the NRA and for the next few months we can sign you,any member of your family, neighbor or anyone else you know up for a one year membership for as little as $10.00! Keep in mind Our Club receives a donation of $5.00 to $10.00 from the NRA for each sign up or renewal! Also keep in mind The NRA is the only National organization fighting to keep your gun ownership rights in place! So don't delay! Contact George @ 421-9635 or Doc @469-8584 ASAP!

→ Current plans for improvements to our club are now under discussion! We'd like your input in what you'd like done this year! Don't be shy! Please drop a note or come to the February 14th meeting! We really do need your input!

So that's it for now! The place is plowed out and there's plenty of firewood! So make sure you come out out and enjoy your Club!

~~ Doc


→ President Pat and Vice President Moe recently were presented with quite a challenge! Picking the winner of the Traveling T-shirt Contest! After days of deliberation and pouring over hundreds of photo's they narrowed it down to two finalist!

→ One of USMC Corporal Jake S. wearing his Taconic and holding his M-16 40 miles west of Baghdad! The other of Karen W. wearing hers at Daytona while watching her favorite NASCAR Race!



→ Pat, being a USA veteran and survivor of the infamous 1966 Atrocity at Stuttgart (he was forced to drink warm beer for several days after the Non Com Officers Club coolers failed) was wisely fearful of offending the USMC, chose Jake. Moe, being a restaurateur and chef chose Karen (he along with all of us love Karen's baked beans)! So after threatening each other for hours they finally made a Solomon like decision and chose both finalist as winners! In conclusion congratulations to Jake and Karen and to all Happy Holidays!

→ Still speaking of prizes, Santa says to make you an offer you can't refuse...so, how about a vintage plowtruck? We can put YOU in a pre-owned classic, for much less than you'd expect. Just ask.

→ Finally, paradoxically, safety first: On the ranges, hand-held and shoulder-mounted weapons only (no cannons!), and paper targets only. Always observe/obey the posted rules.

~~ Ray

NEW RANGE SAFETY SIGN! It's gotten to the point that Insurance companies influence our life in many ways! The Club isn't immune from that either! During a recent phone conversation with our insurance supplier we were informed of the necessity to have a sign placed on our range spelling out rules and regulations! We had no choice but to comply! So if during your next shooting outing you notice this sign please don't be insulted! We know most members are quite safe and proficient in the handling of firearms! It's just if we're not signed our premium would increase!

→ One of our members, John W., has created an interesting spot at www.MySpace.com/TVRGC show club related photo's. Currently he has some wonderful ones of our March Shotgun Surprise Shoot and The Joe Cuz Match. check them out. I think you'll enjoy them!

→ Speaking of thanks we should give a huge one to Frank C. He donated a gorgeous 18 horse riding tractor to the Club. So if the Club grounds look better then ever make sure you thank Frank for his generosity!

→ Rifle Rack- our donated rifle rack was raffled off netting about $125.00! The winner of the rack, Edward H., redonated that rack back to the Club. Rumor has it that fine piece will be raffled once again and the proceeds, again, added to The Range Improvement Fund.

→ If you have any ideas for a competitive shoot please contact us.
We have trouble thinking and need your help!
Unfortunately there're no shoots scheduled. If you have an idea for one and don't feel you have the time or know how to make it happen let us know! We have a crew of members that can help you put it together. They can handle everything from advertising to range officers and would enjoy making your shoot idea a reality!

→ NRA Membership- Club Recruitment Director George H. apparently wants to become the Tommy Fucillo of the Taconic. He's decided to continue offering NRA Basic Membership for $10.00's till Memorial Day. To take advantage of this HUGE offer contact us here or call George @ 421-9635!

→ Do you like shooting but hate the noise? Or maybe you don't like to reload? If you said yes to either one of those members John W., Bill T. and Don B. have the answer to your problem. It's called Airguns! They've even built a 75 yard range at the Club for you to enjoy them with. This range has been under construction for the last few month's and is really shaping up. When done it'll feature a covered firing point and knockdown targets. For more info on the range and any interest in airguns contact us here. I'll pass it on to them. It also should be mentioned the Club has six air-rifles that can be used by any member. This just might be a good way to introduce the wife, kids or grandkids to the shooting sport too!