Calendar of Events

September 24, 2005      Iron Man Competition
September 26, 2005      Members’ Meeting, 7:30pm
October 1, 2005           Youth’s Pheasant Hunt
October 3, 2005           Board of Governors’ Meeting, 7 pm

New President and Board of Governors’ Member Elected

At the August 22, 2005 members’ meeting Lawton Read was elected for President, and Carl Repucci for the open Board of Governors’ position. Congratulations Lawton and Carl, and thank you for accepting the work and responsibilities entailed.   Lawton ’s position will be effective through the fall, when a new election will be held for 2006 Club officers and any BOG positions that will have lapsed. Carl’s tenure runs through November 2006.

Young Adults’ Pheasant Hunt on Target

Kim Sullivan is pleased to report that the roster for  the Young Adult Pheasant Hunt for 2005 is full.  Four young hunters, along with their mentors, have been practicing their shooting and gun safety skills up at the Club trap range for seven weeks now.  They are scheduled to conduct their pre-hunt workshop in the field on Saturday, September 24^th,  and to take to Bolton Flats October 1^st for an adventurous day of pheasant hunting—hunters, mentors, and dogs!

We’ve had an overwhelming interest in this new program and are excited about the Club’s prospects for next year.  If you are interested, send Kim (Kimberly.Sullivan@parsons.com) your name, address, telephone #, and e-mail address and she will send you information and the requirements for you to qualify for the 2006 hunt.  We look forward to a larger group of interested teens next year!

Cub Scout Pack 222 Fishing Day

On Sunday October 2, 2005 , members of the special needs Cub Scout Pack 222 will be fishing the Club pond.  Rain date is October 9,2005 . These young fishermen are mildly autistic and will need fishing mentors to accompany them and their parents to the pond. If you enjoy fishing and would like to help a young person develop a love for your sport, please contact Deborah Stein at 617-308-1776 or via e-mail at deb@debstein.com .

The Ironman Competition Cometh, and More

Here’s your chance to prove and use your shooting skills on the trap and pistol ranges, your casting prowess on the pond, and your archery acuity on the range. And who knows what other field and stream skill that might get tested? Hatchet throwing? Pole climbing? Bear wrestling? Moose carry?

Are you up to the challenge?  Find out by signing up on the sheet tacked onto the Club bulletin board. September 24^th is near, or e-mail  Jim Gallagher  at bt99@rocketmail.com.

Bow Hunter Contest – Sign up at the Club house for the Annual Bow Hunter Contest; rules are on the sign up sheet. 100% Pay Out for Biggest Deer, Biggest Doe, Best Rack & Smallest.

Biggest Deer Competition – The Club member who harvests the largest deer by any LEGAL means in New England , NY or PA will win a 2006 Massachusetts Sporting License. Last year’s winner was Lucas Rounds, with a buck taken on the Club property.  To enter, e-mail Jim Gallagher at bt99@rocketmail.com.

Kudos from Attendees of the Mass. Conservation Camp

Four young folks had a grand time at this year’s Mass. Conservation Camp. One thank you note is posted on the Club bulletin board, and Eileen Facenda plans to read extracts from the other three letters at the next members’ meeting. Remember, the future of hunting and fishing is in the

Kudos Mass. Conservation Camp (contd.)

hands of these young people, so engendering the love of the outdoors and the skills used in fishing, hunting, archery, canoeing, etc. is extremely important.

Membership News

New Limited Members

Four candidates presented themselves at the September 12, 2005 BOGs’ meeting for consideration – Andrei Muresianu, sponsored by Robert Alpert ; Chris Kaiser, sponsored by Glen

Gutwillig; Meredith Lightbrown-Amadon and George Amadon, sponsored by Deb Stein. All were accepted for limited membership. Welcome to the Concord Rod & Gun Club!

Extended Limited Members

Individuals who are still Limited Members after a six month period of time of your acceptance, (not having completed your 10 hours of mandatory work within that time) will be receiving a notification letter in the near future outlining your status and a grace period within which you can do your work hours.

Sponsors of Extended Limited Members

Sponsors of Extended Limited Members should take the responsibility to contact these members and get them involved in supporting upcoming activities such as the Ironman  and the ...

Special Work Day for New & Extended Limited Members

To make it easy for you to work off your hours, we are holding a Special Work Day on Sunday, October 16, 2005 from 9am to 3pm. Come on down, meet your fellow members, get a little exercise and your worksheet filled out and change your status to a full member.

Getting to Full Membership

Contact the individuals below to fulfill your promised obligation.

Charlie Atherton: Steward 978-371-7109         Vin Bartolomeo: Trap 978-369-2428

Bill Lewis: Grounds 978-952-6696                   Robert Alpert: Pistol 508-651-1153                

Rich Gagnon : Archery 978-692-5054   Jim Gallagher: Ironman 978-369-7126

Financial Secretary Resigns

We regret to announce that Robert Alpert has found it necessary to resign his position, effective October 1st. We wish to express our many thanks to Robert for the assiduous effort he has applied in this function over the past several years, as well as in the many other roles that he has assumed to the benefit of the Club.

Bruce Harvey has volunteered to fill the position through November and was accepted as the temporary Financial Secretary.

Get Your Newsletter Via E-Mail!

If you’re online, you can get this newsletter via e-mail AND access the Club’s website. It’s quicker, timelier, and saves the Club money. Contact Sheryl Read to get your Club newsletter via e-mail: 617-965-4038; shrent2@rcn.com .

Committee Reports

Archery – Rich Gagnon , Chairman.  The Traditional Archery Shoot (longbows and recurves only) was held on August 21^st, starting with a very good buffet breakfast that everyone who shot the course praised. Rain early in the day kept the turnout rather light, but those archers who participated had a lot of fun.  Special thanks to Paul Cooney who did a great culinary job with the buffet breakfast and the lunch grill. Thanks also to stalwart archers Eileen and Joe Facenda, Steve Tottingham, Dave Bjord, Paul Lafleche, Bill Hamilton, Peter Malloy, Jim O’Donnell, Kevin Flavin, Nancy Rose Dow, Frank Gill, Fred Skerry, Dave Schaefer, Steve Pressley, Brad Stetson and Bruce Harvey for their contributions in putting on the shoot and helping with the breakfast and lunch.  Also thanks to Tom Tellier of the White Mountain Traditional Bowhunters for bringing us their iron deer, running coyote, and his Rinehart skunk and little standing bear targets.  They all helped make the course even more fun and interesting to shoot.

Walk-Through & Range Orientation -- We’ve been fielding requests for either a tour of the archery range and course or better signs for newcomers to find their way.  For the short term, we will host another archery course walk-through on a Sunday in the second half of October or early November.  A sign up sheet will be posted in the bar area with a couple of proposed dates included for interested members to cite their preference. Please note the date that works best for you and leave your contact info so we can coordinate the walk-through to benefit the majority.

Show Courtesy to Hunters – Archers who would like to use the field course, should note that the deer season for archery opens on October 17^th  and extends to November 26th. Let’s give the hunters their space, and unless you are certain there is no one actively hunting the grounds, limit your use of the field course to Sundays.  As usual, the practice range is always open.

Pistol – The first match during The Nashoba Valley Pistol League (NVPL) 2005-06 season starts on September 28th.  Check the NVPL website for the complete schedule. If you are interested in shooting in this .22 caliber league or want information on the league, please contact chairman Robert Alpert at: nvpl@ralpert.com or call him at 617-968-8169.

Delegates’ Reports

Massachusetts League of Sportsmen’s Clubs – Delegate, Barry Robinson.  The next meeting of the MLSC with be at the Nashoba Valley Sportsmen Club in Acton , MA on Thursday, September 29, 2005 at 7 pm. Please join us at Nashoba to hear what concerted efforts are being mounted in the state to promote hunting and fishing.

Hazards of Lead Exposure on Firing Ranges – Part III

 This is the third of a four-part series to educate our membership on the dangers of airborne lead. The final segment will briefly address design considerations and cleaning methods.

Steps to Minimize Lead Absorption

• Have a correctly ventilated range whose system is properly working

• Users of the range should wash hands and face before eating, drinking or smoking
• Hands and face must be washed before leaving the range
• Always load bullets in a ventilated area
• Do not load bullets in the home or in areas where children frequent
• Do not allow children into the bullet loading area
• Keep the bullet loading area clean by using detergent

Reducing Lead Dust Exposure

OSHA has established a standard for lead (29 CFR 1910.1025) covering shooting range employees.  This regulation set a “Permissible Exposure Limit” (PEL) for airborne lead of 50 micrograms per cubic meter (mcg/m3), averaged over an 8-hour day. Regardless, lead exposure needs to be reduced to as low a level as possible.

An effective ventilation system produces a smooth airflow pattern.  Poorly designed ventilation systems produce eddies and recirculation that can carry fumes and dusts emitted from weapons to the area behind the firing line.

Recirculation and channeling air flow can be caused by various structures in the firing range, such as:

• overhead barriers
• sound barriers
• booth walls
• light fixtures
• poorly located air inlets, or even
• the shooters themselves

It is important that a ventilation system that serves the range area be completely separated from any ventilation for the rest of the building.  The exhaust air from the range should not feed into air supplies for offices, meeting rooms or other businesses.