Fall is well upon us in the High Desert at Gunsite. We know that because the mornings are wonderfully cool, the days are bright, the sunsets are beautiful and we have completed another Gunsite Alumni Shoot (GAS)!
What a great week it was preceding GAS: The “Knuckleheads” (An affectionate term for a raucous group of Gunsite alumni, some with 30 classes under their belts.) taking a special designed class for them were here for Pistol and Shotgun (heavily laden with simulators); a Long Range Rifle Tutorial for a great group of Hoosiers; and a 250 and 350 pistol class all helped us warm up for the GAS Match. Needless to say, all the match preparations were well underway as well as we worked with the clients.
GAS was a blast. We had a record turn-out of Gunsite family, shooting the stages and side matches, taking home rifle, shotguns, pistols, steel targets, Blade Tech gear and much more. (Please look to the list of GAS Sponsors elsewhere on the Newsletter and send them an email thanking them for their sponsorship!) One of the many great things about GAS (and Gunsite courses in general), is that thousands of rounds were expended safely, hundreds of guns were carried about, and no one was injured. Those four (4) simple safety rules are a wonderful thing.
The planning meetings for the 2016 GAS Match with all hands here at the Ranch have begun. With October 1, 2016 being the 40th Anniversary of Gunsite, we hope it to be a grand celebration. (Don’t wait to enroll, there are many already signed up!) We plan on a special “Retro-250” Pistol class including Gunsite history, photos and lore and more is on the books. If all goes as planned, we will have one hundred (100) special Gunsite Service Pistols with special serial number, fixed blade knife with the matching serial number and retro Gunsite logo and matching serial numbered copper 40th anniversary challenge coin. (No price available as yet as we are still getting our quotes.) This package will be available with the “Retro Raven” logo.
Do you have Gunsite Memorabilia we could display on the classroom walls or in the locked display cases? We are looking for great action photos, staff hats and jackets, and more. Please contact me if you have something.
We have reached out to several of the early year Gunsite staff members and hope to have them attend. Several of our celebrity clients have been invited as well. Who knows who will attend?
Now let’s discuss October and November. We are about to finish the Vehicle Tactics Course, the Advanced Tactical Problems and a private ladies’ Handgun. But there is so much more yet to come in October: the one day Range Day for Gunsite graduates of any pistol class including CCW, a 270 General Rifle, the Crimson Trace 250 Pistol, Close Quarters Pistol, Edged Weapons, Simulator Courses for Pistol, Carbine and Shotgun and the Indiana 160 Shotgun. (Look in the Newsletter for the Special Pricing for the Indiana 160!). Whew . . . That’s just October!
Remember if you sign up in 2015 for a 2016 course, you get the 2015 pricing! You can tell your significant other that “We couldn’t afford to NOT sign up!”
Finally, remember your color code and mind set. The world is not getting “safer” and the “Gun Free Zones” do not enhance our safety. YOU will be the first responder to that event. Be aware of your surroundings. Know where the exits are. Consider what is cover and concealment. Have a plan. Discuss the plan with your family and friends. Be the Sheepdog, not the Sheep.
As former Gunsite Rangemaster Louis Awerbuck was known to say: “Check Six!”
DVC,
Ken
