Utterly shocked and saddened by the unexpected loss of Marty Kolodziej of Accuracy Speaks…

Marty was a heck of a gunsmith, but more importantly, a damn good person.  He was a great shot, loved our sport, and even found the time to give back – working as a Range Officer.   As often happens in life, Marty had gotten so occupied with his work, work he loved, that we rarely saw him at the local matches.

He was never too busy to stop and chat though when I dropped in with one of my many “projects”.  Needless to say, he always took good care of me.

I occasionally  brought him lunch as a meager effort to show my appreciation.  Now, I’m really hoping he knew how much I valued his friendship and abilities…

He had come to perfect his trigger job on XD and XDM pistols, among many others.  I won’t say they were better than mine, but you know how I am.  Yeah, in sucky times, humor helps me a little.

I sincerely cannot express how much I will miss him.  I am fortunate to have crossed paths with Marty and honored to call him a friend.

His family is going through an extremely trying time, emotionally and financially.  If you can help them at all during their hour of need, in honor of Marty, it would be greatly appreciated.  More info on Marty’s services and how to donate below.

I cannot attend the services, unfortunately, because I’ll be at the NRA Show in Houston.  My thoughts and prayers have been and will be with Marty’s family, loved ones and friends.

Rest in peace, my friend.  

Rob

From Terry Abbott – Rio Salado Sportsman’s Club President:

To All RSSC Members:

As many of you may already have heard, our good friend and gunsmith at Accuracy Speaks, Marty Kolodziej, suffered a severe stroke on April 19th. In spite of tremendous effort by medical professionals Marty passed away on Monday April 29th. Marty had limited financial resources and his family is hard pressed to meet his funeral expenses. Marty was a good and generous friend to RSSC members. If you would like to help Marty’s family during this trying time, donations can be made in either of the following ways:

Mailed To:    Marty Kolodziej
Services May 4th 5:00 pm
Mariposa Gardens Memorial Park
6747 E Broadway Road
Mesa AZ 85206

Or called into:  Amanda Knoll
For Marty Kolodziej
480-830-4422

Your help would be greatly appreciated. Anyone wishing to attend the services on May 4th is welcome. There will be a friends and family gathering afterwards.  The information will be at the Funeral Home that evening. Marty will be greatly missed by the RSSC family. Please keep his family in your thoughts and prayers.

Terry Abbott
President, RSSC

Huge thanks to everyone who helped out.

There are 2 missing score sheets so we’ll be updating the results later this week.  Pete will be posting to the Rio Practical web page also.

Remember too that the scores are entered differently for CLASSIFIED vs. Unclassified and Novice shooters.

Classified shooters (who draw) keep 2 of their 3 runs from each stage and Unclassified and Novice shooters only have to keep 1 of their 3 runs from each stage.  We’re trying to figure out how to best reflect this in the match results but haven’t made any changes yet.  We’ll keep you posted.

Check ‘em out.

I2S Results 2013 04 28

Also – the next Practical Shooting Safety Course is Monday May 14th from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m.  Sign up via email on the PSSC page!

Due to Rob’s busy schedule this spring, he only has a few openings for classes:

MARCH:

• Monday March 11 from 7:30 a.m. to 9:30 a.m.
  2 hours semi-private training for up to 3 individuals – $100 per person + $10 range fee per person
• Monday March 11 from 10:00 a.m. to noon
  2 hours semi-private training for up to 3 individuals – $100 per person + $10 range fee per person
• Friday March 15 from 7:30 a.m. to 9:30 a.m.
  2 hours semi-private training for up to 3 individuals – $100 per person + $10 range fee per person
• Friday March 15 from 10:00 a.m. to noon
  2 hours semi-private training for up to 3 individuals – $100 per person + $10 range fee per person

RSSC proudly boasts one of the largest “Practical” Shooting Clubs in the country.  In addition, we have an awesome group of volunteer Board Members, Division Heads, Match Directors, Statisticians and Range Officers that host practical events for Action Steel, USPSA, SASS, ICORE, .22 firearms and Multi-Gun.

Practical Shooting events demand that SAFETY is ALWAYS the number one priority.  Our sport has an excellent track record in that regard, and at Rio Salado, we intend to do everything we can to educate novice competitors about the safety rules and procedures of the sport.

That’s why we’ve created the PSSC – to provide a friendly, encouraging and informative environment for those who want to begin attending practical shooting events, and more importantly, to get them started on the right foot.

Beginning in April of 2013, any NEW shooter must attend the Practical Shooting Safety Course (PSSC) BEFORE competing in any of the “Practical Division” Matches:

We have scheduled two dates for the PSSC in March and will schedule more as needed.  Please check the PSSC website or the RSSC Calendar for future class dates.

To Sign up for PSSC, send us an email designating the CLASS DATE:  PSSC E-MAIL

To learn more about the PSSC check the website:  PSSC

In summary, the goal of the PSSC is to encourage new shooters to take that sometimes-overwhelming first step into the exciting, fun and challenging world of practical shooting.  What better way to learn about Practical Shooting than taking a hands-on course from competitors and instructors with decades of practical shooting experience!  Once you’ve completed the PSSC, Rio Salado’s Practical Division offers a great array of matches, progressing from simple to advanced, to get you going in the sport.  We hope to see you soon – at a MATCH at the range!

I also want to extend my thanks to everyone who supported and helped create the PSSC:

Paul Caudill

Pete Carstensen

Scott Durkin

Debbie Keehart

Kippi Leatham

We’ve been working on standardizing Safety Training for the match, which has resulted in the Practical Shooting Safety Course (PSSC).  Needless to say, there are a few changes.

• The PSSC is NOT required for new shooters to attend I2S – So please come as planned!
• CLASSIFIED shooters will now draw at I2S, as they have “draw status”.
• The PSSC IS required for new and unclassified shooters to obtain “draw status”.
• EFFECTIVE IMMEDIATELY, I2S requires NEW shooters, including anyone who has shot FEWER than 3 matches with I2S, to to PRINT, REVIEW AND BRING the SAFETY OUTLINE & WAIVER to the I2S Match.
• These documents are available on the website.  http://robleatham.com/wp/intro-to-steel-match/
• Shooters will be given 3 WARNINGS at I2S.  If they exceed 3, they will be DQ’d for the day.
• There are some additional I2S requirements, namely requiring a holster to transport the gun, but we will institute most of these beginning in March to give shooters time to prepare.
• Check the website for all of the match info and updates. http://robleatham.com/wp/intro-to-steel-match/

Hope to see you all on Sunday!

Our January 2013 Intro To Steel Match was canceled due to the Western States Single Stack Championship.

You were probably better off, as it was a miserable, rainy weekend at the range.

Here are the results from our December I2S match:

http://www.riopractical.com/text/intro2steel121223.pdf

Hope to see you in February!

Hello shooters.

Remember the Open Practice I announced in January?  Well, if you didn’t make it, we had about 30 shooters by the days’ end, and probably shot close to 8,000 rounds.  It was a blast for me [pun intended] and I hope all who came had a good time.

Due to that decent first turnout and many requests for a second session, I have last-minute scheduled another Open Practice Training Session. It’s this weekend,  Saturday the 2nd of February at Rio Salado Sportsman’s Club in Training Bay 1 [NOT the Practical Bays] from 08:00 a.m. until 11:30 a.m.  $20 per person.  You may arrive 7:30 – 7:45 for signup and to get geared up, but we have to be out of the bay by NOON due to another reservation.

Bring lots of ammo, 200 – 300 rounds.  You’ll have a chance to practice drills multiple times and hang out with fellow shooters.  Be sure to check your ego at the door, as I will take the opportunity to observe, identify and offer improvements to shooters who may exhibit bad habits. It’s a lot of fun – at least for me!   It’s not every day you might get a chance to receive some of my “personal attention”.

Remember, the session is for experienced, CLASSIFIED shooters only!!   All drills will be fired on steel targets, so hopefully the rotations will move along pretty quick.  Stay for the whole time or drop in for an hour and shoot.  I design the drills, and use the same training approach I’ve used over the last 30 years.  Who knows … this may also help you improve your scores?

Join the NRA, Gun Owners of America, Second Amendment Foundation, National Shooting Sports Foundation, etc. upgrade your membership or make a donation. Write your congressmen and congresswomen (check out ruger.com for a quick easy method), have “classy” conversations [San Diego], take a gun-free friend to the range, and support the companies and organizations that are actively looking out for us.

From the NRA:  ”President Obama’s skepticism over NRA’s proposal to put armed security in schools — when he and his friends already send their children to schools with armed guards — is just the latest example of elitist hypocrisy. The NRA plans to Stand and Fight — will you stand with us?”

Check out the full video on the NRA Stand and Fight website: http://www.nrastandandfight.com/

If you live in the Phoenix metropolitan area, you will be able to work on that resolution with me immediately.

Sunday’s match had a great turnout. 58 shooters, and nearly 50 percent were in the novice / new class.

We had a young lady who graduated from the .22 Steel Match to our center fire match.

She was a joy to watch.  Check out one of her runs on stage 3.

A junior shooter’s first center fire match.

We cannot thank the volunteers enough, those who help with setup & tear down, and all of the experienced range officers who are watchful, patient and informative with the newbies. As with all matches, we must be diligent when it comes to safety and we appreciate your assistance with that.

Here are the most recent match results:

http://www.riopractical.com/text/intro2steel121125.pdf