Great weather, excellent help and plenty of prospective Deer hunters made the 2005 sight in event better than ever with a total of 1408 guns sighted in during the 14 day event. With an average of 100+ guns every day, volunteers did a fantastic job of keeping the firing line organized and managing sighting problems like real pros.

       Once again, we want to express our sincere thanks to all of the excellent club members who volunteered their time. I’d like to single out just a few folks who always go above and beyond to make this a great event. Special thanks to Conley Janssen for organizing the volunteers and to Don Novotny for arranging the raffle. There’s no way to say thank you enough to Denny Nix who is always there, always busy! As always, Russ and Mary Jo at Soup to Nuts Gun Shop and Bob & Lori at Rapids Printing were also very helpful in supporting our event and we’d like to extend our sincere thanks for their help.

       Like to plan ahead? The sight in event for 2006 will begin on Saturday October 21^st, 2006. We’ll look forward to seeing you there. Please contact Conley Janssen to arrange your times by calling 218-327-9518. A special note to folks, who can’t spend a lot of time on the firing line, we are always in need of people to work inside as well. If you can help sell tickets, collect money or provide support for those working on the firing line, your help is needed too! Just let us know what you’d like to do and we’ll be thrilled to see you there.

       Thanks also to everyone, who organized, bought, sold and helped with the raffle. Another great success for IGC bringing in over $5000.00 to help pay for club projects and events. Congratulations to the winners of the raffle prizes.

1. Chuck Doppler, of Grand Rapids is the winner of the Remington 700 BDL 30-06 Mountain Gun.

       Happily, the first and biggest step of the building project has been completed. The foundation, rough plumbing and erection of the new range clubhouse are complete. Many thanks to the folks at Rapids Roof Truss! They did a great job of getting the old and new buildings to match and we’re really pleased with the new building appearance and size.

       With a little over 15% of our original building budget remaining in the bank, it looks like we’ll come very close to having the heating installed and running in the next couple of months. We’ll be taking advantage of "Off Peak" Electric Heating by installing an electric plenum heater in either the existing furnace or in an upgraded Propane furnace (if more BTUs are required). This will enable us to take advantage of the "Off Peak" pricing for the entire indoor range facility. Joe Oliver is heading up the task force handling the electrical portions of the project, Taylor Bunes is heading up the task force handling the ductwork, insulation and ceiling work.

       Many of you that got a glimpse of the progress during sight in days offered a helping hand as the project moves forward. We’ll appreciate all of the help we can get and to be sure that you’re up to speed as needs develop, please get in the habit of checking the web site for details about upcoming work days. Itascagunclub.org will have a special section featuring photos of the progress, scheduled work dates and requests for materials or supplies.

       Here’s your chance to influence the process, run for election or just take the opportunity to visit with fellow IGC members.

       The annual meeting has been scheduled for Friday January 13, 2006 and will be held at The Eagles Club in Grand Rapids.

       Social hour begins at 5:30 PM and dinner will be served at 6:30 PM. Awards, guest speaker and elections will immediately follow dinner. A complete meeting agenda and list of elected positions is included on page 3 of this newsletter.

       Amendments to Itasca Gun Club by-laws and operating policies will be discussed at this meeting.

        That’s the good news. But the new twist in the Minnesota law requires any instructor who wishes to continue training folks that are seeking the "Minnesota Pistol Carry Permit" to be certified by the State of Minnesota. In order to be certified the instructor must also receive additional on-going training on an annual basis. This is a departure from what we’ve been accustomed to in the past. Most of us who qualified as instructors by completing one the various NRA instructor courses simply kept up to date by teaching (or participated in teaching) a class at least once each year. Continuing to do this will keep your NRA Credentials up to date, but will do nothing to certify you as a "state approved" instructor. In other words, the NRA pistol course in and of itself in not currently recognized by the State of Minnesota. An individual may take that course, receive their certificate of completion and still not be qualified to receive the carry permit.

       There’s some question about where the list of qualified individual instructors will be found, but according to Itasca County Sheriff, Pat Medure, it may be hosted on the State of Minnesota web site or perhaps on the Minnesota Sheriff’s Association web site. These details are being worked out now. Either way, the list will be meant to give Sheriffs from around the state a way of checking to be sure that permit applicants have received training from a state-qualified instructor. If the instructor who signs off on the course certificate is not listed, the sheriff in that county may deny the permit.

       There are a couple of ways for instructors to get the new certification. For example Itasca Gun Club sponsored instructors can simply get re-certified and listed by the club once they agree to teach the "official" state approved IGC curriculum. Another alternative would be to submit your own course materials to the State of Minnesota and become certified on your own. Either way, it will require action on your part if you wish to continue serving as an instructor for the "carry permit" qualification courses.

       Itasca Gun Club will be responsible for keeping records of its instructors, course attendees and training activities. These records are then to be submitted to the state in order to maintain our approved status.

       Attention All Instructors! If you intend to continue offering or assisting in teaching the "pistol carry permit" courses, you must contact Taylor Bunes, Chief Instructor 218-328-6174 before January 10^th, 2006. Taylor will be scheduling a meeting of instructors where we will get additional information and direction for obtaining the state certification.

       It’s important to remember that these state requirements pertain only to those individuals teaching the carry permit courses. Other NRA, DNR or law enforcement instructors who wish to offer conventional hunter safety courses, NRA basic courses or other non-carry permit courses may continue to offer these without changing anything. As always, the Itasca Gun Clubs urges all of its members to participate in the shooting sports in all forms. So if you have questions, please call and we’ll do everything we can to help.

       Mike Hughes has taken on the responsibility of acting as a NRA Membership Liaison and has provided this article.

       Here’s some good news for Itasca Gun Club members. You can save some money on your NRA annual membership dues if you renew your membership through IGC. The Itasca Gun Club is a recruiting partner with the NRA and as such will earn commissions for each new NRA member recruited and each existing NRA member renewed. The good part for you is that you get a discount on your membership costs.

       It works like this. The annual cost of NRA membership is $35.00. If you renew for 1 year, your cost is only $25.00. If you renew for 2 years, your cost will be only $60.00. (Yeah, I know, it’s not an even multiple.) If you renew for 3 years, your cost will be only $85.00. There is no 4-year option. If you renew for 5 years, your cost will be only $125.00 and you will get a bonus. Anyone renewing for 5 years will also be accorded voting privileges for the annual Board of Directors elections. Compared to the usual annual cost of $35.00, this is a really good deal.

        If you are not a member of the NRA yet, this is a good chance for you to rectify that oversight and save also as you get the same deals that are being offered to renewing members.

       Why should you join the NRA? The more members the NRA has, the stronger it will be and the more effective it will be in the political arena when it comes to defending the Second Amendment and protecting the rights of lawful gun owners and hunters all over America. The membership of the NRA is made up of common folks just like us. Join us. Don’t put off enrolling any longer, you won’t get a better deal!

       Anyone desiring to take advantage of this offer should send their check (with their NRA membership # on the memo line) to: Itasca Gun Club, NRA Liaison Mike Hughes, PO Box 201, Grand Rapids, MN. 55744

       Do not forget to include your membership # if you are a renewing member. Mike Hughes 11/23/05

       As many of you may recall, membership during the late 1990’s grew to nearly 500 members. At that time, concerns involving heavy range usage and a subsequent decline in the quality of our facilities led to the IGC policy requiring members to serve at least 5 hours each year as a volunteer. The goals were to encourage members to become more active in volunteer efforts at the range and to increase a sense of pride and ownership among IGC members.

       Predictably, a decline in membership corresponded to the policy. Most notably among members who had joined for a variety of reasons that didn’t necessarily include shooting at the range. For example; lot’s of folks had joined simply to qualify to purchase M-1 Garand Rifles, others joined to make obtaining pistol permits easier, some folks just didn’t want to come out and work and so they opted to move on.

(continued from page 2)  members including 87 Life members, 75 paid through 2006 and 306 are paid through 2005. Additionally, in 2004, there were 83 members that did not renew and in 2003, there were 81 members that did not renew.

With an eye cast to the future, growing membership is a clear signal to us that there is a healthy interest in the shooting sports in Northern Minnesota. We want to take this opportunity to thank you and encourage you to be active! This is a member driven volunteer club and if you want to create, schedule, organize or participate in any shooting program. We encourage you to get started. We’ll help get the ball rolling.

Thanks to our Membership Secretary, Joanne Baker for taking the time to prepare the report on IGC membership through November 2005.

Please be sure to find your IGC Membership statement included with this newsletter. Please complete and return the membership form even if your dues are already current. It’s important to us to keep our records up to date in order to serve you.

Welcome to Mike Hughes who has agreed to take on the position of pistol Chairman. Mike is your official contact for scheduling indoor pistol matches, open indoor pistol shooting and keeping pistol league records. Open pistol practice starts on Monday December 5^th and continues on Mondays and Thursdays until 1/1/06. League shooting begins the first Thursday in January and goes through March. Joe Oliver and I will be calling the local past participants to get you signed up for league shooting. Thanks! Mike Hughes 327-3231

Here are the dates for Itasca Gun Club Team to shoot. Our "Starter Match at MSSEC is 12/3/05, with first relay to the line at 9 a.m.

Any make-up matches are March 8 or 9 if needed or could be used for additional standing matches, an ISU Iron sight match or to shoot regular 4 position. The Spring Shoot season ender is scheduled for March 25th at MSSEC with Hibbing as host club. Contact Phyllis 218-246-8742

The 17th annual Women's Firearm Safety and Handgun Seminar will be conducted during four days in June, 2006. Wed 15th, Thurs 16, Sat 18th and Monday the 20th. Evening classes start at 6:30 PM until 10:00 PM. The Saturday (At the range) class will begin at 8 a.m. Students must pre-register by calling Jerry Femrite at 218-327-2500 or Darla Millard at 218-326-8176

Here is a list of nominees available as of December 1^st 2005. Nominations are open now and you can nominate any club member or declare yourself as a candidate to run for election to one of these positions. To make a nomination, simply contact any one of the current club officers. Nominees have an opportunity to decline the nomination either before or at the annual meeting. Check the web site itascagunclub.org for updates.