Illinois State Rifle Association Thursday Bullitin

The Illinois Legislature has recessed until April 25th.  When they return, there will be 28 action- packed days until the spring session ends on May 31st.  Be prepared for legislative alerts.  Top on the list will be Gun Dealer Licensing (SB1657), Lethal Order of Protection (HB2354) and the Lead Ammunition Ban (SB1985).  Please take this time to look up your State Representative and State Senator’s Springfield phone number and email so you will be prepared to contact them quickly.  Findyour legislator here.

In one week, the NRA Annual Meeting will take place in Atlanta, Georgia.  I urge all of you who can attend to make every effort to be there.  Last year, history was made when Donald Trump received his first endorsement at the NRA Annual Meeting.  The NRA was the first to take on Hillary Clinton’s corrupt political machine.  Law abiding gun owners and other deplorables led by Donald Trump’s tenacity, fought a ferocious fight to save the Constitution of the United States and prevent us from slipping into the crevasse of eternal mediocrity.  Don’t be fooled; it isn’t over yet.  It’s never going to be over.

Spring has finally arrived and with it, the spring and summer shooting leagues.  There are all kinds of leagues being shot at ranges all over Illinois and the United States.  Make every effort to participate in one or two of your choice.  For those who like to shoot trap, skeet or sporting clays, there are many opportunities out there.  The Grand American has really spurred the shotgun sports since their move to Illinois earlier this year.  If you are a trap shooter you should try to make it to the “Grand”.

Spring leagues at the ISRA Range have already begun.  The Black Powder League is shot the first Sunday of the month.  May 7th will be the next Black Powder league date.  The Combat League will have its orientation on Sunday April 30th.  This will include the addition of the introduction of the IDPA qualifiers and you will need to have attended the orientation for the first Combat/IDPA summer program on May 7th.

Our oldest pistol league, the Bullseye League, will hold its first competition on April 23rd.  Bullseye is the queen of the shooting sports.  If you want to learn to be an excellent pistol shot, Bullseye is the place to start.

The Tuesday Night Irregular Rifle League (service rifle) will have its organizational meeting on April 18th.  The first shoot will be on April 25th.

The F Class League will begin on Wednesday May 3rd.  F Class uses bolt action rifles, telescopic sights, rests or bipods and is fired from the prone position. This league is fired at 300 yards and is designed for those who like the challenge of long range accuracy.

The Bench Rest League, which has regulation benches, will start on Wednesday, April 26th.  For those who love hyper accuracy, this is the league for you.  Because it is shot from the bench, the physical challenges are not as great.  The league is shot at 100 yards (and once a month, moves to 300 yards).

The Smallbore (.22 rimfire) League has a new wrinkle with the addition of Smallbore F Class.  A Smallbore F Class rifle is any .22 rimfire rifle that weighs less than 18 pounds, including the scope.  The F Class rifles may use a bipod or rest.  The Smallbore League begins on Thursday, May 11^th, with orientation on May 11th, 18th, 25^th, and June 1^st, for new league members.

The new ISRA Marksman League is designed for new shooters.  This league requires .22 center fire pistols, or .22 rifles.  If you are new to shooting and want to improve your marksmanship skills, this is the league for you.

The Glock and Springfield Leagues will start later in the summer.  The Air Gun winter league will begin in October.

There is plenty to do at the ISRA Range and the leagues are all reasonably priced.  See you at the range. For more information on our leagues, please visit our website range calendar.

The number of active FOID card and ICCL’s for the end of March, 2017:

FOID: 2,144,057

ICCL’s: 229,732

Thanks for being a member.

To keep up with current legislation, please follow this link:http://www.isra.org/Advocacy/Legislation.aspx

Check out ISRA’s website at www.isra.org! Tell us what you think!