OUR EXPERT SHOOTERS
MEMBERS WHO HAVE ATTAINED NRA EXPERT IN SMALL BORE RIFLE
Danny M. (left) is shown receiving his NRA Expert Certificate for completing the 4 Position NRA Marksmanship Qualification Shooting Program in Small Bore Rifle. Dave Maier, High Power Program Director, made the presentation on November 15, 2008. Danny also received a $100 US Savings Bond, shoulder patch and Expert rocker in appreciation of his efforts. Chris W. (center) is shown receiving his NRA Expert Certificate for completing the 4 Position NRA Marksmanship Qualification Shooting Program in Small Bore Rifle from Dave Bechtold, Program Director. The presentation was made on April 14, 2008. Chris received a $100 US Savings Bond, shoulder patch and Expert rocker in recognition of his efforts. Brian W. (right) is shown above receiving his NRA Expert Certificate and shoulder patch for completing the Small Bore Rifle Program. Tom Watters, Small Bore Competition Director, made the presentation on December 17, 2007. Brian also received a $100 US Savings Bond in appreciation of his hard work and dedication to his objective. Way to reach your goal!!!!!!!!
Kristen McC. (left) was our first member to attain Expert on February 2, 2005. She was followed by Chris T. and Nicole T. both of whom received their certificates and Savings Bonds on February 22, 2006 (center). Teddy S. of Avondale, PA is shown on the right receiving his certificate on September 18, 2006.
Zack K. (left) attain Expert on October 23, 2006. He was followed by Ryan McC. who received his certificate and Savings Bond on December 18, 2006 (center). Clinton C., shown on the right, received his certificate on October 1, 2007.
SAFETY INSTRUCTION
Responsible and safe firearms activity is the prime objective of our shooting program. Safety is constantly at the forefront of our efforts. All youngsters are periodically taught and reminded of the prime rules of firearm handling as promulgated by the National Rifle Association:
1. "Always keep the gun pointed in a safe direction". This is the primary rule of gun safety. A safe direction means that the gun is pointed so that even if it were to accidentally discharge it would not cause injury or damage. The key to this rule is to control where the muzzle or front end of the barrel is pointed at all times. Common sense dictates the safest direction, depending on different circumstances. Our metal backstop on the range is painted GREEN. As long as the youngsters have their sights pointed "in the green" they are maintaining good muzzle control.
2. "Always keep your finger off the trigger until ready to shoot". When holding a gun, rest your finger on the trigger guard or along the side of the gun. Until you are actually ready to fire, do not touch the trigger.
3. "Always keep the gun unloaded until ready to use". No gun on the range is ever loaded until the youngster is on the firing line and the range command "load" is given. Before a rifle is picked up from the staging table or after the "return rifle" command is given, the youngster must physically look into the rear of the chamber to make sure that it is clear of ammunition.
The shooting venues of the SCCYSL are clearly marked with firing lines and safety procedures and a low mentor to student ratio assures that each youngster is acting in a responsible and knowledgeable fashion. Over the course of the first year of membership in the League, each youngster is required to attend an NRA Basic Rifle Instruction Course taught by NRA certified instructors. This course is given to our members at no cost by our volunteer staff. The next scheduled class will be held in October of 2009 at the Clubhouse of the Atglen Sportsmen's Club between noon and 5 PM. Preregistration is required and can be accomplished by emailing your intent to SCCYSL22@hotmail.com.
NRA Rifle Instruction Course, October 17, 2009
Taking the test
Six youngsters and four adults participated in the NRA Basic Rifle Instruction Course given on October 17, 2009 by the SCCYSL. Joe Neuman and John Flynn, both NRA certified Rifle Instructors, presented the course. The students were given a five hour set of lectures on the history of the gun, parts of a rifle, types of actions, types of magazines/clips, ammunition, types of sights, reloading, safety, responsibility and types of shooting activities. This year's presentation was presented using PowerPoint slides and a digital video projector. The equipment was purchased with an NRA Foundation grant. The youngsters and adults took the official NRA 50 question test and all passed with flying colors. The set of lectures combined with our Monday evening shooting sessions constitutes the full NRA Basic Rifle Instruction Course. All students will receive NRA certificates of completion when they have mastered all shooting positions. The SCCYSL has graduated 250 students from this course over the last nine years.
COMPETITIONS
In order to introduce some variation into our instructional and marksmanship program, weekly "competitions" are held among the youngsters. During one of the shooting cycles, a competition round is shot. Various groups of youngsters are invited to participate. One week it may be all youngsters aged 8 to 10, another week all children aged 10 to 12, etc. All children are given a chance to participate over time. These "competition shoots" have varied from best score out of 10 rounds on a standard target to tacking up empty .22 ammunition boxes and scoring the maximal number of hits. We have also used clay pigeons, empty shotgun shells and balloons as targets. At times, all youngsters are invited to compete with better shooters using the offhand position while those of less ability use sitting, kneeling or prone positions. While the staff fosters strict safety procedures and encourages proper marksmanship, the youngsters enjoy the stimulation of the competition and the variety of using unique "non-standard targets". The winner of the weekly competition receives a shooting medal and is acknowledged in the League Newsletter.
In addition to the weekly competitions, the League holds four formal internal competitions per year. Three of these Quarterly Competitions are held during the last week of February, May and August. The fourth, an Annual Marksmanship Competition, is held in November at the Atglen Clubhouse . This is a true marksmanship competition based upon age groups and shooting proficiency. We annually present twelve trophies (see 2008 trophies below) and award over $800 worth of prizes. All participants of the November Competition must complete the NRA Basic Rifle Instruction course in order to be eligible to enter (see Safety Instruction section for details). This year, the Annual Marksmanship Competition was held on November 15, 2008 in the Atglen Clubhouse from noon to 5 PM. In addition to our local competitions, our youngsters participate in postal matches and attend regional competitions under the guidance of our Smallbore Program Director.
ANNUAL LEAGUE COMPETITION, NOVEMBER 15, 2008
Over thirty youngsters participated in the Annual League Competition. Shooters were classified into one of four divisions by shooting preliminary targets two weeks prior to the competition. All shooters fired eight targets from various positions that they use in the NRA Small Bore Rifle Qualification Program. Top shooters in each division received first place trophies and a choice of gifts from the prize table. Second and third place shooters in each division also received trophies and a choice from the prize table. All other shooters received participation prizes. In all, over $800 worth of prizes were awarded. Shown above are most of the happy participants. Congratulations to all. Some of the prizes awarded are shown below:
2009 FUN SHOOT ON THE PISTOL RANGE
The Southern Chester County Youth Shooting League holds an Annual Fun Shoot in June of each year. The youngsters assemble at Atglen's Pistol Range to fire at balloons, clay pigeons, knock down targets, shotgun shells strung on strings, plastic jugs filled with water, candy disks, charcoal brickets, golf balls, paint balls, spinner targets, bowling pins and a variety of other interesting targets. A real fun shoot that the youngsters enjoy thoroughly. In addition, the youngsters are allowed to fire other firearms on the 100 yard range under Instructor supervision and with their parents consent.
SHOOTING SCHEDULE
Shooting sessions at the Atglen Sportsmen's Club take place on Monday evenings between 6:30 and 8:00 PM except specified holidays. Holidays for the 2009 year will be Memorial Day (May 25th), September 7th (Labor Day) and December 28th (Christmas Break).There will be NO sessions at Atglen on these Monday evenings. All other scheduled Monday meetings will take place unless canceled by inclement weather. In addition, no shooting sessions will be conducted during the month of August.
Check the Table of Contents box at the top of the web page for weather-related cancellations.
SPONSORS
The SCCYSL is grateful to the National Rifle Association Foundation for supporting our organization through the awarding of grants. The NRAF has funded three projects during the last several years. One project was funded to start a high power rifle team. The funds helped us to purchase five Rock River A2 NM rifles in .223 caliber and five Celestron spotting scopes. The high power team is described elsewhere under the "Competition" heading. The NRAF also funded the purchase of a digital projector, a projection screen and twenty-five educational DVDs relating to the shooting sports. These DVD's are shown every Monday evening for our youngsters to watch and learn from as they wait their turn on the firing line. The system is also used to present the NRA Basic Rifle Course to our members and the public. In addition, the SCCYSL has just been awarded a grant to purchase 20 round rifle magazines, slings, shooting coats, shooting gloves, data books and gun carts for the High Power Rifle Team. We greatly appreciate the support of the NRAF.
The SCCYSL would also like to acknowledge the following sponsors who have donated materials, literature and finances to foster the goals of the League. We urge our members and other members of the shooting community to show their appreciation of these benefactors.
Atglen Sportsmen's Club
Atglen, PA |
National Rifle Association Foundation
Fairfax, VA |
National Rifle Association
Fairfax, VA |
PA Rifle & Pistol Association
Boalsburg, PA |
Civilian Marksmanship Program
Port Clinton, OH |
National Shooting Sports Fd.
Newton, CT |
Dick's Sporting Goods
Depford, NJ |
Pete's Outdoor Store
Kennett Square, PA |
Bob's Gun Shop
West Grove, PA |
TLC Embrodery
Atglen, PA |
The Village Arms
Gap, PA |
Hoppe's
Coatesville, PA |
Danby Lumber
Kennett Square, PA |
Target Plus II
Middletown, PA |
Pemmco Storage
Kennett Square, PA |
Liberty Safes
Bear, DE |
Litho Grafix
Printing Services
Concordville, PA 19331 |
Clark Mechanical Services
2445A Old Philadelphia Pike
Lancaster, PA 17602 |
Clark Service and Parts
306 Airport Drive
Smoketown, PA 17576 |
Clark Associates
2209 Old Philadelphia Pike
Lancaster, PA 17602 |
Jackson ImmunoResearch Laboratories, Inc.
Baltimore Pike
West Grove, PA |
Commercial Video Taping Services
15th & JFK Boulevard
Philadelphia, PA 19102 |
Targetmaster Indoor Range and Firearms Store
Wilmington/West Chester Pike
Chadds Ford, PA |
Gene A. Huber
Firearms Broker
West Chester, PA
610-696-1278
|
Rock River Arms
1042 Cleveland Road
Colona, IL 61241 |
Single Action Shooting Society
(SASS)
|
Creedmoor Sports Inc.
1405 S. Coast Highway
Oceanside, CA 92054
760-757-5529
|
.
.
. |
.
.
.
|
.
.
.
|
DIRECTIONS
Atglen Sportsmen's Club:
The club is in Atglen, PA off of Route 41 about 12 miles north of US Route 1. It is about 5 miles south of Route 30. For you GPS oriented people, the street address is 23 Creek Road, Christiana, PA.
From US Route 1 and points south, take Route 41 North, pass through the red light at Route 10, pass through the red light at Highland Road and make a left at the next red light at Route 372. Go one block to the stop sign and make a left onto Main Street. Go 3/10 of a mile to a small narrow bridge. Just over the bridge, turn right onto Steelville Mill Road (a white sign on your right says "AKA Creek Road"). Go about 3/4 of a mile until you cross a cement bridge and come to a stop sign. Turn left onto Creek Road. Go about 5/10 of a mile until you come to a "Y" in the road. Bear to the right onto Creek Road. Less than 1/4 of a mile up the road you will see a small lane bearing off to the right. This lane is the driveway of the Atglen Sportsmen's Club. Signs are posted. The clubhouse and indoor range are located at the top of the hill.
From Route 30 and points north, take Route 41 South and turn right at the stop light at Route 372. Then follow the above directions to the clubhouse.
FUND RAISER: Pistol Brass
The SCCYSL has on ongoing fund raiser to support our League's activities. We collect once fired brass cases of various pistol calibers. We sort the cases, clean them, polish them and package the cases for redistribution. The cases are ready for decapping, sizing and reloading. They are available in bags of 250 cases for a donation plus actual shipping costs to your ZIP code. The SCCYSL is a nonprofit educational group and all proceeds are used for SCCYSL activities.
| Caliber |
Quantity |
Donation per bag |
Quantity in Stock |
|
| |
|
|
|
.40 S&W
.45 GAP |
250/bag
250/bag |
$ 6.00
$10.00 |
8 bags
15 bags |
| |
|
|
|
| |
|
|
|
Shipping: We can ship via USPS Flat Rate at $10.45 per box. We can get 2,500 .40 S&W cases per box or 3,000 9 mm cases per box. This is the most economical way to ship. However, we would be happy to ship you one bag of 250 cases for actual shipping costs.
Please contact us at our email address: sccysl22@hotmail.com
HOW CAN I BECOME INVOLVED INDIVIDUALLY OR AS A SPONSOR?
The SCCYSL is a nonprofit organization that is run entirely by volunteers. Conducting approximately 45, two hour shooting sessions per year is a daunting task for the two to four staff members who attend. That is approximately 360 man hours per year that have to be covered. Thus, the SCCYSL is constantly in the need of new volunteers. As a nonprofit organization, our volunteers can claim tax deductions for mileage driven to attend our shooting sessions. The League keeps a record of staff attendance and issues a letter each December attesting to the volunteer's effort. If you have an interest in working in our program, please contact the SCCYSL via e-mail at: sccysl22@hotmail.com.
The SCCYSL is also associated with the United Way. Individuals may be able to direct their United Way contributions directly to the Southern Chester County Youth Shooting League by listing us directly using designee number 12794 if you are donating through the Southeastern Pennsylvania United Way or 8415 if you are donating through the Delaware State United Way. We will not be listed in the United Way booklet but you can direct a donation to us using the Donor Specified Donation form available from your employer.
In addition to volunteers, the SCCYSL needs help with funds and materials to run our programs. Although we received startup funds from the National Rifle Association and just received a grant from the NRA Foundation, these types of funds allow us to institute new programs and improve our current operations. We do not rely upon grants to pay the week-to-week costs of running the League. Thus, we are a self-funding organization for routine league operations. Each week alone, the youngsters fire about 1000 rounds of .22 caliber ammunition at a cost of approximately $60.00 per session. That is approximately $3000 per year for ammunition alone at current prices and the price of ammunition is skyrocketing. We calculate that it costs about $280 per year per child to keep the League solvent. Since membership dues are $65 per child per year, each youngster requires the equivalent of an additional $215. Any donations of funds, .22 ammunition, cleaning materials, targets, shooting equipment, mats, spotting scopes, shooting clothing, literature, eye and ear protection, tools for repairing firearms, aperture sights, repair parts, targets, staples, safety literature, postage, appropriate educational DVD's etc. would be greatly appreciated. Again, as we are a IRS certified nonprofit organization, any donations are tax deductible and the League will provide you with a receipt. Commercial firms that donate money or materials will have their names added to the Sponsor section of this web page and will also be recognized in our newsletter. Here is a chance for gun shops, etc. to pass on overstocked items or slowly moving products for a good cause.
Another need of the SCCYSL is to develop mutually beneficial relationships with other youth oriented groups, with safety and community minded groups, and with other shooting sports groups. If you are currently involved in one of these activities and think that both our group and yours could benefit from interaction, please do not hesitate to contact us.
Finally, bring your youngsters to one of our Monday evening sessions. The League requires new members in order to grow and bring the message of safe and responsible firearms handling to the youth of our area.
Messages for members: 
