President's Newsletter

July 2026

I hope everyone is enjoying our mild spring, because it sure looks like we may have another hot dry summer ahead. That also means fire season is here. As stated in the last newsletter we ask members and guests not to smoke outside of your vehicle while at the ranges and only park in graveled areas.

Vale Range

As many of you know we have had a few very close calls with fires around the Vale range in the last 30 days. It seems a firebug has been setting fires along Lyle Blvd with five or six incidents so far. Thanks to the outstanding work of the BLM and the Vale Fire District, most were contained quickly.

The June 22nd fire was a different story. It consumed nearly 5,000 acres and burned to the eastern property line where the firefighters made a stand and got it stopped. The local fire department responded with 32 firefighters, 14 pieces of equipment and a doser. The BLM brought in seven aircrafts, three helicopters and dropped around 10 million gallons of fire retardant. If you ever have an opportunity, thank these people and always support your local fire departments in their fundraisers. They literally saved our Vale range. This whole thing is a reminder that we are in for a long fire season, so remember to keep doing your part to keep our range protected.

On a brighter note, the Board approved the installation of permanent steel gongs at the range. The targets have been ordered with four going on the big range and one going on the 200-yard range. We’ll need a few willing hands to dig holes and mix concrete once they arrive. If you’ve ever claimed, you’re “retired with nothing to do,” here’s your chance to put that time to good use.

The Snake River Sportsmen would like to thank Bill Mills and Treasure Valley Steel for donating the metal roofing material for our old scoring shed. Installation is coming soon. These donations are a huge help to our small club and helps keep our dues affordable. Please remember to support the local businesses that continue to support us.

The Vale Range held its first ever Tack Driver benchrest match the first of June. It was a big success and was one of the most organized and best run matches I have attended. We had shooters from all disciplines as well as hunters attending their first match. A big thanks to Kevin Muir and Dave Bingner for organizing and running an outstanding event.

I held the .22 Rimfire Benchrest Match in June with nine shooters. It seems we are slowly growing this match but we still have lots of room for more competitors. No matter what .22 rifle you shoot we will fit you into a class to fit your rifle. Please let us know if you are interested.

Here were the winners:

Open Gun - Kerry Kegel, 742-17X

Factory Varmint - Casey Cleaver, 737-17X

Factory - Jim Todd, 720-12X

Judy also held her Practical Pistol match in June. I didn’t get a total head count but by the sounds of it, there were several participants. She followed that up with a PCC match the following Sunday. Thanks for the hard work Judy.

Ontario Range

I hope that a few of our members have had a chance to visit the shotgun range this year. Thanks to a lot of volunteer hours cleaning the range, spraying weeds and rearranging things, it looks like a totally different place.

A special thank you goes to John Dollar, who coordinated a group of his youth shooters and parents from the Trap discipline to paint the club house exterior and make some much needed repairs. The club provided the funds for most of the materials, while volunteers donated additional supplies and countless hours of labor. As most people know, projects like this don’t happen by accident - they happen because good people show up and get it done. Thank you to those that gave up their time for the club.

Curtis has been running his NSCA matches and the participation is increasing. It’s starting to look like we may need to purchase another load of targets next spring. To my knowledge, Ontario has only needed a load every other year. This is an exciting problem to have.

Curtis has made some expansions and reopened the old upper course for several stations with more plans to come. He spends a huge amount of time and effort cleaning, filling machines, changing the venue, and maintaining the range for the shooters. Curtis, along with his wife and daughter, have supplied lunches during these large matches for all shooters. Anyone who has purchased hamburger lately knows that is no small expense. I hope there is a donation jar nearby. A sincere thank you to them - and to everyone who attends our events. Without shooters, we wouldn’t be here.

Pat continues to hold his Skeet practice twice a week, and has been throwing a bunch more targets so participation has increased in his discipline as well. He held a registered match in June but I haven’t heard how that went. Hopefully I can report on that next month.

John has the trap range open on Sunday afternoons for practice. I hope you have a chance to come out to some of these practice shoots to enjoy our facilities.

As always, please check the calendar for range availability and events before heading out so you know what's scheduled and which ranges are available.

Have a safe summer, shoot straight, support the volunteers who keep us up and running, and have fun!

Happy 250th Birthday to the United States of America.

See you on the range.

Bob Smith

President, Snake River Sportsmen