Happy New Year
By Ron Mullins and Thom Bolsch
Welcome to 2024.
We hope you had an enjoyable holiday season; and Santa brought you new toys.
There is a lot on the horizon for this year; and some carry-over from last year. There is turmoil in Europe and the Middle East, tension in the Pacific and an uptick in urban crime. There is an upcoming election; and two special events in February. First, we ring in the Year of the Dragon (more about that in February) and it’s a Leap Year. Every four years we add a day to the calendar to have the calendar match the earth’s rotation around the sun, which takes 6 extra hours than we have in our calendar; hence – Leap Year.
What does that mean for you? Well, most importantly, you have one additional day to visit the range and get in some practice. And with the turmoil around the world, an extra day at the range might be useful.
This year the calendar has a slot for February 29th. Don’t plan anything for that day; no appointments, no calls, no events, NOTHING. Block out the whole day for a trip to the range. Bring a friend or a family member and relish that reward of having a whole day added to the calendar for you to enjoy at the range; whether it’s punching holes in paper or sending arrows down range. It’s your gift from the calendar.
And what better way to enjoy that extra day than to schedule an instructor to help you get that five round grouping tighter – like the size of a quarter tighter! Or have all five arrows so tight, you can grab all with one hand to retrieve.
It’s an opportune year to improve. And with that extra day, we have the time to focus on improvement; …better accuracy, better control, better timing!
With that in mind; consider what resolutions you may want to address in the new year. A few considerations might involve a basic firearms class as a refresher, an intermediate firearms class and when comfortable, an advanced class on firearm use in self-protection.
The high-level skills of firearm safety, marksmanship and self-defense are perishable. You’ve seen it yourself. You work to get a grouping inside a quarter, take the summer off and the grouping is back to a playing card. If we don’t continuously work on our safety, marksman and timed skills, they deteriorate.
- You get it; and you’re on board. What next: 1) Once the seasonal issues are behind us; block out that last day of February and put your plan in place for the year. 2) Schedule an instructor – call Saddle River Range and discuss which instructor might be the right fit for you. 3) Look at the Saddle River Range training calendar for group classes and sign up for what will help you improve your firearm skills throughout the year. 4) Buy a bunch of ammo, repack your gun bag and clean/lube your firearm. Then finally, have fun at the range this year.
Whether its pistols, rifles or bows; practice is necessary to maintain a level of proficiency, confidence and safe operation.
If it’s been a while since you’ve practiced. Make that resolution to spend more time at Saddle River Range; and not just showing up and shooting – make an effort to learn from someone that is trained to help you improve your skills and abilities.
Looking forward to seeing you guys at the range in 2024.
Stay Alert, Stay Safe
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