The gun owner next door

At the No. 8 firing point, Jim Monserud takes a deep breath, cradling his custom-made Colt CAR-A3 rifle.

Gently, almost lovingly, he squeezes the trigger, rocking back ever so slightly with the force of the recoil.

Focused, he doesn't even see the other competitors through his sun-colored glasses.

"It's kind of a competition with yourself," says the 50-year-old marksman from Lafayette, one of 14 gun enthusiasts vying for supremacy during this high-power rifle match on a recent Saturday at the Boulder Rifle Club.

A private facility just north of the city, the club sits on a 6-acre parcel of land that houses an indoor range, four outdoor ranges — 25, 50, 100 and 200 yards — and a trap area, where sharpshooters fire at clay targets that are catapulted into the air.

Although the club is members-only, the ranges are open to the public for safety classes, matches and, on designated days throughout the year, target practice. The Boulder Rifle Club also welcomes the Boulder Police Department, the Boulder County Sheriff's Department and the University of Colorado Army R.O.T.C. for training sessions at select times during the month.

Despite attempts to provide services to as many people as possible, there are still individuals and organizations who can't use the range. As of this past week, there are 805 members in a club designed to accommodate 250, with more than 350 people on a waiting list.

"That is a good example of how much demand there is for shooting facilities and time," says Ralph Stoevener, owner of High Country Gunsmithing in Longmont. "I'll guarantee there is not a day that goes by that people don't call here and ask where they can go shoot."

The NRA estimates that there are more than 200 million privately-owned firearms in the United States, with approximately 45 percent of households containing at least one firearm.

Brady Campaign members throw out similar numbers, saying there are roughly 192 million privately-owned firearms in the country, with an estimated 39 percent of residences housing a gun.

And according to the ATF's Federal Firearms Licensee Database, 60 licensed firearm dealers, pawnbrokers and manufacturers are listed in Broomfield and Boulder County alone.

Which means that in Boulder, a city known for peace, love and all things politically correct, chances are pretty good that someone on your block owns a firearm.

Grant Von Letkemann sits at one of the cafeteria-style tables near the indoor range, smoking a cigarette. The 63-year-old president of the club moves his arm in a semi-circle, taking in the surroundings.

Lockers, magazines and a soda machine decorate the immediate room. Through the doors to the east is the indoor range, part of a larger hangar-like building in which he's relaxing.

Twelve fire points cater to small bore and handgun users who shoot at paper targets attached to plywood some 50 feet away.

The outdoor ranges are on elevated tiers of land, a couple hundred yards up from the hangar.

This complex is one of only two firing ranges in Boulder County. The other, smaller and less accessible, is near Table Mountain and is owned by the Boulder Rifle Club as well.

Statewide, there are six public ranges and 28 private ranges, relatively small numbers, gun owners say. Part of the reason for that, according to Letkemann, is the image that's associated with the sport.

"I think (people) probably picture us as redneck, beer-swilling Bambi shooters or survivalists," he says, adding that the perception couldn't be further from the truth. "The sport of shooting is a precision sport, whether people believe it or not. It's a lot of hand/eye and mental coordination to be a good shot ... it takes a tremendous amount of skill."

What residents probably don't realize either, Letkemann says, is that it's your doctors, lawyers, teachers, government workers and police officers who use the facility.

"It would be very difficult to pigeon-hole a gun owner or a typical member of the rifle club," says Jo Johnson, a database manager who lives in Boulder. "People don't seem to fit in a box like that."

It also would be tough to generalize the reasons people join the club. Many of the members are hunters and want to improve their accuracy.

Some are there to learn self-defense. Others simply enjoy the sport and the competitive aspect of matches.

The only commonality, members say, lies within a collective, and often fervent, defense of the Second Amendment.

Johnson says she was brought up around guns, though she didn't really become proficient until about 10 years ago.

She says it was part personal protection that contributed to her decision to join the club, but also an element of fun.

"There's something about a hand-held missile that finds its mark," Johnson, 50, says. "It's almost an extension of your hands, your eyes, your body."

Johnson owns a Ruger .38 Special as well as a Ruger 9mm P94, though she's not exactly forthcoming about that bit of information.

"Living in Boulder you feel very defensive about it," she says. "You do tend to be secretive."

The interesting thing about the sport, enthusiasts say, is that everyone is on equal footing, regardless of age or background.

"It was a lot of fun being a junior and beating a lot of the guys (in high-power rifle) who've been doing it for way longer than I have," says 18-year-old Daniel Hoffer.

The Morrison teen was a member of the junior program, which currently has 48 active participants ages 9-17.

Hoffer's current firearm of choice is an AR-15 (a civilian version of the M-16). Despite what many people think, Hoffer says his chosen pastime is not at all dangerous.

"It's the safest sport I've ever played," he says. "And I've played football, soccer and baseball."

Letkemann backs him up to an extent, saying that there have never been any injuries by one person to another at the club. But there have been situations, mostly when the range has been open to the public, in which people have cut open their foreheads because they didn't anticipate a gun's recoil. And in one instance, he says, a guy took the end of his finger off.

"We try very hard to keep it a safe facility," Letkemann says. "If you're unsafe, I take it very personally. And 'whoops' doesn't cover it."

A series of short dirt roads lead upward from the indoor range to the outdoor ranges. Incidentally, the only bathroom, an outhouse with no running water, sits at the base of the hill.

Thousands of tires, piled on top of each other and hand-packed with dirt, demarcate each of the four open-air ranges. Earthen berms, intended to stop the bullets, back each one.

Picnic tables and gun racks stand nearby, with rabbits and other wildlife frequenting the area.

"They don't appear to be bothered by the noise," Letkemann says, adding with a laugh that it's probably because they're deaf.

Mike Walton, an English teacher at Cherry Creek High School, is leading the high-power rifle match on this particular day, calling out instructions and making sure everyone follows the rules.

"I wear about three hats," says Walton, who teaches firearms safety and is the junior high-power coach.

Walton says the morning's windy conditions make it extremely difficult for the competitors.

"I've always been fascinated with things that are difficult," Walton, 55, says. "Some people can dribble a basketball and shoot baskets.

Other competitions run the gamut from cowboy and defensive pistol matches to IPSC (International Practical Shooting Confederation) and indoor combat matches, where participants move through a course and shoot at multiple targets.

Walton's youngest daughter, 17-year-old Rose, is an exceptional shot. She is one of only two women Master Class rifle shooters in Colorado, he says.

"She beats me regularly," Walton says happily. "It's a strange sport in which a little teenage girl can compete on level ground (with adults).

The longtime research scientist turned author loves how people in their 80s get along perfectly with those in their teens. Nicholl offers a monthly class just for women, incorporating wisdom from the book she wrote, "Teaching Women To Shoot: A Law Enforcement Instructor's Guide" (DTI Publications).

Like many club members, Nicholl grew up around guns, but she became more involved with their defensive aspect when a convict escaped from a local prison.

"That was sort of a wake-up call that bad things can happen in the world," she says. "It's not always your choice.

In addition to Nicholl's class, the club offers the following NRA classes: basic pistol, basic personal protection, home firearm safety and pistol instructor, shotgun and reloading.

"Extremely doesn't describe it enough," says Sgt. Greg Schumann of the Boulder County Sheriff's Office.

The range Schumann and his fellow officers had been using just east of Lafayette closed down a couple years back, and the Rifle Club invited them to use its range free of charge.

"Ideally, if we had more availability we would definitely use it," he says. "There's enough usage (right now) that I have to plan a year in advance to make sure we can get an adequate amount of time."

"As far as a resource, they're very valuable to this community," Beckner says. "Without the Boulder Rifle Club, we'd have a very difficult time getting our officers trained."

Both Beckner and Schumann have sought out alternatives, including opening up new facilities, but they've met with no success.

At one point, roughly five years ago, there was an initiative to open a new range on top of Table Mountain, but that proposal came under fire immediately.

"We were concerned about the noise, the threat and the traffic," says Jim Swift, a member of the Table Mountain Association, which was formed specifically to deal with the gun range proposal.

More than 100 nearby residents attended a meeting to shoot down (successfully) the range initiative.

But that leaves the county in something of a dilemma, at least as far gun owners are concerned, because there are only two safe, regulated places to shoot.

"And not having safe places to shoot is a public safety issue," says Ralph Stoevener of High Country Gunsmithing, adding that many people head up into Lefthand Canyon unsupervised. "It encourages misuse ... that is a mindless situation for us to be in."

"It would depend on the location and what the regulations were (but) if people would limit themselves to shooting in dedicated areas, it might be an improvement," says Betty Ball of the Rocky Mountain Peace and Justice Center, adding, however, that ranges "just encourage gun use, which is a disturbing aspect."

As for the Denver-based Physicians for Social Responsibility and the Brady Campaign, the topic of ranges is not even on their radar.

"Well, we have not gotten too involved with the whole rifle range issue," says Ted Pascoe, of Physicians for Social Responsibility. "It's not high up on our list of things."

John Shanks, regional director for the Brady Campaign, echoes his counterpart, saying that ranges haven't been an issue.

"We do not oppose individual law-abiding citizens," he says. "We believe that with gun ownership comes a great deal of responsibility (though)."

To this point, the Boulder Rifle Club, whose first incarnation was founded in 1923, has lived up to the responsibility. The club moved to its current location off 28th Street in 1977 and the only complaint on record, says Jim Burrus, media information officer for the County Commissioner, dates back to 1987, from a guy who ran a landfill operation near the club.

For all of Jim Monserud's concentration during the high-power competition, his final tally was disappointing.

Out of a possible 800 points, which no one in the history of the sport has ever achieved, he put together a total in the 730s.

As it was for a lot of people, due to tough environmental conditions, especially the wind.

"It's as much a game as anything else," he says. "It's just mind and body, working together to achieve the best you can.

There's a mandatory reload so you would do better with any semi or bolt action with a magazine or clip fed. Iron sights only.

A fifty round match is:
200 yards-standing-single load-10 shots/10 minutes.
200 yards-standing to sitting or kneeling-10 shots with one mandatory reload/60 seconds.
300 yards-standing to prone-10 shots with one mandatory reload/70 seconds.
600 yards-prone-single load-20 rounds/20 minutes.

For reduced ranges, reduced targets are used.

My average is 460-465 and I have shot a couple of 99's and 98's in the sitting rapid.

I've shot highpower - F-class.

What residents probably don't realize either, Letkemann says, is that it's your doctors, lawyers, teachers, government workers and police officers who use the facility.

I belong to a private outdoor range in Racine, WI, and the vast majority of it's members are blue collar union workers. I have yet to meet a doctor, a lawyer, or a teacher there.

I looked through the rules and I think you shoot in the 3.2 Any Rifle Rules. I have never seen anyone shoot who had a scope. In fact, I have only seen one match rifle lately. We're using the NRA High Power Rifle Rules.

I shoot with Doctors, Nurses, and people who have a little bit of disposable income. The only reason I know the people were doctors and nurses was they all worked at the same hospital and they talked shop a couple of times. We don't talk a lot about our jobs. I shot with a guy for about a year and I found out later he worked a few feet from me but on another shift. I may have even met him at work a couple of times but since I retired, I have forgotten a lot of people.

I looked through the rules and I think you shoot in the 3.2 Any Rifle Rules.

Could be. I don't have a copy of the rules. But, I understand that F-class is unsanctioned by the NRA, and it's up to the club putting on the match if they'll allow F-class (fun-class) rifles.

Generally speaking, F-class allows non service weapons, scopes, bipods, sand bags, and all shots are done prone.

That makes sense now. Your club sanctioned the match.

I used to shoot at matches at a club that called their matches Garand Matches. All of us didn't have Garands but by shooting the match, it entitled us to qualify for a Garand from the CMP. It wasn't until years later, I learned we were really shooting sanctioned NRA High Power Matches.
the club I'm shooting with now has tightened the rules up so much that I have only seen one Match Rifle. That's by choice. It's much easier to see how well I do if I shoot the same classification.

What? I shoot High power, I'm on my state National Guard Service Rifle team. It's a lot of fun. My wife is a recovering "moderate" and is the child of two public school teachers. I took her to the state service rifle championships and she said "I've never been around so many friendly people in my life. Everyone was so nice to me, it wasn't anything like I expected." Needless to say, she's been very supportive of my hobby since then.

I go to a range here in Oregon to shoot High power matches and two of the best shooters are tenured university professors. Many of the other better shooters are machinists, i guess because they get cheap homemade parts or something!?! Seriously though, most of the hardcore match shooters I see a lot are very wealthy professional white-collar types.

My computer crashed so I lost the names of the Freepers who shoot High Power. After a long time and asking a lot, I only came up with three other people and I wasn't sure about the third. I think he only shot High Power Silhouette which is a different game altogether.

I needed three matches to get the required 120 shots in the early 90's to qualify for the Garand. Was helping to run Smallbore Rifle Silhouette at our club after that so I only shot a few HP matches. Went to a John Garand match for the WWI and WWII rifles and had a fun time. BTW, shooting Silhouette matches also qualifies you for the CMP M-1 Garand.

Well, the rules have changed and today it's only 50 rounds. Also if you're old enough to have been trained on a Garand and can prove it, that's all you need. On the other hand, they aren't 65 dollars anymore. I think you can also buy four Garands and ten .03's a year. I'm on the e mail list for the CMP. www.odcmp.com

I wish I could somehow persuade every Freeper to get a Garand or '03. It's a piece of history. I haven't even shot my '03 yet. I cleaned it up and stuck it in the toybox.

I can answer that one. I'm a retired machinist and only three things can go wrong when you're shooting High Power. You, the rifle or the ammo. A lot of people can see where the ammo can fail because if failures to fire and jams. they can also see where they themselves can fail by screwing up a shot, going too fast or slow and not reading the wind. Not too many people can understand when their rifle fails. Loose sights, loose bedding, the barrel finally wearing out.
I shot this one match rifle and I could never get it to work right and I noticed the rear sight was loose. It was like that from the factory. I had to send it back to get it replaced. The front sight on my AR loosened up and I had to set-screw it into place. A friend had a 2000 dollar rifle that never shot as good as he thought. He sold it and the guy who bought it immediately noticed a wrong lead angle to the barrel. It cost less than a 100 dollars to get it fixed and my friend never shot High Power after that. My friend could have sent it back to the maker but he just didn't have the experience to know better. If you practice as much as you can without getting better, have someone check out the rifle.

This is not so much a reply to Shooter 2.5 as it is a little more info. There were several inaccuracies in the Boulder Camera's article, but not too important. First, the last name is Von Letkemann, not Letkemann. He got it right once but that's more than can be expected usually in Boulder. He quoted my comment about red necked, beer swilling Bambi shooters but did not repeat what I said about our club being more representative of the community as a whole than any other single organization in the county. Yes, we have a good number of doctors,lawyers, bankers, etc. but we also have electricians, carpenters, construction workers, students and you name it. We discriminate only to the point that we try to keep out anyone too dumb to handle a firearm safely. The club was not "designed" for 250, it was "intended" years ago to try for as many as 250 members. That number was hoped for when we had around 100. At 300+ plus, we set a limit of 500 which filled as soon as we announced the limit. It's a good club with hundreds of great members, unfortunately we can't handle all the people who would like to belong - it would be a case of loving it to death. We hold over 60 matches of various types each year which are open to all. We are an anomaly in an area where the politics and media are definitely not pro-gun. Visit our website boulderrifleclub.com for more info.

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