Club Info
WELCOME/BACKGROUND/ORGANIZATION. Welcome to Desert Marksmen Rifle and Pistol Club. DM has existed as a California non?profit corporation since 1958, when a group of High Power competition shooters got together to create a range which still figures prominently in competition leading to the annual Camp Perry national championships. Several founding members are still sending rounds downrange at DM.
Purpose.
Our purpose is and always has been to provide the best facility possible for the pursuit of a number of the shooting disciplines (someday, maybe ALL), whether for sport or self?defense, and especially to provide education in firearms safety and ethics to new shooters. An invaluable component of DM’s success story is the exposure of new shooters to positive, real?life role models provided by organized competitive shooting events. We are proud of our heritage of providing an atmosphere of safe, responsible firearms use and of promoting individual responsibility in general.
Membership.
Although DM maintains a “membership” that mechanism exists only to provide effective and efficient administration and oversight for an all?volunteer?run organization. Membership in DM is in fact open to the public for an initiation fee of $40 and a yearly subscription of $60. In addition, a large percentage of the yearly participation is in the form of non?members who come to shoot competition. All of the 70+ matches and authorized practice days held annually are open to the public and do not require membership in DM (there are match fees.) Other programs and events take place which are open to the public, most notably the annual Black Powder Rendezvous in the spring, which typically draws a couple hundred enthusiastic visitors eager to step through great white clouds of black powder smoke into the living history of 19th century American frontiersmen.
Meetings, Work Parties, Insurance.
General membership meetings are held at 7:30 pm on the 3rd Tuesday of each month, at the Palmdale Fin & Feather Club
FIVE YEAR PLAN.
We’re serious about maintaining and improving DM, and have an evolving Five Year Plan to do so. Members are encouraged to submit ideas for improvement/development of the range, and an approval process exists in which written suggestions (triplicate, please, including any necessary drawings) are considered with respect to safety, benefit to the membership, and cost/time feasibility. Then the National Forest Service gives final approval when necessary. Work is then carried out during the several scheduled (and many unscheduled) workparties throughout the year.
Here are some of the projects in the current Plan (some of which may have been completed by the time you read this):
Wall between the Black Powder and Bullseye Pistol ranges.
Wall between the Bullseye Pistol and High Power ranges.
Berm to protect 300 yard firing pad from hits.