Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Ask The Gunwriters Varmint Hunters Association bit the dust?

Anyone have the backstory on why the VHA phones are disconnected?

I'm beginning to fear that I will actually outlive print media. I'll need a new reason to live!

VHA ceased to exist a few weeks ago. The news appeared elsewhere on the Campfire.

Really sorry to see it go.

Yep, I've heard from two of the Area Coordinators. Apparently, Jeff Rheborg, the Club President, called the crew into a meeting and told them that the VHA was now closed.

I truly feel for the working staff ... they are good people. The top brass, maybe not so much.

There is also this: https://www.24hourcampfire.com/ubbth...10014340/all/Varmint_Hunters_Association

Blessings,

Steve

For a while there, if you wanted to master your rifle, VHA and VHM were the best source of the black magick. Some real talent, all in one.

Hey Dave, I still remember the rifle you cobbled together out of stuff that most of us would throw away ... GENIUS, my good friend, total genius.

Karen says "HI" and that she'd doing a tiny bit better every day.

Blessings,

Your pal Steve

dz, glad to hear of the improvement, and prayers sent.

That rifle had a hard life, Steve.
The barrel drove me nuts until I got mad at it, ran valve compound on a tight patch, and then put together some Blue Dot loads under 40 VMs. THEN it shot, but only that load.
So THAT barrel is now on a Stevens 200 in 22 Fireball. Shoots great.
The NEW barrel, a secondhand Lilja 3 G 8 twister, got "broken" when I got distracted working up loads -- I was thinking about writing paragraphs in my head.
The action was destroyed. I had to cut it in two to get the barrel off. Thankyoupaulmauser.
The group I'd fired prior to wrecking the gun was a 0.261, and all before that were 4s and under.
Bought another action, a 1942 Steyr, cut off the back end of the barrel, put the stock back together with dowel pins. The only thing left "original" is the bolt handle, safety and the set-trigger bottom metal.
So -- while it's back together, it does not shoot well and I can't quite figure out why. Face is square, lugs 95 percent, pin good, bedding skimmed, crown ok, etc etc.

Thing is, I would have never even TRIED what I did without being a member of VHA. That's what VHM was like -- all those crazy experiments and voodoo juju, most well written but some not, is what I loved and will always treasure. The magazine and its writers, yerself included, opened worlds of possibilities others never will. The fellowship was also, and still is, much appreciated and missed.
Give my best to Karen, and you can rake off some for yourself along the way.

I learned of the VHA in the early 90's when the printing company I worked for printed 4 issues of it. I learned a lot about shooting, cartridges and rifles by proof reading those issues, and even though I was never a member and haven't read a copy in years, I'm sad to learn that it's kaput.

I put together my 223 AI in 1996 based upon the writings of Steve in VH and his blue (IIRC) rifle. Still own it.

We had a long range match scheduled at their facility in June in Pierre. It had to be moved just a few miles away. Too bad they closed, they had a nice place to shoot and clubhouse.

Bob

I always wanted to see that range. They won't let anybody use it now?




Travis

They have a tall locked gate. How good are you at picking locks? My understanding from our moved match is they decided they were done and closed one day. They notified the different match directors after their closing. It's a shame.

Bob

I'm excellent at picking locks.

I think the entire ordeal is BS. They could at least send out some sort of flyer or e-mail or something. To the lifetime membership people at a minimum.

Their web page went down, and then back up. Strange.




Travis

If I had to make a guess this Jeff guy is a bad manager and bankrupted the place. I have been a member since day one and noticed since Jeff took over the quality of the magazine has suffered greatly and went from a great magazine into nothing but an Advertising Brochure. I just renewed my membership a couple of months back and like a bunch of others lost money. I can't help but believe they took my money knowing they were going to shut down. I hate dishonest people.

Same here. I'm not too concerned about it but if they were taking lifetime memberships within the past 6 months, that's pretty Clairborne of them.




Travis

ouch!

A new verb has been introduced into the lexicon.




I like it!

"That dude got Claiborne'd like a mothafugkah."






Travis

I have been a member for 12 years. Tried to use the range in early June and was surprised to see everything locked up. You would think the basterds could at least send a postcard to their members letting them know that they are out of business.

Looks like they are too cheap to pay for a stamp. Mass e-mail to all members would have been nice tho