Club President   

By: Al Wiscovitch - Club President

As I start this to write this newsletter we are about to get our first big rain of the year not sure I’m looking forward to it. It seems every time we get a storm these days our range gets a bit beat up! With our trees catching the brunt of the storm so let’s hope we come away with a minimum damage.

I would like to remind you guys that we will be doing the celebration of life for Mark Houston our long time member and friend. Date 10-25-2025 so please plan on being there this event will be held at our range start time 12:00 noon Club will be Barbecuing hamburgers and hot dogs and soft drinks. So please bring a side dish. Mark would be happy to see us all come together and share food and talk.

We are planning on raffling off a compound bow as well so bring your money this is a very nice bow!

Now a few updates, as most of you know we are redoing our education/joad range we know have all the electrical in and our water service as well. Last Friday we started moving dirt to build a new mound as a back stop for the new shooting lanes. I would also like to thank all of our members who came out to help clean up our range from the big wind storm that hit us a few weeks ago. I was very pleased with the help we got and big thanks to Mark Van Patten for running the chipping crew as Jim Telle Pete Whitworth and myself. We put in two full days of chain saw work, I must say that makes for a very long day but we got the range opened back up. Yes when you see the call for help please remember that our range is second to none and we want to keep it that way. So please remember next time you see our emails we need you. Let one of us know that you can help. Jim, Pete or myself know!

Thanks again and for read this newsletter!

Al Wiscovitch

alwisco@msn.com

(909) 322-3869

Club Vice President

By: Pete Whitworth - Club Vice President

Hi everyone.

I am Pete, the Vice President and as such it is my responsibility to run our club invitational shoots. I also help our President Al Wiscovitch deal with the day to day running of the club in general, interfacing with the Parks Department, Corp of Engineers, Fire Department and most importantly we handle any complaints or issues that any of you have. Naturally you are always free to voice any issues at our club meetings held on the second Tuesday of every month at 7:00 PM in the clubhouse, however; Al and I are here to keep things running smoothly on a daily basis. So, when problems arise, you should always feel free to contact either of us for immediate help.

It’s that time again, “The Tomahawk” is scheduled for Sunday October 19th and hopefully we will have nice weather. I will need help this coming Saturday the 18th to set up the tournament, Melinda will need help on Sunday the 19th to run the food concessions, and I will need help again on Monday the 20th to pick up the animals and return them to the storage Connex’s. Monday is IMPORTANT. It is always hard for me to get the help we need to get that job done. After the Firecracker there were only two guys that showed up to help on Monday, so that makes for a hard day on those of us who are here.

The renovation of the Education area is starting to take shape. We are in the middle of grading the area where the targets will sit and moving dirt to the top of the hill to improve the backstop. Once that is complete, we will grade the area out to the furthest shooting positions. It’s time consuming for sure, but I think you can start to get a picture of what it will eventually look like.

As always, if you have any Oranco issues, feel free to call or text me. If you call, leave a message, because I do not answer numbers that are not already in my phone.

That’s all for now folks.

Pete Whitworth

ob.vicepres@outlook.com

(909) 223-5822

Hunt Chairman

By: Jim Teel - Range Captain  

If you’ve been on the range at all in the past few weeks, then you’re probably aware of how 

much work has been done where the trees are concerned. Weather events downed branches 

and entire trees in some cases. The subsequent work parties to buck and chip all of that wood 

was nothing short of impressive. I want to thank all of the members that showed up for those 

work party efforts. We could not have done it without you. 

Thanks to the new chainsaws the club recently purchased, I was able to cut down and buck 

six or seven dead trees with plans to cut down a few more dead trees before the upcoming 

Tomahawk weekend. 

Special thanks to Chriss Bowles for facilitating an emergency branch cutting crew last 

Friday. There was a massive tree limb with an obvious crack at the base of the limb that 

extended out over the front gate and road. If that branch was to fall on its own, we would 

have been looking at a costly fence repair and possibly an insurance claim if a car was 

involved. I contacted Chriss on Thursday. Friday morning - a crew was here to handle it.

Also thanks to Chriss for the use of his log splitter. Some of the bucked sections from the larger trees needed to be split into pieces small enough to be taken by anyone in need of firewood.

Thanks to last Friday’s work party participants, the majority of that work was also handled. 

We rely on the manpower of our collective membership to meet the demands that Mother 

Nature throws at us from time to time. To those of you who don’t shy away from that hard 

work, know that your contributions of time and energy makes this club what it is and you are

greatly appreciated.

I will be at the range first thing Wednesday morning (10/15/25). If you want to bank some work party credits, meet me at the connex at 8:30. I will also host a work party this coming Friday (10/17/25) to finish off some last minute details before we set up the Tomahawk shoot on Saturday (10/18/25). There’s no shortage of tasks to be completed, so show up and let’s get them handled together.

On a personal note, the Big Bear Lake management team recently contacted me to inform 

me that I won first place in the counting carp contest. The contest was from May 15th to 

September 30th. In that time, I shot and killed 777 carp. My total kill count for the season (to 

include other lakes) was 831. This year’s carp season was very difficult, not just in California - 

but in other states, too. I correspond with bow fishermen from other states who also reported 

the worst bow fishing season they’d ever seen. So my personal goal of shooting and removing 

100 carp in a single day will have to wait until next year. If you’re interested in learning more 

about bow fishing, stay tuned for another Bow Fishing 101 seminar for club members 

only. Until then, see you on the range.

Jim Teel

ob.rangecaptain@outlook.com

(818) 317-9110

Range Secretary

By: Vacant - Club Range Secretary

Nothing to report.

Vacant

Tournament Chairman

By: David Bacon. - Tournament Chairman

Nothing to report.

David Bacon

ob.tournament@outlook.com

(909) 217-4441

Membership Chairmen 

By: Steven Baker - Club Membership

Nothing to report.

Steven Baker

ob.membership@outlook.com

(951) 285-1550

League Chairman

By: Brad Belvedere - League Chairman

Nothing to report.

Brad Belvedere

ob.leagues@outlook.com

(951) 545-9462

Mark Houston's Celebration of Life
10/25/25 12pm

Hello,

On Saturday, October 25th, we will be hosting Mark Houston's Celebration of Life at Oranco. The Range will be grilling hot dogs and hamburgers, while the rest will be left up to you all for a potluck event to share stories and food as Mark loved to do, so we hope many people are able to join.

If you'd like to share a memory we have a link to his obituary below.

Green Family: Mark Houston

I'd sincerely like to thank the club for the many meaningful and fulfilling years Mark was able spend with you all. Oranco was a blessing in his life and he was proud to be a member of this club.

-Justine Houston

If you are looking for photos of previous shoots, check out Tony Nguyen's fantastic photography in the link below! He has an amazing gallery organized by shoots and dates he's participated in:

tcnguyen-Oranco

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