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Shooting Team Formed

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Announcing Team Kulak

by Bob Hess

 

Team Kulak was formed in late July of 2020. It was the desire of Kulak Arms owner, Richard Kulak II, to sponsor a small team of just regular shooters – unspectacular participants in the shooting sports, the “backbone” of the sport, like those that make up the majority of competition shooters today.

This is a diverse team that spans 40 years in age and represents 110 years of shooting experience. The youngest member of the team is 29 year old Zack Becker, with Ed Jackowski at 51 years old holding down the middle spot and, yours truly, bringing up the rear at 69.

The three of us participate in the three main handgun practical shooting disciplines, those being: the International Confederation of Revolver Enthusiasts (ICORE), the International Defensive Pistol Association (IDPA) and the United States Practical Shooting Association (USPSA). The majority of the matches we attend are local, club level matches made up primarily of shooters much like ourselves.

Zack is the shining star of this small team and the one that, should he decide to pursue it, stands the greatest chance of being ranked among the top echelon of shooters. He consistently places highly overall and within his division. Zack has only been shooting handguns for eight years, many of those years with the only handgun he owned at the time, a Walther PPQ M1. He is the epitome of the cliché: Beware of the man that only owns one gun – chances are that he shoots it very well. While Zack has expanded his battery to include a CZ P10F that he uses for the Carry Optics divisions in both IDPA and USPSA, he also has a new S&W Model 686 that he uses for ICORE. Zack is in tooling sales in the packaging industry and recently moved to Besalem, PA.

Ed owns and runs a very busy nursery and landscape business (Jack’s Nursery). It is sometimes tough for him to get out to matches during his busy seasons, but he always makes the effort. Ed was an active duty Marine from 1990 to 1997, playing with decidedly larger guns – 155 Howitzers. Ed is probably the fastest of the three of us, but is often undone by Zack’s good, if not blinding, speed and unsurpassed accuracy. It is often a tough battle between these two teammates. Ed resides with his wife, two daughters and two Dalmatians in Hopewell Township.

And then there’s me – the dinosaur of the group. I’ve been shooting since I was nine. My father was a shooter and hunter and I literally grew-up around guns. I shot some informal bullseye, but my first venture into real competitive shooting came with the advent of handgun metallic silhouette in the late 70’s. I shot that for about 8 years before getting involved in practical shooting with a club out of Target World in Chalfont, PA. I took a fairly long hiatus from organized shooting, but discovered IDPA about 10 years ago – and subsequently USPSA. Most recently I’ve started shooting ICORE, which is contested only with revolvers. However, I choose to shoot revolvers in all three disciplines, just because I enjoy them. While I have competed mainly with S&W’s I have started to work a Ruger GP100 Match Champion into the rotation. I also collect S&W revolvers. I am retired after 35 years in the automotive industry, which is probably why I’m captain of this little team – it certainly isn’t because of my shooting prowess. It seems that, at this age, any advancement I make in the shooting skills department is usually offset by some physical infirmity. I live in Hopewell Township with my girlfriend of 34 years and our German Shorthair Pointer.

We all look forward to representing the regular “anyman” shooter in these club level competitions.

 

Team Kulak

Sponsored by:

Kulak Arms

450 Lawrence Rd.

Lawrenceville, NJ 08648

609-695-1043

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14 hours ago, Golf battery said:

Its a hobby of bobs.  Yeah. Gotta give a big thank you to rich kulak.   Hes 100 percent in it to advance our second amendment rights.  Or even to stop the infringement of our 2a rights. 

I smell a story here.  Who wants to get interviewed & photographed?  Maybe our readers would like to thank Mr. Kulak by doing bidness with him...

~R

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5 hours ago, Smokin .50 said:

I smell a story here.  Who wants to get interviewed & photographed?  Maybe our readers would like to thank Mr. Kulak by doing bidness with him...

~R

Rosey:

I'd be happy to talk to you about this, as I'm sure Rich would also. I don't want to step on any forum vendor's toes though. And for Pete's sake, no pictures, we're trying to lure new people into the shooting fold, not scare them away.

PM me with what your thinking.

Adios,

Bob

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6 hours ago, tony357 said:

Nice write up Bob, Would be nice to be kept up on your Team outings maybe you can post in this thread the Events the Team attends.

 

I think that we'll make our "debut" at the IDPA match at Lower Providence on Saturday, 8/22.

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On 7/31/2020 at 8:04 PM, Golf battery said:

Its a hobby of bobs.  Yeah. Gotta give a big thank you to rich kulak.   Hes 100 percent in it to advance our second amendment rights.  Or even to stop the infringement of our 2a rights. 

And I'm personally glad that Bob and you recommended him to me.  Now I can spend money closer to home! :D

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On 8/10/2020 at 9:16 AM, CMJeepster said:

And I'm personally glad that Bob and you recommended him to me.  Now I can spend money closer to home! :D

It's a 100+ mile round trip for me.  That won't stop me from spending my money there either!

2A is being held together by threads in this Gawd-awful state.  One of the strongest of those threads is Richie Kulak.  

I just met the man yesterday.  I'm impressed!

Rosey

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1 minute ago, kc17 said:

Does he have an actual Store Front / Showroom? Bringing up the address in Google Maps it looks like a home-based business.

Home-based in the basement right now.  @Golf battery or @Pizza Bob can tell you more.  Decent variety of firearms and accessories when I was there last.  Even has gunsmithing capabilities.

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A lot of the details about Richie's operation will be in Rosey's forthcoming article (I think). When I was there yesterday with Rosey and Golf Battery, it was pointed out that Richie had more inventory than Cabela's in Hamburg. Golf had a recent picture from Cabela's for comparison. Check out his website: Kulak Arms

Adios,

Pizza Bob

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43 minutes ago, Pizza Bob said:

A lot of the details about Richie's operation will be in Rosey's forthcoming article (I think). When I was there yesterday with Rosey and Golf Battery, it was pointed out that Richie had more inventory than Cabela's in Hamburg. Golf had a recent picture from Cabela's for comparison. Check out his website: Kulak Arms

Adios,

Pizza Bob

Which reminds me, I have to drop him a line to see about my order.

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@Pizza Bob @Golf battery

I was so excited about meeting Richie & seeing you two again (for those that don't know the 3 of us used to shoot IDPA together at Somerset Fish & Game once in a while) that I could hardly sleep.  I woke-up thinking about what I had to write before i forgot any of it.  My notes jog my memory, and lots of coffee keeps me on-task.  

I hope I did well for both Richie & the history-making Team Kulak!  Here's the article, ready sooner than I thought!:

 

NJ FFL KULAK ARMS SPONSORS SHOOTING TEAM!
GUN SHOP OWNER FORMS ACTION SHOOTING SQUAD!
by Black Wire Media Thur. Aug. 13, 2020 www.cnjfo.com/join-us

Richie Kulak is a full time LEO that loves the gun culture. He loves it so much so that when he leaves his "day job", he comes home to his Lawrence Twp., NJ basement "bunker" and literally surrounds himself with firearms spanning a 200 year history. Flintlocks to Glocks, he's got it all. Kulak established Kulak Arms in 1996, and up until 2017 his FFL business mostly catered to fellow LEO's and first responders. He "went public" in 2017 and the business "exploded". Kulak is a strong 2A proponent and relies solely on "word-of-mouth" advertising. At least he did until the end of July when he asked customer Bob Hess if Kulak Arms could somehow sponsor Hess's fondness for action shooting. Hess told Kulak he has friends that shoot with him. Team Kulak was born!

Kulak is a member of Central Jersey Rifle & Pistol Club, and our NJ state NRA Association, ANJRPC. Kulak is a full-service FFL with more on his shelves these days than Cabela's store in Hamburg, PA. Richie spends a lot of time educating the masses on what's needed permit-wise to purchase firearms in NJ. He has folks walking in without a clue, after reading their newspapers and watching the TV news, thinking they can merely traipse-in and walk out with a firearm. Because the news media makes it all seem so simple. Items such as background checks, mental health check, references, and the entire permitting process & timeline get conveniently left-out by the media as they bang the drum for more & more gun control.

Hess describes his favorite FFL as "A Gun Shop with a Heart!" and Kulak supports all sorts of local causes. He's by no means an easy mark, but he does have a heart of gold. There's almost always a cause or charity event he's supporting, so when you visit, be sure to ask how YOU can help! Because Gun People are the best people!

"I spend more time educating complete Newbies -- first time gun permit applicants -- than selling guns! I believe in establishing relationships. If you show up during my dinner, I'll offer you some. It's my Italian heritage, nobody leaves unsatisfied" --- Richie Kulak, Kulak Arms owner

Hess, a shooter since age 9, has six decades of shooting and gun collecting experience, and is the Team Kulak Captain. Hess's teammates are CNJFO member & supporter extraordinaire Ed Jackowski, and Zack Becker. The trio have been shooting local NJ action matches for years. Zack is the youngest and fastest at 29, Ed comes next at 51, and Bob, a young 69, competes with his Smith & Wesson revolver collection ("Wheelies" to those in the culture) and usually places lower in the finish order. This diverse team spans 40 years in age and represents 110 years of shooting experience!

"Zack is a "natural". He shot an ICORE match with a brand new S&W revolver he never sighted-in and Ed & I watched him engage 4 targets getting 8 X's. If Ed forgets to engage a couple of targets or has a brain fart, I can beat him! We're a team of what the shooting sports represents, the everyday shooter." ---Bob Hess, Team Kulak Captain

The "Action" disciplines involve practical shooting scenarios that require speed, accuracy and most of all, consistency. Drawing a loaded sidearm from its holster and engaging cardboard in various shapes & sizes containing scoring rings, and AR-500 rated steel plates that bullet impacts knock down are popular shooting targets in these action disciplines. Movement (sometimes known as "Running & Gunning") is often mandatory. "Action" means you're NOT standing in a port shooting S L O W L Y. Each discipline has its own set of rules as to size of target, order of engagement, number of shots allowed per stage, etc., and all three promote safe gun handling. Jackowski enjoys the local club competitions and is always challenging himself to improve his performance.

Team Kulak is currently setting their match schedule and awaiting delivery of their team uniform shirts, to our knowledge a first for any New Jersey gun store! Kulak Arms sponsorship of the team includes all match fees for the trio, as well as customized team uniform shirts and hats. FFL Richie Kulak became a newsworthy trendsetter without ever realizing it. We learned about the team through reading Hess's announcement on the New Jersey Gun Forums ( www.njgunforums.com ), an interactive site where NJ gun owners and those that wish to be ask a ton of questions and get knowledgeable answers, especially from "Pizza Bob" Hess.

Team Kulak shoots the following three action disciplines on a rotating basis three to four weekends a month: I.D.P.A. (International Defensive Pistol Association), U.S.P.S.A. (United States Practical Shooting Association), and I.C.O.R.E. (International Confederation of Revolver Enthusiasts). Tentative schedule for the bi-state based team includes USPSA at Shongum Sportsmen's Association the 1st weekend, ICORE at Lower Providence's range in PA on the 2nd weekend, 3rd weekend is currently open, and the 4th weekend is IDPA back at lower Providence in PA.

Kulak Arms handles both retail AND Police Dept. sales, gunsmithing, hydro-dipping, machining parts (machinist on staff), NJ compliance work (mag & muzzle pinning), consignments, estate sales, transfers, and hunting & fishing licenses as an official Agent of NJF&W. Kulak Arms is the official FFL doing all transfers for the local Ducks Unlimited chapter, donating his time. CNJFO's newest sponsor, Kulak Arms conducts basic to advanced firearms training. For more info & shop hours, go to: www.kulakarms.com . To view CNJFO's sponsor links, go to: www.cnjfo.com/Links .

Image may contain: 2 people, people standing and indoor

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Image may contain: 1 person, eyeglasses and beard

Image may contain: 1 person, outdoor

Image may contain: 1 person, text that says 'Richie "K'

Image may contain: outdoor

No photo description available.

Thanks again Bob & Ed for all you do for the 2nd Amendment, and Zack too!  Huzzah Team Kulak!

---Rosey

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I'm glad you both like my work.  Thanks for your faith & trust in my abilities.  I'm hoping spreading the word will help get more souls involved in the fight for 2A. 

Great seeing you too.  And again, my sincere thanks for all the support Ed!

Good luck in the Team events!  Keep me informed of your progress! :) 

Rosey

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Team Kulak Debut

Saturday August 22nd saw the debut of Team Kulak at the Lower Providence Rod & Gun Club (LPRGC) monthly IDPA match. This was a six stage match plus either an optional fun stage or the IDPA 5x5 classifier. All of Team Kulak elected to shoot the fun stage, which did not count in the match results, and did not adhere to IDPA rules, but was a fun way to turn dollars into noise. It consisted of three cascading targets a plate and pin rack as well as several paper targets.

 

Team member Ed Jackowski shot a revolver (a S&W 686) this time around. I believe that this is the first time that Ed has picked up a revolver since the end of last year. He acquitted himself well, winning the revolver division beating another shooter rated Expert (Ed is rated Sharp Shooter) as well as yours truly (also rated Sharp Shooter - finished third) and another Sharp Shooter. Ed finished 24th overall out of a reported 67 shooters.

 

Zack Becker finished the highest overall, of the three of us, finishing in seventh place and in second place within his division (Carry Optics) with his CZ P10F and a Holosun optic.

 

As already stated, I brought up the rear, finishing third in the revolver division (sounds good until you realize there were only four shooters) and 43rd overall, shooting my S&W 625-8 PC.

 

Our next outing should be the monthly USPSA match at Shongum Sportsmen’s Club outside of Hackettstown, NJ on Saturday September 5th.

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20 minutes ago, USMC1341 said:

You guys should get video up of the matches you shoot. When is the next one?

Last paragraph of the post.

It is hard enough concentrating on the shooting without the addition of being a cinematographer. We'll take some still pictures of the various stages, but don't expect anything resembling George Lucas. There will be pictures up on the Kulak Arms site.

Adios,

Pizza Bob

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