I was saddened to receive an email the other day saying that Rudy Schulze passed away recently.
Rudy was a leading figure in smallbore rifle shooting in Canada after WW2. One of the founding members of the Ontario Smallbore Federation (now merged into the CSSA), he was one of the first persons to import Anschutz rifles, European shooting equipment and target grade ammunition in Canada through his business, International Imports.
He was also a fine shot. As a member of the Canadian National Rifle Shooting team, he competed at the World Championships in 1966, was a medalist in the 1967 Pan-Am Games and a competitor in the 1968 Olympic Games in Mexico City. His favourite 1413 rifle hung on the wall of his shop until the day he closed it down.
Like most gentlemen of earlier generations, Rudy was a fine storyteller with an excellent memory. I first met him in person in 1998 when I started shooting smallbore seriously. I lived in Kitchener just a few minutes from his shop and spent many wonderful hours talking to Rudy and looking through his scrapbooks. I hope his daughter, Christina -- herself a former national rifle team member -- looks after them.
Rudy was a big proponent of equipment testing, and owned what I believe was the first private shooting tunnel in Canada. At just over 50 metres in length and equipped with several electronic target hangers/receivers, it was a great place to test ammunition or go when you wanted some advice on your position. Losing that facility when he sold his business was a big loss to the shooting community in this country.
I asked Rudy one day why he had decided to immigrate to Canada from his native Germany. With a twinkle in his eye he said that he'd been lucky to be deployed to NW Europe in 1944 and that the Canadians that he'd "encountered" had been very nice to him. Rudy would've been 16 at that time so I'll let you fill in the blanks. With its large ethnic German population, Kitchener -- known as Berlin until 1916 -- was a logical place for him to end up.
I didn't know him as well as many others did, but he made an impression. Deep tens, Rudy, and thanks for the memories.
Rudy was a leading figure in smallbore rifle shooting in Canada after WW2. One of the founding members of the Ontario Smallbore Federation (now merged into the CSSA), he was one of the first persons to import Anschutz rifles, European shooting equipment and target grade ammunition in Canada through his business, International Imports.
He was also a fine shot. As a member of the Canadian National Rifle Shooting team, he competed at the World Championships in 1966, was a medalist in the 1967 Pan-Am Games and a competitor in the 1968 Olympic Games in Mexico City. His favourite 1413 rifle hung on the wall of his shop until the day he closed it down.
Like most gentlemen of earlier generations, Rudy was a fine storyteller with an excellent memory. I first met him in person in 1998 when I started shooting smallbore seriously. I lived in Kitchener just a few minutes from his shop and spent many wonderful hours talking to Rudy and looking through his scrapbooks. I hope his daughter, Christina -- herself a former national rifle team member -- looks after them.
Rudy was a big proponent of equipment testing, and owned what I believe was the first private shooting tunnel in Canada. At just over 50 metres in length and equipped with several electronic target hangers/receivers, it was a great place to test ammunition or go when you wanted some advice on your position. Losing that facility when he sold his business was a big loss to the shooting community in this country.
I asked Rudy one day why he had decided to immigrate to Canada from his native Germany. With a twinkle in his eye he said that he'd been lucky to be deployed to NW Europe in 1944 and that the Canadians that he'd "encountered" had been very nice to him. Rudy would've been 16 at that time so I'll let you fill in the blanks. With its large ethnic German population, Kitchener -- known as Berlin until 1916 -- was a logical place for him to end up.
I didn't know him as well as many others did, but he made an impression. Deep tens, Rudy, and thanks for the memories.
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