Anyone here into shooting Sporting Clays?

[Reschke]

I am thinking of opening a sporting clay shooting facility just south of Birmingham, AL. Still in the early stages of research and putting my business plan together BUT I was just wondering how many of you guys do that? I know several of us shoot rifles, pistols, etc.. on different ranges as well but haven't heard about the sporting clays or 5 stand shooting on here.

[Phaser11]

I do both, I like the sporting clays more because it is fun moving around to see what the guys have come up with. Nested pairs, squirls and rabbits are lots of fun. Duck shots (where the clays come from behind and over your head) are hard to hit also. As for 5 stand we will do it if the boys want to shoot some more after the sporting clays, (sometimes dad gets tired and wants to rest).

[chase4]

I do it on the odd occasion but I wont be any use to you heheh.

Good luck with the business 

[lasersailor184]

I used to do a lot of Trap Shooting.  But then I ran out of money.


In the past 2 years I've shot maybe 3 or 4 different days.

[Toad]

I do 'em all but not obsessively. I'm not a "league" kind of guy. I just go shoot when I can.

Five Stand is a good game and it takes up much less room than SC. I would definitely have a Five Stand field; it's quick to shoot, presents a good variety of shots.

SC is great fun; just takes longer to shoot as your moving greater distances but it's a very good challenge.

I would also include a standard skeet and trap operation, perhaps on a combo field (ot two) just because there's a lot of people that do that and it would help with your overhead.

Don't forget a Crazy Quail set-up either. In your part of the country that should be pretty popular and it's another field that takes only one trap and a small amount of space.

Good luck! There are never enough good places to shoot.

[Ripsnort]

My oldest son and I do both but not competitively. The younger son is 9 and will go through Hunter Safety next year, then there will be three.  I think its a great way to spend a couple of hours. Our club has 5-stand and they're setting up a Sporting Clays course too.

Good luck, Reschke~

[Reschke]

Yeah I have a good setup in mind and just need to find about 80-100 acres to make EVERYTHING work. BUT the first phase has always been a planned 5 stand and with a single trap for just that suggestion Toad. I can do it without any trouble down at my parents house but it is about an hour off the interstate and 2 hours outside of town and people just aren't going to drive that far just to shoot one afternoon instead of working.

The long range idea for me is to cozy up next to an older farm that wants to lease the land and work out a quality quail habitat and start some good dogs and guided hunts on it.

[forHIM]

I've shot in a SC league the last couple of years.  The nice thing about the course we go to is that they have 5 separate courses of SC plus two trap and a 5-stand.  They are also grand-fathered in so we can shoot lead into the water.  Something you may need to be worried about depending on your area and the lead regulation enforcements.

I've also looked at my local rod-n-gun clubs who shoot trap once a week, but they are getting fairly crowded, heck even the SC courses are full -- 5 courses x 6 stations x 2 to 8 people per team and it take about two hours to get through on a slow night.

The SC place is a large operation on mostly lowland, but they also run a game farm in the back portion which is mostly open / high ground. 

[lasersailor184]

Yeah I have a good setup in mind and just need to find about 80-100 acres to make EVERYTHING work. BUT the first phase has always been a planned 5 stand and with a single trap for just that suggestion Toad. I can do it without any trouble down at my parents house but it is about an hour off the interstate and 2 hours outside of town and people just aren't going to drive that far just to shoot one afternoon instead of working.

The long range idea for me is to cozy up next to an older farm that wants to lease the land and work out a quality quail habitat and start some good dogs and guided hunts on it.

My biggest suggestion is that you should beware of the attitude you cultivate.  It can haunt your range.  

There's a pistol / rifle range with 2 trap machines under 5 minutes away from my house.  However it's filled with d-bag ultra competitive losers who get mad if someone even coughs in the club house during a round.

The range I travel to is 20-25 minutes away.  Its filled with fun people, a lot of repeat customers and because of this, a lot of demand.  The Tuesday night shoots open at 5:00 and are often booked up til closing time at 9:00 in 20 to 30 minutes.

[Reschke]

Roger that Laser. I am taking my time on this one and getting good people to be a part of it early on. I have been around those types of shooters and they aren't the ones I want to have a part of the club.

[Toad]

Or part of ANY club!