Basketball, football, volleyball, track and field – all sports a high school athlete might consider before trying out for a team. While most sports rely on size, strength, and speed to be a top-tier athlete, trap shooting offers an equal opportunity to all students regardless of physical stature; all you need is hand-eye coordination and the opportunity to participate. Thanks to the efforts of the McKenzie County Sportsman’s Club (MCSC), student-athletes in the McKenzie County area now have that option. Marking the first season of high school trap shooting, athletes took to the range on September 19th to bust their first clays.
McKenzie County Sportsman’s Club and Range
The McKenzie County Sportsman’s Club and Range, originally named the Badlands Shooting Club, has been a McKenzie Electric member since 1981 and was created to provide a safe and secure location to sight in rifles and target shoot. Through facility moves and restructuring, the location of the range is now 2306 121X Ave NW, Watford City, ND, 6 miles south on county road 37. Open to members as of June 20, 2020, the new facility features a rifle range of varying yardages up to 300 yards, a 25-yard pistol range, a 100-yard rim-fire range, outdoor trapshooting with 3 electric trap houses that can be used with a speaker and microphone system or a manual trigger, and as of early September, an indoor archery range where members can hone their archery skills year-round.
Housing the indoor archery range, the facilities’ building also provides classroom space ideal for concealed weapons training, hunters safety courses, and various firearm proficiency classes and seminars.
“We’re so excited to offer the community this facility after the hard work and dedication the board has put in” says Heather, range manager. “As a non-profit, we would not have been able to get this far without the generous donations and grant funding we have received towards this project. The next couple years will bring more improvements as funding becomes available."
High School Trap Shooting – First team in McKenzie County
The inaugural year of the high school/junior high trapshooting team brings excitement and an outlet for students eager to try something new. As one of the safest high school sports, athletes will have the ability to increase their marksmanship, build comradery with students and coaches, have fun outdoors, and most importantly, learn how to handle firearms safely and become responsible firearm owners.
To get started and join the team, students grade 6-12 will need to complete their hunter’s safety course or receive their Student Athlete Firearm Education (SAFE) certificate. The SAFE certificate is the basic orientation for new trap and skeet shooters and covers everything gun safety. While the hunter safety program focuses on hunting, the SAFE certification process provides an in-depth education on firearm safety and how it pertains to the shooting range. Students must also pay a $35 fee to the Trap Association and cover the cost of ammunition and clays which are discounted from donations and fundraisers from area businesses and the gun club. Just like any school-sponsored sport, each student must also meet their school’s eligibility requirements to compete.
High school trap league scoring is similar to how the adult trap shooting league is scored; students must shoot and score at least 2 rounds per week over the six-week fall season. Rounds are classified as 25 clays, in which a shooter shoots 5 clays per lane tallying scores by counting hits and misses using the True Team scoring system. During the season, scores are turned in each Saturday to the USA Clay Target Association where McKenzie County students take on other competing school districts in North Dakota. While trap shooting can be competitive, Stabler says it’s more about the students building confidence, comradery, and improving one’s skills by competing against themselves to become better marksmen as time goes on.
While the gear associated with trap shooting is quite a bit different than other sports, MCSC’s club is happy to be able to provide vests and range bags thanks to the donations of local businesses. A 12- or 20-gauge shotgun is part of the sport’s equipment and owning your own long-gun is preferred states Heather, “but if a student would like to try trap shooting without making the commitment of purchasing a firearm, students are always welcome to test their skills during league nights or open houses.” Additionally, students must wear range appropriate attire while competing and practicing. This includes close-toed shoes, non-baggy shirts and jackets that may interfere with safe firearm handling, jeans or sturdy pants, and eye and ear protection.
Coaches Needed!
A resource that can be more valuable than ammunition at times is coaches. With each coach overseeing ten students, team size is limited due to volunteers. If you’d like to sign up and become a coach for the first year of high school trap shooting, here’s what you need to know: Coaches must complete an online course through the trap association similar to the SAFE training students undergo. A background in firearms or trap shooting is a big perk, but not required, and qualified coaches must be 18 years or older. Given the presence of firearms, all speculative coaches must be responsible gun owners and share the ability to pass that knowledge on to the student-athletes they coach. Volunteers are the backbone for most youth activities and are always needed. For more information on how to become a coach, or to get signed up, call Heather at 701-978-8129.
As of this writing, three coaches have completed their certification process, but the club is always looking for more to fill its ranks and provide every student a chance to compete. With plans to offer loan guns to students in the future, the McKenzie County Sportsman’s club is looking forward to expanding its team in years to come.
If you’d like to follow the progress of the newly formed, school-sponsored sport, like and follow the McKenzie County Sportsman’s Club’s Facebook page. For more information and to learn the background of how the clay target was started in our neighboring state to the east, follow these links: http://ndclaytarget.com/ and http://usaclaytarget.com.
