Aberdeen Gun Club

Club History

The Aberdeen Gun Club, Inc. was established in 1980 by a small group of trap shooters who wished to preserve the sport of trap shooting in the Aberdeen area. Trapshooting was not new to this area as it had been shot for many years at various locations. Our present facilities were purchased in 1983 and the log clubhouse was erected in 1986 with funds raised by a group of shooters and individuals wishing to “invest” in the future of the club. The result is the finest shooting grounds in the area with 11 trap-houses equipped with automatic trap machines and voice-pulls.

Our club is a trap shooting club. Leisure shooting is one of America’s favorite pastimes. Millions of families, hunters and people desire a safe, challenging form of recreational shooting. The Aberdeen Gun Club is committed to promoting firearms safety education by making the shooting sports available and accessible to all.

Membership of the club is not required to shoot at our club, but it is encouraged. Funds from our membership dues are used to help improve the facilities at the club and to keep the cost of shooting as low as possible. Individual, Family and Youth memberships are offered. Youth shooters are encouraged and shoot at a discount.

The trap-range is open from mid-April until September, depending upon the weather conditions.

Two adult leagues, the Clay Bird League and the Tuesday Night League, are shot on Tuesday evenings. Youth leagues are shot on Wednesday evenings. A practice trap is always open to the public whenever activities are scheduled at the trap range. Many Thursday evenings and Sunday afternoons are also used for practice and “make-up” shooting.

We are affiliated with the Amateur Trapshooting Association and host several registered trap shoots during the summer. Some of these are competitive and marathons are thrown for shooters to register large amounts of targets during the year. Periodically, the Aberdeen Gun Club also hosts such shoots as the SD Northern Zone Shoot, the South Dakota State Shoot and the ATA Central Zone Shoot.

Facilities

The Aberdeen Gun Club is located 6 miles south and 1/4 mile west of Aberdeen on Highway 281. The club is proud of its 60' x 40' air conditioned log clubhouse. Additional meeting space and restrooms with showers is attached to the clubhouse. 40 camping spaces with electrical power are located on the grounds. The club will have 13 trap-houses equipped with automatic trap machines and voice-pulls.

In addition to our regular hours and days, special shoots for groups can be arranged by contacting one of the club officers or the range manager. The clubhouse is also available for meetings and special occasions.


Outside Aberdeen Gun Club	Inside the Clubhouse

Membership Options

Individual Membership: $20.00 per year
Family Membership: $35.00 per year
Youth Membership: $1.00 per year (any young person not out of High School is considered as a Youth)

Monthly membership meetings are held on the 2nd Tuesday of each month from March until October. There are no club activities during the winter months.

Our League Events

Youth League
Each year, for the last several years, the Aberdeen Gun Club has sponsored a youth trap shooting league. The league promotes hunter safety and educates our youth in the proper use, safe handling, care and marksmanship of firearms. In 2004, the league started with 15 teams and in 2007 the league had 23 teams. We do not wish to turn any youth away from this program if they have a desire to shoot in the youth league.

The teams are divided into 5 divisions. "Rookies" (4th and 5th grade), "Jr. Varsity Intermediate" and "Varsity Intermediate" (6th - 8th grade) and "Jr. Varsity Seniors" and "Varsity Seniors" (9th - 12th grade). The best team from each division wins the opportunity to compete at the Scholastic Clay Target Program at the South Dakota State Shoot at Aberdeen, SD in July. The Youth League pays for all shooting fees and ammo for the 5 teams competing at the state shoot in Aberdeen.

An awards picnic for the youth shooters and their parents is held at the end of the 10 weeks. Trophies are awarded to each division as well as individual awards.

Clay Bird League:
The Clay Bird League is an adult league consisting of about 20-24 teams. This is a handicapped league which is ideal for both beginning and experienced shooters. The handicapping of the league helps to even out the competition during the season. Each team competes against one other team each week during the season until they have met each team in the league. League fees are $11.00 per week (not including shells). 25 16-yard and 25 handicap targets are shot each week. Each shooter is awarded bonus targets according to his or her average. Each shooter on a team shoots "head-to-head" with one other shooter on the opposing team. One point is awarded to the team for each winning individual score and two points are awarded for winning the team total (ties divide the point, 7 points are awarded each week).

An awards banquet is held at the end of the season. Trophies are awarded to teams in each Class in the league as well as individual awards.

Tuesday Night League:
The Tuesday Night League is an adult league consisting of about 20 teams. This league is patterned after the original shooting program shot in Aberdeen for the last 40 years. This league is primarily for experienced shooters and only actual targets broken are counted. Each team competes against one other team each week during the season until they have met each team in the league. League Fees are $11.00 per seek (not including shells). 25 16-yard targets and 25 handicap targets are shot each week. Each shooter on a team shoots 'head-to-head" with one other shooter on the opposing team. One point is awarded to the team from each winning individual score and two points are awarded for winning the team total (ties divide the point, 7 points are awarded each week).

An awards banquet is held at the end of the season. Trophies are awarded to each Class in the league as well as individual awards.

The league will start in April. For information about the league, contact Ron Belden.

Doubles League:
The Doubles League is an individual league consisting of 25 pair of doubles targets each week. It is shot over a 10 week period. Each shooter can shoot as many times as he wishes each week, but can only count 25 pair of targets each week towards his league targets. The doubles are shot at any time there is an open trap during the week. For more information about the Doubles League, contact Scott McIntire.

Registered Club Shoots

Spring Fling

This is our largest fundraiser for the year. Proceeds from this are used to fund improvements to the trap range and clubhouse and to keep the cost of shooting to a minimum. The cost of the ticket is $25.00, which includes food, beverages, drawing for 5 guns and two rounds of practice trap that you can use any time during the year. As in the past, games and a silent auction will be held that evening. The traps will also be open for those who wish to come early and do some shooting. Only 300 tickets are printed so get yours early.

Contact Information:

If you are interested in any of our events and need more information, or if you wish to become a member of the Aberdeen Gun Club, Inc. please contact one of the following individuals:

Officers
President Jerry Brick 2202 15th Ave SE Aberdeen, SD 57401 605-225-1306 jbrick@abe.midco.net	Vice President Ken Hallstrom 1326 S Main St Aberdeen, SD 57401 605-229-2670
Secretary Bob Bucholz 13018 Cyprus St Aberdeen, SD 57401 605-226-8262 rdbuch@nrctv.com	Treasurer Dale Boynton 39776 132nd Street Bath, SD 57427 605-228-3247
Board Members
Board Member Scott McIntire 1935 Pasque Parkway Aberdeen, SD 57401 605-225-2737 sodak@nvc.net	Board Member Lori Goldade 12892 Fairfield Drive Aberdeen, SD 57401 605-225-7884 arnielori@nrctv.com
Board Member Bill Fluke 953 Railroad Ave Bath, SD 57427 605-225-1236
Important Club Contacts
Range Manager Geraldine McIntire 605-229-0761	Clay Bird League Scott McIntire 605-225-2737 sodak@nvc.net
Youth League Harlan Young 605-225-0159 hlyoung1@abe.midco.net	Tuesday Night League Ron Belden 605-397-8496
Doubles League Scott McIntire 605-225-2737 sodak@nvc.net

We are producing our newsletter and will have one online shortly.

Photo Gallery

	Chuck Manning from Aberdeen. He shot his 100,000th Registered Target at the Aberdeen Gun Club on June 4th, 2006. He was honored with a shooting bag and a cake.
	Another picture of some of the shooters attending this shoot.
	Jason Hanson (R) presenting 1100 Classic Trap Shotgun to Thad Allbee, Aberdeen, SD as the winner of the 2007 Scott Hanson Memorial Handicap Shoot with a 193 x 200 handicap score.
	Tom Knapp, "The Shooting Star", draws a large crowd at one of the exhibition shoots he performed at the Aberdeen Gun Club.
	To show our appreciation to Carol Nevill, Lifetime Member of the Aberdeen Gun Club, for his many years of maintaining the grounds and equipment at the club.
	Todd (Swede) Hanson (L) presenting 1100 Classic Trap shotgun to Eric Zens, Redfield, SD as the winner of the 2006 Scott Hanson Memorial Handicap Shoot with a 188 x 200 handicap score.
	Todd (Swede) Hanson (L) presenting 1100 Classic Trap shotgun to Gary Lanpher, Sioux Falls as winner of the 2005 Scott Hanson Memorial Handicap with a 191 x 200 Handicap score