Advertisement

Want to practice and learn to use a hand gun in live action targeting?

If the answer to those questions is yes, the Chain O' Lakes Sportsman's Club is offering an event its members say "you need to check out."

The club is celebrating its one year anniversary, and it recently announced its affiliation with the United States Practical Shooting Association and the International Practical Shooting Confederation. The sportsman's club is hosting its first practical shooting match on April 21, led by a group called the Antrim Sand Pit Shooters.

Organizers said this will be the first practical shooting event in northern Michigan.

The Antrim Sand Pit Shooters do shoot some paper, but it's paper with a challenge -- around a barrier or moving through an array of targets, such as paper, metal, poppers and action targets.

"We have the 'run and gun' and 'bang and clang' that really gets your blood pump'n," the organization recently stated. "We also plan to start up a Tuesday or Wednesday 'Steel' league. This is a full spread of 'clang'n steel' that really makes shooting exciting."

To become involved in practical shooting, people need not to be a pro with fancy gear. The group said there is a division for whatever a person may be shooting.

"You've got to shoot it to believe it," it stated. To achieve affiliation with the United States Practical Shooting Association, Antrim Sand Pit Shooters president Eldon McPherson said "we first needed a range area that could be set up to safely lay out the shooting stages."

"COLSC has excellent areas to conduct high power pistol and revolver shoots," McPherson continued. "We next were required to sign up at least 10 potential USPSA members. This was the easy part. We have a many interested gun owners in our area who have signed up and anxiously await our first event."

Safety training is most important, the organization stated. Five members of the Antrim Sand Pit Shooters have just completed the Certified Range Officer training held at the Livingston Gun Club of Brighton. McPherson, Dan Bennett, Jacob Bennett, Matt Davis and Jason Wagester will act as the range officers and, with the help of fellow Antrim Sand Pit Shooters, put on United States Practical Shooting Association events every third Saturday of the month.

For more information, visit www.colsc.org.