Shotgun Sports Club
Basic Info
Meetings: The Shotgun Sports Club at CSU normally has meetings on campus at the Military Sciences Building on Wednesdays at 7 p.m. and last about an hour. This has been the normal meeting time and place for as long as we can remember. The next meeting time should be posted on the Homepage, and check out the Meeting Notes page for the basic description of each meeting.
Practice is usually held at Great Guns on Saturdays but is not required. Some members choose to shoot practice rounds during the week as well. You are encouraged to shoot as often as your schedule will allow and your bank account will support. If you want to find someone to shoot with during the week, come to the meetings and ask around. Or check out this new spiffy page I've made where people can post when they want to go shoot and their contact info. Remember, what you put into the team is what you'll get out of it.
Practice may also be held at Buckley Air Force Base. This is only after we have received our TSSC membership cards so that we can get our photo ids for Buckley A.F.B. It is difficult to practice at Buckley at the beginning of each semester because new members need their membership cards and ids, and existing members need to renew.
For a current list of prices for practice rounds, read "Targets" below in "What is NOT included with your dues"
This club has traveled as close as Cheyenne, Wyoming and as far as Lexington, Kentucky for competitions. We travel to Nationals each Spring in San Antonio, Texas. With each competition, the shotgun Events and number of targets for each event vary. Normally, there are between 250 and 400 targets in total. Entry fees are usually around $100 and cover the cost of the targets for that shoot. See "Entry Fee" below for more info.
Competitions last all day Saturday, and most of Sunday. We typically leave Friday evening/night for competitions. Since we drive to the competitions, and we are usually the farthest traveling club at every competition we go to, we leave as early as possible on Sunday to start the long drive back to Fort Collins.
A brief list of competitions that we have traveled to in the past are as follows: (in order of distance traveled)
Check out Past Competitions and Expected Competitions for more detailed information.
Dues for being an active member of the club are $85/semester. Pending the next year's allocation from the university, this number may go up, or may go down. We always try to show how expensive shotgun sports is to the Club Sports Office, but allocation also depends on number of active members and how well we perform at Nationals each year.
-Hotel Rooms: For when you travel with the team to a competition.
-Membership: at Buckley Air Force Base, and Great Guns. (The two main shotgun ranges we practice at currently). To practice at Buckley A.F.B., you have to be a member of the range on the base so that you can get your photo base id.
See "Targets" below for a breakdown of current prices for each range.
*-1/2 of Entry Fee:* For top 10 shooters from CSU for a given competition. Entry fee is usually around $100, so this is worth $50 if you shoot well. This applies to every shoot that you travel to if are in the top 10.
Top 10 decided after the shoot is over, based on adding totals for each event and comparing to other CSU shooter scores.
-Gas Money: For any traveling done with the team. We carpool and it costs about $50-$75 per person for a given competition. Obviously, the distance traveled, number of people in the vehicle, and the fuel economy of the vehicle have a large impact on this cost. Plan ahead for who you want to ride with!
-Ammunition: For practice and for competition. Competitions usually consist of between 250 and 400 targets, which is between 10 and 16 boxes of shotgun shells, and a current "good" price for a box of 12 gauge shells is about $5.30. So this totals between $50 and $80 per shoot. Additionally, you should always have at least 2 extra boxes of ammo in case you have to reshoot a few targets, or hopefully if you are in a shoot off for first place!
*-Entry Fee:* The entry fee for each competition varies, but is usually around $100. This covers the targets and sometimes it also includes lunch for both days. The club hosting the event makes some profit off of this number as well. (We host a shoot in the Fall called the "Ramvitational" but it is usually the first shoot of the new semester, so participation is limited.)
*1/2 of your entry fee could be covered if you shoot in the top 10 shooters from CSU. See above explanation "1/2 of the Entry Fee" under "What is included with your dues?"*
-Targets: This is referring to any practice targets you choose to shoot. Competition targets are included in the entry fee above. Currently, practice targets cost $6/round at Great Guns for Trap and Skeet and $7/round for 5-Stand, and practice targets cost $3/round at Buckley A.F.B. for Trap and Skeet. $3/round is basically unbeatable anymore.
-A Shotgun: The club does have a Remington 870 pump for "first timers" to use. This gun hardly ever is used in competition. If you are serious about competing with the club, you should either borrow a gun from someone else on the team, or buy a shotgun yourself. Usually, people are glad to share their gun with new members to get them addicted. Competition shotguns can range in price anywhere from $800 to $5,000 depending on the manufacturer and quality/features.
-Basic Shooting Equipment: Here is a list of some basic shooting equipment that you need to shoot.
-Eye protection (Protective glasses, prescription glasses, and some sunglasses will work)
-Ear protection (Ear plugs. Usually can borrow some, or buy a nice pair for shooting)
-Shooting Vest (Or some other way to carry your shells while you are shooting) You can order a vest to "fit in" with the team for $145. They are high quality shooting vests with leather on the "handing" side, multiple pockets, and embroidery. They are a worthy investment if you plan on shooting with the club and looking professional.
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Club Info |