Do you ever wonder if you have to be a good shot in order to have fun at a shooting range? As it turns out you don’t.
After three years of trying to get my husband to take me out for a date at what I can only describe as “a skeet shooting golf course” and continually coming up against, “Brandy, I don’t think you will have a good time. You won’t hit much.”
His assessment, though harsh, was accurate. I was outshot by everyone, but as it turns out; you only have to hit one clay to have a good time.
“Hitting even just one clay is very exciting.”
When you are my calibre of shot there is a huge amount of luck involved, so it makes the whole experience like hoping to cash in a winning lottery ticket.
Before we headed out to Blackmore’s Shooting Sports I recruited long time acquaintances John Tkachuk and his wife Candice, to join us on a double date. It was a perfect pairing, Candice though familiar with shotguns was not going to embarrassingly outshoot me. Though outshoot me she did. And Ryan and John were well paired. There wasn’t any element of competition, it was just a couple of pairs of parents getting out without the kids on a beautiful May long weekend.
This being said, I’m told there are people who come from as far as Calgary to train on the course for skeet shooting competitions. Lucky for us we didn’t need to travel that far.
If you have ever headed to Rimbey you’ve probably seen the sign for “Blackmore’s Shooting Sports Open” on Hwy 20. It is situated about five minutes south of Winfield nestled in a thick green forest that makes it nearly invisible from the road.
Although the trees add an element of mystery, the winding driveway soon opens up to a parking lot with a quaint rustic cabin, beautiful ravines and water features, all surrounded by towering trees.
The course is made up of 14 “holes” all connected by a meandering gravel path with each hole having a distinctly different skeet pattern, and natural elements such as hills, trees, high and low elevation. This is not your typical throwing clay pigeons in the farm field kind of experience.
What to expect: Checking in
After you check-in each couple gets a pull cart that is a cross between walking golf carts and a stroller that are specifically fit for shotguns. There is an option to rent a side by side but walking the course is no sweat and definitely the scenic option.
You can rent guns there, as well as ammo or bring your own. The one hard rule is that at least one person in your party has to have a PAL license. While we all held our licenses, Candice and I were definitely primed for a refresher course on group shooting etiquette.
“Okay Brandy the safety is on. It is black. When you turn it off it is red. Remember red is dead,” said Ryan.
This along with making sure the chamber is unloaded and open before leaving the “tee box”, which direction to point the barrel of an unloaded shotgun, and when to say pull were all part of making sure everyone was accountable and safe.
At four shots per hole it didn’t take long before my arms started to turn to jello. At one point I asked Ryan how heavy he thought the gun was and I was surprised to hear it was only a few pounds but repeated lifting and shouldering the kick left me in a state of the shakes.
Completing the course took our party-of-four two hours. The outing was a great way to spend some time catching up with friends, trying something new and getting outside. I would highly recommend adding it to your summer Brazeau and Beyond bucket list.
As for that first hit. I had already shot three times and each time I was either too high, too low or behind the pigeon. Then on the final shot.
“Pull,” whamo. It wasn’t a complete explosion but I definitely caught an edge. “Did I get it?” looking around at the crowd of onlookers; ahem Candice and John. “Yes.”
Oh man I was so excited and I spent the rest of the outing chasing that first shot high.
Winter time at Buck Lake
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