With fingers crossed, it looks like we can finally welcome Spring weather. In anticipation, Sunset Mountain has scheduled the bulk of our summer activities.
The Club’s sanctioned shoots are open to members of the public. We only require that you fill out our guest waiver form, or the equivalent for the event in question, to participate. If a shooter is under 18, the presence and signature of a responsible adult is required. Note that any match fees apply to members and non-members alike.
Here is a brief breakdown of our hosted events. See the links below, or at the bottom of the page, to get more details about these open to the public events. If it is your first time, plan to arrive a little bit early to get your bearings, meet the shoot organizer, and complete the required paperwork.
Instructional/Youth Shoot
This Sunday, May 18th is the first Youth Program Event of 2025.
This is a program open to all area youth (membership in the club is not required) to provide instruction in the safe handling and use of different types of firearms.
Participants should arrive a little before 9 AM, especially if this will be your first time. All participants must have a parent or guardian with them and must complete the provided paperwork. At 9 AM we begin with a mandatory classroom session focusing on the safe use of firearms and safety on the range. The students will then move to the outdoor range to get hands-on experience with club-supplied rifles, shotguns, muzzle loaders, and handguns in a one-on-one, coached environment.
Afterwards, participants and accompanying adults can enjoy a (free!) lunch. Likewise, all firearms and ammunition is supplied by the club.
This is only the first of a series that we’ll be hosting all summer long. If you can’t make this one, don’t worry. Each range day is a stand-alone event and there is no requirement for previous attendance. See this link for the calendar for 2025.
Shotgun
The last Sunday of the month typically heralds our Shotgun tournament. This is a competitive event shooting and thrown clays, a total of 50 for the day. When we say competitive, we just mean the folks keep score. This is meant to be a fun time for all shotgun enthusiasts of any skill level.
.22 Rimfire Rifle
Several newish events have been organized for bench shooting with .22 caliber rifles. Last year we started an Aspirin Shoot that continues through this season. This involves targets at 50 yards (aspirin), 100 yards (Tums), and paddles at 100 yards. See the link for details on equipment requirements.
This year we are adding a new event, the Long Gong event. This requires shooting out to 300 yards at a set of metal gongs.
Centerfire/Long Range Rifle
The club holds monthly long range shooting events for practice, improvement, and learning. This is not intended to be competitive. It is a chance to improve one’s skills in the context of an organized shoot. Experience members will be on hand for advice and assistance.
To satisfy your competitive urges, we hold an annual long range rifle event; the Lemon Shoot.
Pistol
Summer Pistol League begins with two weeks of practice on May 21st. Beginning on June 4th, we’ll shoot roughly a dozen nights of matches for competition. Shooting is every Wednesday starting at 6PM, weather permitting.
This event is held outside with targets at 25 yards. We shoot a bullseye course of 10 shots each on three targets; slow, timed, and rapid. There are five different classes to compete in; .22 caliber rimfire, 32-38 caliber centerfire, and large caliber centerfire. The centerfire pistols are divided into iron sights and scoped.