NRA awards $20,836 grant to gun club for shooting-range equipment

The National Rifle Association Foundation awarded a $20,836 grant to the Cape Girardeau County Gun Club for shooting-range equipment at the Apple Creek Shooting Complex.

The grant will allow the club to replace and modernize the trap- and skeet-target machines, said club president Dale Todt. The club may spend as much as $600 to $700 on installation of the equipment, he said.

Range manager Brad Riggs said the new voice-activated target command features will enhance the shooting experience.

The shooting complex, owned by the Missouri Department of Conservation, is in the Apple Creek Conservation Area near New Wells, Missouri.

Todt said the club hopes to have the equipment installed by late May or early June.

Club members supervise the shooting range and own the trap- and skeet-shooting equipment.

“We are primarily a shotgun club,” Todt said.

The site also includes pistol, rifle and archery ranges.

The trap- and skeet-shoot range is open to the public on weekends from March through November.

Todt said a University of Missouri Extension Service survey found the shooting complex is the most heavily used range in Missouri.

Thousands of gun enthusiasts annually use the Apple Creek range, Todt said. “From dawn to dusk on weekends, there are people out there shooting,” he said.

The shooting range opened in 2006.

“We have thrown close to 300,000 rounds,” Todt said, adding each round consists of 25 clay birds.

mbliss@semissourian, com

(573) 388-3641

Pertinent address:

Apple Creek Conservation Area, Route CC, near New Wells, Mo.