The Crookston Gun Club is holding a series of events for its second year of Ladies Nights at the Gun Club. This year, the Club has four events planned for the year based around the theme “Trying New Guns,” where they will be bringing in new guns and ammo for the members to try.
The first of these events will be on Thursday, May 26, from 6:30 p.m. to dusk, where they will be bringing out handguns, long guns, and trap shooting guns for ladies to try on the range, along with ammo provided by the Club for the members to purchase. “We’re doing themes this year, and this one’s is going to be “Try New Guns,” so we will have some guns out here to try, but people are welcome to bring in ones that they have that they maybe want some more practice with,” Crookston Gun Club Secretary Amy Ellingson explained. “We’ll have some ammo for the guns that we’re providing that’ll be available for sale per round, or you can bring ammo for your own guns that you bring out as well. It’s a come-and-go, so it starts at 6:30 p.m., and we run until dusk, so whenever you’re able, swing out and check it out,” she added. Ellingson also explained that the Club will have their trap houses available for ladies to try trap shooting with 12-gauge and 20-gauge shotguns, as well as their archery range for them to try shooting with a bow and arrow. Ellingson explained that she and fellow member Alicia Berhow will be available to instruct them on how to use the guns and help them learn which ones they like to use.
This is the second year the Club is holding a series of Ladies’ Nights with the Club hoping to learn from their experiences last year and encourage more ladies to come to all of the new events they have planned for the year. “We started last year as a trial run to see how popular it would be after Alicia and I got together and were talking about how intimating it can be shooting with our husbands or other male members of the Club when we’re not as experienced as they are sometimes, and how it would be nice just to have a group of gals get together and do it,” Secretary Amy Ellingson explained. “We brought it up to Club President Steve Videen during one of our meetings, and he was already on board since he’s been wanting someone to organize a Ladies’ Night for a while to get some more female involvement out here,” she added. Ellingson explained that their events last year had received a lot of positive feedback from the people that attended and hopes that they and newer members will come out to enjoy the events they have planned for the rest of the year.
Other events the Club will be holding include a “Self-Defense Night” on Thursday, July 28, from 6:30 to dusk, with Club Director Rick Quirk, who teaches at Crookston Championship Tae Kwon Do, teaching the ladies how to defend themselves with and without their firearms. “We’ll cover both situations, we have Rick covering unarmed combat, and the ladies are free to bring out their handguns, and we’ll go over how to safely handle your firearm and how to use it in the event that you might need it, but how to be safe about it,” Ellingson explained. She also noted that they are still reaching out to people who would be interested in helping teach the self-defense course and that if there is anyone who would be available to help, to contact the Club. Then on Thursday, September 8, the Club will have a “Back to School” night where moms are encouraged to bring in their child’s Back-to-School supplies lists to serve as targets for them to shoot to celebrate completing school shopping. The final event for the year will be on Saturday, October 22, where the Club will bring in hunting long guns to assist ladies in sighting their hunting rifles in preparation for Deer Season, which begins on November 5.
The Crookston Gun Club Ladies’ Night “Trying New Guns” event will be on Thursday, May 26, from 6:30 p.m. to dusk at the Crookston Gun Club shooting range at 26251 240th St. SW, with a “Self-Defense Night” on Thursday, July 28. If you have any questions about the events, would like to book a private event, or assist in the “Self-Defense Night,” you can contact Club Secretary Amy Ellingson at 320-894-0061 or Alicia Berhow at 218-289-1623.
