There are currently over 40 students at Crookston High School who participated in Trap shooting, and in 2023, 18,400 students across the state participated. Trap shooting is regarded as one of the fastest-growing sports in the country.
The Crookston Gun Club will host its 43rd annual Family Fun Night and Awards Banquet on Saturday, February 24, at the Crookston Eagles Club. There will be a social available to attend beginning at 6:00 p.m., and dinner will start at 6:30 p.m.
The dinner options will include either pork prime rib or Walleye. The cost is $30 per adult and $25 for ages under 18. “With the meal, it will entitle you with the chance at the drawing to win the firearm,” said Crookston Gun Club instructor Steve Videen, “There’s also a raft of door prizes. We’re going to be drawing for quite a while.”
The raffle prizes at this year’s event will include Turkey Calls, a blind, a deer stand, and more. The award ceremony for the Gun Club will also take place at the event, where Crookston Gun Club members and Trap Shooters will be recognized for their efforts. “That’s what this is all about,” said Videen, “Acknowledging the trap teams that shot last summer, we did what we call a city shoot, and we did that last winter. In total, we’re going to give out about 12 trophies.”
All proceeds raised at the event will go toward the Crookston Gun Club and capital improvements for the facility. Improvements to be made include adding covers and shelters on top of the shooting benches. These can be beneficial when members are shooting while it is raining. The other addition the club wants to make is placing a bench at the range. “We would like to get a bench to keep in line with the other rifle bench,” said Videen, “So when you shoot your handgun, you can replace your target; we would like to pull the target back to the bench, then you can push it back out to the 25 yards,” Videen explained that these benches could work as safety barriers when members are firing. Benches can be a good marking point to keep distance from others while shooting.
The banquet and award ceremony will also allow attendees to renew their annual membership at the Crookston Gun Club. Attending the event may be convenient for perennial members for that reason. Videen believes that the youth and younger families are crucial to the ongoing operations of current gun clubs. “Without things like these going on, there wouldn’t be gun clubs around,” said Videen, “I’m not sure what the average age is at our gun club, but I do know some clubs, the average age ranges from 65 (years old) to 70. The youth are the ones that are going to keep things going.”
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