The Red River Valley Chapter of the Ruffed Grouse Society donated $2,500 to four local High School trap teams around the Red River Valley thanks to their gun raffle with the Upland Gun Company, which brought in over $10,000 for the Society. After giving away the prizes to the twelve raffle winners, the Society donated $1,000 to the Crookston High School trap team and $500 to Fertile/Beltrami High School, East Grand Forks High School, and Climax/Fisher High School’s trap teams.
“We sold 100 tickets for $100 a piece, and with that, we gave back to the four local school districts,” said Chapter President Brian Hanson. “Next year, we might branch off into Red Lake Falls, it was one that we missed, but we could only do so much with what we had.”
The raffle consisted of two major prizes of $3,000 and $2,000 gift cards to a sister company to the Ruffed Grouse Society, which was the Upland Gun Company, where they could build their own customized gun, whether it was a trap gun for high school trap or a hunting shotgun that would be delivered to you within six months. The $2,000 gift card winner was H&N Quality Plumbing, and the grand prize $3,000 gift card went to Gary Ketchum of Crookston, with ten $100 prize winners. With some of the money they still had left over, the Society donated $2,500 to the trap teams of the Red River Valley’s local schools.
“As we started the chapter, it was discussed between four to five members that started this chapter, we wanted to give back to the high school trap teams because it’s hand-in-hand with what the Ruffed Grouse Society is,” said Hanson. “It’s hunting while the trap team shoots clay pigeons. Not everyone that shoots trap is a hunter, but it’s kind of a gateway to it. I had talked about it earlier on ValleyTalk, that there are five stages of becoming a hunter, and one of the last stages is giving back. We feel that we have reached that point in our lives that we can give back to the community which we love and hold dear.”
With the donations, the teams will purchase shells they will use for the season, improving the clay pigeon launchers, safety videos, and other items that the teams can use to help the school districts make it easier to run the teams.
With the fundraiser completed, the Ruffed Grouse Society is planning to hold an event to help some members in the outer parts of the region participate in the Society’s activities.
“The coordinator of our region, Sam Tillman, explained to us that we have a 60-mile radius around Crookston in which we have members. We can go farther than that, but then you get into the Moorhead and Fargo area, where it becomes more of a jaunt for those people to come to Crookston, East Grand Forks, or Fertile. It’s not that it can’t be done, but it’s outside of the organization’s boundaries for a chapter,” Hanson explained. “With that, we will hold a membership drive at the Cabela’s in East Grand Forks, and we also have some things in the works with some local people here in Crookston. There have been no dates set, but they will most likely happen on a Saturday, as that’s when we get the most foot traffic. So, with that, we’ll set up a table and explain to people what the benefits of becoming a member of the Ruffed Grouse Society are.”
If the Society is able to gain enough members, they plan to hold a banquet once every year for all of its members.
Pictures of Hanson delivering the donations to the four High School Trap Teams can be seen below-
