Challenges small clubs are facing with current costs

I wanted to expand on discussion started in another thread, and maybe get some guys to put on their thinking caps with some thoughts that can help the many small clubs in the Midwest where the roots of trapshooting are.
I have helped run the Williams County Gun Club in NW Ohio for some time- started out with coaching kids (some were mine), then started shooting with the kids, and progressed from there to treasurer, ATA club rep, and still help with the youth program. I keep pretty good records, track all expense and income, know what we make (or lose) every day we shoot. We are open for practice Tuesdays and Saturdays, hold about 10 ATA day shoots a year, and hold a Lewis meat shoot the 4th Sunday of every month. We annually throw the 3rd most ATA targets in Ohio, behind the Cardinal Center and Middletown. We have had a wonderful group of volunteers, no officers are paid, and we put every penny we make back into the facility for the members. We have 5 traps, a skeet field, a nice clubhouse that replaced our burned down cabin in 2009, a new barn that will store a semi load of targets, all new PAT traps and voice releases last year, a great youth support program, reasonable prices and good prizes, and a wonderful group of guys and gals that call this club their home. Not many members show at meetings, things have been good, and not a lot to complain about.

There's only one way me make money to carry the club and that's to throw targets at a profit. We have to make enough to pay the taxes, insurance, maintenance, supplies, and utilities (all significantly higher than they have been in the past). In 2019, we threw 381,450 targets. In 2022, we threw 228,225 targets. We made more money per target in 2019 than we made per target in 2022. Luckily, we have invested back in the club when times were good, and are in a decent position for the future. However, I'm very concerned for our club, and every other club out there that is just trying to make ends meet so they can keep the shooters shooting. At our club, at 2022 income levels, we have to throw 100,000 targets just to cover our fixed costs. I think everyone thinks that ATA is a big moneymaker, but not the case for us. And I remind you that we throw the 3rd most ATA targets in the state of Ohio. Our costs to throw ATA have increased tremendously. We need good help, and they can't and won't work for what they did in 2019. Fuel costs are a big deal. Volunteers are harder and harder to find, especially as our club members' average age increases. It's a big commitment to promise we will be there those ATA dates, and turn down an opportunity to travel, vacation, or in the case of our younger trap help- work a regular job and make twice the money. We give silver for class and yardage winners, and HOA, and those costs keep rising. And then you spread those costs over fewer targets, because guys and gals and kids can't afford to shoot 300 targets anymore, IF you can get the ammo. If we do not throw 9000 targets at an ATA shoot, we will lose money and would have been better off to hold a Saturday fun/practice day, have no costs other than the targets, and net a couple hundred dollars. But- as I said- it's about target count, and we definitely would struggle if we did not hold ATA shoots. Just need good ones when you do it!

Our monthly meat shoots used to be our "Old Reliable". 18 to 20 squads, cheap meat prizes, no labor costs, and shooters may shoot the program 3X. Not anymore. Half the shooters show, and they shoot one time. And the meat and targets cost enough more that we make very little.

We have had several successful Calcuttas at the club thanks to Roger Brenner leading those events. We hoped those events brought shooters from distance to our ATA shoots and other shoots after experiencing the club, and they did. But that doesn't happen anymore. I went to the club today, to cover the close up duties, and I was the only guy that shot, 3 rounds of trap. 4 guys shot 8 total rounds of skeet.

We have been super fortunate to have a great group of ladies and a couple guys that cook for our ATA and meat shoots, and all those profits for the year have been given back to the shooters in added money, or bonus meat prizes. I'm not sure that can continue, which puts another ding in the shooter benefit package.

A strong youth program is good for clubs- it brings target count, even if it's at reduced prices, and those shooters are our future. Many times they bring parents with them that also shoot. We have had a great youth program for some time, thanks to the Potterfields and the MidwayUSA Foundation, but it is getting tough to get adult volunteers for a youth program, which makes it go.

Just looking for input and suggestions on how others see the sport continuing, and let others that may not be closely connected to the finances of a local club see what the perfect storm of increasing costs is doing to you favorite past time. Don't complain if they have to bump the costs on you, they are definitely in a pinch to keep things going. I have always enjoyed the Ohio State Shoot, appreciate those that make it go, and have met some wonderful people there and enjoyed shooting with them and my family. But I'd suggest the real pressure point is the local clubs. If they disappear, it won't matter what is done at the State Shoot.

 

Joe you bring up some very good points. Our club (Moulton Gun Club) is also a membership club. Normally 250 to 350 memberships sold each year with an average of around 15 members attending the monthly meetings. A couple past 90, a few in the 80's, 70's, 60's, and 50's, but very few younger members show up. We have a very nice youth shooting program and quite a few parents help with the youth program, but only a few seem interested in helping with other things or attending any meetings. What some of us older members are wondering is what will become of the club in the future if the younger folks won't become active members? At our shoots the only people who get paid are the score keepers. The members who do most of the work getting ready and during the shoots would much rather be shooting, but they do what ever needs to be done usually without much appreciation. If they were able to shoot there would be that many more targets thrown and that is what keeps the club able to keep up on the normal expenses and helping keep the youth program going along with donating to many area organizations. It just seems that many folks don't realize what a struggle it is to keep a club active. It is almost impossible to get members to take an office or do the bookings for rentals. It would be so nice if more members could find the time to help a little as some of the ones who helped over the years are getting older or are not with us anymore.

The club meetings are the 4th Monday of each month. The youth program takes up the Tuesdays in March thru the end of June with open practice on Wednesday evenings April thru middle of September along with several Sunday Registered shoots. 3rd Sunday of Nov. Dec. Jan. and Feb 50 target meat shoots and the Jan. 1 shoot and several public participation events over the year. What this amounts to is that over the year the small gun clubs really struggle to stay ahead of all the necessary expenses to be able to continue to stay in existence and keep a rifle range open and traps for trapshooting and a pond for fishing.

Dave Berlet