The Antrim County News

The Sutter Mountain Ironman, The Kewadin Kid and Thummper John, from left, tested their mettle Saturday during the Chain O' Lakes Sportsman's Club's first shoot. The three men, known more readily as Gary Sutter, Richard Hoadley and John Thumm, are "Cowboy Action" shooters, an event that requires participants to dress in Old West garb and use Old West aliases.

Photo by Gretchen Augustine.

Area Sportsmen Hold Club's First Shoot

BY GRETCHEN AUGUSTINE
Contributing writer

    The Chain O' Lakes Sportsman's Club is not the Elk Rapids Sportsman's Club.
Brian Kroll, the new club's founding chairman, clarified that point before the group held its first shoot Saturday at its home near Mancelona off M-88 on Peterson Road.
    "(This is) not a reincarnation or a migration of the Elk Rapids Sportsman's Club _ has nothing to do with it," he said. "The (Elk Rapids club) could conceivably stay there forever." Kroll is a former chairman and the current spokesman for the Elk Rapids Sportsman's Club. The new club can offer many shooting sports not available at the Elk Rapids club because of the size restrictions of its 11-acre location, Kroll said. Because the Chain O' Lakes club is housed on 80 acres, he said it can offer sporting clays, "Cowboy Action," long-range shooting and "everything known as far as shooting sports."
    "It's an attempt to answer the unmet needs of sportsmen and -women in Antrim County and Kalkaska County," he said. Kroll said he began looking for a property about a year ago and eventually chose the current site for its location near a highway in a rural area with no restrictive zoning and because of "topographical and environmental features that compliment its intended use." Kroll said Monday that the club's next step is to finish a site development plan. He said the club doesn't want membership at this point, but will in a month to six weeks after signage is posted and site development has taken continued from front place.
    "We want to do that intelligently and in a controlled manner," he said. Being safe is a focus and is part of the club's mission statement. Members were eager to show newcomers the ropes, and they did so by carefully explaining each step and stressing pointers that make shooting safe. Shortly after noon on Saturday, Kroll addressed fellow founding club members, commending them for their commitment to the project. He said the founders' shared dream "of a regional shooting sports resource" benefiting area recreational shooters is now a reality.
    "We share this moment in time on ground that we own, and we as founders remain focused in our vision and committed to the challenges ahead," he said.
    After his address, he and four founding office-holders entered stands to partake in five-stand sporting clays. Vice chairman Brian Rathke, of Bellaire; secretary Douglas Fowler, of Rapid City; treasurer John Thumm, of Clam Lake; and membership director Richard Hoadley, of Kewadin; stepped into the pvc-pipe stands.
    A computer-controlled system was set up that morning that allowed an automated trap release sequence, sending fluorescent orange "birds" in one of six directions when shooters called, "Pull," to the operator. Some of the clays were pulverized, but many fell to the earth unbroken.
    "There're gonna be a lot of recycled birds today," Kroll quipped between shots.
    The clays fell into the sand on the club's property, a feature Kroll said makes it strategically the best location because the pH in the soil is favorable to lead. Another positive feature of the property is an area that is lowered and will "mute sound," he said.
That lower portion was shown off during the Cowboy Action shooting, after another group participated in the five-stand shooting.
Fowler introduced the event, which typically requires participants to dress in Old West costumes and sport Old West aliases like Fowler's: "Fly Speck Billy."
    Thumm, or "Thummper" John as he's known at Cowboy Action shoots, said participants are serious about their aliases.
    "I have seen several guys at shoots _ I do not know their real names," he said.
    Participants use two pistols, a lever-action rifle and a shotgun when shooting stationary targets in a timed "scenario." They fire five rounds from each pistol, ten from the rifle and four from the shotgun.
    In a scenario called the "James Gang Ambush," participants imagined they were part of a posse tracking the James gang. Before firing on the targets, shooters had to say, "Lettem have it, boys."
    Several of the Cowboy Action shooters stressed that safety is a big concern at their events.
    "Nobody's walkin' around with loaded guns," said Trusty Rusty, or Russ DeBolt, of Williamsburg.
    Those participating loaded their guns under supervision at a loading table, moved to the shooting station, then unloaded the guns at another table, again being supervised.
    When it was their turn, participants displayed different shooting styles, such as the "gunfighter" style used by Hoadley, "the Kewadin Kid," where a gun is held in each hand.
    Targets rang like a crazy sort of wind chime in varying tones and pitches as the participants showed their stuff.
    In addition to the club's office-holders, the founding members comprise Daniel Bennett, Thomas Caldwell, Douglas Dawson, David Gill, Stanley Kimmel, David Munroe, Henry VanLooy, Alwyn Burnett, William Clark, Bruce Dickenson, Thomas A. Gremel, Eldon McPherson, James Racey and Richard Young. Not all club founders attended the event.