The Heart of Lakes Bowhunters Club has set up a new target to shoot for, as members aim to get themselves a new indoor facility.
“We’d like to have a 24-hour, 7 day a week facility so that people can go there to shoot anytime they want,” said Bruce Anderson, one of the club members working to make this happen.
The club currently runs an archery range right off Otto Zeck Road, next to Detroit Mountain. The club already owns the 14-acre spread, but it’s all outdoors. This has club members utilizing the Boys and Girls Club a couple of times a week during the winter months for leagues and shooting practice, but options there are limited.
“Not everybody can make it there during those times; if we had our own facility, people could run out during their lunch hour if they wanted to,” said Anderson, who says club members have begun preliminary plans for the facility.
They want the building to include not just an indoor shooting range, but also a lounge for kids or other family members to hang out and watch movies while parents practice.
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They’d also like it to have a kitchen facility. “That way when we hold local tournaments, we can cook food,” said Anderson, who says a facility like this would also open up options like being able to grow their 3D leagues (where shooters aim at animal-shaped objects, rather than at a paper target).
“That would be huge for hunters,” said Anderson, who says 3D leagues in the Fargo-Moorhead area are growing tremendously. “We had one this last summer, and it was very successful.”
Anderson says members would be given card-key access to the facility so that people can go in and out as they please to practice.
And indoor facility would tap into a lot of potential for the club to grow, says Anderson, who puts on community education classes for youth archery in the summertime.
“And they fill up faster than we can schedule them,” he said, adding that he gets requests for youth instruction all the time. The local 4-H currently uses the archery range every week for practice, bringing in up to 25 kids every Sunday. A new facility, he says would greatly benefit those kids as well.
“And I know they have kids coming from other counties because we have the largest 4-H program, and archery shooting is always full,” said Anderson, who says members would love to be able to start up some after-school programs for students who aren’t into the traditional sports.
“There are Junior Olympic things for teenagers that’s pretty big in the states, so if we could get a chapter started here for those kids who aren’t football or basketball kids, it gives them something else to strive for,” said Anderson.
Despite the need though, club members aren’t yet sure how they are going to raise the funds to build this facility. The non-profit group may be able to access some grants, but they are hoping to be able to fundraise and get some local business sponsors to help make the dream a reality.
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“Once it’s built, we’ll have a lot of wall space for advertising too, just like they do at the hockey arena,” said Anderson, who estimates the cost to be somewhere around $250,000.
If all goes as planned and the money is raised, the goal is to break ground on the facility in the spring.
Open House
As members get the ball rolling on their dreams for an indoor facility, they are also rolling up their sleeves for a big open house out at the club’s shooting range.
The event is set for Saturday, Sept. 12 from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. and is open to the public.
“It’s a good chance for people who haven’t tried archery before to come out and give it a try,” said Anderson, who says they’ll have some youth bows out there for kids to try.
“We’ll have a 3D course set up for the hunters to run through, and we’ll have concessions available, so if people want to come out and chat and see what we’re about, we’ll have technicians there to help with bow set ups or if there or there are questions people have, we’ll have guys out there helping,” said Anderson, who says they’ll also have the newest, coolest equipment out there for people to check out.
To get to the club, go east on Highway 34, take a right onto Otto Zeck Road, then curl left at the end of the road and look for the sign.
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Yearly memberships are $50 per person or $60 per family. For more information, find them on facebook at Heart of Lakes Bowhunters or email Bruce Anderson at shooter56501@yahoo.com .
