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New Indoor Target Shooting League Preparing for First Season

By Beacon Staff

Registration is open for an indoor target shooting league that is about to begin its first season.

The inaugural winter bullseye season kicks off Jan. 15 and will feature weekly competitions on Tuesday nights inside the shooting range at Northwest Shooter at 32 Western Village Lane in Columbia Falls.

The league will be divided into teams of four members, and each member will take turns shooting targets with .22 caliber and center-fire pistols. Competition begins at 6 p.m. The league is open to all skill levels and anyone over 18 years old. Register at Northwest Shooter or by calling 406-892-0377. Individuals without a full team will be placed with groups that have openings.

The catalyst behind the project hopes to bring together sportsmen and target shooting enthusiasts from around the valley for a fun, competitive pastime.

“When you’re in a league like this it makes you get out of the house and do what you’d rather be doing,” said Rick Wolke. “There’s also camaraderie and shared common interests in leagues. It seems like everybody we’ve talked to about it is excited. There’s a lot of interest.”

Wolke said this would be the valley’s only competitive pistol shooting league. The season would run through March 5. Cash prizes will be awarded at the conclusion of eight weeks for top shooters and most improved team members. Cost is $120 per shooter and includes the range fee and scored targets and goes into the prize fund. Participants must provide their own pistols and ammunition.

Each week, team members will shoot targets at different distances — four, six, eight, 10 and 12 yards away — using 25 rounds of .22 caliber and 25 rounds of center-fire pistols. Each shooter will be scored and the top three tallies on each team will be combined for a team score. Each member must be scored into the team total at least once during the season.

“We went with a format that was least restrictive and most inclusive,” Wolke said. “We want to include everybody who wants to participate.”

The league format is also designed so that shooters can easily gauge their improvement during the season.

“We will have awards for the top placement teams but what we really are focused on is the improvement throughout the course of each individual shooter,” Wolke said. “Our most improved shooter of the entire league will be rewarded at least as well as the top place finishers.”

Wolke hopes the upstart league will eventually expand with four seasons and different formats.

The league’s initial sponsors are Sportsman & Ski Haus, Commercial Machine Services and Landcastle Construction.

For more information contact Wolke at 406-552-3183.