Shotgun
Trap Shoot
Northstar Shooting Sports Club has two regulation trap shooting ranges. Our ranges are open to both members and nonmembers.
For those who like to shoot regularly, during the spring months teams are formed to compete against others in the area for 10 weeks during the summer months.
Summer Leagues
League signup has begun. Team Registration is $60. Season begins Thursday June 10, 2021 (3-7pm). Depending upon amount of teams registered, we may add second day for league. If you miss the first week you can catch up the second week. After the second week, you can only shoot ahead. 10 rounds up to 10 weeks. You can register your team when you come to the club for a practice round, or give us a call.
If you have questions, or want more information call: Bill O’Neill at 218-547-2611, or the club at 218-888-6701.
Trap Shooting Rates
Member
$7.00
Member w/prepaid 10 round shooting card
$6.00
Non-member*
$10.00
Brief History Of Trap Shooting In The USA
The first formal trap shoot took place in Cincinnati, Ohio in 1831, using live birds. With the advent of glass ball targets, and eventually clay disc targets, the sport began to take on the popular form of the game known today as Trap.
American Trap uses a single target launcher, or trap, which is located below ground in a trap house. This trap oscillates left to right and back, launching a single clay target, or bird. American trap has a field with 5 shooting positions. Singles Trap features shots taken from each of the shooting positions 16 yards behind the trap house.
The shooters position themselves on one of the 5 shooting positions, or stations. Each shooter shoots five shots from his current station, then the squad rotates to the next station. Each shooters shoots five shots from five stations. Handicap Trap is the same game with shooters moving back to varying distances from the trap house.
The maximum distance is 27 yards. Doubles Trap is shot from 16 yards, with the distinction being in the way the targets are presented. In Doubles Trap, the targets are thrown two at a time, and the trap does not oscillate. So each of the pairs of targets are uniform in trajectory.
Skeet Shooting
100 Round Mini Leagues
One Weekend available per Month
$20 per weekend (members)
$25 per weekend (non-members)
May 22-23, June19-20, July 17-18,
August 7-8, September 11-12 Shoot Saturday or Sunday. Shooters can shoot all 100 on one day or split between two days. High score winner receives entry into another weekend Skeet Mini League and a hat. Shooters registered for all five weekends will be entered for overall high score. Overall high score receives free punch card and a patch.
Skeet Shooting Rates
Member
$7.00
Member w/prepaid 10 round shooting card
$6.00
Non-member*
$10.00
Brief History Of Skeet Shooting In The USA
The game of Skeet came a few years after trap shooting. It was invented in Massachusetts in 1920, by a man hoping to improve his wing shooting abilities. There have been many refinements to the game of Skeet since that time. Typically American Skeet is the variety played in the United States.
A skeet field has 8 shooting positions and two traps. The targets are thrown from the "High House" on the left side of the field, and from the "Low House" on the right side of the field. These "houses " are simply structures that hold the traps, or target launchers. The targets have a distinct flight path. In Skeet, only one shooter holds the shooting position at a time. Each shooters shoots a sequence of birds from 8 stations from a "high house" and a "low house."
Skeet also has a format where different gauge shotguns are used. Using 12 gauge, 20 gauge, 28 gauge and .410 bore guns lends a great deal of variety to the game.
Sporting Clays
Northstar Shooting Sports Club has a newly designed sporting clays course. This course has a very pleasant 1/2 mile walk that is wooded and partially open field.
We are pleased to announce the option of a shooting a short course for our guests. A variety of different targets are presented to each shooter, leading to different degrees of difficulty.
League Signup available at the club 218-888-6701.
Shooting Rates For Sporting Clays
Member / Rates for one round (50 Bird Course)
$24.00
Non-member / Rates for one round (50 Bird Course)
$30.00
Member / Rates for one round (25 Bird Course)
$12.00
Non-member / Rates for one round (25 Bird Course)
$15.00
Brief History Of Sporting Clays In The USA
While Sporting Clays has its roots in Trap and Skeet, it is a completely different game with its own set of rules. The game is played over a course which may feature varying terrain with several different target presentations from different locations with varying flight paths. While Sporting Clays was originally designed to simulate live game scenarios, it has evolved into a sport all its own.
The game is played on a course, made up of stations. Each station features a shooting stand for the participant to shoot from. Upon the shooter's call, targets are released. Targets can be thrown as single targets, simultaneous pairs, or report pairs where the second target is launched upon the report of the shot at the first target.
Unlike Trap and Skeet, there are a variety of specialty targets in Sporting Clays. These include 90mm MIDI targets, 60mm MINI targets, rabbits that roll and bounce on edge, battues that arc, and rockets which are heavy and maintain speed. In addition the presentation of the targets vary, may be thrown crossing from one side to the other, quartering away, quartering in, inbound, outbound, overhead, underfoot, or straight up in the air. It is the variety of targets, target presentations, course layouts and terrain that many find so enjoyable about Sporting Clays.