By Lori Luckenbaugh
The sign read “West End Sportsmen Club.” The arrow pointed to the left.
I was at the right place.
I turned and drove up the small lane and parked the truck. There were a few other trucks and cars parked in the small parking lot in rural Snyder County. Turkey shooters, I was guessing.
I got out of the truck and had a look around. I saw men and women milling around with guns in their arms or standing in small groups talking.
Yet, not a single turkey was in sight. Thinking to myself that the turkeys were possibly in a pen in back and were waiting to be turned loose, I decided my best course of action was to head into the clubhouse and start asking questions.
Once inside, I walked up to a woman who was taking money and giving out numbers. I identified myself and the reason I was there, to see a turkey shoot. She smiled at me and said her name was Heather and that she would direct me to the people who could help me out.
“Where are the turkeys?” I asked. She looked at me a little funny and said they were in the freezer. A bit miffed, I walked over to the kitchen and met up with the president, Barry Kramer, and the treasure-secretary, Judy Pheasant.
Barry and Judy held a wealth of information and readily shared it with me. I quickly realized that no live turkeys are ever shot at a turkey shoot, but are awarded (frozen) as first prizes to the 14 best round-winners. There are 14 second prizes, which is a 10-pound bag of potatoes, and 14 third prizes of a dozen eggs. Shooters can win more than one prize. I saw a few leaving with all three prizes, some with two, and many with one. These prizes are awarded every week.
Shoots are held every week from the first Sunday after Bean Soup until the Sunday before Thanksgiving at 1 p.m. They also have a special one-day ham shoot the Sunday before Easter, in which the first prize is an 11- to 12-pound ham.
Not all shoots are for turkeys, either. Turkeys are awarded for four weeks as first prize. Then for three weeks, five pounds of hamburger patties are awarded as first prize, and the following three weeks, a five- to six-pound ham is first prize.
There are 15 rounds. Entry fee is $15 for both members and non-members. Any age can shoot, but children under 12 must be accompanied by an adult. The club provides the shells for whatever shotgun you are using.
Twenty-gauge, 16-gauge, and 12-gauge are the guns that are permitted to be used. With the club providing ammunition for the rounds, the participants can be assured that there is no cheating by heavy loads.
Every participant is given 15 shotgun shells — one for each round — and a number. They then proceed to shoot at a 3-by-3-inch card from 30 yards away, which has the round number and the participant number marked on the back and are attached to a line of target backstops.
Each participant shoots at the card that matches the number they are given. The 3-by-3 cards are then removed after each round and taken into the clubhouse to be judged for first-, second- and third-best shots.
The judges never know the name of the person matching the number; winners are called by number, not by name. There were 50 entries on this day, so that was 50 cards to be judged after each round, which amounts to 750 cards.
The last round is called the money round, the winner of which receives half of the number of shooters in cash. The money round was won by Colby Kuhn, of Selinsgrove. He left with $25, since they had 50 entries. The amount varies from week to week and depends on the number of entries.
They also offer a 50-50 round, in which a large piece of white card stock cardboard, a “splatter board,” is marked off in a grid and you buy a spot on the grid for 50 cents. You can buy more than one, write your name in the square, and hope that your spot has the hole closest to the center of the X marked in it. One shot is fired into the splatter board and then judged.
The winner was Herb Fisher, of McClure, who left with $21.50 in his pocket. He said, “It paid for my entry fee, and I have a little to jingle in my pocket for the ride home.”
I had a chance to walk around and talk to quite a few people before during and after the shoot. Wonderful people; friendly, helpful and kind. Made me feel welcome the instant I stepped from the truck.
One of the first people I was able to pin down and ask questions was Kim Peterson, from McClure. I asked him why he comes to the shoots and how long he has been coming to them. He stated that he had been coming to them for about 10 years, that he liked winning prizes and honing his shooting skills, because he is an avid hunter. But most of all, he came for the fun, fellowship and to support the club.
This seemed to be the general consensus by all the people I talked to. I spoke to Jack Pheasant, of McClure, who has been coming to the shoots about 20 years. When asked why, he replied, “For the fun of it, to see friends, support the club, and it is a good way to spend a Sunday afternoon.”
There were two female shooters in attendance. Danelle Hartranft, of McClure, who is due in December to give birth to a baby girl; and Billie Hockenberry, also of McClure.
Danelle has only been attending for the last four weeks, but became hooked after the first shoot in which she won a ham. Billie comes with her husband, Mike, and just likes to spend the day visiting, shooting and having fun.
Upon talking to Greg Wright, of McClure, who is in charge of the trap shoot league, I learned that the sportsman’s club also hosts trap shooting starting the second Sunday in January. They alternate between West End Sportsmen Club one Sunday and the Kreamer Sportsmen Club. It’s tradition, he says.
There were people from Selinsgrove, McClure, Beaver Springs, Beavertown and all sites in between. Rich Hockenberry traveled over the mountain from New Lancaster Valley with his daughter, Ayla, to attend this hunt. He says “It’s just for fun and something to do.”
