DALMATIA —
Since opening ceremonies 19 months ago, the Keystone Shooting Park, located adjacent to Martz’s Gap View Hunting Preserve, has seen rapid growth.
“We consistently have athletes traveling up to five hours each way on the weekends in order to train at KSP” said Keystone Shooting Park President and range manager Allen Chubb. “In fact, we have both college and high school aged athletes regularly traveling to train here from as far away as Massachusetts.”
The Keystone Shooting Park is hailed as the world’s only fully automated Olympic shotgun sports complex in the world. The innovative electronically run facility allows shooters of all skill levels to practice and compete year-round on their own schedules without needed extra manpower to run the trap machines.
“Severe weather is the only door closer for us” said Chubb. “Our patrons love the flexibility of being able to enjoy the range at a time of their choosing without having to worry about if the range will be open or not.”
Last winter, the Keystone Shooting Park received the “Certified Training Center” designation from USA Shooting. Also, Keystone Shooting Park has been able to secure permanent corporate sponsorships from some of the major arms and ammunition manufacturers in the industry. Manufacturers such as Perazzi (Italy) and Kreighoff (Germany) as well as ammunition manufacturers like Fiocchi (Italy) and Baschieri & Pellagri (Italy) have made commitments to the Keystone Shooting Park. Recently, facility officials have signed an agreement with arms manufacturer Beretta USA, which is a subsidiary of the Beretta company of Gardone Val Trompia, Italy.
Plus, the Keystone Shooting Park is close to unveiling its newest venture.
“We’re nearing operational status of our new Olympic skeet field,” Chubb said. “We’ll now have all three Olympic shotgun disciplines to offer our athletes so they will be able to choose either Trap, Double Trap or Skeet as their sport of choice.”
Local shooters have started to take notice to the Keystone Shooting Park’s offerings.
“In the last year I’ve taken on training athletes as young as 10 years old with Olympic dreams in their head and hearts,” Chubb said. “It’s really rewarding to see their faces light up when they shoot a good round and even more so when they meet and engage in a lengthy conversation with one of the U.S. Team members or even an Olympian. That’s like pumping pure sunshine into their veins.”
Vincent Hancock, 2008 and 2012 Olympic Gold Medalist in Men’s Skeet, will be hosting a clinic at the facility on April 25-26.
“We’re very pleased to bring Vinny and Craig to KSP to provide our patrons and area residents the opportunity to take instruction from such a talent,” Chubb said. “Vinny is both a World and Olympic champion and he’s a very unique and highly qualified world class instructor as well.”
The park’s parent organization, Chubb International Shooting Sports, Inc. has been granted a 501C3 tax status by the United States Internal Revenue Service. All donations to are tax deductible and 100 percent of all donated monies go to build additional infrastructure and support their youth programs.
n For more on the Keystone Shooting Park, including a list of upcoming events, visit www.keystoneshootingpark.com.
Outdoors
Keystone Shooting Park continues to grow
- Outdoors
-
-
No child left indoors: Let's take a hike!
One of the best ways to make sure that no child is left indoors is by making hiking your family’s past-time. I can tell you that, based on four decades of experience from being a Scouting leader, kids love to hike.
-
Shots from the Hip: Scouts in crosshairs
According to Miriam-Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary’s Eleventh Edition, the word “vilify” means “to lower in estimation or importance ... to utter slanderous and abusive statements against.”
-
Ken Maurer column: Early trout options
Over the past several years, we have had two opening days of trout in Pennsylvania. It works out quite well, as the early season is for 18 southeastern counties, where some of the streams are marginal at best. Even the better streams there warm up far faster than the mountain streams in the northern tier.
-
Don Steese column: Merged savings
Both the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission and the Pennsylvania Game Commission have been having financial issues in recent years.
-
Bob Garrett's Talking Points: Mentored Youth Trout Day lures 2,000 anglers
Caring for Communities kicks off in April
-
Shots from the Hip: Recalling a great outdoorsman
A steady stream of tears soaked the lower half of the steering wheel and dripped onto the rubber floor mat below — sounding like raindrops hitting a canvas tent flap.
-
Don Steese column: Flushing count shows success
For a lot of hunters my age, pheasants were what originally got us hooked on the sport.
-
Ken Maurer Column: The long and the short of it
Since trout season is the next "big" thing for most outdoorsmen, there is much to think about when it comes to gear.
-
Bob Garrett's Talking Points: R.B. Winter events heat up as winter winds down
Annual Trout Unlimited banquet to feature Okorn
-
Outdoors: State's first cases of CWD confirmed
Three deer harvested in south-central counties
- More Outdoors Headlines
-
No child left indoors: Let's take a hike!
