Hunt for Clay
Dallas-area skeet shooting clubs gain in popularity

Skeet shooting was not invented in Texas, but you wouldn't know it by the number of Texans that love the sport.
Designed to simulate a flock of startled birds in the wild, skeet shooting is a sport where shooters, using shotguns, try to hit clay targets fired remotely at high speeds, from several stations and from a variety of angles. In Dallas, men, women and children who are at least 17 are flocking to one of several public and private ranges that ring the city.
One of the most popular is the 467-acre Elm Fork Shooting Sports facility. Operated by Wendy and Scott Robertson, Elm Fork offers two sporting clays courses, skeet, trap and five-stand sporting clays as well as rifle and pistol ranges.
There is also a five-station dove course with 50 targets, along with dove shooting clinics. Like most ranges, Elm Fork rents guns, if you don't have your own, and sells 25 targets for about $9. For beginners there is a two-hour shotgun course, offered usually on Saturday afternoons, that costs $80.
Another popular skeet shooting destination, DFW Gun Range, is undergoing extensive renovations. The pro shop is expected to open on August 1 and the shooting range after that.
The Dallas Gun Club, a members only gun club, was named the All-Around Club of the Year in 2011 and 2012 by the National Skeet Shooting Association and the National Sporting Clays Association. The club offers skeet, trap, sporting clays, helice and a rifle/pistol range.
At Garland Public Shooting Range, admission is $15 per day and includes the use of post-mounted, manually-operated throwers that fire the clay about 40 yards. Five throwers are available and allow for single or double target shooting. Shooters can bring their own clays or buy a box of 90 for $11. Guns are rented for $15 per gun.
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