Shooting Sports is the largest and fastest growing 4-H Club in Laurel County.  For several years, the Laurel County Sharpshooters utilized the Laurel County Fish and Game Club shooting range as their instruction and practice area.  As the Game Club membership diminished, its facility began to run down and was in an increasing state of disrepair until it eventually closed in 2018.  Unless a new practice range could be arranged, the Sharpshooters program would be unable to continue.

To address the need for a new range, Extension agents and volunteers contacted the Laurel County Cattlemen’s Association and the Laurel County Fiscal Court to request the use of property adjacent to the WTA Marketing Alliance for instruction and practice.  The property is located in an area that would be safe for the students to practice, but was overgrown with trees and brush.  The Cattleman and the Fiscal Court members agreed to clear a small area at the facility for the Sharpshooters to use.  I assisted the crews with clearing the area, conducting soil testing, applying soil amendments and reseeding.

During the 2018 and 2020 season, certified shooting sports coaches and program leaders transported equipment and turned the small field into a functioning practice range for archery, riflery and trap shooting.  This process required a host of volunteers to commit several hours on two Saturdays of each month to pick up, set up and return the equipment.   Realizing the need for a permanent range that would meet facility regulations and provide space for equipment storage, the Extension agents began to research and develop a plan.

A review of the specific requirements for a shooting sports range indicated that the trap house and trap range were the most complicated.  Land preparation and grade work, a trap house to secure the trap thrower, and the addition of electric would be required.  During a farm visit to Todd Brock, who is a local Extension volunteer, Cattleman member, and excavation company owner, our horticulture agent mentioned that we were overseeing the Shooting Sports club in the absence of a 4-H agent and that we needed help with interpreting the schematics for a trap range.  He asked that we provide him with a copy of the diagrams.  He contacted us shortly thereafter and offered to donate his services for the land preparation and to pay for the supplies to install a trap range and supply building.  In return, he merely asked that the facility be named in honor of his father, Bill Brock.   The offer and request were relayed to the Laurel County Cattleman, Laurel County Fiscal Court, and the Laurel 4-H Council and all agreed to the generous offer and the facility dedication.

I am currently working closely with Todd Brock to plan and implement the excavation and construction the project.   Additionally, I am recruiting sponsors for the funding and construction of trap houses at the facility. With the help of these dedicated volunteer leaders and community organizations, the range is expected to be available in Spring 2022 for the Sharpshooters’ next practice and competition season.