Bend Trap Club

I recently visited the Bend Trap Club in central Oregon. The new facility was completed early last year and stands as a tribute to perseverance and team work. As much as I travel and shoot I have not seen a club built with as much attention to detail and long term efficiency. The new board under the direction of Bill Grafton, looked at all the best practices of clubs all over and implemented them at Bend. The result is happy shooters and a healthy bottom line.

Each time a case of targets is handled it can cause up to 1% breakage. Therefore minimizing the number and intensity of that handling is important. We all know that target breakage affects the bottom line. Shooters don’t like to get no-birds. A broken target turns into 4. The shooter gets a broken target; the debris breaks the next one or two, than he asks to clear the machine. Shooter frustration can make the difference in shooting one round or two. If a club gets a reputation for broken targets their registered shoot attendance is affected. Bend recognized the importance of target handling at the design stage. The entry road is smooth with no harsh corners or inclines. It is easy for a truck to get in. A road of the same quality runs down the trap line in front of the houses to offload targets directly into the trap houses. The houses are designed with roofs that slide on tracks so that loaders can stand upright while they walk down full steps. They are made of high density concrete that doesn’t allow moisture to enter. Each house holds up to 2 1/2 pallets of targets. Beside the clubhouse they have a large warehouse with heavy duty storage racks. Palletized targets are stored up and away from the work area. The floor and paths are poured with 6 inch concrete to accommodate a forklift with a full pallet of targets. The bay doors are tall enough so access is easy.

Targets are thrown from Pat traps on all 10 fields. Old machines were sold off for consistency. Using all the same machines allows for minimal part supplies and maintenance. The directors are trained how to set targets and can easily attend to any field. To make target setting even easier each field has a permanent hoop hinged and concreted in front of each house. All fields are set without variation.

The fields are all concrete with no grass in between posts. This makes lawn maintenance much faster. With Canterbury’s new wireless voice release systems there are no wires to mow around or damage. The concrete is stained to compliment the concrete clubhouse and trap houses; however the main purpose is to cut down on glare. Yes, they even though of that. Get use to it, I’m just getting started. The practice field has a fold down patterning board. It’s positioned so that a shooter can stand at a desired yardage and test his gun. During a shoot it folds down out of sight. Each field has a shade structure with a picnic table positioned at an optimal distance from the shooters. There is even a water spicit at each field to keep everything clean and to fill coolers.

Over looking the fields is an incredibly large covered patio. The club has a relatively small membership compared to the number of registered shooters that would attend an event. They decided to keep the climate controlled portion of the clubhouse geared to the membership while the patio can accommodate many more without burning electricity.

If I was forced at gunpoint to say something bad about this club (and that is what it would take) I would say they are a little far from town. It’s about 24 miles from Bend although I maintained full cell service the whole way and at the club. In order to get a large piece of property with water and electricity this is where they needed to be. They recognize the drive as a drawback, as pretty as it is, so a full commercial kitchen was added to the plan. Members can comfortably spend a day at the club without hunger pains. During a major event shooters want to spend more than a day so RV sights were built with electricity and water. Each pedestal located between spaces has a 50/30/20 amp supply. They even have vendor spots with the same amenities. The bathrooms were built with multiple shower stalls to make campers and workers comfortable.

The remote location of the club brought concern about vandalism. So the board placed a caretaker home between the entrance and the club. All trap houses, entrances and maintenance areas are locked down and alarmed. Even this wasn’t enough for the forward thinking board members. They decided to eliminate the outside air handlers for the heating and air conditioning. They went with a geothermal unit. Instead of using an outside air exchange the system utilizes about 12,000 feet of underground piping. It is not only theft proof; it is incredibly more efficient and reliable. The clubhouse’s design and construction makes climate control easy. It is made of prefabricated cement and foam walls capped by a lifetime metal roofing system. It’s hard to see the roof because it is covered by solar panels that create enough electricity that the power company buys it back at times. The abundance of inexpensive electricity allows the club to pump water from their well to irrigate a beautiful lawn. The lawn controls the dust. Are you seeing a pattern here?

I can’t say enough about the board members and their ability to work together for the common good. A few years ago no one would have bet there would be a club in Bend, let alone a state of the art facility. My compliments to all involved and if they haven’t already done it, I recommend they pat each other on the back for a job well done. The club recently added a skeet field and has plans to put in a 5-stand and lights.

Even without the club Bend would be a sportsman’s paradise. The area is surrounded with world class trout fishing, rock climbing and hunting. There are so many festivals and activities that virtually every weekend has something going on. Before leaving I met with Central Oregon Sporting Clays who are in the process of relocating to an incredible ranch where they will include bird hunting in the fun. I’m sure they will offer special packages for visiting shooters.