Ready ... aim ... fire

Clay-shooting park soon to open in Chester

By Charles D. Perry - Charles D. Perry

CHESTER -- When Rog Rodgers took to the woods with his father and uncle as a boy, they taught him to hunt, but they didn't teach him the correct way to shoot.

Now, the Richburg shotgun and hunter safety instructor says he'll provide that proper, safe training at what will be the only sporting clay facility in Chester County.

"That's what we're gonna do," said Rodgers, 57, who plans to open 100-acre DeerRun Sporting Clay Club near S.C. 901 in the eastern part of the county.

Rodgers and business partner Dean Brady recently received approval for the project from the Chester County Zoning Board of Appeals. Their goal is to open the shotguns-only club this summer, just in time for dove season.

DeerRun is the only sporting clay course in Chester County, said Mack Paul, the county's planning director. Rodgers said the closest in-state course he knows of that resembles his plan is in the Spartanburg area.

Rodgers' club will feature various automatic machines spewing clay targets that will be the object of hunters' blasts. The targets simulate hunting situations: Rabbits dashing through a field, ducks approaching a pond or quail being flushed into the air.

Like a day at the golf course, a morning at the sporting clay club begins with some pre-game activities.

Instead of a trip to the putting green, hunters usually practice at a "5-stand," then use a "wobble machine." Both terms are shooter-speak for specific types of warm-up firing sessions.

Like playing the back nine, shooters at a sporting clay course walk or drive to each firing station. Rodgers' club will have 12 stations, and shooters can fire 100 times over the course.

The club also will hold tournaments, fundraisers and shooting lessons, among other offerings. Shooting competitions are particularly appreciated by people who can't play intense physical sports such as football, Rodgers said.

"Anybody can shoot a shotgun," he said.

For 20 years, Rodgers said he's designed and managed sporting clay facilities in North Carolina, South Carolina and Georgia. A place such as DeerRun is "very much needed in this area," he said.

Many people move here from Northern states where sporting clay sites are more popular, Rodgers said. These folks look for somewhere to shoot locally but can't find a place.

Along with filling that need, Rodgers said, he also hopes to attract younger people to hunting.

The state Department of Natural Resources has seen a steady decline in the number of hunting licenses sold over the past 10 years. Although last year's sales were up 1,609 from 2006, they were 8,205 below 2003 figures.

SCDNR spokesman Mike Willis said there are various reasons for lower license sales, including a drop in the number of young hunters.

"Young people just aren't getting outside," Willis said. "They're just not as connected to the outside as their elders are. And for lots of reasons. ... They're spending a lot more time indoors in front of the television, in front of the video games, in front of the computer."

Another reason fewer people are hunting is because so much open land has been developed, Willis said.

"The opportunities just don't exist like they did 20, 30 years ago," he said. "Opportunity is a big part of the problem."

Even though hunting license numbers are down, Willis said a sporting clay range could be successful if enough people know about it.

"If it's marketed properly, I think he could do real well with it," Willis said. "Just get the word out. ... What we do find is when people are given the opportunity, they will make the time to do it."

As for Rodgers, he's ready to break ground next month. He's spent the past eight years looking for a place for this project, and he said the local buzz about the club is positive.

"Everybody's all excited about it," he said. "Ready to go."