Southwest Ohio club has something for every shooter

I've been shooting at Clinton County Farmers and Sportsmen Association (CCF&SA) occasionally for over twenty years. Every trip has been a pleasurable experience even if my scores were not as good as hoped. The friendly atmosphere of the organization was re-enforced when I visited the annual club open house.

Mike Adams, who is the current President CCF&SA, explains, "Good things are happening at our club. We have a lot of shooting sports including IDPA, 3 gun competition, trap, skeet, and 5-stand sporting clays. Many events are open to the public. We offer rifle and pistol ranges plus a dedicated cowboy action range. We have an active archery group with leagues. Our outdoor 3D archery tournaments average a hundred shooters for each match spanning nine tournaments from January to September. The indoor archery season consisted of a twelve week league."

However, for Adams and many of the club members the youth programs are most important. He comments, "The thing that gets us really excited is our youth programs. We have the 4-H Shooting Sports which is really active. We also have an in house developed .30-06 high-power youth program. We support Project Appleseed which teaching our American heritage, history and rifle marksmanship skills. There is a youth shotgun camp."

The club website describes the club: Our efforts have ensured better conditions for the Ohio hunter and fisherman to pursue their hobby in harmony with balancing our environment and nature. As an educational organization, many have attended our hunters education as well as various firearms safety and concealed carry classes making us safe in the field and in our home. We are a family-friendly organization, with educational programs appropriate for youth.

The clubhouse was all set up with various tables to showcase all the different shooting events and possibilities hosted at the club. Groups were giving tours of the facility and walk-through of how the various shooting events function so that any newcomers could get a feel for the activity. I looked around the clubhouse and grounds finding more excited shooters willing to explain their particular area of interest in more detail. Everywhere I looked I saw families, ladies and youth involved in the activities. This is great for the club and shows the broad base of shooter support in southwestern Ohio.

The club currently has almost 1000 members but does not have any waiting list. A number of visitors at the open house event were getting membership applications. The club requirements state that membership is open to US citizens of suitable character and interests of the club. The annual membership prices is a bargain at $65. Adams adds, "We operate with volunteer labor and are blessed with a large corps of volunteers. Sometimes we have to hire a contractor to do some of the heavy lifting. We have equipment for grounds management. We are trying to accommodate some upgrades with covered ranges and other improvements."

In addition to the shooting sports CCF&SA is a conservation club. Adams explains, "We are a shooting club of Second Amendment supporters with an emphasis on education. However, we are first, and foremost, a conservation organization. We have about 90 acres to manage. We have a forest management plan and two ponds also. We are doing invasive species management with the honeysuckle and multi-floral rose being a special problem. If we can get control of those then I think we can move to the enhancement phase of our plans."

He concludes, "There are ranges closer to where I live. I chose to come to CCF&SA for several reasons. The membership is friendly, I've got the facilities here I want to use. I have a club with facilities that support the sports I like to shoot. It's important to support the training and educational side of firearms ownership with things like the Hunter Education program and concealed carry license training. It's important to have a club that reaches out to the community in support of all the disciplines of the shooting sports."

There are a lot of good conservation, shooting and sportsmen clubs across Ohio. They have some common features of good people, good sportsmanship and doing the right thing. I remember learning to shoot skeet at CCF&SA many years ago. That same spirit exists today at the club with a greatly expanded range of shooting opportunities and types of firearms. While it would be nearly impossible to participate in all of the events, there is something here for every shooter. Anyone looking for a great club in southwest Ohio will do well to check out CCF&SA. Information may be found online at www.ccfsa.com.

Outdoor writer and hunter education instructor Larry S. Moore is a long-time volunteer leader for Buckeye Firearms Foundation and winner of the 2005 USSA Patriot Award, the 2007 League of Ohio Sportsmen/Ohio Wildlife Federation Hunter Educator of the Year and the 2010 National Wild Turkey Federation/ Women in the Outdoors Hunter Education Instructor of the Year.