The club has been at its present site for about 40 years. We are adjacent to the village of McFarland and have close to 200 members. We are presently accepting new members so if you are interested please stop out. If the gate is open you are welcome to check out the club grounds and facilities.
If not open give a call at: 608-838-8517 and leave a message.
The club meets once a month on the first Monday at 7:30PM.
The club has two trap ranges, a skeet range and an archery range. There is also a range f for muzzleloaders only.
The Hope Rod and Gun Club is a member of the McFarland Chamber of Commerce.
2. Intoxicated persons will be asked to leave the range.
3. Firearms must be loaded at the muzzle and have a percussion or flintlock mechanism. Cap and ball revolvers and flint and percussion pistols are allowed.
4.Only paper targets are allowed and must be posted on the target holder at the base of the earthen backstop.
5. Move the shooting benches closer if you shoot closer. Move the benches back to the 75 yard line when finished.
6.If there are people waiting to shoot, either share the range or limit time to 45 minutes.
7.No cartridge firearms allowed unless approved by the board of directors or Hunter's Safety Classes.
8. No smoking on the range. Black powder is extremely explosive so use care when loading and cover all containers between loads. Step away from the loading benches when snapping caps or working on flintlocks. One spark can set off a can of powder,causing serious burns.
If you have to smoke, walk off the range to do so.
9. It is highly recommended to wear safety glasses or some similiar protection and ear protection while shooting a muzzleloader. Your eyes and ears are your portal to the world, take care of them.
10. Always, remember and practice the four rules of firearm safety.
A. Treat every firearm as if it is loaded.
B. Be sure of your target and what is beyond it.
C. Always point the muzzle in a safe direction.
D. Keep your finger off the trigger until you are ready to fire.
During the early days of shooting in England, live pigeons were used as targets. They were released from cages, called traps. Today, the modern clay targets are still called "pigeons" and the contraption that launches them is still called a "trap". This sport came to the American continent in the 1800's with one of the first contests being held in 1831 at the Sportsmen's Club in Cincinnati, OH, They used passenger pigeons & sparrows as targets as these birds were quite abundant. During the Civil War, the practice of using live birds was replaced by the use of man made targets. These early targets varied from metal ones with rotating wings to the more popular glass ball filled with feathers. They were usually launched by catapult type traps.
