For the Petty family of Tipton, Okla., their shooting range started as a
dream. Greg and Chris Petty's two youngest sons, Daniel and Geoffrey,
were interested in shooting. To help the youngsters get more involved in
safe shooting, the Oklahoma couple took an instructor's course through
the Oklahoma 4-H program. This began the Tillman County Shooting Sports
program for 4-H'ers.
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"My dad, G.W. Petty, helped me lay out and pour all of the cement needed for the sidewalks for both the trap and skeet fields," Greg says. "That summer Dad built the high house and low house for the skeet range, and we moved them to the new range site. Later that summer he drew the plans for a small clubhouse and bathroom and poured the cement. During one weekend we put up all of the metal roofing and siding on the buildings and porch, with help from family and friends."
Building the range was no small task. Over the next several months the Petty family, along with other volunteers, worked every weekend and many weeknights to finish the inside work on the clubhouse while planting grass and mowing the trap and skeet fields.
The Pettys installed a sprinkler system to help water both fields, and they laid sod around the clubhouse. They also created a parking lot and brought in a storage building for mowers, clay targets and ammunition. With the help of the local rural electric company, lights were set in place so the kids would be able to practice shooting after dark.
The range is set up for 12.-, 20-, 28-, and .410-gauge shotguns. In addition to regulation trap and skeet, the range offers a wobble trap complete with a stand made by Geoffrey Petty. He also used his welding skills to build the gate and entrance to the range.
Greg is quick to point out that from beginning to end this project has been a family affair.
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The range is open to the public on Sunday afternoons and on Tuesday and Thursday evenings. Greg says the clubhouse has been a great bonus to the range. Since the fall of 2003 they had one 4-H shooting instructor's course, two Junior Class Turkey Shoots and a shoot for the Western Farmers Electric Cooperative. They also have booked two class reunions, are hosting an FFA Fun Day and are holding other turkey shoots.
According to Greg, the work is not over. They plan to build some scoring chairs, plant trees, do more landscaping at the gate and install a five-stand shooting-clays field.
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The range has done an outstanding job of attracting both 4-H and FFA youngsters to the sport of shooting. The Petty family also has started a women's shooting program, so now the ladies are joining in the fun. And the residents of Tillman have a safe place where they can enjoy clay target games. For these reasons, the Tillman County Shooting Sports range has been named the 2004 winner of the Small Shooting Range Development Award sponsored by Beretta USA.
"I think we have successfully achieved our goal of supplying a safe, fun place for families to spend time together that we can be proud of," says Greg Petty.