Spirit of Cooperation Makes Sporting Clays Range a Reality

By DAVID RAINER

In an era when the majority of municipalities nationwide are restricting gun rights, Fort Payne stands out as the exception.

 When a group of shotgun enthusiasts started searching for acreage to build a sporting clays range, the only feasible spot available happened to be inside the Fort Payne city limits.

Instead of getting the cold shoulder from city and county officials, Fort Payne and DeKalb County decided to work with the group that formed Northeast Alabama Sporting Clays and eliminate any obstacles to the shooting facility. The main obstacle was a Fort Payne city ordinance that had to be amended.

“The ordinance basically said you cannot shoot firearms within the corporate limits, so we changed the ordinance to make an exception for a sporting clays club,” explained Fort Payne Mayor Bill Jordan. “It’s gone well. We haven’t had any complaints from the surrounding neighborhoods. It’s something that’s positive and the city is proud to be a part of it. Northeast Alabama Sporting Clays is something for our citizens and other people to enjoy for years to come.
Of course, the City Council and Jordan didn’t vote for the change without considering the consequences.

We came down and talked to the people in the apartments that were closest to the range,” Jordan said. “They did some firing on the range to determine the sound effects. The biggest thing was some people were concerned about the noise part of it, from the apartments, health department and the neighborhood. After guns were fired, we had people from each of those entities here, and it wasn’t a problem. The people in the apartments said they got as much or more noise from the interstate.

Those aforementioned shotgun enthusiasts found the 110-acre parcel of land and deemed it perfect for a sporting clays range in the hills on the edge of Fort Payne. After shooting the course, I tend to agree. Once you start shooting on the 5-Stand or the full 12-station sporting clays course, you would never know there was a bustling community anywhere close. And don’t expect this to be a forgiving course just because it’s new. It will challenge your shooting skills extensively with shots from all angles.

“This was the brainchild of Stacey Neely, Wayne Smith and Doug Parker,” said Brant Craig, one of the owners and also a DeKalb County Commissioner. “These guys have been into sporting clays. Myself, I’ve just been shooting clay pigeons out in the pasture like everybody else. I grew up bird hunting and dearly love it, so for me, this will be my country club.”

A group of 25 investors formed to put the range together.

“We’ve got some who are investors only, and we’ve got 10-12 who have really worked hard on it,” Craig said. “Each person has different circle or skill and it has meshed together to work really well. We’ve got people who know all about sporting clays and they’ll go out and change stations just like a hole on a golf course.”

Ironically, the land that was chosen was once owned by Mayor Jordan.

“I didn’t own the farm when it came to Northeast Alabama Sporting Clays, but at one time I had a poultry farm and cattle where the shooting range is,” Jordan said. “It has a special feel about it, because of spending time and effort here in years past. We’re just proud it’s here. We think it’s going to grow and be good for our community. We’re proud that these guys had the idea to develop this.

“Tourism in DeKalb County was a $61 million industry last year, and this is going to be another attraction for our town and county to bring people in interested in shooting. We’ve got DeSoto State Park, DeSoto Falls, Little River Canyon, the Alabama Fan Club Museum, Fort Payne Depot Museum. The bottom line and it sounds like a Chamber of Commerce thing, but I feel like we live in the garden spot of Alabama. Our area is growing, our city is growing and we’re proud of that fact.”

Craig said Northeast Alabama Sporting Clays (NEASCA) didn’t skimp on equipment even though they were new to the game.

“All of our traps are Promatic traps that are battery powered and the batteries are solar powered,” Craig said. “It’s state-of-the-art equipment.

“To set up the course, we came in and carved out several areas. The Promatic people are experts at doing this and fine-tuned what we did. They accepted some stations and changed some they didn’t like. It’s kind of been a joint effort.”

Craig said NEASCA hopes to be another stop on the sporting clays map for shooters who travel the circuit, who prefer the challenge of shooting on different terrain.

“We joined the National Sporting Clays Association,” Craig said. “That’s one of the first things we did. We’re trying to get our feet wet and grow. We hope to get some big tournaments a year down the road.”

Of course, it may take a little while for the word to get around about the new course, especially with the short time it took for the course to go from conception to reality, including a covered 5-Stand area and well-equipped clubhouse.

“I think we got the final vote from the City Council in January,” said Benny Neeley, one of the owners. “We had our big grand opening weekend Sept. 8 and 9. It even surprised us that we got it done that quickly.”

More than 300 people shot the course on that opening weekend.

"We had people from all over North Alabama, from Georgia, South Carolina, even a group from Kentucky," said Neeley. "They enjoy shooting different sporting clays ranges like golfers enjoy seeing a new course."

Visit www.neasca.com for information on shooting hours, fees and driving directions to the course.

PHOTO: Benny Neeley blasts away at a crossing target at Northeast Alabama Sporting Clays in Fort Payne as trapper Danny Meenen keeps score.                                                                   

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