Nestled in the dense woods on the edge of a lake northeast of Oklahoma City is one of Oklahoma’s better sporting clay facilities. It’s where some of the better shooters in the area like Gene Sears and others go to practice every week. It’s situated in some hill country that gives you the feeling your in the middle of nowhere when in reality your only about ten miles from Oklahoma City. It’s a relaxing and sublime environment that puts you in contact with nature.

Their club house and office blends in with the environment and has a cozy and warm country interior. They serve food and refreshments from a small kitchen and have a small pro shop with a variety of accessories, shells and equipment for sale. They have a very plush conference area with a large screen TV where you or a friend can relax with a book or shooting magazine if your so inclined. On the day I arrived to shoot their course, a company was making good use of their conference area for a business meeting and brunch. Because most of their attendees had not shot before, they had the course set up on the soft side in hopes of having the majority of the people hitting most of the targets. Because of that, a lot of the stations seemed rather easy for me.

It so happened that three young men arrived just before I headed out to shoot the course who were also going to shoot the course, but had never shot sporting clays before. We teamed up together and headed off to the first station. The walk to the station really made you feel like you were in the heart of a wilderness with the sounds of the birds and other little critters all around you. The vegetation was lush and green and provided a cooling shade along with the slight breeze. Being from New Mexico I guess I appreciate the lushness, shade and greenery a little more than the next person.

The first station was a combination of a outgoing target from your right side and behind you with a incomer from right to left that was quartering and would be almost dropping into a pond by the time you got to it. It proved frustrating for the first shooter, so I told them to throw and shoot them as singles. They had more success with that approach. That and other stations had some interesting combinations, but nothing that was real trying to someone who had shot the sport before. Even with the heavy cover, you normally had ample time to shoot any true pair. There was a meadow where you had the opportunity for some longer shoots that were probably the hardest targets on the course. The rabbit targets were challenging and fun as were the teal presentations. The course was set up creatively and made good use of the vegetation and terrain. There was also an interesting flying squirrel (rabbit target thrown as a chandelle ) which was below you as were on a slight hill in relation to the target. All in all the course provided some interesting targets that could be made difficult by changing the angle or distance slightly. My three new friends thought the targets were hard enough, but promised to come back because they had such a good time.

After a little refreshment and relaxation in the conference center, I headed out to their 5 stand operation which is operational, but they were making some improvements on the facility. One of the things they were in the process of doing was having a small man made lake put in front of the facility to make the some of the presentations a little more interesting and to beautify the place. All the presentations were about what you would see at any other facility except for the distant incomer from right to left. It would be dropping at a distance of about 45 to 50 yards and quartering which made it the most difficult for me to hit. But that’s why I enjoy going to different facilities, that is , to see something different that I don’t normally have a chance to shoot at. What was nice and a little unusual at the 5-stand was that all the shooting stations were covered by one large frame structure that provided ample shade but was open enough to allow any breeze to cool you off. It made for comfortable shooting even though it was quite hot by that time.

The facility is well managed and fun to shoot, and I hope to stop in there on my next trip through Oklahoma. By the way, the O.T.A. Shooting Park in El Reno, OK has new management and is on the upswing. I’ll bring you a report on that facility in the near future.

The Oklahoma City Shooting Sports Complex is easy to find off Interstate 35, but I would call and ask them for directions so you don’t waste any time. They have a total of twenty stations on the sporting clay course, 1 5-stand operation and 1 high 48’ tower. In addition, they have a rifle and pistol range along with and archery range. They also have RV hookups available. Good shooting.

Oklahoma City Shooting Sports Complex
Attn: Jim Jolly
P.O. Box 91
Arcadia, OK 73007
405-396-2661