Our Town: Libby Scatterguns
Canda Harbaugh/The Western News Tom Bailey instructs Sue Gemmell how to position the gun and aim. For more photos from Scatterguns, see the Photo Gallery.
There are no strangers among the Libby Scatterguns.
A committee of the Libby Rod and Gun Club, the Scatterguns began its nine-week trap and skeet league with an open house Saturday afternoon, welcoming new faces like old friends.
Sue Gemmell said that the thrill of blasting a clay pigeon into “smithereens” for the first time hooked her to the sport. And it was that addiction, she said, that brought her to the Libby Shooting Range on Saturday.
Club members were available to instruct novice shooters and were eager to answer questions about the logistics of trap and skeet shooting.
When a youth shooter couldn’t afford the $75 registration fee, it didn’t take long before members chipped in to cover the charge.
The friendly, collaborative spirit of Saturday’s open house was reminiscent of what brought the shooting range into existence.
The shooting benches, shelters, bathrooms, shotgun ranges and multipurpose hall – all improvements made within the past five years – were made possible through grants and thousands of hours of volunteer work.
For photos, see Photo Gallery.