Kim Everett locked and loaded her .22 caliber pistol as her husband, Brandon stuck close by her side prepared to clock her time. With headphone-style earmuffs and safety goggles, she began shooting her way through the Action Pistol maze. She aimed toward the target holding up two hands, and, pop.
She turned slowly on her heels and aimed at the target packing a gun in its holster; however refrained from shooting the cardboard target as she continued throughout the maze. At the end, Brandon reported her time as 32.41 seconds.
“Oops, I shot the good guy, he was the one with his hands up,” Kim laughed after learning her time.
While her time may be twice as slow as others’ anticipating their turn at the targets, it was just right for her.
“I love it,” said Kim, an insurance agent. “I don’t do this to be competitive like some people who run through maze. I just do it for fun.”
Kim, one of the few female members of the Kalamazoo Rod and Gun Club, joined the club three years ago with Brandon who is a former military man and currently in technical support at PNC Bank. The couple attends the range and its various events as a way to spend quality time together and hone their skills in the sport of target shooting.
“You don’t have to buy expensive equipment, or even be in the best shape,” Brandon said. “It’s a sport you can take seriously and compete, or just have fun. Everyone here is like family and always trying to help you improve. That’s what it’s all about, just doing your best.”
“We have people who come from a 75-mile radius here because they like the ranges and what we have to offer year round,” he said.
Carl Walters agrees. As one of the more senior members of the club, he joined in the 1970s with his brothers. Today, his grandson too is a member.
“We have a Civil War military organization that comes out dressed in costume and compete using rifles similar to those shot in the Civil War,” said Walters, a former Upjohn employee. “We have a bowling pin shootout, and annual breakfast event; there’s something for everybody.”
Andy Woolf and his family have a long history with the club and are lifetime members. The Richland native said he began shooting pellet guns when he was 7 years old.
“The important thing we stress for all ages is safety,” said Woolf. “It’s like anything you do from cutting an onion to trimming trees, safety is the key.” He said members go through orientation and trainings to ensure they understand the rules of the ranges.
Treasurer Brenda Whitlock, one of the 10 percent of women members of the club, takes advantage of the ranges most mornings. The self-proclaimed country girl has owned a gun since age 12.
“I grew up in Marion, Ind., the fifth of 12 siblings,” Whitlock said. “Our father gave each of us a .25 automatic when we turned 12.” Whitlock said they used their guns for hunting food such as rabbits and squirrels, which they would skin and cook.
She encourages, particularly women, to come visit the club to see what it has to offer and even take part in the Carrying Concealed Weapons training. She said the club is not about violence and has never had an accident on site.
“For me, being on the range is a way to relax and do something I’ve like doing since I was a child,” Whitlock said. I would encourage anyone to come out and try it and meet other people who want to learn or improve their skills in the sport.”
For more information regarding the Kalamazoo Rod and Gun Club visit: www.kalamazoorodandgunclub.org
History of the Kalamazoo Rod and Gun Club
While those like the Everetts take advantage of the wide ranges and variety of sport held at the Kalamazoo Rod and Gun Club, it has taken decades for the club to solidify its current identity. The clubhouse sits on 100 acres at 7533 N. Sprinkle Road in Kalamazoo and is complete with trophy deer heads on the walls, a target practice range and kitchen. Club officials say there are more than 1,200 members, 26 life members and hundreds of other military, law enforcement and youth participants who use their ranges for various trainings.
The membership offers hunter safety classes and boast on its active community involvement, which includes providing holiday baskets, holding a fundraiser for Silent Observer reward funds. They even help raise funds to present a rebuilt M-1 rifle to veterans wounded in Iraq as a token of their appreciation.
Through its continuing growth, the club has a rich history. In 1934, its original 10 members called themselves the Michigan Trout Club. Their mission was to foster restocking of local streams and lakes to improve fishing. They expanded their reach to raise and release pheasants, and later planted hardwood and softwood trees on unused farmland to conserve soil and improve game habitat. In 1953, their focus led them to evolve into the Kalamazoo Rod and Gun Club.
Two years later, they purchased the one-acre old Brook Farm School on Douglas Avenue and quickly began seeking a new home with more room. They purchased their current site, which included 50 acres, however met in the old Firehouse #4 on Burdick and Ransom streets until their building was complete in 1960. They later acquired a connecting 50 acres, bringing their current total to 100 acres.
