sycamore valley gun club

[Mr. Habib]

I just knew him as Mike. He ran the indoor range during the late 80's.

 

[Win52C]

It was in a valley (Sycamore Valley ) at the north end of Range Road (Now renamed East Discovery Road) off of East 10th Street. You turned north on Range Road off 10th and went past the IU Surplus store and apt complex. There was a locked gate just past the Service Building before you dropped down into the valley. The range areas are still visible on Google maps.

Just a tidbit of useless knowledge: that valley was the old Bloomington landfill. Long before it became a range I shot there some myself though in the early 90’s.

 

[TJ Kackowski]

Just a tidbit of useless knowledge: that valley was the old Bloomington landfill. Long before it became a range I shot there some myself though in the early 90’s.

Even more useless information ...

There is a turn to the east just before that gate that led to the trap and skeet fields. Sadly, those fields are long gone.

In the woods to the west of that gate there were stacks and stacks of covered lumber. This lumber was apparently old wooden structures (barns, etc.) that were relocated from around the state and intended to be rebuilt in that area. Unfortunately, this project didn't get any farther than storing the lumber on site.

As you headed down the hill to the gun range, you could see the old coal dumps on the east side of the road. Those have since been "remediated" and an elaborate drainage system installed with holding ponds and weirs at the bottom before the water finally dumps into the stream which I believe to be a branch of Griffy Creek.

I got to personally meet Jeff Cooper when he gave a talk at the old Sycamore Valley Clubhouse.

 

[bwframe]

IIRC, INGO member shibumiseeker used to have something to do with the management of Sycamore Valley?

 

[Mr. Habib]

Even more useless information ...

There is a turn to the east just before that gate that led to the trap and skeet fields. Sadly, those fields are long gone.

In the woods to the west of that gate there were stacks and stacks of covered lumber. This lumber was apparently old wooden structures (barns, etc.) that were relocated from around the state and intended to be rebuilt in that area. Unfortunately, this project didn't get any farther than storing the lumber on site.

As you headed down the hill to the gun range, you could see the old coal dumps on the east side of the road. Those have since been "remediated" and an elaborate drainage system installed with holding ponds and weirs at the bottom before the water finally dumps into the stream which I believe to be a branch of Griffy Creek.

I got to personally meet Jeff Cooper when he gave a talk at the old Sycamore Valley Clubhouse.

I was at that meeting, too!

 

[GenMischief]

So this is resurrecting an old thread, but I wanted to get the record current (google found this thread for me) in case others take the same path.

The club is alive and kicking, and very active. We shoot a couple of regular matches (Trap, Practical Pistol, and Two Gun) monthly and lots of "fun days" like Black Powder and .22LR. We teach a free ladies-only basic course at least once every year, and we have hosted the 4H and DeMolay for large shoots and series shoots this year. The course is taught by NRA-certified handgun instructors.

We have had several two-gun matches this year (shotgun/handgun) and are looking at some three-gun and novelty matches before DEC. That's clays and pepper poppers.

Our membership is growing and we are seeing some younger faces from the area come see us. As one person said, yes a lot of members are Bloomington residents. However... Bloomington is a pretty big town for the area and has a lot of professional residents.. and as we all know, shooting isn't exactly a cheap hobby. So it makes sense there would be several people there who are interested in what we do and want to be a part of it.

I have seen some enthusiastic meetings this year, and even some passionate discussions, but in the last several years I have never seen an angry or hostile argument. I joined in 2009 originally and took a few years off, then I came back about 2020 after another club I was a member of got so busy I couldn't shoot the way I wanted to shoot there. SVGC goes out of its way not to close entire ranges for events, so fortunately that's not an issue for us here. One youth group brought in around 65 kids for their annual tournament, and we easily kept four or five lanes open for any members who wanted to shoot at the same time. Same for Pistol. I have never seen it so full that anyone was waiting to shoot.

The club and foundation both donate money to local charitable and safety org's like our regional Volunteer Fire Department. I think we bought them some kind of gas sniffer last year. I can't speak to specifics as that technology is beyond me.

As others have said, there is a pistol box out to 25 yards and a 200-yard rifle. There is also a VERY nice full trap setup and a patterning board. Up the hill, we have a practical shotgun course, which we are starting to see get more use as well.

As to the flooding, yes. We do get flooded. However the website has a link to the water tables measured at Spencer, so members know BEFORE they leave the house if it's shootable or not. This year I think we lost two or four days of shooting time. So not a big impact on most people. The field floods quickly, but you can practically watch it drain... so, it's "a wash". (forgive me, I had to...)

The other stipulation for membership is we ask you to attend two workdays in a year. There are matches after the work days and were generally just pulling trash, sweeping the shelter house clean, fixing a couple of target frames, etc. Nothing backbreaking. Besides, if you physically can't... you're not alone. Just tell one of the officers and you're good to go. Everyone seems very realistic about things.

The club has a couple of active teams (like actually out trying to "git r done") on resource upgrades and improvements. Currently, we're looking at how best to increase our range to three hundred or maybe even 500 yards. Of course, no shovels have hit the dirt yet but it is an ACTIVE project, not just wishful talk or conjecture.

We replaced all the steel with AR500 as well and added several steel plates and discs to the pistol side and a swinging plate rack on the rifle. So there is steel on demand at 100 and 200 yards. (No AP/Steel core please and thank you. Those things weren't cheap and we'd like to make em' last. LOL)

We also take upkeep pretty seriously, the place always looks like a private park. There is a grill and shelter house as well. I used to go out there in the early morning before sunrise and eat a sack breakfast... watching the deer as the sun came up.

Let's see, what am I forgetting...

GUESTS! Members are 100% allowed to bring in whatever number of guests YOU CAN SAFELY SUPERVISE. Don't push your luck here, safety is #1. But if you want to bring in three or four responsible people.... go right ahead. Now, no bachelor parties or anything like that... lol, but I think you get the idea. Also, sometimes members will primitive camp overnight and stargaze when celestial stuff happens... little to no light pollution out there at all.

We also grill pretty regularly. Usually, it is done after or in the middle of the two gun matches. There is a big limestone cook station for member use built on site.

Meetings: Monthly. Schedules on the website. We follow Roberts's Rules of Order and come ready with an agenda. If we devolve too much off-topic, the club president usually brings us back on track fairly quickly, so we very rarely run over our allotted time... and after the meeting? Practical Pistol!

Here are some resources if you want to see and learn more
Promo Video (looks best in 4K):

Alternate Promo:

Website: https://www.svgc.org
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SycamoreValleyGunClub/
Questions? Email: Club President - president@svgc.org or just ask me, and if I can, I'll answer here.

Thanks!

GenMischief​

 

[GenMischief]

For anyone interested, we had quite the fun "Black Powder Fun Day!"

We shot, we ate, we shot the bull, and we shot some more.

We even had trophies.... and maybe the cleanest portajohn in three counties?