By:
Shane Reynolds, Outdoor Recreation Director and Outfitter
The Gun Club at Cordillera Ranch just got a bit more fun for outdoor enthusiasts! We are in process of installing an addition to our handgun range — a new 50-yard berm for small bore and tactical training. We have also added two new traps to our Wobble, 5-Stand and Flush field for a total of nine. The Gun Club provides a fantastic Hill Country venue with a beautiful sporting clay course, shotgun range, rifle range and handgun range, as well as instruction and competitions. Organized hunting trips provide members with the opportunity to participate in these Texas traditions, with the meeting place literally minutes from their own backyards.
The Gun Club is no stranger to activity. On any given week, the secluded creek canyon on 200 beautiful acres hosts members and their guests for fun shotgun shooting, zeroing in rifles, target practice on the handgun range or some fun steel target shooting on our rifle range.
On average the Gun Club has activity four to five days per week. A lot of our members start their day out with some ballistic therapy by throwing some lead downrange. What is ballistic therapy? … Shooting at things to relieve stress. This mostly includes handguns, shotguns and rifles. The bigger the bang or the boom, the more the stress will be relieved. Targets may include clay pigeons, steel plates or whatever you bring out that causes you stress and can be safely shot downrange.
Our primary Outfitter staff, Jake Panknin, along with our other staff have been busy lately getting shotgun enthusiasts ready for some wing shooting as hunting season has recently opened in Texas.
Members, along with our Outfitter staff, have been dove hunting in South Texas and enjoyed a really strong early teal season in late September. Duck season opens the first weekend of November, along with deer season, so many of our members and their guests have been preparing by visiting the Gun Club.
5-Stand
The clay target game of 5-Stand is very similar to Sporting Clays in that a wide variety of targets are thrown in an effort to simulate situations commonly encountered when hunting upland game and waterfowl. The 5-Stand is a great way to get a Sporting Clays-like experience in a small amount of space, with very little walking. No two 5-Stand ranges are exactly alike, but they have one thing in common: There are five “stands” or stations from which you shoot. You can shoot our 5-Stand course with one to five shooters, making the 5-Stand a great group activity.
The 5-Stand has nine traps, each of which throws a different target. Participants shoot in turn at each of the five stands and various combinations of targets are thrown from the traps. Our Outfitter staff will advise the shooter of the sequence of targets so they know what to expect, and our staff will have the ability to change the menu set so shooters can experience a wide variety of scenarios. In the game of 5-Stand, you shoot at five targets from each of the five stations, for a total of 25 shots per round. It is a great range to get “tuned up” for your hunting endeavors.
The Gun Club also hosts a myriad of educational courses throughout the year. For the past fifteen years, we have trained over 500 members and their guests in the Texas License to Carry program. We also offer many different types of handgun training classes that focus on self-defense, home defense and situational awareness. Be on the lookout for all the offerings at the Gun Club in our weekly Outdoor Recreation email to members.
Shane Reynolds is the Outdoor Recreation Director & Outfitter at The Clubs of Cordillera Ranch. He can be reached at outfitter@cordilleraranch.com and 210.616.6051, or at the Cordillera Ranch Outfitter Center at 830.336.4823.
