Sporting clay shooting

After my third time out sporting clay shooting, I realized how much like golf the sport really is.

Not only am I bad at it, but also windy conditions can have a huge effect on your shot, and your score. I just had to make sure that if I got frustrated, I didn't throw my shotgun into a water hazard or off a cliff.

"Sporting clays are like golf with a shotgun," said Doug Collins, an avid bird hunter and clay enthusiast. "It's the same addictive personality that does both."

It also helps that both are compelling, interesting and intricate sports that test the meddle of any competitor, as well as two sports that embrace the landscape of the area. And the treat of shooting at beautiful Van Voast Farms Big Sky Sporting Clays out Irvine Flats Road in Polson is worth the trip, wherever you may come from.

"This is a great little spot out here," said Collins, who came down from Bigfork with his friend Jennifer Shelley to take in a day of trap and skeet shooting last Sunday. "The people that run this are fantastic."

Opened in 1992, the facility is family owned and operated by Rick Van Voast and his sister-in-law Terri Lupold. It sits on 7,000-plus acres and offers sporting clays, five-stand and trap and skeet, as well as private hunting during the season, and is open three days a week in the winter and four in spring and summer. Sporting clays are varied, unique stands with different presentations and obstacles, like golf, where you keep score of the number of clays you hit. Trap shooting consists of hitting targets that are thrown straight out in front of the shooter, while skeet are targets that fly from side to side. Five-stand is similar to trap, but with five different stations. Trap, skeet and 5-stand are good to practice on, like going to the driving range at a golf course, before heading out to the sporting clay course.

The sporting clay course may be the feature that has made the facility world-famous: More than 20 different stands that offer two presentations each, with views of the Mission Mountains, Flathead River, and a variation of tree and shrub lined terrain or open fields. Lupold said in 2008 the course had approximately 3,700 rounds played, including five tournaments that drew people from all over the country.

The course is a member of the National Sporting Clay Association, which means the course gets the Montana state championship every third year, which draws a few hundred people, Lupold said; the course also hosted the U.S. Open in 1999.

"It's turned into a pretty competitive sport," she said, noting that it began as a practice playground for bird hunters. "Now, not all the clays necessarily fly like a bird would."

For me and my colleague David Flores, who accompanied me out to the course last weekend, the course is more of a fun diversion than a way to hone our bird-hunting skills, though David admits he'd like to get into the sport. It was his second experience and my third at Big Sky; we'd previously come in February during a snowstorm, which made for an interesting variation on the course. Sunday was a true test as well, as an overcast sky and strong winds made for a tough outing.

The blue side of the course is more sheltered, with stands in trees and below hills, offering challenging obstacles for any novice or veteran. Featuring stands on a bridge, down ravines and with names like "Lucky Chukars" and "Parting Doves," the blue side provides a nice contrast to the more open red side, which features some stands that aim straight out across a gorgeous valley, with views of the Flathead River. The red side's open configuration made wind a major factor on Sunday, and we both blamed our relatively poor scores on the side to the floating pattern of the wind-whipped clays. I shot a dismal 21 percent, hitting 11 of 52 targets, while David was the winner, hitting 32 percent on 17 of 52 shooting.

I shot about 45 percent the last time out, and Lupold said that during some of the tournaments, the competitors hit 80 to 95 targets out of 100, an impressive figure to anyone who has tried the sport. Jennifer Shelley, who shot both sporting clays and skeet during her outing last weekend, said the key is, like anything, to keep practicing.

"With shotgun shooting, there's a lot of things that have to come together to break that target," Shelley, who has five years of experience, said. "You leave being really tired from concentrating so hard on that target."

Luckily for shooters at Van Voast Farms, you can head into the clubhouse after a round and enjoy a beverage, fireplace and great conversation with the owners, who have plenty of stories and advice for willing ears. Just make sure you take your earplugs out.

Ear and eye protection is required for anyone on the course, whether shooting or observing. Shooters are encouraged to bring their own ammunition and must use 12 gauge shotguns on the course. Carts are available to rent, and ammunition is available to purchase on-site. Gun safety is extremely important, and all users must sign a liability waiver. Van Voast Farms Big Sky Sporting Clays is open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Thursday through Sunday during the spring and summer seasons. Calling ahead of time is recommended; the number is 883-2000.