MDC invites shotgun shooters to take five on July 15 for 5-Stand shooting class at Busch Range

DEFIANCE, Mo.—One of the best ways to sharpen a shooter’s shotgun skills is the sport of 5-Stand. Shooters rotate through five stations where they will experience clay targets flying left and right, toward, and away from them at different angles and speeds.  It’s like trap or skeet on steroids.

The Missouri Department of Conservation’s (MDC) August A. Busch Shooting Range and Outdoor Education Center is hosting an Introduction to 5-Stand class Tuesday, July 15 from 5:30 – 7 p.m.  The event is free and open to ages 16 years and up.  Participants should note that this is an intermediate level class, so those who attend should already be familiar with the basics of shotgun shooting.

This program will start in the classroom covering all the rules of 5-stand, along with safety and etiquette considerations.  Following this, participants will go to the shotgun field for a live fire session to get hands-on practice at several different shooting stations.

“If you shoot trap or skeet and want a new challenge, 5-stand is a shooting sport that has many different shooting scenarios with different targets thrown from different angles,” said MDC Outdoor Education Center Manager, Bryant Hertel. 

Since the targets in 5-stand imitate the flight patterns of some of Missouri’s most popular game birds, it is also an excellent way for shooters to prepare themselves for game bird hunting.

Attendees must bring their own firearm and ammunition and must already be proficient in handling a shotgun, Hertel noted.

Introduction to 5-Stand is a free program, however advanced online registration is required at http://short.mdc.mo.gov/4Fr.

The August A. Busch Shooting Range and Outdoor Education Center is located at 3550 Route D in Defiance, approximately five miles west of Highway 94.

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