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Great Lakes Sporting Arms

The entire Great Lakes region is a sportsman’s paradise. The lakes themselves represent 95,160 square miles, so the surrounding wilderness is even more vast – offering opportunities for hunting, fishing, camping and hiking. The Great Lakes cut through the middle of the vast Northwoods forrest, offering an endless wildlife habitat for sportsmen, conservationists and all lovers of the outdoors.

Skeet and Trap Shooting

While the open spaces of the Great Lakes offer abundant opportunities for hunters, there are also many indoor and outdoor ranges for sport shooting.  You’ll find outdoor rifle ranges from 50 to 400 yards, outdoor shotgun ranges for skeet, trap, and sporting clays. The region also offers access to dealers with high-end sport shooting brands such as Benelli, Krieghoff, Perazzi, Kolar and Blaser.

If you’re not familiar with trap shooting, it can be addictive. It involves the clay pigeon (or “bird”) which is 4.25 inches across by 1.12 inches. They are made of clay or limestone so they can easily shatter when hit by a pellet. Sheet shooting is the same as trap shooting, except in skeet, the targets come from two points – either from behind the shooter, and/or across their field of vision. 

Great Lakes Archery

Great lakes outdoor facilities cater to archers, including 3D archery. In addition to the outdoor ranges, you’ll find indoor ranges catering to archery. Target archery, which is an Olympic sport, involves a set series of targets. Archers stand 70 meters away, and shoot at a 4 foot targets. The bullseye is only 4.8 inches across, so only the best of the best can land a bullseye consistently.

More similar to bow hunting, field archery involves a series of targets at different ranges on a course. The wooded terrain of the Great Lakes region offers wonderful places to set up courses with plenty of obstacles and variety of terrain. The distances are unmarked, so it is up to the archer to use their perception skills to gauge distance.

Where to Shoot

While in the region on your Great Lakes Cruise, you’ll have access to some of the premier gun clubs in the country. For example, Walled Lake, Michigan, a suburb of Detroit, has six gun clubs within 20 minutes of one another. Arguably one of the standouts is the Detroit Gun Club, has its own full-servicing dining room, a year-round tournament schedule and even wine tasting events. Check with your activities director for options.