BY KATHY YAHR
CONTRIBUTOR
For over 85 years, the Lincoln County Sports Club (LCSC) has served the local community to promote the conservation and wise use of our natural resources and to educate and encourage youth to safely participate in outdoor activities. This has resulted in many changes and adaptations over the years.
LCSC is excited to be partnering with Access Ability Wisconsin (AAW) to offer an all-terrain wheelchair for use free of charge. This can be used for hunting, exploring, and other outdoor adventures all year long for those who might not otherwise be able to enjoy these pursuits. The club also works in conjunction with local law enforcement agencies to offer youth events such as the recent “Badges and Bows,” which had police officers and club members helping children learn archery and air gun skills.
Since 1967, LCSC has offered hunter safety classes, with 8,000+ graduates. Classes are a great hands-on learning time with experienced instructors. They are typically held in late winter or early spring. The LCSC has also held trapper education classes, learn to shoot trap and learn to hunt turkey and pheasant events, and plans to continue to help provide opportunities and education for all ages.
Monthly meetings are held the fourth Thursday of each month at 7 p.m. at the LCSC clubhouse, located off of Schulz Spur Rd. The public is welcome, and will enjoy a variety of presentations, which in the past have included educational and entertaining talks about the Ice Age Trail, dog mushing, trapping in Canada, many aspects of hunting, and conservation.
A recent speaker was September’s presentation by Meaghan Roble on “A Girl and A Gun” classes, and October will feature Jeff Traska giving a talk about black bears. The November meeting is held on the second Thursday of the month, with the DNR providing information about the upcoming gun deer hunt.
One of the most notable changes over the past several years is on the shooting range. The LCSC now offers five 100-yard rifle ranges and a 25/50-yard pistol range. A Range Safety Officer (RSO) is present at all times, both to ensure safe shooting practices and to help as needed. See the LCSC webpage, lcscsportsclub.com, for range days and hours of operation.
With the dissolution of the Archery League, the LCSC no longer has a full walking archery course, but they do have an updated practice range with 20-, 30-, and 40-yard targets. The archery range is open any time that the rifle ranges are open. Also during open range hours, members can bring their own thrower to shoot on the trap range.
LCSC offers rentals of the clubhouse for weddings, graduations, and other parties. The facility has a full kitchen and space for up to 200 people. The grounds are 240 acres of woodland and open space. The public is welcome to walk the grounds any time the ranges are not in operation, or visit anytime the ranges are open. The public is also invited to come to the annual Open House held each year the third weekend in May. At that event, attendees can see the building, grounds, and shooting ranges and learn about a number of conservation partners, participate in games, enjoy a meal from a food truck, and participate in raffles.