Trapshooting to resume Sunday at Sportsman's Park in Naperville
Members of Naperville Sportsman's Club are getting their shooting range back Sunday after it was shuttered for six months for renovations.
That means clay targets will be flying as people such as Sportsman's Club President Jim Monk get back to the hobby they love in the park at 735 S. West St. near downtown.
"We're extremely excited," Monk said. "It's been a while since we've been out there."
The park closed in June to allow contractors hired by the Naperville Park District to remove lead contamination in the soil left by years of shooters using lead pellets before they were banned in 1998. In a roughly $5 million project, the park district added renovations to the soil cleanup to create new accessible trapshooting stations with upgraded lighting, built a parking lot with permeable pavers and replaced the gravel road to the clubhouse with asphalt.
"In reality, it's a really nice facility," Monk said about the renovated park. "I don't think I've ever seen one so nice."
Weather delayed some of the work, which was supposed to be completed by the end of this year. Park district officials said restoring the landscape and some parking lot and sidewalk work is not yet finished, but that won't prevent shooters from using the range during scheduled shooting hours of noon to 6 p.m. Sunday.
Monk said club members visited the range Thursday to evaluate the new lighting and begin installation of the machines that throw the clay targets. They will continue that work Saturday and Sunday morning before shooting begins Sunday afternoon.
Regular shooting hours are 6 to 10 p.m. Thursdays and noon to 6 p.m. Sundays, but the park will be closed the next two Thursdays because of Christmas and New Year's Day.
To shoot trap at Sportsman's Park, participants must provide their own shotguns and have a Firearm Owner's Identification card. Fees are $10.75 for Naperville Sportsman's Club members, $12 for park district residents and $13.25 for nonresidents.
Monk said the club and the park district are making plans to co-host a reopening ceremony in the spring to show off the renovations and introduce newcomers to trapshooting.
"It's really a game of skill," Monk said. "You have to be fairly good with a shotgun to break moving clay targets."