ON TARGET
Rock County firearm club attracts members of all ages, abilities
By Chris Karstaedt and Rick West
Staff Writers
Reprinted with Permission
JANESVILLE — Sport-shooting has a long history in this part of the country, and Claude Willoughby of Evansville has seen a lot of it.
“I have handled guns in some shape or form for the last 84 years,” said Willoughby, who is nearing his 101st birthday.
Willoughby, a member of the Rock County Rifle and Pistol Club since the 1950s, no longer shoots rifles because of his age, but he still enjoys firing pistols at the club’s indoor range on South Jackson Street in Janesville. The range, open 24 hours a day for members, has 10, 50-foot, stations and is located in the basement of the former Hufcor building near the General Motors plant.
“We have been down here for the last 30 years,” said Janesville resident Ron Schultz, the club’s membership chairman. “The club was originally in a gravel pit, but it flooded and the city had to condemn it.”
The club has nearly 200 members of all ages. One of the younger gun enthusiasts is Angie Meyers, 25, of Janesville, an aspiring art teacher attending the University of Wisconsin-Rock County.
“I just wanted to learn something new and develop skills that I wouldn’t normally use,” Meyers said of her decision to take up sport-shooting.
She’d only shot a gun once or twice prior to joining the club, but said experienced members have been helpful in teaching her proper techniques. Her goal is to go on hunting trips with her father.
The club is open to anyone 18 and older, although minors are allowed to shoot when supervised by a parent who is a club member.
Members must belong to the National Rifle Association, be able to legally own a firearm, and must be approved by the membership committee.
Safety is the No. 1 priority for the club, and members are required to wear safety glasses and ear protection when shooting.
Doug Armfield, 54, of Clinton, joined the club about four years ago after learning about it on the Internet.
“I’ve always been an active shooter,” he said. “For a couple of years I sold guns, and I like to reload my own (ammunition).”
Others expressed similar sentiments.
“Basically, I like shooting,” said nine-year member Wayne Konkle, of Sharon. “And bull’s-eye shooting is one of the few sports I can do in the winter.”
In bull’s-eye shooting, members earn points based on how close their shot is to the center of a paper target. Rings encircling the bull’s-eye determine point values.
Club members are eligible to participate in shooting-league competitions, including the Border Pistol League, which holds competitions in both Wisconsin and Illinois in the fall and winter.
According to Schultz, this type of competition is another way for members to hone their skills.
“It gives members a different experience to shoot at different locations,” he said.
The club also opens its range to community groups, such as Boy Scout troops and hunter-safety classes.
The club sponsors two gun shows each year, holds monthly competitive-shooting events, and conducts a youth shooting program.
Rick West/staff
Doug Armfield, of Clinton, prepares to fire his .44 magnum revolver in the indoor range of the Rock County Rifle and Pistol Club in Janesville. Armfield, 54, has been a member of the club for four years.
Chris Karstaedt/staff
Rock County Rifle and Pistol Club member Angie Meyers, of Janesville, takes aim at a target at the club’s indoor range on South Jackson Street in Janesville. Meyers, 25, is a first-year member of the club.
Claude Willoughby
Ron Schultz