A decades-old sportsmen’s club in Northern Michigan has rebranded itself, catching up to the times and opening the door for more public participation.
The Emmet County Sportsmen’s Club is now known as Emmet Clay Sports. The name change reflects the club’s primary passion: clay sports, shotgun sports that simulate game bird hunting with clay targets. It’s also a nod to the club’s 85-year history in the rural county, home to Petoskey and Harbor Springs.
“The rebranding to Emmet Clays Sports was to better communicate to our surrounding community and visitors all we have to offer, that we are open to the public, and that we welcome shooters and non-shooters alike,” says J.T. Charles, a club member who grew up pheasant hunting with his father and later became involved in clay sports.
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Emmet Clay SportsThe new logo.The rebranding includes a new name, a new logo as well as apparel branded with that logo. The club wants to be more active in the greater community and let the public know the club is open for family outings, business and club events.
“We have a great venue for family outings, as well as local clubs and businesses to bring their members and employees out to shoot and have a cookout or cater food after as a thank you,” Charles says.
What’s happening: The Emmet County Sportsmen’s Club has rebranded itself as Emmet Clay Sports. The new name pays homage to the organization’s 85-year history in Emmet County and its primary passion: clay sports, shotgun sports that simulate game bird hunting with clay targets. It’s also an effort to elevate the club to contemporary times and encourage more public participation.
Where’s the club: Situated on 95 acres of rolling hardwood forest north of Harbor Springs, shooters can enjoy Skeet, Trap, 5-Stand, Crazy Quail, and Sporting Clays. With 70 dedicated acres, the Sporting Clays course winds its way through picturesque, wooded terrain and features 14 challenging stations, each equipped with four traps. Members and guests can relax between venues in the well-appointed clubhouse that offers comfortable seating, fireplace, kitchen, restroom, and a gun cleaning station.
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Emmet Clay SportsAn aerial view of Emmet Clay Sports located outside Harbor Springs.What are clay sports: Clay sports are recreational activities that simulate wild game bird hunting with clay targets. In skeet shooting, for example, targets are thrown from two different height towers positioned across from each other. As shooters follow a half circle course from one tower to the next, targets are thrown at a variety of angles designed to simulate the shots upland bird hunters encounter in the field.
Similarly, sporting clays, sometimes referred to as golf with a shotgun, is the closest thing to actual field shooting of all shotgun sports. Rather than having clay targets thrown from standardized distances and angles, as with skeet or trap, sporting clays courses are designed to simulate the hunting of ducks, pheasants, other upland birds, and even rabbits.
About the club: The Emmet County Sportsmen’s Club was founded in 1939 by a group of game bird hunters in the Petoskey area. They wanted to create a private space where they could shoot trap and socialize. In the next decade, the Emmet County Sportsmen’s Club became synonymous with the best trap and skeet shooting in Northern Michigan. In the mid-1990s, the club moved to its present location outside Harbor Springs, through a property trade with the Michigan Department of Natural Resources. The club opened to the public in 2006, and today, boasts about 245 members, mostly from Emmet County.
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Emmet Clay SportsThe new logo appears on sports apparel.Membership levels: Membership levels vary and include discounts on clay targets, ammunition, and rentals. In addition, members who have taken the club’s Shooting During Unopened Hours safety course (required every three years), are able to shoot at the club after hours and on closed days. The clubhouse, which offers comfortable seating, fireplace, kitchen, restroom, and a gun cleaning station, is also open to guests.
What’s next: Property improvements are in the works, including a heated 5-Stand building now under construction. The building, which is being constructed by Amish craftspeople in Brutus, is expected to be fully operational by late December.
Location and hours: Emmet Clay Sports is located at 6835 W. Robinson Rd., Harbor Springs. (231) 526-1135.
The Sporting Clays Course closed on October 31 and reopens in May, though the club remains open through the winter. Public hours for November are usually 10am-4pm on Saturdays and Sundays, though they vary with the season and are updated on the
Club’s events calendar.