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Springs Rod & Gun Club History

A Brief History of the Springs Rod & Gun Club

About 1930 a gun club was formed that eventually became the Springs Rod & Gun Club. They shot small bore rifle in competition with other clubs locally and as far away as Mayville, New York. They used a range in the basement of the old Bartlett Hotel, now the Senior Citizen’s Living Center. There was a second range in Cramer's Garage which was located on what is now the vacant lot adjacent to the Iron Horse Bar. They also shot trap on a range behind Jim Reagles house and high power rifles on a range across Route 99 that faced north along Little Conneauttee Creek. The firing positions were just off the north side of the road between Doc Wade’s house (now Steve Reagles) and the old bridge – there have been several bridges over Little Conneauttee Creek since those days. The rifles used were bolt action Springfields in 30-06 caliber loaned by the DCM. I am told there are remains of a concrete structure that was the site of the targets some distance upstream along Little Conneauttee Creek.

All such activity died with WWII. After the war there were at least several clubs formed, one of which spawned the Springs Rod & Gun Club - I'm guessing about 1950. The club operated for fifteen or more years without owning property. Sometime in the 1960’s the club bought a small piece of property (5 acres) from Doc Wade (where the club house is now). Activities in those days were centered around fox hunts, turkey shoots and hunter trapper safety education. I have been told the club had the largest membership of any club in Crawford County, and a treasury to match. The club was active in the Crawford County Sportsman’s Council from the inception. About 1965 construction of the present club house was begun – minus the kitchen. Then in the early 1970’s the rifle range was built along with the canopy and backstop. The kitchen roof and the rifle range canopy work was done in one day by a large group of members including junior members. The original backstop was railroad ties and barn beams. They didn’t last long. I might add that there was little money in the treasury in those days and virtually all work was done by hand. Apparently the treasury had been spent on prizes (bounties) on foxes and the like. Bench rest matches and dynamite shoots were held once the range was complete. The dynamite shoots only lasted several years as dynamite became hard to get. The bench rest matches went on four maybe five years. They were conducted by Dr. Norm Wagner, a professor at Alliance College.

During these years Ed Hetrick ran a junior club that was quite active.

The bylaws of the club say it is to be a non-profit organization whose purpose is to promote the highest type of sportsmanship among its members. Also the club will promote a better understanding of the various conservation problems that face us. Noted is the furthering of programs for our members to include rifle and pistol ranges, trap and skeet fields and archery courses depending on member interest and finances. Further the club will work with various state and federal agencies and will aid in the enforcement of fish and game laws.

The bylaws and the club charter were uncoverd in the hands of Pete Blystone, the attorney who wrote them in the 1960's. Up until that time no one in the club knew of their whereabouts. When found the club was billed by the attorney for something like $300.

In the early 1970’s a trap field was built and several years later a second field. Initially trap drew a lot of shooters and the club joined the Erie Crawford Trap League (still in operation) and later the Lake And Valley Trap League (also still in operation) however the number of shooters rapidly dwindled and the club was eventually forced to drop out of both leagues. I think the club participated in the Erie Crawford League three years and the Lake & Valley League about seven years.

Activities at the club slowed through the 1980’s, although an addition was added to the front of the clubhouse so there would be room to handle Hunter Trapper Education classes. Then in the mid 1990’s the some members of the club started the Deadeye 4H Shooting Club. That activity, starting out with air rifle soon ballooned into shotgun and later archery and then muzzle loader. The airgun and archery projects were conducted at the Church of God Gym. Small bore rifle was added for one year and required travel to the Meadville Club to use their indoor range. The air rifle program remains active to this day (2016). Archery is now available at the Penncrest School District as a Physical Education class. Dave Birchard lead the push to develop the 4H programs as well as the establishment of the archery classes at the Penncrest School District.

Also in the late 1990's a group of club members proposed a building project consisting of a Training Center and Indoor Multipurpose Range. In 2006 shell of The Training Center portion of the project was constructed by ---. For the next four years (mainly winters) Emil Samec, Pete Mathews, Marvin Morton and Dave Dunkle worked on the interior of the building doing partitions, dry wall, lighting & electrical and plumbing. There were a few others that helped, but the majority of the work was done by the aforementioned four guys. It was intended that the second portion of the project, the Indoor Multipurpose Range would follow the completion the the Training Center, however mainly due to finances the effort has stalled.

Over the years it seems that a club grows in spurts with each spurt followed by a period of stagnation. I suppose that is normal for an organization of this type. Alas, the Springs Rod & Gun Club is between spurts.

By Pete Mathews

January 2016

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