Doc Bradford levels his shotgun at a pair of clay pigeons at his sporting course near Four Corners.

It’s like golf, but you get to carry a gun instead of a club.

Shooting enthusiasts can test their aim on the 12-station sporting clay course and five-stand areas at the Rising Spirits Shooting School nestled on 80 acres of lush Gallatin River land just north of Four Corners.

“It’s like golf with noise, but the shots you take in sporting clays are meant to represent hunting,” said Doc Bradford, who owns and built the course on his property at 6200 River Road.

The course’s shooting stations, which Bradford and course manager Brandon Wier switch up every other week, include the “Springing Teal,” “Rabbit” and “Decoying Duck.” At each station, clay throwing machines send sporting clays flying through the air. While the shooter takes position in a wooden stand, someone behind him pushes a button setting the clay targets in motion.

Targets may be thrown as singles, simultaneous pairs, following pairs (one target right after the other), or report pairs (a second target thrown after the sound of the gun being fired at the first).

And to further challenge shooters, the size of the bright orange clay targets varies from smaller “midi” clays to flat “battue” clays.

People pay Bradford an annual fee to be members of the Rising Spirits Shooting Club so they can come and play the course as they please, play in leagues or attend club events.

“We have about 107 families in the club,” Bradford said. “I have men’s leagues. I have women’s leagues. I have kid’s leagues.”

Bradford also rents the course out for private parties and gives private lessons. Bradford is a certified sporting clay shooting instructor.

His students range in age from 6 to 89. He’s guided Boy Scouts who’ve never shot before and experienced Gallatin County Sheriff ’s Office marksmen through the course.

“This is just fun for me to do,” he said, driving through the course on one of his golf carts, wearing a “Semper Fi” hat and a vest decorated with shooting patches.

EXPERT MARKSMAN

Bradford, 76, moved to Bozeman nine years ago from Michigan to retire.

He’s a 6-foot-tall, 206-pound former U.S. Marine who has beat cancer three times — lung, prostate and skin cancer. He’s also a retired dentist and a champion shooter. A former member of the national shooting team, Bradford won the 12- and 28-gauge competitions in the 2002-2003 U.S. Open.

One of Bradford’s sons is a bodyguard for the governor of Nevada. The other, he said, is an FBI agent.

“Doc knows what he’s talking about,” said Glenn Lehrer, former coach of the West Point Military Academy trap and skeet shooting team. Lehrer and his wife, Lyla, have belonged to the club for two years.

“There’s probably five expert shooters in the valley and Doc is the most famous,” Lehrer said.

Bradford lives alone and he built the course eight years ago in his backyard “for fun.” He admits he’ll probably never recoup his investment in the course. He says he doesn’t care. He does it because it makes him happy. Though he looks tough, he has a soft approach.

Lehrer recalled when Bradford invited three moms and 16 kids with a local Pheasants Forever youth group come out and shoot for free. Many of them had never held a shotgun, so Bradford showed them how.

As he drove the golf cart through the course last week, he pointed to a pile of tree limbs the size of a beaver dam.

“See that pile of brush over there?” Bradford said. “We cut it all up and we were going to burn it, but then we came back and there was a bunch of little animals underneath it, so we said, ‘Nah, we’ll just leave it.’”

WHAT IT COSTS

Bradford’s course is open year round, and Bradford assures his clients that it’s safe.

He said guns are checked at the front gate to ensure they come in unloaded and they may only be loaded in the stand just before shooting.

Bradford or another staff member accompany all newcomers on their first time through the course and require that they prove to them that they know proper gun safety. Rules are posted at the stations and everyone is required sign a release form.

Family lifetime memberships are available for $400. The cost for renting the course out for private events and parties varies, depending on the number of people and food catering.

And if you don’t own a gun, don’t worry. Bradford loans them out to course users. He also sells clays.

For more information, visit docbradford.com or call the school at 570-2790.

Source: By AMANDA RICKER, Chronicle Staff Writer
http://www.bozemandailychronicle.com/news/article_05fa8a62-7e3b-11df-bffc-001cc4c03286.html

~ Dick Kendall