Factoryville Sportsmen’s Club

To say that the Factoryville Sportsmen’s Club has a little something for everyone might be an understatement.

In fact, many shooters in the area might view the club as their own little piece of paradise.

Located in Factoryville, PA the 230-acre club offers a little bit of everything, and then some.

Complete with two 50-yard pistol ranges, three rifle ranges of 100, 200 and 400 yards, two trap ranges, a skeet range, 5-stand course, 3-D archery course and horseshoe pits, it’s a shooting wonderland, and that’s only scratching the surface.

Why?

Because the FSC hosts more than 400 individual events over the course of the year.

“As far as I know, we’re the biggest club in Northeastern Pennsylvania,” FSC board member and Public Affairs Director Paul Zbegner said. “There isn’t another place that offers this kind of shooting, recreational and social activities. It’s really taken off.”

The club consists of 685 adult members and around 60 junior members, though almost all events hosted are open to the public.

“Even with the high numbers, I’ve never once come here and haven’t been able to shoot,” Zbegner said. “Many times it might only be just me here.”

Zbegner also noted that several women are part of the club, though he would still like to see that number continue to increase.

Zbegner has been a club member for a littler more than 13 years and has seen zero firearm related accidents in that time period.

“We’ve had some misfires, but because we do things safely, all it does is make a loud noise but no one gets hurt,” he said.

There’s plenty to do during the week, including skeet shooting on Mondays, trap on Tuesdays, sporting clays on Wednesdays and one of the more popular activities on Thursdays — horseshoes.

The club features eight pits, with another two on the way, and costs just $6 for members and $11 for non-members to join.

“If you can find me another place where you can spend four hours with all you can eat or drink, I’d like to know where that is,” Zbegner laughed.

Zbegner noted that the long-distance shooting range, which is one of the newer additions to the club, had gotten a great response from members.

“Long-range shooting is probably one of the most technologically involved forms of shooting,” he said. “You’re talking about precision rifles, which aren’t uncommon to cost at least $5,000, and that’s without scopes, ammo and wind gauges. You can easily spend $10,000 before you even pull the trigger.”

But, for the shooters, it’s certainly worth the investment

“It’s amazing what guys in this sport will do and how much time and money they’ll spend just to improve the slightest bit,” Zbegner said.

The facilities certainly offer a great means for improvement, as was noted by the club’s recent recognition as a ‘Four Star Range’ by the National Shooting Sports Foundation.

The full list can be found in the September issue of Guns & Ammo magazine.

The FSC was one of five clubs to receive the honor, while three facilities were named ‘Five Star Ranges.’

No other shooting facility within 60 miles of Factoryville was noted.

“The way I look at it, there’s only three clubs in the state that are better than us,” Zbegner chuckled. “For us to qualify for that was a pretty cool thing.”

Along with its many ranges, the FSC offers plenty learning opportunities for all ages, such as Hunter Education classes and the importance of gun safety.

The club also raises thousands of dollars each year through donations, which can go toward anything from helping the community to scholarships offered at Tunkhannock Area and Lackawanna Trail School Districts.

“The majority of what we do is all volunteer work,” Zbegner said. “What impresses me the most is that we’re very inclusive. People will come to us at board meeting and ask for help and we’re always glad to do what we can for them. The camaraderie here is wonderful”

The club meetings are also open to the public.

As far as memberships are concerned, yearly fees are $200 for adults and $5 for junior members 17-and-under.

“That’s because they don’t drink our beer,” Zbegner laughed.

An aspiring member must be sponsored by an active club member and be a member of the National Rifle Association.

The membership offers total access to everything available at the club with no restrictions, except for the chance to vote or run for office during the probationary period of the first year.

“Some of the top shooters in the country we’ll be coming to that, with some having $15,000 shot guns,” Zbegner said. “They’ll come in their campers and stay the weekend here. I think just based on the visitors we have here throughout the year, the only bigger tourist draw around here is the Wyoming County Fair.”

With such a large variety of facilities and opportunities for all ages, it’s easy to see why the FSC continues to thrive, and help others thrive as well.

For more information about the FSC or to learn more about upcoming events, visit www.fscweb.org or search ‘Factoryville Sportsmen’s Club’ on Facebook.