The guns were out igniting fireworks over the weekend as competitors from all over the local area came out to show off their range and accuracy.

The Minot Gun Club hosted 271 shooting athletes in the Best of the West shooting challenge with 23 teams as they prepared for the state meet in Horace later this month.

“We typically will have around 275-280 shooters each season,” said event organizer and South Prairie shooting coach Wayne Stanley. “We (South Prairie) compete at the AAA level with over 40 shooters. This is the last prep contest before the state event and the nationals in July.”

The event was run with individual team members shooting, their scores were entered and the top five scores combined for the team total. Shooting 100 shots and counted from “0” to the 100th shot with the initial miss recorded on the countdown number for tie-breaking purposes.

Two shooters would hold perfect scores after the initial rounds of competition and need a tie-breaker round for the individual finishes to be decided.

The Rugby Shooters scored 402 points in the Best of West shooting challenge at the Minot Gun Club. The team finished 16th out of the 23 teams that were in the field.

Sawyer Bohl was Rugby’s top finisher, placing 31st in the individual rankings with scores of 93 and 29. Luke Jorde was second amongst Rugby’s finishers, placing 82nd with scores of 88 and 41.

Logan Jaeger finished 101 overall with scores of 86 and 10, While Seth Kuhnhenn scored 82 and 7 to finish 131st overall in the individual ranking.

Rugby was represented on the female side by Abby Jorde, who finished 241st with a score of 53 and 0.

“Any team score over 490 has a shot at winning the nationals,” said Stanley. “The 494 would have won the event in several years.”

The state meet is at the 2024 North Dakota State High School Clay Target League (NDSHSCTL) State Tournament is being held Friday, June 14, through Sunday, June 16, at The Shooting Park in Horace. The national event will be Wednesday, July 10, through Sunday, July 14, at the MTA home grounds in Mason, Michigan.

The Overall Team Scores

South Prairie, 496

Berthold, 485

Minot, 471

Williston, 470

Nedrose, 468

Mission RIver Clay Target League, 463

Des Lacs-Burlington, 461

Mohan-Lansford-Sherwood, 445

Killdeer, 436

Heart River, 425

Bishop Ryan, 424

Stanley, 422

Watford City, 420

Lisbon, 419

Kidder County, 402

Rugby, 402

Tioga, 396

Drake/Anamoose, 385

Garrison, 328

Wilton, 314

Velva, 249

Central McLean, 180

Sawyer, 157