(The Center Square) – The president of the largest private outdoor gun range in Illinois encourages guests and non-members to check out their upcoming “Zombie Shoot.”
Aurora Sportsmen’s Club has nearly 3,000 members that help fund and maintain 300 acres of property featuring a slew of outdoor ranges for all types of shooting sports, including archery, shotgun, handgun and rifle ranges.
“Just a one-of-a-kind facility that’s open to civilians,” Vandermyde told The Center Square. “We have a live fire shoot house that’s completely DoD ballistically rated. Finding one of those to be able to get home defense, self defense and that type of training in is few and far between.”
Construction continues across the property. A lot of the work is being done by club members who volunteer their time.
“All volunteers. We got some volunteer ironworkers, we got carpenters, we got electricians, we got all the trades covered and welders, pipefitters,” Vandermyde said. “So we kind of take advantage of that and do it ourselves. And that’s how we stretch the dues dollars farther to get it to go.”
The club’s growth continues as the Protect Illinois Communities Act is being challenged in the courts. Illinois legislators passed and Gov. J.B. Pritzker enacted a ban on more than 170 semi-automic firearms and magazines over certain capacities in January 2023.
Lawsuits against PICA are pending in the federal appeals court after the state appealed a district court ruling that the law is a violation of the Second Amendment right to keep and bear arms. Oral arguments are scheduled for Sept. 22 in the Seventh Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals.
Vandermyde said they continue to grow despite being in Illinois with some of the country’s strictest gun laws.
“They haven’t taken our spirit, they haven’t taken our motivation and we’re just not going to let them,” he said. “And we’re going to continue to do what we’re doing out here, training and practicing and enjoying our rights and our sports.”
On Saturday, Sept. 13, the club will hold their “Zombie Shoot,” where ranges will feature decoys dressed up like ghouls with club members demonstrating different types of scenarios.
Vandermyde invites guests and nonmembers, even the Illinois attorney general and the governor.
“And see what the citizens of Illinois partake in in their off time,” Vandermyde said. “This is our sport on one side but it’s also our right and we’re not going to back down from that.”
Aurora Sportsmen’s Club is located in rural Waterman, Illinois, and was established in 1948.
