Gig Harbor Sportsman’s Club to host fourth annual shooting event for charity

The Gig Harbor Sportsman’s Club will host its fourth annual trap shooting and archery tournament for charity on Aug. 7.

All proceeds go to the Emergency Food Network. Over the tournament’s lifespan, the club has raised more than $500,000 for the nonprofit.

Teams of five pay $500 to compete in trap shooting and archery. This year, there are more than 20 teams signed up. The first two years, there was only trap shooting, and the members of club won pretty easily over visiting teams, so event administrators added archery to the format to level the playing field.

“The average guy doesn’t have a chance, but the average guys that shoots archery increases their chance,” said Tom Halligan, the club’s on-site manager and caretaker. “The first two years, the Gig Harbor Sportsman’s Club won it. But they couldn’t shoot an arrow worth a darn, so that didn’t happen anymore.”

The event goes all day, from about 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. and includes a BBQ buffet, which is donated as well. The event is one of the ways the sportsman’s club gives back to the community.

“We’re not just a gun club — we’re a huge member of the community,” Halligan said. “I want people to know that.”

The club doesn’t necessarily have a negative perception in the community — Halligan said he’s never received complaints about noise or anything of that sort. The self-advocating is more about letting people know about the good things that the club does in the community. Recently, the Gig Harbor Sportsman’s Club also led a Kazoogle marching band in the Maritime Gig Parade and won an award for best original score.

“We’re really proud of where we are in our community now,” Halligan said. “I made 50 red, white and blue T-shirts for the marchers. We had a grand time. We’re trying to change our image in the community, and we’re doing it.”

Improving the club’s image is vitally important to Halligan.

“I mean, who else raises $500K for the food bank?” he said.

This story was originally published July 15, 2015 at 10:09 AM with the headline "Gig Harbor Sportsman’s Club to host fourth annual shooting event for charity."