Claythorne Lodge is a premier shooting sports resort and hunting destination located in Columbus, Southeast Kansas. Situated on a historic farmstead featuring reclaimed strip mines, the grounds offer a unique terrain of open fields, wooded ravines, and water features that create diverse and challenging clay target trajectories. Recognized nationally and internationally, the venue has hosted major shooting events, including four consecutive NSCA U.S. Open Sporting Clays Championships where nearly 1,200 competitors shot over one million targets.
Shooting Disciplines and Target Systems
The complex features a comprehensive array of shotgun sports suited for recreational shooters and competitive athletes alike. Its primary target offerings and equipment include:
Sporting Clays: Designed as "golf with a shotgun," featuring 50-target and 100-target courses simulating natural game flights such as teal, quail, pheasant, dove, and bouncing rabbits.
5-Stand: A 5-station layout utilizing six to eight strategically placed target throwers presenting single targets and paired combinations.
Wobble Trap: Powered by automated Beomat wobble traps, offering an ideal setup for technique warm-ups and basic safety training.
Skeet: A standard target layout anchored by high and low trap houses spaced 120 feet apart.
Hunting Preserves and Guest Amenities
Beyond target shooting, Claythorne Lodge encompasses over 10,000 acres of prime managed hunting ground. Sportsmen can participate in guided or unguided hunts for waterfowl, trophy whitetail deer, turkey, pheasant, dove, and predators during the September-through-March season. The resort provides full hospitality infrastructure, including comfortable lodging cabins, RV camping pads with full utility hookups, and a main clubhouse equipped for corporate meetings, weddings, fundraisers, and private gatherings.
Target Audience and Key Benefits
Claythorne Lodge caters to a broad audience through distinct competitive and recreational advantages:
Beginners and Novices: An approachable learning environment on the Wobble Trap and Skeet fields for mastering firearm safety, stance, and target lead.
Competitive Athletes: Challenging sporting clays courses and FITASC setups engineered to test top national competitors.
Corporate and Private Groups: Complete event planning, tournament administration, and catering for team-building retreats and reunions.
Hunters: Expansive access to thousands of acres of private upland and wetland terrain with high game density.
Services Rates and Facility Details
The resort offers flexible pricing across target disciplines for members and guest visitors.
Sporting Clays Rates: $22 for members and $25 for non-members per 50-target round, $45/$50 for 100 targets, or $1,000 for a 50-round season pass.
Trap and Skeet Rates: $10/$12 per round for 5-Stand, and $6.50/$7.00 per 25-target round for Wobble Trap and Skeet.
Location: 1329 N.W. 100th St, Columbus, KS 66725 (Phone: +1 620-597-2568).
Operating Schedule: The resort is currently under new management and operates on a private reservation/contract basis rather than being open for general public walk-ins.
