Silver Willow  

"Canada's Premier Shotgun Sports Facility"  

 

 

SILVER WILLOW SPORTING CLUB

 

www.silverwillow.ca

  

                           403-337-2490 

 

                                   Proudly family owned and operated since 1988
 
March  2018
Newsletter
What's new at Silver Willow
 Hours of Operation
WINTER HOURS    
Thursday to Sunday
9:00 am to 5:00 pm or dusk 
   
Winter Course - 12 stations:  open 
Green Course - 10 stations: open
    
Please call ahead to make your reservation   403.337.2490 
or Members can book online - email [email protected] to have your account set up.
The Story of Silver Willow
Don, Gwen, Josh & Andrea (their eldest daughter Chantal was in school this day) at a station on the original course. Shooters had to shoot sitting in a small boat. Photo taken for an article in the Calgary Herald. 
Don and Gwen Day, and their three young children opened Silver Willow Sporting Clays in the spring of 1988. 

They opened with a small 800 square foot clubhouse and 10 manual clay target machines. with a single course layout of 10 stations. It was developed on Don's third generation family farm. His dad Buster Day, assisted them in the start up of the business. 

Silver Willow operated year round, seven days a week, dawn to dusk. Hosting about 12 competitive shoots as well as annually raising and releasing up to 2,000 pheasants for hunting on the grounds. 

Fast forward 30 years and Silver Willow now employees up to 10 people during the summer season and has a new partner and store manager, their son Josh Day. They are throwing from 85 fully automatic trap machines on two sporting clay courses (24 stations in total), one skeet field and one 5 stand (Duck Pond). Serving their clients out of three buildings and over 4500 square feet. 

The Silver Willow owners and staff continue in the tradition that the business was founded on, by offering the best customer service possible, keeping safety as number one and working at achieving their goal of being Canada's Premier Shotgun Sports Facility. 

A huge thank you goes out to the many customers and members who have been faithful clients and friends to Silver Willow and the Day family through out the years. Without people like you Silver Willow would not be were it is today. 


Ariel View of Silver Willow back in 1990 - the Pheasant flight pens can be seen in the far distance in this photo. Near the clubhouse there was 10 small pens for specialty exotic pheasant pairs for viewing.

 
" Give us your Best Shot - March Challenge ! "
WANTED - photos of you shooting clays in March

Each time you come out to shoot
Anne Oakleys facebook page profile picture :-) 
in the month of March,  post a picture of yourself on Facebook or Instagram, while  shooting at one of the stations.  Hashtag it # Silverwillowsportingclays  
(our Facebook page name) and make sure it is set to Public viewing.  

We will enter the names in a draw for a
$250.00 gift card! 
Draw will be made  on April 4th and posted on Facebook.  

Shoot Results

Valentines Shoot - Feb 10th

Stu Carter (HOA) and Don Day.

 

It was a beautiful day for our 1st shoot of 2018. Lots of sunshine and -4 C. We had a good turn out of enthusiastic shooters. The ladies all received chocolates and fun was had by all. Congratulations to Stu Carter who was the HOA winner with a score of 176/200. 
 
Two Man Team Shoot - Feb 24
  

Another great turn out, and a beautiful winter day for our Two Man Team shoot this year.  Thank you to all  participants.  We had our first on-line pre-registration. Thank you to all who participated.

To the right is a photo of our winners, Aric Alexander and Hunter Brewster with a team score of 172 / 200.
Congratulations !!
Up Coming Events

2018 Shoot Calendar 

March 17th - Silver Willow 30th Anniversary Shoot - 200 (NSCA)

                          Click here to register

April 7th - Lorne Howes Cancer Shoot - 100 (NR)
April 21 - Pump Gun Shoot - 140 (NR)
April 28th - Calgary Oilmen Invitational - 150 (NR) 
                    Click here to email the organizer  or call 403-512-9678
May 5th - Shoot for the Cure - 75 (NR)
May 12th - Ladies Learn to Shoot - 50 (NR)

May 26th - Pheasant Fever Shoot - 4 Man Team Shoot (NR)

                   By Pheasants Forever Calgary

                   Click here to register 

June 2nd - Two Man Team Shoot - Ducks Unlimited -200 (NR)
June 9th- Junior Learn to Shoot - 50 (N/R) FREE
June 16th - Delta Waterfowl Shoot (NR)  (Sorry Cancelled)                         
July 5th, 6th, 7th & 8th - Western Regional Shoot  
               100 FITASC - (30 people minimum to run, pre-registration required) 
               50 Sub gauge,100 Prelim Sporting, 300 Main Sporting, (NSCA)
               Click here to register 
Aug 18th - Alberta Provincial Shoot (CNSCA)  
Sept 8th - Calgary Oilmen Invitational (NR)
                  Click here to email the organizer or call 403-512-9678
Sept 15th - Buster Day True Pair -200 (NSCA)
                   Click here to register
Sept 16th - No Whining No Crying Shoot - 140 (NR)
                        (25 people minimum. Pre-registration required) 
October 6th - Fall Turkey Shoot and Sporting Clays -100 (NR) 
December 8th - Winter Classic - 100 (NR) 

R - CNSCA registered targets
N/R - non registered FUN shoot 
NSCA - National Sporting Clays Association- registered

Canadian Firearms Safety Course
 
  
Non-Restricted Course  
  
Saturday, March 10th - registration deadline - March 7th
 
Course time 8:00 am till 4:00 pm (at minimum), 
Individual testing 4:00 - 7:00pm (approximately) 
$195.00 + GST, includes: lunch, coffee, tea and water.  
  
Restricted Course 
 
Sunday, March 11th - registration deadline - March 7th
 
Course time 8:00 am till 12:00 pm (at minimum), 
Individual testing 12:00 - 2:30pm (approximately)
 $150.00 + GST, includes: coffee, tea and water. 

OR register for both courses at  $295.00 + GST 
  
Register quickly and easily online - click here   Canadian Firearms Safety Course

Upcoming Course Dates
 
April 14 & 15
Silver Willow's New Website
Be sure to check out our new website at www.silverwillow.ca for the latest news and upcoming events.
We have lots of new ways for members to keep up to date with what is happening at Silver Willow. Members can now register for shoots on line with pre-advance booking prices.

Members can go to the members page and book using their online access to the Supersaas calendar. 

Check out our new Blog page under the "education" tab. 

Online Gift Cards are now available. 

NSCA Level 1 Instructors Course
Stu Carter Level 1 Instructor
 
The next NSCA  Level One Instructor course will be held at Silver Willow Sporting Club on Friday, April 20, Saturday, April 21 and Sunday, April 22.  Training will be facilitated by Don Currie, Chief Instructor for the USA NSCA  together with our resident instructor Luther Cutts. The course will cover fundamentals of firearm safety and how to get new shooters to hit targets.
 
If you are interested in obtaining this certification, or you would like to know more about it, please follow this link or contact Luther at
 
Andrew Harvison

In Alberta from May 2018,

Services based out of

Silver Willow

       Shooting Lessons      
  For Intermediate to the Very  
               Experienced                

Andrew is a British Open Sporting Champion and a qualifier for the English team in all three domestic disciplines.
   Andrew has credentials for coaching on European driven hunts and skeet where he was English champion numerous times.  Andrew has been the technical skeet coaching author for many years for a prestigious British magazine.  

Andrew is extremely skilled and a UK Certified instructor, gun maker and expert gun fitter.
 
Inquires & Reservations     Please Email

The Day and Co. Feature of the Month
 

 
MARCH IS
CLEAN YOUR GUN MONTH  
             
      All Cleaning Supplies are 15% OFF
 

4 Reasons Why Cleaning and Maintaining Your Shotgun Is Important!

1.) Longevity - Simple maintenance and cleaning can make sure   
       your gun will last for generations.
  2.) Cleaning and maintaining your gun will help you learn about
        how the gun works. You'll learn how the parts interact with
        each other.
   3.) Learn to Lubricate Your Gun. More lubrication is not always a
       good thing when you're maintaining your gun. When the
       moving parts of your gun have too much lubrication there will
       be some issues such as excess dirt build up.
 4.) Safety and Reliability - After you've used your shotgun, you should always clean it so it's ready to function perfectly the next time. 

Steps to Cleaning;

A. Make sure the firearm is unloaded; disassemble to clean the different parts of the gun.
B. Clean the inside of the barrel with a bore snake or cleaning rod and gun solvent, Crud Buster works really well. 
C. Wipe the outside of the barrel with a light oil, we recommend G96.
D. Lube or grease. G96 Gun Treatment works well for areas where that is required
 (this will depend on the type of shotgun you are cleaning) 
E. Use a light oil on the barrel and receiver which will help prevent rusting, with the G96 Gun treatment. 

Reassemble your gun and make a booking to shoot at Silver Willow ! 

Experience "OVER THE TOP" service at our Gun Counter !! 
Did you know that at Day and Co, when you buy a gun, we give you all the maintenance information about your specific gun to insure you have the longest lasting, well functioning shotgun. 
 
Choose Day & Co.
 for all your shotgun and shooting accessory needs
 
             If there is a type or style of shotgun you're interested in
call Josh or Don at 403-337-2490  or email them at
  [email protected] or [email protected]   
Access to Silver Willow has changed January 1st 2018
  
Access to Silver Willow is available to members and their guests as of January 1st - 2018. Insuring quality service, booking availability and ultimate safety are among our top reasons for this change.   
  
Non-members are able to shoot at Silver Willow when accompanied by a club guide during specified times. Access is also granted to guided corporate / team building events, participants of competitions and private shooting instruction sessions.  
  
March 1st is our annual renewal date for all memberships. 
  

Members 2018 "Refer A Friend" Promotion- receive
100 free t argets  when you are listed as the member referral on any new 2018 membership application (one referral per application, two references still required).

Email [email protected] to request a membership application form or pick one up at the club next time your out. 
Feature Article - by Luther Cutts
Etiquette in Sporting Clays

Most organized activities have some basic rules of conduct, and sporting clays is no
different. These conventions of behaviour, collectively referred to as etiquette,
govern the respectful interactions between individuals. Etiquette is defined1 as:
  • Conventional requirements as to social behavior; proprieties of conduct as established in any class or community or for any occasion.
  • A prescribed or accepted code of usage in matters of ceremony, as at a court or in official or other formal observances.
  • The code of ethical behaviour regarding professional practice or action among the members of a profession in their dealings with each other.
Etiquette in the shooting sports is rooted in a desire to combine both safety and respect for fellow shooters. Courtesy and etiquette are often difficult to distinguish from one-another. When everyone understands the fundamentals of etiquette, the enjoyment factor for the activity increases markedly. The following points are a representative, rather than an exhaustive, list of etiquette for sporting clays. I am hopeful that after having read through the list, you will be able to add one or two more of your own.
 
Book an Instructor
  
Want to improve your score or just learning the sport? 
 
Private and semi private lessons are available at $100.00 per hour for one person or $110 per hour for two people. Gun rental, ammo and clays are extra. A minimum of 1.5 hours per lesson is recommended. Check out our website under Education then click Instruction for all the details.
  
To book a lesson online, simply click here:  Book an Instructor
Silver Willow is very proud to offer Canada's largest roster of NSCA Instructors.

Corporate Team Building or Private Events  


Our guided, private events and BBQ's are a great way to get  
everyone together.   


Corporate Video
Corporate Video
Whether it is family and friends,  
staff team building, or giving back to your clients.    
  
Check out our extensive "Book Your Event" page on the website and pick the Group Package Option that's perfect for your group!
 
   
Contact Gene today to book your event
or for details
Email: [email protected]  
Direct Line: 587-834-2490 
"All our dreams can come true,
 if we have the courage to pursue them".
Walt Disney

Photo and Video Credits for the Professional shots you see on our Newsletter and our website, largely go to our favorite photographer
Kurtis Kristianson
 If you need a photographer, please check out his website below. 
Visit  Us Today!