One of the things we love about being located in Montana is all of the stunning beauty that surrounds us. One of the locations that we host our Sniper Central Long Range Precision marksman classes at is a private shooting facility just outside of Polson Montana. Polson is a small little city located on the very southern tip of beautiful Flathead Lake in northwest Montana. The classroom area is about 3 miles outside of town and is conducted at a private trap shooting club. The classroom is a country club style setting that is very comfortable, has restrooms, running water and all the normal comforts of a modern club house.
The shooting area is located another couple of miles away from the classroom and when we say it is wide open, we mean it! There is plenty of areas to shoot known distance to beyond 2000 yards, though we limit that distance for the basic class to 1000 yards. There are other classes that we get to stretch those distances. Because it is a private facility located in wide open western Montana country, we can setup any shooting engagement that our instructors imaginations can come up with.
The elevation at the range is just a tad under 3000′ and the weather is typically temperate during the spring, summer and fall months. Of course, winter anywhere in Montana involves snow. Spring and early summer are the wet months here and the occasional thunder storm does roll through, so be prepared. We do have some limited covered shooting points at this range, but typically we try not to use them unless required so that the students can spread out.
The best locations for lodging are in the town of Polson, but because it is a lake town the prices may be a bit higher than other locations. There are smaller towns 15-30 miles away that are much more affordable and that have excellent facilities, but the drive can be long. There is a new Red Lion hotel in Polson that is nice, and a few other nice places available on Air BnB and VRBO.
Directions to the classroom (Heading north or south on Hwy 93):
- Just to the North of the bridge that crosses over the outlet of Flat Head Lake (North of Polson)
- Turn west (the only way) onto Irvine Flats Road. There is a sign for the KOA here. The KOA is located on the same road
- Follow Irvine Flats Road as it winds along the small airport on the left and past the KOA on the right.
- Stay on Irvine Flats Road for 3.5 miles (from Hwy 93) until you come to the entrance to Big Sky Sporting Clays
- Big Sky Sporting Clays is where you want to be. Park in the parking area and come into the club building.. and say hi!
Because of the private nature of the Polson location and our ability to utilize it how we need to in order to conduct a first class course of instruction, we have grown to love the location. It never hurts when you get to look at Flathead Lake, the Mission Mountains and the legendary Big Sky of Montana either.
