Shooting ranges have gone upscale with the development of the “Guntry Club”. This new kind of recreational/social facility combines a shooting range with Country Club style amenities. Imagine a high-tech indoor range with “Pro Shop”, restaurant, and maybe outdoor shooting facilities as well. In the past five years, more and more of these deluxe “Guntry Clubs” have opened nationwide.

This week GunVenture TV takes a look at some of the country’s finest gun clubs. First, join Tom Gresham and RECOIL Magazine’s Iain Harrison at one of the original “Guntry Clubs” — the Scottsdale Gun Club. You’ll tour the exclusive Titanium lounge before heading to the range for some full-auto fun with Sig Sauer’s John Hollister. Then, Tom visits a very high-end facility in Centennial, Colorado. The upscale Centennial Gun Club features a retail store, range, training center, and lounge.

Finally, GunVenture visits the Talladega Super-Speedway, where Ryan Gresham takes a lap on the famous track before visiting at the CMP’s impressive new Talladega Marksmanship Park, which boasts state-of-the-art electronic targets.

Here’s a CBS News report on upscale “Guntry Clubs”, luxurious facilities that target younger, more affluent patrons. Chip Reid reports on a high-end gun club in Manassas, Virginia: “This is not your Grandfather’s shooting range. Elite Shooting Sports is 65000 Square feet of bright lights, polished wood, flat-screen TVs, and state of the art equipment”.

When two or more guys get together at a shooting range, sooner or later, a challenge will ensue. It’s a guy thing — guys are competitive. We’ve seen it on varmint hunting trips too: “Bet I can hit that P-dog at 700 yards.” “No you can’t.” “Yes I can.” “Wanna Bet?”

You know how it goes. There are challenges for pride, bragging rights, and often some money is involved, or perhaps a six-pack.

In this GunVenture video, three shooters take on the challenge of hitting the face of a watch at 200 yards using an M1A rifle with standard iron sights. The rules were exact — you had to hit the FACE of the watch, not just the strap. And the bullet had to penetrate the center of the watch — no splash shots or ricochets allowed. Not an easy shot — we figure that watch face is about 1.5″ in diameter or roughly 0.75 MOA at 200 yards. They were shooting factory .308 Win ammo with 155gr bullets — a Palma load.

GunVenture Video — 200 Yard Watch Challenge with Iron Sights M1A

One of the shooters, range owner Justin Watts, rose brilliantly to the challenge. You can see Justin’s remarkable shot at 3:20 time mark. Holding slightly for wind, he drilled the watch face dead center, obliterating it, but leaving most of the band intact. At 4:25 the video reveals that the whole center of the watch (the works) was blown out, leaving nothing but a rubber doughnut. Mighty Impressive.

After making the impressive shot, Justin explained to his buddies what they did wrong. Among other things they did not compensate for the wind. Justin also observed that the first shooter sent his shot right because of the M1A’s heavy trigger pull: “Probably what happened is the trigger pull is so heavy [he] pulled it to the right. Most of the time when you have a right-handed shooter and a heavy trigger like that, it’s going to pull you off to the right.”

A new firearms TV show, GunVenture, premiers on the Sportsman Channel tomorrow, Monday, June 27th, 2016. This high-production-value TV series is hosted by Tom Gresham, the star and creator of GunTalk radio. In GunVenture’s first episode, Tom heads west to visit with RECOIL Magazine Editor Iain Harrison. After testing products at the range and visiting with local gun companies, Tom still has time to take a jeep tour of the red rocks of Sedona.

The new GunVenture TV show features on-location adventures with a firearms focus. All aspects of shooting will be covered — from hunting to target shooting, and everything in-between. You’ll see a wide variety of firearms, from rimfires, to .50 Cal, and even full-auto (as demonstrated by Harrison, a Top Shot Champion who served as a Captain in the English Army.)

Along with Tom Gresham, GunVenture features Ryan Gresham and Top Shot Alumnus Chris Cerino in front of the camera. The GunVenture crew will visit major gun-makers and provide an in-depth look at all aspects of American gun culture. Shooting sports coverage will be augmented by off-road adventures, and other “Man Card” activities — such as driving a tank and using a flame thrower.

Here is a longer, two-minute Preview of Episode One (may not play on mobile devices):

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