ARGYLE - It's similar to a fantasy football auction packed with excitement and competition.
Instead of drafting professional football players, teams of three shooters are auctioned to the highest bidder.
The Argyle Rod and Gun Club hosted a sporting clay calcutta tournament Wednesday and it included 36 participants on the 90-acre gun club 1.5 miles southeast of Argyle.
Craig Thoman, the president of the Argyle Rod and Gun Club, said he looks forward to the competition every year.
"It's always nice to bid on teams you think have a chance to win the calcutta and to pick someone who is a sleeper or a surprise team," Thoman said, who has been a member of the club for 14 years.
The 36 shooters each paid a $15 entry fee with names put on slips of paper and placed into a bowl. The participants were split into three teams - A, B and C based on their shooting average in the sporting clay league. Each team of three was then auctioned to the highest bidder. More than $1,000 was bid total and the highest bid was $155.
Each shooter was required to rotate to eight stations and their score was based on how many clay birds they hit out of 50.
The buyer of the winning team gets 45 percent of the pot followed by 35 percent for the second-place shooter and 20 percent for the third-place shooter. The club gets 10 percent and $5 of each $15 entry.
Dan Duckwitz, Blanchardville, has been a club member for 16 years. Duckwitz won the sporting clays calcutta tournament once, but he understands getting bragging rights remains a game of chance.
"After a few years with the auctioneer you think you have it figured out," Duckwitz said. "You kind of have to put your money where your mouth is. There aren't any guarantees in this league."
Bidding up the first team of shooters, Duckwitz got his competition to pay more money.
"It's not my first rodeo," he said. "I look for who I think will be the best team of shooters. Your pocketbook always has something to do with it too."
Developing friendships and building camaraderie among club members is a benefit of the tournament.
"It's fun because you get to shoot with different partners," said Brian Mundt, a board member on the Argyle Rod and Gun Club who has been involved for 29 years. "It's usually the C shooter who rises up and shoots better than their average and that is the team that wins it. It's a friendly competition. Everyone looks forward to it."
Bob Wesenberg, the vice president of the Argyle Rod and Gun Club, said competing in the calcutta is a great way to get to know other sporting clay members better.
"It's a competition," Wesenberg said. "Everyone wants to win. Safety is the No. 1 priority."
The gun club provides other programs to youth and the community. Pheasants Forever, in conjunction with the gun club, hosts a youth pheasant hunt every fall, and each spring the Pecatonica Valley Turkey Trackers hosts a turkey hunt at the club. Every March, firearm safety courses are offered for youth and adults.
Every Wednesday is an open shooting night for sporting clays, trap and skeet. The club has 337 paying members. The club hosts chicken shoots the last Sunday of every month. Members that win a five trap target match receive a frozen chicken.
"It's just like bowling or golf," Mundt said of sporting clay, trap and skeet shooting. "It's fun to see the new shooters come in, and they get that fire to want to get better. You can see them getting hooked."
Instead of drafting professional football players, teams of three shooters are auctioned to the highest bidder.
The Argyle Rod and Gun Club hosted a sporting clay calcutta tournament Wednesday and it included 36 participants on the 90-acre gun club 1.5 miles southeast of Argyle.
Craig Thoman, the president of the Argyle Rod and Gun Club, said he looks forward to the competition every year.
"It's always nice to bid on teams you think have a chance to win the calcutta and to pick someone who is a sleeper or a surprise team," Thoman said, who has been a member of the club for 14 years.
The 36 shooters each paid a $15 entry fee with names put on slips of paper and placed into a bowl. The participants were split into three teams - A, B and C based on their shooting average in the sporting clay league. Each team of three was then auctioned to the highest bidder. More than $1,000 was bid total and the highest bid was $155.
Each shooter was required to rotate to eight stations and their score was based on how many clay birds they hit out of 50.
The buyer of the winning team gets 45 percent of the pot followed by 35 percent for the second-place shooter and 20 percent for the third-place shooter. The club gets 10 percent and $5 of each $15 entry.
Dan Duckwitz, Blanchardville, has been a club member for 16 years. Duckwitz won the sporting clays calcutta tournament once, but he understands getting bragging rights remains a game of chance.
"After a few years with the auctioneer you think you have it figured out," Duckwitz said. "You kind of have to put your money where your mouth is. There aren't any guarantees in this league."
Bidding up the first team of shooters, Duckwitz got his competition to pay more money.
"It's not my first rodeo," he said. "I look for who I think will be the best team of shooters. Your pocketbook always has something to do with it too."
Developing friendships and building camaraderie among club members is a benefit of the tournament.
"It's fun because you get to shoot with different partners," said Brian Mundt, a board member on the Argyle Rod and Gun Club who has been involved for 29 years. "It's usually the C shooter who rises up and shoots better than their average and that is the team that wins it. It's a friendly competition. Everyone looks forward to it."
Bob Wesenberg, the vice president of the Argyle Rod and Gun Club, said competing in the calcutta is a great way to get to know other sporting clay members better.
"It's a competition," Wesenberg said. "Everyone wants to win. Safety is the No. 1 priority."
The gun club provides other programs to youth and the community. Pheasants Forever, in conjunction with the gun club, hosts a youth pheasant hunt every fall, and each spring the Pecatonica Valley Turkey Trackers hosts a turkey hunt at the club. Every March, firearm safety courses are offered for youth and adults.
Every Wednesday is an open shooting night for sporting clays, trap and skeet. The club has 337 paying members. The club hosts chicken shoots the last Sunday of every month. Members that win a five trap target match receive a frozen chicken.
"It's just like bowling or golf," Mundt said of sporting clay, trap and skeet shooting. "It's fun to see the new shooters come in, and they get that fire to want to get better. You can see them getting hooked."
