Red Wing Sportsmen's Club

Red Wing Sportsmen's Club traces its legacy back to 1937, when the organization was featured on the cover of The American Rifleman—the official publication of the National Rifle Association. Today, RWSC remains an active hub for shooters in southeast Minnesota, hosting structured competitions and training programs.

The club runs an indoor air gun league with competition starting in early January (Tuesdays and Wednesdays at 6:00 PM) through the State Championship in April. This is serious marksmanship training—shooters use precision equipment including:

• •Air Arms Alfa Proj.
• •Hammerli AP20 / AP20 Pro
• •Matchguns MGH1
• •Walther LP500 (newest model)
• •Morini 162ei
• •Feinwerkbau P8X
• •Steyr EVO 10, LP2
• •Pardini K12

The club stocks IZH 46M/AV46M target rifles available to loan and maintains a PCP air tank for member refills. Match-grade pellets are available on-site. New shooters can attend a show-and-tell night in December to see equipment before placing mail-order competition gun purchases.

• •Contact: Kevin Vacura — (651) 764-1169 or [email protected]

RWSC offers on-site MN permit-to-carry instruction available to both members and the general public.

Classes are listed on the club calendar. Contact Kevin Vacura for available dates and to register.

The club is home base for the Bluff Country Biathlon (BCB) team, a USBA-affiliated youth program that competes at the national and international level. Coach Holly Hanson has developed athletes who've competed at:

• •2023 US Biathlon National Championships (Casper, Wyoming)
• •Liatoppen Biathlon Festival (Norway) — world's largest youth biathlon event
• •USBA Regional Select Camp invitational competitions
• •Youth & Junior World Championships trials
• •Youth Olympic trials

Biathlon requires precision shooting from prone and standing positions at 50 meters—targets are 1.8" (prone) and 4.5" (standing) wide with simple peep sights (no magnification). Missed shots add 150-meter penalty loops and 30+ seconds per miss. BCB athletes have earned national medals and international selection honors.

The club provides essential training facilities and community support that allows these elite youth athletes to compete on the national and international stage.

Membership dues stay low because the club operates on a service-work model. Members earn credits for:

• •Picking up brass and range litter
• •Hauling trash
• •Sweeping clubhouse and range walkways
• •Raking and bagging leaves
• •Removing fallen branches
• •Building or repairing target frames
• •Other projects that benefit the facility

• •Spring and Fall Cleanup Events ("Work Bees") are the most popular option:

Each structured event runs about 3 hours and includes lunch. Members are encouraged to bring work gloves, rakes, leaf blowers, pruning shears, chainsaws, or other lawn tools (though nothing is required except a positive attitude).

Always record your hours at the sign-in desk.

Red Wing, Minnesota

• •Calendar: Check online for current event dates
• •Kevin Vacura: (651) 764-1169 — [email protected]
• •General: [email protected]