Brush up shooting skills with clay
Landt Farms started as preserve for pheasants; now it’s trying to preserve art of shooting
Dave Farley, of Salem, reloads his shotgun during the Washington State Sporting Clays Championships in June at Landt Farms. (Dan Pelle / The Spokesman-Review)
When Ellwood Landt was a boy, his mother used to tell him to take his .22 and go shoot a pheasant for dinner. In the 1970s Landt bought 100 acres close to Airway Heights with the intent to raise pheasants to restock the land with all the birds he had taken in his youth.
He started out with a rooster and three hens, and before he knew it, his farm was overrun by pheasants. In 1980, he opened the pheasant preserve to the public as a shooting farm. But since pheasants are not always easy to shoot and can fly off to never be seen again, demand for a cheaper substitute grew over the years. In 1990, Landt added a clay target range to the shooting farm. It was only the second sporting clay range in the state at that time.
In 2002, when his daughter Sally Scott took over the management of the farm, she suspended the live-bird operation and focused the business on the sporting clay.
“Too much upkeep,” Scott said of the pheasants.
Today, Landt Farms is the most established sporting clays course in Eastern Washington. Located just minutes northwest of Spokane, it offers a variety of targets suited for all levels of shooters, with up-to-date equipment that simulate flight patterns of different birds.
Tucked in the quiet country between the borders of Seven Mile and Airway Heights, the farm is a great place for sportsmen of all levels to brush up their shooting skills.
One important part of the farm is its youth shotgun shooting program, which consists of the “Young Gunners” for younger children, and the “Hot Shots,” whose members compete in state and national tournaments.
“Back in 2001, we noticed the steady decline in the numbers of young shooters,” Scott said. “This is our effort to preserve and pass on the art of shooting to our younger generation and to teach children the safety of handling shotguns, and the enjoyment of the sport.”
Landt Farms Sporting Clays is the second in the nation to develop a youth shooting program, Scott said. Coaching sessions are spread out through spring and summer and closes as soon as hunting season starts. The $15 per session fee for the youngsters covers all equipment, including the gun.