Conservation spotlight

Mohave Sportsman Club
By Don Martin, government liaison

How did your group get started?
The Mohave Sportsman Club (MSC) was formed in 1936 by a group of local sportsmen who wanted to promote hunting, fishing and target shooting in the Kingman, Ariz. area.

What is the purpose of the Mohave Sportsman Club?
The MSC continues to encourage and promote, through a variety of shooting sports programs, target shooting, hunting and fishing. The club also operates the 7-Mile Hill Shooting Range, a 722-acre public range that is open all year and includes areas for rifle, pistol and shotgun shooting and archery. Area law enforcement agencies, including the Arizona Department of Public Safety, Mohave County Sheriff’s Office, Kingman Police Department, Mohave County Probation Department, and officers from the local private prison, train at the 7-Mile Hill facility on a regular basis.

What does the Mohave Sportsman Club do?
The club operates the 7-Mile Hill Shooting Range and offers all citizens in northwestern Arizona a place to practice using a variety of firearms or bows. The club has a number of shooting venues, including a 1,000-yard range, pistol and .22-caliber rimfire range, and big bore rifle ranges. We also have a state-of-the-art trap range and newly constructed skeet facility that is open for year-round public use. A heated and air-conditioned clubhouse is also available for group use.

The MSC represents sportsmen in Mohave County on wildlife-related issues through attendance at a variety of public meetings, including those of the Arizona Game and Fish Commission.

The club is also actively involved with our local, state and federal legislators, and we offer input on pending legislation that may affect sportsmen and/or our community.

Volunteer Arizona Hunter Education instructors, many of whom are MSC members, regularly use the 7-Mile Hill facilities, including the clubhouse and range.

The club sponsors a number of ranch cleanup projects each year, including projects at the Grand Canyon West Ranch and the Boquillas Ranch (for information on this year’s Boquillas Ranch cleanup on June 24-25, see the volunteer section below). These long-term commitments by the MSC are our way of showing the general public and the ranching community that we not only respect private property of others, but are more than willing to help keep public and private lands free of litter and trash.

The MSC also is very active in conservation programs, and is active in the development, maintenance and construction of wildlife water projects throughout Arizona. The club is a member of the Wildlife Conservation Council, and is proud of its affiliation with the Arizona Antelope Foundation, Arizona Elk Society, Arizona Predator Callers, Southern Arizona Wildlife Callers, National Wild Turkey Federation, National Rifle Association, and Arizona Desert Bighorn Sheep Society, just to name a few.

MSC also sponsors the largest kids fishing program in the area. It is called Kids Fishing Day, and with the support of the local community and many Arizona conservation groups, the club holds an annual one-day event for about 200 kids. The Kids Fishing Day program allows many kids, some of whom have never fished before, the opportunity to fish for big catfish at a three-quarter-acre pond north of Kingman that is owned by John and Sandy D’Ambro. The club pays, through donations, over $1,600 to have the pond stocked with fish each year.

The range facility is also available and is used by several of the local Cub Scout and Boy Scout troops to hold campouts. The local astronomy group also periodically uses the range.

How many members do you have?
Our current membership is over 1,000.

While the conservation spotlight is shining on the Mohave Sportsman Club, what would you like to say?

With the unprecedented boom in housing in northwestern Arizona, places for sportsmen to recreate, including target shooting and hunting, are becoming increasingly hard to find. Through the efforts of the MSC, sportsmen in northwest Arizona do have a voice in wildlife management. We also provide a first-class shooting range for the public that offers a place for everyone to shoot. The MSC is a leader in conservation efforts in northwest Arizona and, as we all know, there is power in numbers. By being part of the MSC, sportsmen’s needs, concerns and desires can be facilitated, and a strong, united voice will always be heard.

How can people reach you?
The MSC website is www.mohavesportsmansclub.com and our address is P.O. Box 687, Kingman, AZ 86402. Our range is staffed 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Our range phone number is (928) 753-8038.