World Shooting & Recreation Complex in Sparta, Illinois

The Grand American Trap shoot is held at the World Shooting & Recreation Complex in Sparta, IL. If you are a trap shooter and shoot registered targets, this is an event you should not miss.

Every August over 3000 of the worlds best trap shooting amateurs gather at the World Shooting & Recreation Complex in Sparta, IL to participate in two weeks of trap shooting competition that is unequaled.

The shooting complex is located on 1500+ acres of which 250 acres is water. There are 120 trap shooting fields extending 3.5 miles. There are accommodations for 750 RVs with electric and water hookup on the grounds. Several hotels, motels, and bed and breakfast facilities are within a short driving distance.

The Recreational Center building is where you sign up for all trap shooting events and have any questions answered about the shoot. It also has a snack bar with a large variety of lunch menus and a full restaurant and bar for evening dining. If you sit on the patio you can enjoy a variety of local musicians who entertain around supper time. There is also a store in the building that sells souvenirs of the trap shooting event. Wireless connection is available if you bring your laptop computer.

They have several permanent vendor houses that sell and repair all the major shotguns used in trap shooting. In one of the vendor houses they sell all the major brands of trap shooting shotgun shells. Behind the 3.5 miles of trap fields, 100+ vendors set up their tents and trailers and sell just about anything you can think of pertaining to trap shooting. You will find a large selection of new and used trap shooting shotguns, shirts and hats, rain gear, shell cases, shooting glasses, etc.. Anything you can think of pertaining to trap shooting is available at one of these vendors.

Because of the distance between the trap fields, Recreation Center and campgrounds some type of transportation is required. You can use your car or rent a golf cart on the premises. There is adequate parking behind the trap shooting fields. I liked the golf carts because you can drive closer to the trap shooting fields and not have to carry your gun and shells as far.

I was amazed at how efficient they ran the events. It ran smoother than most of the small local trap shooting events I attend. The trap houses hold enough clay targets to last through an entire day of shooting and are refilled at the end of the days shooting.

We rented an RV and had it placed on a site before we got there. You could pick up the trap shooting reports on TV and keep track of which squads were due on the line so you could relax between events without worrying about being late when your squad was called.

In addition to the trap fields the Recreation Complex also has 25 Skeet fields, a Cowboy Action Shooting corral and a Championship 3-D archery course.

Sparta is a small town about 4 miles away and has the usual diners, restaurants, etc. that any small town would have. The library has wireless connection available also, in case you have a problem making a connection at the recreation center, which I did. I was the only one I know of who had that problem so it must have been something with my laptop. The wireless connection at the Sparta library can be made from the parking lot so you don't have to worry about the library being open.

The Wal-Mart in Sparta held special sales on trap shooting shotgun shells which was, in some cases, cheaper than the shells sold at the shoot.

St. Louis, Mo. is just 50 miles northwest of the Recreation Complex if you care to do a little site seeing. There is a major airport there but I would recommend the MidAmerica regional airport about 30 miles north of the shooting grounds if you can make connections.