EL PASO — A three-dimensional archery range is coming to the grounds of the Ellsworth Rod and Gun Club, with a summer archery league set into motion to promote a little friendly competition to celebrate the addition.

Dave Drewiske, an Ellsworth Rod and Gun board member and Eau Galle Rush River Sportsman’s Club member, said despite trap shooting being the most popular activity at the 90-year-old clubhouse, there are more members that bow hunt than that shoot trap. In an effort to provide more opportunities for those bowhunters and archers, the Rod and Gun board decided to create a 3-D course. A 3-D course is one that features decoys of animals rather than the 2-D targets. The club also features 2-D targets for people to practice shooting their bows.

“In my opinion, the archery community can get really siloed and be divided almost, because people tend to be territorial over their land and their deer,” Jake Flett, who is helping to lead the archery league, said. “This is a really good opportunity to get people together, meet new people. I’ve met so many new friends just from doing archery events like this.”

The end goal for the endeavor is to have a walkthrough course in the woods with shooting stations. For now, the range will be between the two trap houses.

The cost is $120 per shooter with teams of two signing up for timeslots and competing over a 12-week span starting in June. To sign-up or get more information, reach out to Flett at 715-523-2483 or jakey103@yahoo.com.

The club has seen a ton of upgrades in recent years, remodeling the clubhouse, adding bathrooms, a new awning area, relocating the trap shooting area, a playground and some future stream improvements that are coming to the pier area in El Paso.

“I think this is one of the best things about Ellsworth is this little piece of land,” Drewiske said. “I’ve always described Ellsworth as a trout fishing culture, and we’ve been really blessed to have a dedicated group of sportsmen, landowners to protect the river.”

There were some challenges with the clubhouse remodel, including preserving and working around the classic wall that was constructed out of telephone poles. Through grants and support, a project that could have cost $6-700,000 was brought down to about $150,000 out of pocket.

“This renovation has been huge for the club. Half our board is 40 and under. It used to be an old guy’s place, it’s really brought life,” Drewiske said. “We’re hoping that archery will do the same.”

Volunteers, including guys like Joe Plummer, Mike Nelson and Mitch Huppert have been massive factors in the improvements coming to life.

Drewiske said the high school trap teams of the Ellsworth Claybreakers and the Spring Valley Orange Crush have helped bring youth to the Rod and Gun, and he hopes the archery range does the same. The club was only rented out here and there years ago, and now they are almost always booked.

“This club basically makes money by selling chicken dinners and calendars, and to be able to have done all of this is remarkable,” Drewiske said.

The Rush River has around 6,000 fish per mile, and the club has over 150 acres of land on the river. To kick off the decade, the Rush River experienced massive flooding, with the water level nearly reaching the clubhouse. That flooding called for a change of plans from a proposed pavilion outdoor seating area separate from the clubhouse to attached awning outdoor seating due requirements for the structure to be far enough away from the shoreline. It turned out to be a blessing in disguise, as Drewiske and Flett were thrilled with how the awning turned out. The club also had to move the trap shooting setup from shooting across the river due to a DNR recommendation. When the Rod and Gun Club found out they needed to relocate the trap shooting, there were worries of whether or not the club could survive. That was until they found a spot for it on the west side of the building, added a second station to file even more people through and added lights for some evening shooting, making for a perfect shooting area.

“It’s everything. If we didn’t have the support of everybody coming down and eating chicken dinners, this place would be essentially closed down,” Flett said.

Down by the river is one of the last places in the area where you can still hear grouse drumming, and the club is looking to continue to provide ways for people to get out and enjoy that nature.

On May 11, the club will be hosting a woodland management course, welcoming people to learn about how to manage their forests.