Money from shooting competition benefits Ducks Unlimited

Dressed in T-shirts, brown vests, jeans and tennis shoes, more than 400 shotgun-toting competitors from 33 states were out in full force Saturday at the Clark County Shooting Complex.

From 10 to 88 years old, the record number of shooters spent about 10 hours in nearly 80-degree valley temperatures, gunning down clay disks in the second year of the Ducks Unlimited Continental Shoot.

“It’s a fun shoot, and it’s the best facility I’ve ever been to,” Hunter Keneley, 14, a competitor from Laguna Hills, Calif., said. “Great people around here.”

Money from the competition, which ran from Thursday to Sunday, goes directly to Ducks Unlimited — a nonprofit dedicated to wetlands and waterfowl conservation.

The contest, which features a main sporting clay event and several smaller shooting competitions, is one of the highest-profile fundraising shooting weekends in the U.S., according to competitors.

Entry fees from $200 to $500 didn’t stop some of America’s top-ranked shooters from traveling to Las Vegas. Competing for guns, ammo and other shooting accessories, competitors said warm temperatures and a shooter-friendly setup made entry in the four-day competition an easy decision.

“It’s a fundraiser, so they want us to break as many targets as we can.” said Jimmy Heller, 60, who drove nearly four hours from Lancaster, Calif., to compete. “They make it easier for us to put up better scores.”

Heller is one of more than 400 National Sporting Clay Association-ranked members participating in the shoot.

A member of the National Trapshooting Hall-of-Fame, Heller switched to sporting clay four years ago. He is already ranked in the top 10 of all shooters in California.

Heller’s shooting idol, 66-year-old Steve Carmichael, is the program administrator at the Clark County Shooting Complex. Carmichael competed internationally in western Europe and nearly qualified for the U.S. Olympic team in 1968 and 1972.

A previous owner of private Las Vegas Valley shooting ranges, Carmichael took over Clark County’s complex in 2011 with the hope of fulfilling its massive potential. After a quiet opening in December 2009, the $64 million, federally funded complex floundered in its first few years and lost money because of the recession, inadequate organization and a dysfunctional concession area, Carmichael said.

Review-Journal reports indicate the complex averaged annual losses near $1 million, as recently as 2013.

“We had to be very frugal with how we spent our money because we didn’t have much to work with,” Carmichael said.

But one of Carmichael’s biggest issues, the complex’s failed concession efforts, seems to be headed in the right direction. On Thursday, the complex introduced the valley’s second Road Kill Grill, a Las Vegas barbecue restaurant owned by the John Mull’s Meats company.

The company, which operates a butcher shop on 3730 Thom Blvd. in Las Vegas, was made famous with a televised visit from Guy Fieri in 2012. After appearing on Fieri’s “Diners, Drive-ins and Dives” TV series, third-generation owner Chuck Frommer had no choice but to expand.

Originally just a catering service, the Road Kill Grill became a carry-out restaurant the day after appearing on Fieri’s show.

“We went from seven full-time employees to 27 full-time employees.” said Frommer, the grandson of original owner John Mull.

“It was incredible.”

The shooting complex went through at least four failed Business Enterprise of Nevada food vendors in his first year, and the organization voluntarily relinquished ownership of the complex’s kitchen in late 2012, Carmichael said. After a two-year break with no food vendors, Carmichael struck a deal with Frommer, bringing in one of the valley’s most popular barbecue joints to help attract customers.

“Mull’s Meats is going to be the salvation of our facility,” Carmichael said. “I really believe that.”

Carmichael hopes the combination of prestigious shooting events and good food will help the complex.

If it can profit, all proceeds will go directly toward its expansion, Carmichael said.

Of the 2,900 acres owned by the complex, only about 400 have been developed, Carmichael said. Projected expansions for the facility include an education center, RV camping site, specialized shooting ranges and the construction of additional pistol-rifle areas.

“We got a long ways to go yet, but there’s much more to come in our master plan,” he said.

Contact Chris Kudialis at ckudialis@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0283. Find him on Twitter: @kudialisrj.