Gun club locks and loads

By Mike Marino
Cibola County Bureau

MILAN — The Second Amendment is alive and well in Cibola County and the area's new gun club is getting ready to lock and load.

The object of the gun club now forming in Milan is to offer a safe, family-friendly environment. The main concern up until recently was deciding on an appropriate name for the new group.

According to Mike Gregory of the new club, "The club itself was originally formed back in 1942 and at that time was called The Cibola Trap Club. We were on property near where the federal prison is now and eventually we had to move. Some members moved away from the area, including myself. I went to Washington state to finish my retirement and the club disbanded somewhere around 2001."

The original gun club site was on the property of the old park that the Village of Milan used to lease from the BLM, but over the years vandalism took its toll; so, one of the sites under consideration for the new club would be the same site. According to Gregory,"We would have to form as a legal entity and reapply to the BLM as a club to try to retrieve the land once again."

In its heyday, the club had a number of members from all around the area, including Gallup, Albuquerque and Belen, When people got together recently to help decide on a name for the new club, many showed up from Gallup ready to help get the club going once again. Numerous names were discussed, but the club finally decided on The Mt. Taylor Outdoor Sports Club.

Jerry Stephens, Chief of Police for the Village of Milan is also on the committee to get the club going and he said, "We are in the process of land acquisition. We need room for a trap range as well as a rifle range, pistol range and an area for bow and arrow. I've been a shooter for a long time and I'm glad to be involved in this project ... safety and education will be the priorities of the new club."

A family environment is crucial to their success. Gregory said, "We're very excited about this and want to get the kids involved as much as possible. We want to try to get the kids involved with the Scholastic Shooting Association, which fields national teams to the Olympic shooting range in Colorado. It's my hope and dream to get a couple of squads, composed of five kids each, to qualify for the Colorado competition and to accomplish something they've never done before."

They do expect a number of former members to join the new club, and they also look forward to seeing new faces. Anyone interested in joining the club and helping with its formation is invited to a meeting to elect officers and decide on bylaws at 10 a.m. Saturday, March 17, at the Parks and Recreation building in Milan. For more information contact Mike Gregory at (505) 285-3725.