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I went to the Briley Open skeet competition this weekend. It was held for the first time at the World Shooting Complex in Sparta, Illinois. I saw some fine shooting. It amazes me to see how good some people shoot. You have to understand, I have yet to break 25 straight. But some day!
I met a fellow 16 ga member, Wes Stuber. We shot the Sporting Clays course and had a fine time. Wes shot a Beretta 28 ga and I shot a 16 Citori. Wes is a better shot than I am but there were times I had to loan him my 16 so he could break some of the longer targets. We were definately in the minority shooting sub gauges. Most people are choosing to shoot 12 gauges. It looked to me that we were shooting better than most with our smaller gauges. I think a smaller frame gun just swings faster and is a definate advantage. The only time the 12 gauge was better was with the really long shots. That 1 1/8 oz load just gives better coverage, but the advantage is slim.
All in all, a fine day shooting.

Am curious about the facility.

Do they have shade/shelter?
Parking near the ranges?
Are the vendors open on a regular basis, or just large shoots?
Were there ample rest rooms?
What shotgun sports are available?
Do they have a website?
Would you go back?

Hi Scolari and Hal:

I did not make it to the Briley Open, but I did go to the Grand here last year and many friends have visited the sporting clays since:

Do they have shade/shelter? - the fields are pretty open, but there are some shelters and the main vender buildings have covered porches

Parking near the ranges? - yes, right behind the skeet/trap fields

Are the vendors open on a regular basis, or just large shoots? - I have only seen, heard that they are there for large shoots. I think the registration building is open when the facility is open, but otherwise it is pretty slow

Were there ample rest rooms? - I found one every where I needed one

What shotgun sports are available? - right now skeet, trap, sporting clays - I have not heard if a 5-stand is open yet - you might call ahead for skeet. Briley brought in ALL the traps for their open - some snafu with the state!

Do they have a website? yes try
http://dnr.state.il.us/worldshooting/default.html
http://www.worldshootingcomplex.net/

Would you go back? yes, I am going to the Grand in August to shop! I am waiting for fall to shoot sporting clays (less heat).

Hal, I think bustingclays answered most of your questions. I think the facility will be great in a few years. The grass needs to grow and the planted trees are only 8 or 10 ft high. It does get very hot. If you used to northern weather, you will have a hard time with the humidity. I shot sporting clays there twice. It is very open. No shade. It reminded me of shooting out west.
Yes, most of the vendors are only there for big shoots. I did talk to one, C&J something, who says he is there all the time. i bought some shells from him for $4.40/ box. Wes found some Nobel 28 ga for $63/case. You should go there for the Grand. It is a bit like a carnival though. I liked the Briley Open just because it was smaller.
If you go in August, let us know. Maybe we could get togeather. I must warn you, it is all about 12 ga Trap shooting though. There are a number of vendors selling sub gauges too but the focus is on Trap.

Thanks for the inisght. Am anxious to visit. Hope that it might prove to be a good spot to host a future shoot.

Hal, there is another place close by that would be another place to host a shoot down state. Rend Lake shooting complex is a very nice site. They have sporting clays, five stand, 1 skeet field,and a bunch of Trap fields. What I like about their sporting clays is that it is shaded by big oak trees. It used to be ran by the conservancy district but some fellow leased it. They might be easier to deal with than the state of Illinois. There used to be a web site for it. It is a little south of Mt Vernon on interstate 57.

Scolari and Hal:

Well this is interesting - I have shot a lot of sporting clays at Rend Lake - maybe 4-5 trips per year. However, the last time I went (2004 I think) was when they were investigating the Director of the Conservation District for expending district money illegally. At that time the manager - Dennis - had just moved to Sparta to manage the IDNR course. The fields at Rend were not mowed and the weeds were very tall and about 1/2 of the traps were either not filled and/or did not work. We (a large group of us - maybe 20 or so from Town and Country who shot there) have not been back since.

Have you been to Rend recently Scolari? How is the new management? We would like to go back. I also heard that a round was $35 at Rend?

I agree on one thing - the SHADE at Rend was awesome. We even shot there in August - going around in the sunny side first at 10 am and then in the shade the remainder of the day. As long as there was wind it worked well. The course in its prime was GREAT.....

Yes, I've been to Rend lake recently. I met the new manager and he seems nice.He is originally from Oklahoma but have forgot his name. He leases the place from the Conservancy district so they don't have anything to do with it anymore. When they controlled it, Dennis was their manager. He told me that they wouldn't appropriate any money for the shooting range and things got pretty run down. I think thats why he left. The conservancy distric board is appointed and not elected so they didn't have to answer to public pressure. They don't have anything to do with it anymore. This new guy is making a real attempt to improve things. The grass is cut and he invested in a bunch of new trap throwers. He plans to fix up a lot of things as time goes on. You can already see an improvement. He also set up a practice range for sporting clays. He told me he eventually will add a couple of skeet ranges. I think it will take some time but if he stays there, I think it will be great again. Yes the cost of sporting clays is about what you said. I usually shoot a half round for $19 and do a couple of skeets as well. It would be worth a return visit for you.