When you hear the name Mike Schuler here in northcentral Pennsylvania, it is synonymous with shooting clay targets — lots of shooting.

Schuler moved to Bradford in 1979 and was always interested in shooting. In 1986 he joined the Bradford Gun Club on West Warren Road (Route 770) in Marshburg. Now in 2025 it is safe to say that Schuler is a mainstay of the Bradford Gun Club, having served as president since 1986. He shoots all aspects of the clay target sports: trap, skeet, sporting clays and five-stand but identifies sporting clays as his favorite type of clay targets.

“I like the variety of targets and it is challenging,” he said. “I also like introducing other folks to the shooting community.

“We offer opportunities for the University of Pittsburgh-Bradford baseball team, Boy Scouts, Wounded Warriors and the Fraternal Order of Police at our facility here in McKean County, and many others over the last 30 years. That same process is how we got involved in the Iron Grouse Shoot with the Ruffed Grouse Society. The Bradford Gun Club sent an invitation letter out to national conservation organizations, and Garrett Baker, a volunteer with the Ruffed Grouse Society (RGS), answered our invitation letter,” Sculer explained.

The Iron Grouse Shoot , set July 12 at the Bradford Gun Club, is set up like many other similar shoots, called Iron Man Shoots.

“The shooter gets to shoot all four clays courses – trap, skeet, sporting clays and five-stand; and the final score is a compilation of all four shoots. That way there is no guarantee that a shooting expert in just one type of course, such as trap, will have a high score in all four shoots. All shooters have a chance to win overall,” Schuler noted. “It’s what makes Iron Man shoots so much fun.”

The Bradford Gun Club has nine regulation trap fields, three skeet fields, a five-stand shoot, and an 18-station sporting clays range. They have a full commercial kitchen and a campground with 26 campsites, and are members of the Amateur Trapshooting Association.

The July 12 Iron Grouse Shoot, held in partnership with the RGS, will consist of trap, five-stand, skeet and sporting clays shoots — a total of 125 shells. Shooters are responsible for their own shells.

Contact Baker at bakgar42@yahoo.com or Trey Murphy at w.l.murphy86@gmail.com for further information.