Portland Gun Club - 100 Years
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"...bullets...."? A little faux pas in the article.
Thanks for posting that. I'm sorry I missed the celebration.
I was a member at the Portland Gun Club for many years, but let it lapse when my neck got screwed up. I'm cleared now to shoot after having neck vertebrae fused together, and with the weather improving I'm looking forward to shooting there again.
When the club was built in 1913 is was in a rural area, surrounded by farm land. There was a dairy operation around it for many decades. Dairy farming has pretty much become a thing of the past in the now urbanized area, so the land was sold to a developer. The club actually started at a different location in 1907, then moved to another location in 1911, before purchasing the current property in 1912. The club is actually in Gresham, Oregon, not Portland. But the club started in Portland and the name remained.
Back in 1913 you either rode a buggy or a Model T to the club, or you could take an interurban rail car from Portland or from the outlaying rural communities in the opposite direction. The club outlasted the rail line by decades. Roads were pretty much impassable in the winter, so the trolley was the best way to get there.
![Building House History Home Cottage]()
![Property Tree House Home Building]()
Here are a couple of photos of the club house. Note that the building was extended to the left (east) and how, when the roof was extended, it was built around the fir tree.
That's Powell Butte in the background, and unseen about 1/8 mile behind the club is where the old rail line was. In fact, here is a topo map showing the club and the defunct rail line. Few people today realize that the Jenne on the map was for Jenne Station, and that was the stop for those going to the gun club. Takedown shotguns were popular in those days for travel by trolley. Also, few people realize Powell Butte, to the left on the map, is an extinct volcano. (There are 94 volcanoes in the Portland area. I wonder how many gun clubs can boast of a volcano in their backyard?)
![Map Atlas]()
And here is a link to a photo gallery.
—— Portland Gun Club Hours ——<br>
Every Thursday - 10:00AM to 9:00 PM<br>
Saturday & Sunday - 10:00AM to 5:00PM<br>
— Legal trap loads are: 7-1/2, 8, or 9 target loads —<br>
Here is a map to the club.
Thanks for posting that. I'm sorry I missed the celebration.
I was a member at the Portland Gun Club for many years, but let it lapse when my neck got screwed up. I'm cleared now to shoot after having neck vertebrae fused together, and with the weather improving I'm looking forward to shooting there again.
When the club was built in 1913 is was in a rural area, surrounded by farm land. There was a dairy operation around it for many decades. Dairy farming has pretty much become a thing of the past in the now urbanized area, so the land was sold to a developer. The club actually started at a different location in 1907, then moved to another location in 1911, before purchasing the current property in 1912. The club is actually in Gresham, Oregon, not Portland. But the club started in Portland and the name remained.
Back in 1913 you either rode a buggy or a Model T to the club, or you could take an interurban rail car from Portland or from the outlaying rural communities in the opposite direction. The club outlasted the rail line by decades. Roads were pretty much impassable in the winter, so the trolley was the best way to get there.
Here are a couple of photos of the club house. Note that the building was extended to the left (east) and how, when the roof was extended, it was built around the fir tree.
That's Powell Butte in the background, and unseen about 1/8 mile behind the club is where the old rail line was. In fact, here is a topo map showing the club and the defunct rail line. Few people today realize that the Jenne on the map was for Jenne Station, and that was the stop for those going to the gun club. Takedown shotguns were popular in those days for travel by trolley. Also, few people realize Powell Butte, to the left on the map, is an extinct volcano. (There are 94 volcanoes in the Portland area. I wonder how many gun clubs can boast of a volcano in their backyard?)
And here is a link to a photo gallery.
—— Portland Gun Club Hours ——<br>
Every Thursday - 10:00AM to 9:00 PM<br>
Saturday & Sunday - 10:00AM to 5:00PM<br>
— Legal trap loads are: 7-1/2, 8, or 9 target loads —<br>
Here is a map to the club.
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That tree may have saved the clubhouse in the early 80's.. About 11pm there was a very solid impact at the front of the clubhouse and a odd noise. As the manager of the club at that time I came from the apartment area thru the great room area and out on the front porch to find a fuel delivery truck had impacted the tree head on and knocked the tranny out of gear and was still running. The truck had been driven down a side road turned out into the field aimed at the clubhouse and let go. It missed the traphouse by a few feet and then hit the tree, which did more damage to the truck and as you can see is alive and quite beautiful..By the way the act was credited to "vandals" and they were never caught..
Ron
Ron
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"Vandals"...Riiiiight.
That was about the time the surrounding area was starting to be developed, resulting in noise complaints plus hysterics that guns were being pointed at homes and apartments. Nevermind that with one exception the shot could not travel that far. (The one exception was a poorly placed sporting clays stand that allowed shot to fall on a back porch. It was immediately corrected.)
This was also about the time that a shotgun slug hit the apartment buildings that face the shooting line. A lot of vocal people in the apartment complex immediately demanded the club be closed. But upon investigation the police found that: (a) the club bans the use of slugs; (b) the club was closed at the time of the shooting; and (c) that the slug appeared to have been fired from beyond the club, possible from the Powell Butte side.
There were also claims that lead was poisoning Johnson Creek, which runs behind the club. Some club members who are lawyers were on that like a pit bull on a bone. It was shown that despite 70 years of shooting there was no lead contamination. (The club has a lead recycling program.)
Coincidences? I think not.
BTW, the old Meadowland Dairy, which used to cover the entire area around the club and on Powell Butte (known as Camp Butte in the old days) was still operating on a small scale on greatly reduced property. This resulted in constant complaints about manure smells and flies. Eventually the dairy closed completely and the old dairy barn was preserved as a historic building. It mysteriously burned down in 2011.
It's just incredible that people do not bother to look at the surrounding area when they purchase property. Then they find they located in a rural area with gun clubs and farming. And arrogantly demand it be shut down. And I believe they even took steps to game the system with vandalism to do so. Like the false flag slug incident and the unguided fuel truck missile. Right now some yuppies who bought McMansions next to a farm are trying to shut the farmer down because he spreads manure on his land, which he has done for decades. There is no way these idiots did not know a farm was behind them, because their mini palaces look right down on it.
That was about the time the surrounding area was starting to be developed, resulting in noise complaints plus hysterics that guns were being pointed at homes and apartments. Nevermind that with one exception the shot could not travel that far. (The one exception was a poorly placed sporting clays stand that allowed shot to fall on a back porch. It was immediately corrected.)
This was also about the time that a shotgun slug hit the apartment buildings that face the shooting line. A lot of vocal people in the apartment complex immediately demanded the club be closed. But upon investigation the police found that: (a) the club bans the use of slugs; (b) the club was closed at the time of the shooting; and (c) that the slug appeared to have been fired from beyond the club, possible from the Powell Butte side.
There were also claims that lead was poisoning Johnson Creek, which runs behind the club. Some club members who are lawyers were on that like a pit bull on a bone. It was shown that despite 70 years of shooting there was no lead contamination. (The club has a lead recycling program.)
Coincidences? I think not.
BTW, the old Meadowland Dairy, which used to cover the entire area around the club and on Powell Butte (known as Camp Butte in the old days) was still operating on a small scale on greatly reduced property. This resulted in constant complaints about manure smells and flies. Eventually the dairy closed completely and the old dairy barn was preserved as a historic building. It mysteriously burned down in 2011.
It's just incredible that people do not bother to look at the surrounding area when they purchase property. Then they find they located in a rural area with gun clubs and farming. And arrogantly demand it be shut down. And I believe they even took steps to game the system with vandalism to do so. Like the false flag slug incident and the unguided fuel truck missile. Right now some yuppies who bought McMansions next to a farm are trying to shut the farmer down because he spreads manure on his land, which he has done for decades. There is no way these idiots did not know a farm was behind them, because their mini palaces look right down on it.
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BTW, the Portland Gun Club has tried to be a "good neighbor" to the surrounding homeowners.
The club has limited shooting hours (weekends plus a weekday with weekday night for the public) and when I was a member one weekday for members only.
And they built a huge berm wall between the trap field and the apartments that is designed to deflect the noise upwards.
The club has limited shooting hours (weekends plus a weekday with weekday night for the public) and when I was a member one weekday for members only.
And they built a huge berm wall between the trap field and the apartments that is designed to deflect the noise upwards.
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