Sheldon, Iowa — There’s a new sports team in Sheldon for high school age students. The Orab Bird Busters is a trap shooting team that involves teens in the shooting sports.
Dean Van Marel is one of the team’s coaches, and he says that, while the team is named the Orab Bird Busters, it is in no way affiliated with the Sheldon Community Schools.
We asked Van Marel how the group came to be.
He says the Orab Bird Busters are affiliated with a nationwide skeet shooting organization.
Van Marel says the group has four certified coaches to help the kids improve their skills, and to make sure that they stay safe.
He says the group started with 17 kids, and has now grown to 21, which has caused them to outgrow the shooting facility they had been using, which was the O’Brien County Sportsmen’s Club Range, located northeast of Sheldon. As a result, the group had been scheduled to ask the Sheldon City Council, at Wednesday’s meeting, for use of the City’s Tree Dump on north Washington Avenue as a practice facility. However, that item was removed from the Council’s agenda when Den Hartog Firearms stepped forward and offered the use of their facility near Ritter as a practice range for the Orab Bird Busters, according to Van Marel.
Van Marel says the organizers of the team are excited about the opportunity it provides for kids to enjoy themselves and learn about the shooting sports.
