Stemmers Run Rifle & Pistol Club

Developing our skills, protecting our rights, training our youth.

About Our Club

Stemmers Run Rifle and Pistol Club was founded in 1944 and is a member club of the National Rifle Association and a charter member of the Associated Gun Clubs of Baltimore.

Without WWII, there would be no Stemmers Run Rifle and Pistol Club. During that war, citizens exempt from military service formed the "Minutemen." Their function was to protect or destroy strategic installations, such as bridges and overpasses, in the event of an enemy attack on the home front. After the war, the "Minutemen" disbanded, but their friendships and shared interests lived on.

In 1944, they formed the Stemmers Run Rifle and Pistol Club. The club was incorporated on September 7, 1944, with Arne Blasche as the first club president. The second president, Don Sheeks, served from the latter part of 1947 through 1954. He was followed by Sol Diamond in the mid-50s. The club grew during these years while based at the Orems Rd. Range. The range was the property of the U.S. Government at the cost of $1.00 per year.

Around 1950, the Associated Gun Clubs of Baltimore was created. Its purpose was to bring all the local gun clubs under one roof. Since Stemmers Run had its own range facilities, club members argued that joining the Associated Gun Clubs held no advantages, aside from the inconvenience of traveling across town. The question was, why should we?

Eventually, Stemmers Run became a charter member of the AGC along with twelve other local gun clubs. Although Stemmers Run had its own facilities, it soon began using AGC's newly opened Patapsco Range on Marriottsville Rd. in Baltimore County, participating in and soon conducting the bulls eye pistol matches. The small-bore rifle sports were still popular at the Orems Rd. Range, but the range soon fell under the heels of progress and was torn down to make way for construction along Martin Blvd—the last official club meeting held at the Orems Rd. Range was May 15, 1959.

For various reasons, some members could not transition to the Patapsco range facilities, and membership declined. There was no active president and only a few members for a short period.

Stemmers Run was very active in building the 50-yard pistol range and the 100-yard small-bore rifle range at the Patapsco facility. With the help of the Army Corps of Engineers, the 200-yard high-power range was completed, and Stemmer's Run began actively participating in the high-power matches. Membership grew, with Stemmers Run fielding as many as three rifle teams during a high-power match.

In the late 1960s, Stemmers Run started a junior program, located a dealer in Philadelphia selling M1 rifles, subsequently bought 15-20 M1s for an average cost of $85 each, obtained free ammo from DCM, and fielded some junior high power teams.

A few Stemmers Run members still expressed interest in the bulls eye national match course for pistol. Bulls eye matches were conducted regularly at the Patapsco Range, and some members went on to Camp Perry for the National Matches.

In 1978, Stemmers Run and the AGC began holding hunter's pistol silhouette matches. The matches soon became so popular that shooters from as far away as North Carolina and New Jersey started to show up with some regularity. The reputation Stemmers Run acquired for conducting a good hunter's pistol silhouette match attracted a large number of shooters, many of whom soon became active members. Stemmers Run has conducted state and regional championship matches and counts national record holders in the silhouette games among its membership.

Thanks to the foresight of its club presidents, Stemmers Run has grown in both size and stature and is well-known and respected among the shooting fraternity. The club's active participation in Silhouette, Bullseye, High Power, Shotgun (trap), and IPSC and its readiness to embrace new shooting disciplines ensure that Stemmers Run Rifle and Pistol Club will continue to be a leader in the shooting disciplines, keeping its members engaged and involved.