European Tower Shoot, Clear Lake, Iowa
CLEAR LAKE, Iowa—Twenty men attended a European Tower Shoot sponsored by Clear Lake Regular Baptist Church as an outreach event.
Pastor Steve Cox explained how the event followed a European model not familiar to many American hunters.
“A European Tower Shoot is not a hunt, it is a shoot,” Pastor Cox says, explaining that the birds are given an advantage over the shooters. “Europeans think that to shoot a pheasant over a dog when it is just getting up, while moving at a fairly slow speed is too easy,” he says. “To shoot a high flying bird after it has reached full speed is much more of a challenge.”
John Kamberger, a member of the Clear Lake church who attended a similar event a year ago, suggested the idea.
The 30-foot tower is hidden in a stand of timber with 10 shooters stationed at positions around it, each about 60 yards from the tower and 60 yards from each other. During the shoot the participants rotate to the next station so everyone gets the same opportunity—some positions are more advantageous than others.
The operator in the tower releases one bird at a time. As the pheasants start their flight 30 feet above the ground and accelerate up and over the shooting stations, one or two positions will have a shot at each bird as it soars out.
Pastor Jon Jenks from Calvary Baptist Church, Wisconsin Rapids, Wis., was the guest speaker.
“Pastor Jon brought a short but very appropriate devotional that the men seemed to really connect to,” Pastor Cox says. “The consensus after the event was that it was a great success. When we asked, all of the guys said if we did this again they would like to return! Praise the Lord!”
