2013 U.S. Open of Sporting Clays

First time in South Carolina - welcome U.S. Open!

No. 3 High-bird sporting clays station

Georgetown County is known for being home to outdoor pursuits like saltwater fishing and hunting, but the U.S. Open of Sporting Clays takes the spotlight from May 13 - 19. This event comes to South Carolina for the first time ever, and Back Woods quail club near Andrews is the setting for this week long blast of the shooting sports. Owner Rick Hemingway is making others proud by creating a facility that can handle bringing such a prestigious event to the area. With shotgun enthusiasts from across the U.S. and foreign countries in town, it is said that all of the hotel rooms in the area are booked up, and the local economy is booming. The culmination of scoring to decide the 2013 winners will take place on Friday, Saturday and Sunday - so there is still plenty of time to go and experience the U.S. Open. To keep auto traffic down, guests are having to park by the main highway at the Back Woods gate and then are offered a golf cart shuttle to any shooting area. In fact, golf carts are available for rent too, and it's a veritable swarm of UTV's and golf carts at the U.S. Open, with many of them tricked out for sporting clays action complete with team names and gear stickers. Check out the vendor village for high-end shotgun displays by title sponsor Blaser and many, many more. Other vendors include shotguns chokes, electronic shooting protection, ammunition makers and even Sporting Clays magazine. Friday night's Welcome Party from 5:30 to 7:30 is for both shooters and guests, with another social to follow on Saturday night, followed by the final day of competitive shooting on Sunday. I look forward to seeing other high quality sporting clays events visiting this area of the Lowcountry in the future.

Promatic trap machine elevated for effect

Trophies ready for the Sunday awards ceremony

To view past sporting clays events at Backwoods click here.