Sandanona Shooting Grounds
 

Was scanning through the channels this weekend and on one of the travel channels I noticed that they were traveling through the Hudson river valley. The host(Samantha Brown) stopped at a shooting range called Sandanona in Millbrook, NY an Orvis endorsed facility. Just wondered if anybody has shot there as it looked quite interesting and a place I wouldn't mind checking out if I'm ever in that area. In the segment they gave Mrs. Brown(always thought she was liberal) an over and under 28 ga. to use shooting sporting clays and I don't think she missed a target. She also remarked how much fun she was having shooting the sporting guns course with the 28ga.

Amazing and expensive facility.

Sandanona was home to the Vintage Cup for years and we had some of our best displays and shoots there. I was very sorry to see the Vintagers leave there for other locations. Big pluses are the courses themselves and the beautiful scenery; big downers are the lack of lodging and distances necessary to travel to them. As I recall there was one small motel in Millbrook and a very high end B&B with nice restaurant a little east and south of Sandanona. There were two very scary "Motel Hell" type places with about 10 or 12 rooms each, one south of Millbrook near the James Beard School of Cuisine just on the Taconic Parkway, the other due north of Sandanona in Amenia. Both were essentially dumps and you never knew what worked (TV, AC) or what was even there (Keurig etc.) from year to year. The two real highlights for me during our times there were dining with Researcher in the Mediterranean restaurant on the eastern outskirts of Poughkeepsie that was an old church. ( We opted for the cast iron paella croc with optional lobster bits and the house Sangria, which was excellent.), and the sale and purchase of two .410 Parkers back to back. Life comes at ya fast and sometimes you just gotta "bust a move"!

I remember shooting there at the Vintagers event I think in about 2006 or maybe 2005.

Well run facility and nice SC course back then but I haven't been there since.





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My travelling group loved the motels, the restaurants, and the Sandanona facility. The icing on the cake was the Safari Outfitters store on the way in and the way out. The year Safari Outfitters chose to give up their display space at the Vintagers, Kim served breakfast and late lunch at her store, gratis, to anyone who chose to visit on their way in and out. What a great gesture. The British Sporting store was another great feature in Millbrook. One Friday, late afternoon, on our way to the Vintagers, my Suburban's air conditioner malfunctioned, and we pulled into British Sporting to rest up and cool off. I walked across the parking lot to the nearby Chevrolet dealer where some shop employees were hanging out. I told them my tale of woe and they told me they were closed for the weekend. One of them popped my hood and shook his head. He wrote a part description on a piece of paper and told me to give it to the desk attendant who was still at work. He retrieved a part from the parts department and handed it to me after I paid him a few bucks. I took it outside and the fellow quickly installed it on my truck. He wouldn't take any payment and we went on our way with a working air conditioner. I would give anything to go back to Millbrook for the Vintagers.

My wife and I loved going to the Vintage Cup at Sandanona. Those were the glory days of the Vintagers. Dinner at the Millbrook Cafe with the wood fired oven was the perfect end of the day.

Great place, I shot in sporting clays shoots there with the Connecticut Travelers before Orvis bought it. It was the oldest hunting club in the U.S. When it went up for sale I was afraid it would turn into a golf course or housing. I was glad when Orvis bought it. Those Vintages events were great ,since they left Orvis they hold a game fair there in September that is worth going to.

Older than the Fireside Club down near Chappaqua that TR started?





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Dean ,that's what they claimed.

Sandanona is one of the more challenging sporting clays courses in my neck of the woods, but then any place that doesn’t walk up and drop the clays on the ground in front of you is a challenge for me. Between the cost of the of the course and the golf cart rental and the trapper it can get pretty expensive and I usually only go there when my Social Security check hits. The fall game fair is a lot of fun and there are several gun dealers that show there on a regular basis as it usually precedes the fall vintagers or the fall southern.