Ames Ikes

04/14/2026

Ames Ikes will be offering archery classes starting May 18, plese see attached flier for more information!

04/01/2026

Project Appleseed will be coming to the Ames Izaak Walton League, Saturday and Sunday, April 25 & 26, 2026. This rifle marksmanship clinic is open to Ames Ikes members and the general public. Participants will learn and develop new skills related to the craft of rifle marksmanship, including steady hold factors of prone, seated and offhand positions, six steps of firing the shot and natural point of aim.
You can go to this site to learn more: https://appleseedinfo.org/location/?locationid=300&eventid=11160

Project Appleseed is a nationwide program that teaches rifle marksmanship skills that have been passed down from generation to generation since our country’s founding and reconnects Americans with the people and events of colonial America. For more general information: https://appleseedinfo.org/

The outdoor pistol and rifle range at the IKES will be closed these days for this event from sun up until 5pm each day by approval of the Board of Directors.

For questions about the event, please contact Ames IKES member and Appleseed coordinator Cort Pahl, [email protected].

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04/01/2026

Public Steel Matches begin first Wednesday in May! See the first calendar link for info and contacts! Event will be every other Wednesday (fortnightly) until Sept 23.

Steel Challenge Shooting Match, Pistol Match, Rifle Match, Handgun Shooting, Fi****ms Safety, Competitive Shooting, Shooting Match

03/28/2026

Trap and s***t range open/closed conditions.

As we announced, on April 1, we will re-open our Trap range to the public on Wednesday evenings. If it is raining at 4:30pm, we will not open.

For members ONLY trap and s***t on Sundays; raining at 11am, we wont open,
If the temp is above 30F, we will be open to members Sundays except Jan 1, Christmas Day, and Easter.

03/03/2026

Ames Ikes will hold a Sportsmans Swap Meet April 25th from 9-4pm. Come and look around and see if something tickles your fancy! You may book a spot to sell/swap your own outdoorsy stuff too! Click the link below for mor info!

02/23/2026

Hunter Ed Classroom Course March 24/26/28.
Ames Ikes will be hosting this course that will meet Tuesday/Thursday evening and Saturday morning. Please click the link to take you the Iowa DNR site to register.

https://license.gooutdoorsiowa.com/Event/ViewEvent.aspx?id=3795

The Classroom course requires no pre-work for those 12-17 looking to get their hunter ed certificate. Additional Field Day only sessions will be offered in the fall at Ames Ikes.

02/19/2026

AMES IKES SPRING CLEAN-UP DAY
Saturday 21 March 2026

At our last clean-up day, a small, but focused group of volunteers cleared out most of the brush and small trees lining the north shore of the lake. This greatly improved the view of the lake from the chapter house and from the patio (Yes, we have a patio with a firepit on the south side of the chapter house).

This year, we would like to finish clearing the North shore as well as the bank directly across the NE end of the lake.

Additionally, we have a lot of grass trimming that always needs to be done, 3 trees that need to be felled, and logs that need to be cut to size, split, and stacked by the shelter house. And, as always, there are plenty of sticks/branches that need to be picked up before the mowing season begins.

The shooting ranges can always use some tidying up if that is where your interests lay.

Make it a family event and mark your calendar to come out on March 21st to help out for 1 to 4 hours if at all possible. We will start at 8 AM but feel free to come at whatever time works for you.

We have a grass trimmer, 3 chainsaws, a stump grinder, and a log splitter, but feel free to bring any equipment with you that you think may be useful.

Coffee, water, and soft drinks will be furnished.

If you have any questions, please let me know. My contact information is below.

Roger Elliott - Ames IKES President
[email protected]

Cell: 515-290-5737

02/11/2026

Members only Trap And S***t will once again kick off on Sundays 11-1 Not open on rainy days or holidays. Ames Ikes appointed Range Safety Officer must be available to open the range. $6 a round Members, $50-10 round punch cards available.

02/11/2026

Beginning Wednesday April 1st and continuing through October, Ames Ikes will have Wednesday evening trap and s***t open to the public. No Foolin!! We will start at 4:30 and go until there arent enough shooters. Not open if raining!! $9 a round of 25 for general public. $6 a round for members or 10 round member punch cards for $50. The trap and s***t range can only be used under supervision of an Ames Ikes appointed Range Safety Officer. Hope to see you there.

12/13/2025

To all Ames Izaak Walton League members
Great news and some new rules

An agreement with Stagecoach Stables (SCS) and the Ames IKES has finally been signed.

This means that the Trap Range will be allowed to start operating again. There are limitations on when it will be allowed to operate, but it will be open. The regular shooting days will be on Wednesday and Sundays with some special days possibly being arranged ahead of time. The actual hours during which the range can be used will be announced once the Trap Range RSOs have had a chance to meet.

Along with the set hours during which the range will be open, some other rules will be enforced. Such as there will be no using of personal throwers (mechanical nor hand). There will be limits on allowable shot size. And a Range Safety Officer MUST be present. The breaking of these rules may result in the loss of your membership.

Please monitor the Ames IKES website for future announcements regarding the Trap Range.

Part of the negotiation process with SCS resulted in the IKES exchanging a portion of our property along the West side of our land for the land where our shot falls. The ground between Stagecoach Road and the lake and between the IKES drive and the current SCS property has been signed over to SCS.

The dam, the former archery range parking lot and the former archery range now belong to SCS and all members must respect the new property boundaries. Those 5+ acres now belong to SCS and IKES members cannot use it.

If you have questions, please submit them on our website and we will try to answer them as quickly as possible.

As always, you are also welcome to come to any of our monthly board meetings held on the 1st Tuesday of each month at 6:15pm.

Best regards,
Roger Elliott
Ames IKES President

Send a message to learn more

09/30/2025

Fall clean-up day is this Saturday (8am – Noon)
In addition to needing loppers, w**d trimmers, chain saws, pole saws, and the volunteers to use them, we could also use a couple of ATVs and trailers for hauling brush.
A major objective is to clear out the saplings and brush along the North bank of the lake.
If you have questions, please contact Roger Elliott at 515-290-5737 or [email protected]