Kjergaard Sports holds sixth annual Buffalo Ridge Demo shoot

By Dan Kuss
lbnews@itctel.com

Firearm enthusiasts of all ages were given an opportunity to try out and shoot all types of guns at Kjergaard Sports’ sixth annual Buffalo Ridge Demo shoot on Saturday, July 24.

Representatives from all the major gun manufacturers were on hand to answer questions, demonstrate how the firearms work and allow patrons to take guns out to the various firing ranges that Kjergaard’s had set up.

“The nice part about having an event like this out here in the country is that we have a shooting range,” said Cheryl Kjergaard. “When they have events like this in town, people can look at the merchandise, but they don’t get to try them out.”

There were big tents set up for all of the various vendors and Beretta had a semi-trailer that opens up into an impressive showroom. There were handguns, rifles, ammunition, clothing, sporting clays and even Labrador puppies for sale.

“This is a one day event and some years we have trick shooters, which are always fun to watch,” said Kjergaard. “There is a two year waiting list for most of them and unfortunately for this year they had filled up their itineraries before we got to them. We have also had taxidermists show their wares and services as well.”

On the ranges and in between the vendor booths it was safety first as employees and dealer representatives were everywhere keeping the large crowd of enthusiasts following strict firearm safety guidelines.

“This is our sixth year and we’ve never had an accident,” said Kjergaard. “Everyone you see helping out there is either an employee or a rep and they are all concerned with the safety of our customers. They make sure everyone has access to hearing protection and follows firearm safety regulations to the tee.”

As one pulled up to the Kjergaard property, two young ladies directed people to the parking area, where they could catch a shuttle up to the main area. Porters Big Toys for Big Boys provided Rangers and Gators to haul people and merchandise to and from the parking areas.

Pipestone County Pheasants Forever was raffling off a Honda ATV four-wheeler.

Jared Beck said it’s a great event that Kjergaard’s puts on every year. “It gives us a chance to shoot all kinds of guns we can’t afford to buy,” said Beck. “Then again, if we find something we like a lot, we can save up for it and we know what we’re getting into.”

Beck was firing a pistol at the handgun range and gave his younger brother Jordan and opportunity to shoot it as well, under his careful watch.

A huge draw that made a big boom was the .50 Caliber rifle that participants had an opportunity to shoot. Another brother, Preston Beck, took a few shots at a rifle range target as Brandon Paluch gave instructions on how to properly load and where to aim the weapon.

“I was right next to one of those on the ground, under a Humvee,” said Jared Beck. “Not only was it loud, it shook the ground.”

High Prairie Sporting Clays of Canby brought their portable trap house for added fun. Nick Krog was trying out a shotgun and shot a couple of clay pigeons and a clay rabbit as well.

Matt Eickhoff, Kjergaard’s employee and son-in-law, ran down the list of who was there and what they had to offer. Pump action, over-unders, semi-automatic, bolt action, AR’s, you name it, they were all there from all of the major manufactures.

Browning, Remington, Winchester, Savage Arms, Smith and Wesson, Ruger, Walther Pistols, DPMS, CVA, Benelli USA, Beretta, Sako Rifles, Hornada, Under Armour and Trijicon Optics all displayed their wares and provided demos for potential customers to try out.

Dakota Ridge Labradors brought out some black and chocolate Lab puppies, which were happily playing in a pen, seemingly oblivious to the noise all around them.

There was a steady stream of people walking the grounds, browsing the store and waiting in line at the counter.

“It’s a great, great day,” said Kjergaard. “We could’ve done without the three inches of rain last night, but that didn’t stop people from coming. A couple of hours ago you could hardly walk in here due to all of the people, but we didn’t mind.”

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