Hill Country Shooting Sports Center, located in Kerrville, Texas, was conceived in 1999 by a group of folks who wanted to build a facility to take care of the needs of recreational, competitive and 4-H shooters. This group consisted of the members of Hill Country Gun Club, Kerr County 4-H Skeet & Trap Club kids & parents and the Burch family. The nexus for this collaboration was the closing of a range between the towns of Kerrville and Fredericksburg, Texas that all parties were using. The members of the Hill Country Gun Club brought assets, Kerr County 4-H brought fundraising capabilities and the Burch family the land.

Construction began in July of 2000 with the first event being held in October. With 2 skeet fields, one trap field and a porta-potty the facility was off and running. The skeet houses were made from recycled tilt wall panels rescued from a remodeling job on the Kerr County Jail. 2001 brought the 4-H activity center to the facility and indoor plumbing. The 4-H Club also held their first tournament at the facility in 2001 hosting 125 youth shooters from around Texas. In 2004, two 4-H parents who had kids that wanted an international trap field available to them approached the facility. Within 6 weeks the first bunker trap was installed and operational and shortly after USA Shooting Preliminary Tryouts were being held.

By 2005 a new proshop/classroom/restroom facility had been built along with a paved entrance road and a parking lot. In June the Texas State Sporting Clay Championships were held at the facility. A total of 501 contestants attended the tournament setting a record for attendance that stands in the state today.
Rumblings of the need for a facility to replace the Atlanta/Wolf Creek/1996 Olympic Shooting Park were being heard in 2004 and 2005. Contact with USA Shooting was initially made in 2004 and by early 2005 serious talks were bearing fruit. At the end of 2005 a contract between the center and USA Shooting was signed and the center started down the road to be the only facility in the western hemisphere that, when complete, will be able to host all of the international shooting events at one time, a combined event.

In May of 2006 the world came to Texas for the first World Cup Shotgun Match held in the United States since 1998. With 350 athletes from 48 nations the tournament was a success in many ways. It introduced the world to Kerrville and the facility, gave the United States athletes a home range internationally and fixed the facility on the map of international shooting competition.

The start of 2008 brought much excitement as the range began preparations for the Olympic Team Trials for shotgun. Hosting 175 of America’s best shooters brought the cream of the crop to the top. Eight Olympic positions were being contested, 1 Lady Skeet, 1 Lady Trap, 2 Men’s Skeet, 2 Men’s Skeet and 2 Men’s Double Trap. When the dust settled, four Texans, a World Champion/World Record holder and a two-time Olympic Champion made the team. In May of 2008 the facility hosted the world again for a Shotgun World Cup. Nearly 300 shooters from around the world competed for bragging rights as many of the competitors were headed to the 2008 Olympic Games in Bejing, China.

The future is bright for Hill Country Shooting Sports Center. When the rifle and pistol venues are complete the operational tempo will reach as many as 25 tournaments per year with several counting as major events. In addition to that individuals and teams are and will continue to train here extensively.

To be completed in the near future are the 35,000 square foot air gun range with 80 firing points, the 50 meter rifle & pistol range with 80 firing points and the 25 meter pistol range with 40 firing points. With these ranges complete the United States will once again be able to host the world at one facility for all Olympic shooting events. This capability has been absent since 1999.