Washington’s Paul Bunyan Rifle & Sportsman’s Club

The Paul Bunyan Rifle and Sportsman’s Club, located in Puyallup, WA, is one of the largest civilian-owned ranges in the Pacific Northwest. Founded in 1945, the club has more than 700 members and provides its participants with ranges able to accommodate most shooting events in rifle, pistol and shotgun. The club offers a variety of weekly and annual matches, including high power rifle, trap shoots, black powder and smallbore rifle, as well as several junior programs and leagues. 

In the early 1950s, the Paul Bunyan Rifle Club offered the first hunter safety training in Washington, and helped press for legislation making it mandatory for juveniles to take safety training before obtaining an initial hunting license. Since then, hunter education continues to be a popular offering to residents with every session filled to capacity. Additionally, Paul Bunyan conducts Washington state Youth Hunter Education Challenge (YHEC) events.


The club is active in supporting wildlife and natural resources, contributing to various conservation groups, while making donations to other events including Friends of NRA banquets. Eighty acres of the club's land is also dedicated as a certified tree farm, the country's first rifle club to be so designated.

Through the options available, members stay involved at the range. “Everybody goes out of their way to be helpful, especially to new shooters,” said Bill Montgomery, former vice president of Paul Bunyan. The junior rifle program has seen plenty of success with quite a few participants earning college scholarships for their marksmanship skills. Over the last decade, the club has built an indoor range and clubhouse to meet the needs of its shooters.

For more information on the club, visit www.pbrsc.org, or call (253) 847-7893.

Photos courtesy of Paul Bunyan Rifle and Sportsman’s Club