~ The new fields are being built througha partnership between the MDC and the Cape County Gun Club.

The Apple Creek Shooting Range will be open this holiday weekend for a sneak peek of the recently constructed trap and skeet shooting facility.

The Missouri Department of Conservation constructed the trap and skeet fields at the shooting range in a partnership with the nonprofit Cape County Gun Club.

"We are thrilled to bring trap and skeet back to Cape County," said Dee Dee Dockins, outdoor skills specialist with the Missouri Department of Conservation, in a news release. "However, these are specialized games with specialized equipment. The Cape County Gun Club proposed a partnership with the Missouri Department of Conservation to provide the equipment and manpower necessary to run the range and offer these services to our users."

The fields are scheduled for more grading work before the official start of the shooting season in March of 2007.

Range hours are 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday and 1 to 5 p.m. Sunday.

The cost for 25 targets is $3.75.

Information on future weekend shooting sessions before the official season also will be made available to the public.

Apple Creek Shooting Range is located 18 miles northeast of Jackson, on Highway CC. Drivers can take Highway 61 north to Fruitland, turn right on Highway C and right on CC, then drive about 5 miles to the range.

For more information on opportunities at Apple Creek, call the MDC Southeast Regional Office at (573) 290-5730 or Cape County Gun Club at (573) 833-6173.

Some information for this report was provided by the Missouri Department of Conservation.