Founders Range Dedication October 11

Join Us to Honor Mill Creek's Founding Fathers October 11

 Mill Creek Rifle Club dedicates new range to recognize Hodgdon Family

A can't-miss feature of this year's annual Mill Creek Rifle Club Picnic and Swap Meet will be a range-dedication ceremony honoring the namesakes of this organization: Bruce, Bob, and J.B. Hodgdon.

On Saturday, October 11, all club members are warmly invited to join members of the Hodgdon Family and the club board of directors for a special ceremonial dedication of the new multipurpose range in honor of the Hodgdon Family, the founding family of the Mill Creek Rifle Club. Mill Creek President Michael Borkon will lead a recognition at 11 a.m. on the current MultiPurpose Range 4 to honor the innumerable contributions the three men have made not only to the club, but also to the shooting sports community worldwide.

The Founders

 Bruce Hodgdon

Bruce Hodgdon turned a passion for custom-loading ammunition for friends during World War II while in the Navy and a few dollars borrowed on the cash value of his life insurance policy while selling gas stoves door-to-door into the world’s leader in firearms propellants today known as Hodgdon Powder. Operating on an instinct that enough shooters would be interested in buying the huge powder stocks the U.S. Government was expected to destroy at the end of the war, Bruce took a chance and bought up 50,000 pounds of surplus 4895, storing it in an old boxcar in a rented pasture and advertised via a one-inch American Rifleman ad.

By the time of his death in 1997, he had made the last of a series of donations of land he owned in the flood-prone Kansas River bottoms to form what is today the site of Mill Creek Rifle Club.

 Bob Hodgdon

Bob Hodgdon’s personal and professional life was intertwined with the Hodgdon Powder Company Bruce founded in 1947, beginning with weighing and loading powder into retail bags in the family basement as a schoolboy.  For more than 70 years, Bob served in multiple positions at the company, including President from 1976 to 1997 and Board Chairman from 2014 to 2017.

He assisted with the design and led the team constructing the Pyrodex Plant in Herington, Kansas in 1979 and helped to design and build The Bullet Hole in 1967, Merriam’s 44-station indoor shooting range.

JB Hodgdon

James Brewster Hodgdon likewise worked alongside little brother Bob from the first day of the company’s start, weighing and packing single-pound bags of powder while sitting at the kitchen table. As a teenager, he worked part time at the powder magazine, joining the growing firm fulltime after college, at which time he and Bob grew the business exponentially. JB grew to become the face of Hodgdon Powder, traveling to trade shows and distribution companies across the country.

He eventually served as Hodgdon Powder’s President and Chairman of the Board until he became Chairman Emeritus shortly before his passing.

More on the History of Millcreek Rifle Club

Get the story behind Millcreek Rifle Club from the people who were responsible.

We hope you can join us October 11 to honor these men, without whom Mill Creek Rifle Club would not exist in its current form. Festivities will include the always popular club swap meet, featuring more than 30 tables of member shooting wares; hands-on demonstrations by the Mill Creek Practical Shooting League and the Scholastic Action Shooting Program KC Steel Raiders; and a full complimentary lunch provided by local Boy Scouts of America Troop 459.

The Pavilion will open at 8 a.m. for set-up of swap meet tables, with doors opening for business at 9 a.m. At 11 a.m. we'll gather at the Multipurpose Range 4 for the dedication of the new range in honor of the club founders. Following the ceremony, the Scouts will serve another of their great barbecue feasts.

Plan now to join us on October 11. Click here to RSVP so we can help the Scouts plan the meal. 

If you're interested in displaying at the Swap Meet, reserve your table space today. Tables are available in half-table increments, and they are available on a first-come/first-served basis. Click here to reserve your space.

Hope to see you there!