Legacy
Built by the men who came home
They had already given the hardest years of their lives to their country. When the Greatest Generation came home, they wanted a place of their own. A place to gather, to swap stories, to hunt and to belong. From that simple need, Ground Swipers was born.
The first meetings were held at Billy South's Stop In on Flint Road, a gathering spot as unpretentious as the men who filled it. As the ranks grew, the club found a proper home on Magnolia Avenue in South Toms River, and a brotherhood took root that would outlast every one of its founders.
From hunting lodge to the firing line
In the early days the clubhouse on Lacey Road was part lodge, part refuge. Bunks lined the walls for members who came in from a long hunt, and the woodstove never quite went cold. But something was stirring on the grounds outside. The crack of the shotgun and the arc of the clay were beginning to define the club as much as the hunt ever had.
The friendly rivalry with the Forked River Tuna Club sharpened the edge. Match after match, Ground Swipers traded the quiet of the lodge for the discipline of the line, and a hunting club quietly became a proving ground for marksmen.
The tradition we carry forward
Seven decades on, the values those founders set in place still run the club. We shoot, we compete, and we welcome the next generation onto the same ground our members have stood on since the 1950s.
The Weekly Big 50
Every week the traps run for our Big 50, keeping members sharp and the tradition of friendly competition alive.
Hall of Fame Members
Our ranks include inductees of the state trapshooting Hall of Fame, shooters whose achievements we are proud to showcase.
Generations Deep
Grandfathers, fathers and children have shot these same fields, a living thread that ties today's club to its earliest days.
We remember the founders
The men in that photograph raised the sign, poured the foundation and set the standard. Their names belong to this club forever, and every clay we break is thrown in their honor.
Add your name to the story
Do you have original photos from the early days or a great story to tell? Send it over. We are building this history together, and every photograph and memory helps us honor where Ground Swipers came from.
Send It Over