About Us
Mission
A Mission Unmatched by any School in the Country
Through the Halter Shooting Sports Education Center, Hillsdale College promotes the responsible and disciplined use of firearms in shooting sports for all ages by teaching fundamental safety and marksmanship; trains youth and collegiate athletes to compete at the highest levels; advances conservation; fosters intelligent patriotism, self-governance, and citizenship through teaching the U.S. Constitution; and supports American shooting sport success on the world stage in partnership with USA Shooting.
In 2007, the Estate of Roland L. Ebersole Provided a Gift to Establish Shooting Sports Scholarships at Hillsdale College.
In 2008, with a generous estate gift from Roland L. Ebersole, Hillsdale College purchased land located five miles south of the main campus for the development of a shooting range. That fall, the range opened, and the College added the first basic shotgun class to its course roster. A few years later, John A. Halter made a leadership gift toward the shooting range, and the John Anthony Halter Shooting Sports Education Center was established. Additional leadership gifts from benefactors including AcuSport Corporation, the William S. and Ann Atherton Foundation, the Herbert H. and Barbara C. Dow Foundation, the Hal and Jean Glassen Memorial Foundation, Elizabeth A. Ailes, and Alan N. Taylor have paved the way for continued expansion of the facility, including the construction of the AcuSport Lodge and International/Olympic bunker field, the Glassen International Skeet Field, the Ailes Action Shooting Range, and the David N. Taylor Nimrod E.C. Rifle Range and H.W. “Bing” Carlson Nimrod E.C. Archery Range within our future indoor/outdoor facility.
Our Story
Our Aims
A Lifetime of Learning and Love of Shooting Sports
A lifetime of learning and loving the shooting sports led me to my current role as Range Manager at Hillsdale College’s John Anthony Halter Shooting Sports Education Center. I grew up on a farm in a family of hunters in Southeast Michigan. As a young man, I learned a lot about shooting from my grandfather. I learned to hunt pheasants early on, during the time in Michigan when the pheasant population was abundant. I was in the Woods and Waters club during high school, and I began to learn club-style shooting. I started shooting in organized clay shooting leagues in 1980. I began shooting competition skeet in 1984.
I have been a member of the National Sporting Clays Association for over 30 years and have shot competitively for much of that time. I ran the Brooklyn Sportsman’s Club and was on their Board of Directors for eleven years, and served as vice president for nine years. In 2020, I joined the Michigan Sporting Clays Association’s Board of Directors, and in 2022, I was elected president of the Michigan Sporting Clays Association.
The shooting sports have taught me self-improvement and self-reflection. They also teach lessons of responsibility and self-discipline. I have been able to apply those lessons in all aspects of my life, and it’s because of this that I think the shooting sports are so beneficial for young people. The Halter Shooting Sports Education Center will introduce many people to the shooting sports and serve those who have a lifetime of shooting experience.
Matt Little
Range Manager, John Anthony Halter Shooting Sports Education Center