Clay & Camaraderie
Gianni Buffalino fires a shotgun at a clay target at Sanctum 1791, a private sport shooting social club, in Holly Ridge. (Photo by Madeline Gray)
Social shooting club Sanctum 1791 in Holly Ridge gives the area shooting community a place to call their own.
“Shooters outnumber golfers,” according to the private club’s founder Chris Buffalino, but there are few, if any, golf club-like facilities for shooters. “After stumbling upon a farm, an old hog farm, I had the idea to build a place to shoot with friends.”
Buffalino conducted a market research study with the National Shooting Sports Foundation, which verified that “when it comes to hunters and shooters, we outnumber golfers,” so there was definitely an audience to reach, he said.
Buffalino assembled a group of people, including his son, Gianni; longtime friend and business partner, Rene Flores Sr., owner of Wilmington-headquartered Flores & Foley Roofing + Sheet Metal; and Rene Flores Sr.’s son, Rene Flores Jr., to build on the idea and create something bigger for an untapped market.
The building plans changed over the course of a year before they were ready to start construction, and they continued researching and bringing on more investors as interest became apparent.
“We pre-registered 400 members before we had a shovel in the ground,” Chris Buffalino said.
Now, open since May, Sanctum 1791 has a team of experts in place, from the “sporting clays side of the business” to the best world-class shooters, to top designers, according to Chris Buffalino.
“We compiled people who really wanted to be a part of what we are doing,” he said.
The expertise of sporting clay designer and consultant Rick Hemingway was employed to design the shooting clay course.
“People have come from very far away to see and shoot the course,” Chris Buffalino said. “There are a lot of good things happening. Unlike most of the facilities that people travel to that just go from station to station, ours has a lot of character. We have a 35-foot boat for members to shoot off of and elevated stands.”
Gun safety and handling are highlighted at the facility, which offers more than 30 classes covering a range of skills taught by experienced instructors, including a seven-time shooting world champion, Chris Buffalino said.
“We have classes and training for everyone. Safety is a big thing for us,” he said.
Sanctum 1791 sits on 107 acres, so the team already has growth plans, including a 3D archery range. A kids’ air rifle range is set to open soon.
“It is a modern, state-of-the-art facility,” co-owner and founder Rene Flores Jr. said. “And our memberships are fair. We didn’t overprice them and make them untouchable. It is also a social membership where members can take advantage of membership events, our restaurant, our firepit.”
Tombstone Bar & Grill is the club’s restaurant, offering members breakfast, lunch and dinner with friends and family, or a place to relax at the bar with its signature cocktails.
“It is recreational, great for families, outside of a local marina, golf course or country club. This is just different. We are excited to show people the opportunities within this space,” Chris Buffalino said. “There are a lot of places like this in Texas, upstate New York and even Western North Carolina, but there’s nothing really like this in coastal North Carolina.”
The facility has corporate members from Raleigh, Jacksonville and Wilmington.
“It is a great place to bring people, and a lot of business is done on a golf course, so a lot of business can be done here,” Chris Buffalino said.
He and the Flores’ vision for Sanctum 1791 is one of a premier shooting and social club.
“Part of our mission, and what makes me excited to wake up in the mornings, is that many (members) have never had a place where they feel comfortable to shoot,” Flores Jr. said. “There is nothing like getting to see someone after they’ve been shooting for the first time and see them back at Tombstone, and they’re all smiles. They just had the best time of their life and found a new hobby. It is so cool.”
Chris Buffalino said, “The big focus is to give members an experience that they can’t get anywhere else. Our mission is to share this place with people in a community that we feel a part of, one of hunting, fishing, camaraderie. This is a place they can call their own. All of us want to be a part of something.”
