[Congressional Record Volume 159, Number 65 (Thursday, May 9, 2013)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E640]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                        TRIBUTE TO MIKE RAAHAUGE

                                  _____
                                 

                            HON. KEN CALVERT

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                         Thursday, May 9, 2013

  Mr. CALVERT. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor and pay tribute to a 
dear friend of mine, Mike Raahauge. Mike passed away on May 6, 2013 
after a long battle with esophageal cancer. He was a pillar of the 
community in Corona and will be deeply missed.
  The story of Mike's shooting range, Raahauge's Shooting Enterprises, 
began with his father, Linc, who had operated a pheasant hunting 
facility in Dixon, California in the 1950s. While on a family trip to 
Disneyland, Linc got lost and ended up on Highway 71. He believed the 
area would be ideal for pheasant farming, and in 1971 Mike helped his 
father move the facility to southern California after signing a lease 
with the Orange County Water District.
  Mike's father had always wanted to move south because the region had 
a larger population. The family's first hunting facility, which hunted 
pheasants and ducks, opened on Bluff Street in Norco, California. 
Target traps were set on the balcony of the clubhouse and alongside a 
dirt road which overlooked the basin below with views of the Santa Ana 
River. The range was eventually moved to River Road in Corona. 
Throughout the years, the Raahauges offered chukar, quail and other 
upland game hunting. After his father's death in 1989, Mike, his wife 
Elaine, and their son Pat continued to operate the range as a family 
business.
  Today, about 2,000 men, women and children annually come to 
Raahauge's to take the hunter safety course required to obtain a 
hunting license. Mike said of the program, ``Of everything I do here, 
that's the most important . . . It makes it a safer world. There are 
guns in our society. People need to know how to handle them safely. 
We're giving them a safe way to deal with guns.''
  About 1.5 million rounds are fired by shotguns in sporting clays at 
the property in a year, and ten police agencies including Anaheim, 
Fullerton and Buena Park practice at the pistol range. It is also home 
to many shooting groups such as Shooting Sports Alliance, The Cowboys, 
LUHT Steel Challenge, Gen X and Running Gun, The Appleseed Project, 
SoCal Top Guns Youth Shooting, NRA Shooting Programs and Firearms 
Training Associates. The ranch also hosts events for local wildlife and 
conservation organizations such as the Cowboys, who turn the ranch into 
the Old West twice each year to compete with old cowboy guns. In 1982, 
Mike worked together with gun manufacturers to create the Hands On 
Shooting Sports Fair, which began that year and still occurs every 
first weekend in June in Corona.
  Carolyn Morse, the office manager for Raahauge's, said that Mike's 
success came from his desire to get boys and girls and women involved 
in what was traditionally seen as a male-dominated sport. In fact, the 
most prominent girl to pick. up the sport at the range was Mike's 
daughter, Cindy, who competed as part of the 2000 U.S. Olympic team in 
Sydney. Mike said his time spent in Australia watching his daughter 
take fifth place in women's skeet shooting was the ``highlight of my 
life.'' Cindy was trained by 1984 Olympic Bronze Medalist Dan Carlisle, 
who lives in Houston but still makes frequent appearances at the range 
to give private lessons. Michael Reagan, son of President Ronald 
Reagan, also took shooting lessons at the range.
  Mike is survived by Elaine, his wife and partner of 48 years; his 
son, Pat, who has three sons and two daughters; and his daughter, Cindy 
Shenberger, who lives in North Carolina with her husband, Kevin, and 
their two daughters.
  Mike was a great American patriot who will always be remembered for 
his incredible work ethic, generosity, contributions to the community 
and love of family. His dedication to her family, work, and community 
are a testament to a life lived well and a legacy that will continue. I 
extend my condolences to Mike's family and friends; although Mike may 
be gone, the light and goodness he brought to the world remain and will 
never be forgotten.

                          ____________________