FOXBORO - Claiming hardship, the Independent Sportsmen's Club on Mirimichi Road aims to resume its Wednesday night shotgun shoots.

Allowing blasts of shotguns on school night evenings would pick off a pledge the club made to neighbors 19 years ago.

"At this juncture, it (is) no longer feasible for the club to forgo Wednesday night events during the winter months," attorney Mark Stopa wrote to Town Manager Andrew Gala. "The club has found that limiting events to Friday to Sunday during the winter has put a critical strain on both its volunteer resources as well as its ability to generate income to fund the operation of the club."

Stopa cited a state law, which he said allows the club to operate 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. daily. Shotgun shoots are currently held 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. Fridays, and starting at 1 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays.

He wrote that the club wants to keep up a good neighbor policy. "To that end, while the club must reinstate its Wednesday shoots during the winter months, it will continue to voluntarily forgo winter evening events on Sundays, Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays."

Stopa wrote in response to an Oct. 2 letter from Gala notifying club officer George J. Bohnenberger of reports that the club has been conducting shoots Wednesday nights, and asked the organization to comply with its 1989 agreement.

Stopa responded that "the club has not had Wednesday night events during the winter months since 1989."

Under the 1989 agreement, the club pledged to confine Wednesday night shoots to "the summer months only, when school is in recess."

Stopa wrote that the club had volunteered to enter that agreement, and that it can no longer afford to omit Wednesdays from its winter evening shotgun schedule. Shotgun events are a major source of revenue.