Big price increase for local range

[Hatchdog]

Our wonderful local rifle range is another victim of the last couple of years of inflation. Currently the dues are $125 per year and while that’s expensive the convenience and quality of the range is worth it. Starting next year the price will double increasing $67.50 per year for two years. I’m finding since I quit shooting long range competition there I’m just not using it as much as I used to. I’m considering letting my membership lapse and just using a gravel pit on some state land about 10 miles north of me. No benches or target stands but I used to shoot here a lot and have my own. Problem is it’s gated so everything has to be hauled in. I use an old dock cart to do this which works well. The other problems is two fold, it get’s real crowded so I like to go early but going alone also makes me concerned somewhat for my safety. Doesn’t take bringing too many guns along to get real attractive to a thief. I have amplified ear muffs which I wear backwards to listen for anybody walking up behind me.

But, doing this should encourage me to change up my shooting style which I have been wanting to do. I need to get away from the bench and searching for tiny groups and do more offhand shooting like many of you on here do. Going to the pit would work well for that. Of course right now there is no shooting on state land allowed due to fire danger but it’s too damn hot to shoot anyway.

[Sir Henry]

I’ve changed from bench shooting to offhand in the last few years. Setting up targets and then collecting them takes time and while I still shoot paper most of my shooting is done at bullet traps and other metal objects which is hit or miss instead of group size.

Good luck with whatever you choose.

[fortyshooter]

My range dues have stayed the same for several years at $ 123 bucks per year.....the county real estate tax...as long as I keep any structure under 250 sq. ft. in size. Yes just enjoy simple shooting off hand and keep it fun and relaxing!
I'm laying out my "shooter's door 30x18 inch in size to go at the target area end of my shed. On hot days just fire the generator for lights and A/C and shoot out the open door/hatch!

[DsGrouse]

Our wonderful local rifle range is another victim of the last couple of years of inflation. Currently the dues are $125 per year and while that’s expensive the convenience and quality of the range is worth it. Starting next year the price will double increasing $67.50 per year for two years. I’m finding since I quit shooting long range competition there I’m just not using it as much as I used to. I’m considering letting my membership lapse and just using a gravel pit on some state land about 10 miles north of me. No benches or target stands but I used to shoot here a lot and have my own. Problem is it’s gated so everything has to be hauled in. I use an old dock cart to do this which works well. The other problems is two fold, it get’s real crowded so I like to go early but going alone also makes me concerned somewhat for my safety. Doesn’t take bringing too many guns along to get real attractive to a thief. I have amplified ear muffs which I wear backwards to listen for anybody walking up behind me.

But, doing this should encourage me to change up my shooting style which I have been wanting to do. I need to get away from the bench and searching for tiny groups and do more offhand shooting like many of you on here do. Going to the pit would work well for that. Of course right now there is no shooting on state land allowed due to fire danger but it’s too damn hot to shoot anyway.

A buddy let his lapse locally. Then a year or so later his schedule opened up, an old friend got back into shooting. Both found out the range has a wait list over 4 years long for membership.

[Cowboy Gun Fan]

Well, I guess I'm just another one of those lucky ones that can shoot on my own land down in back of my house.

Wishing good luck to those who need to rely on other sources out there.

[daytime dave]

Well, I guess I'm just another one of those lucky ones that can shoot on my own land down in back of my house.

Wishing good luck to those who need to rely on other sources out there.

It sure is nice to be able to do that.

[GFK]

Well, it can be challenging finding a nice, legal place to shoot. As yes, crime doesn’t seem to discriminate. When I was in San Diego, there was a place in the mountains that I would go and shoot. It was not clean at times, but it was free. Our membership went up by $25, a year or so ago. Since I am a member that works on a committee, I don't pay dues. So, it was not a concern. Yet, it is $100 a year, which is not too bad to me anyway. Dues include all that are in my household. Therefore, my wife and I go and have fun, from time to time. It is a place to shoot, until I am able to get my own, if that will ever happen. However, it works for now. Nonetheless, I believe something will work out for you.

[BrokenolMarine]

Just a couple things to consider which you might not have thought of....

The last time I went to a public/indoor range... and this was a LONG Time ago....
It was about $10 per 30 minute session to shoot. BUT, you had to buy your ammo there, NO outside ammo. (Um... insurance purposes.)

** I could understand no reloads, but no outside factory ammo? They said people could reload and then SAY it was factory. Okay... I grant that point. Their ammo was about 20% higher than anywhere in town... they were making plenty since they bought by the truckload. I suspected they were buying commercial reloads.

No Rapid Fire Strings... Distinct breaks between shots.
Hard to practice for the matches if you couldn't practice the match format, but ... I understood. If I was practicing the rapid fire string everyone on the line would start up shooting rapid fire, and they might not (likely couldn't) control it. The condition of the ceiling tiles attested to that.

No practicing the draw from the holster.... Guns must come from the bench or the low ready.
Yeah, I got that. You'd have "Cowboy Bill" shooting the edge of the bench in front of him with his quick draw.

No BIG bore handguns, no full auto.
No need to explain.

You might want to reconsider the member though. I'd think of the increase as "Insurance." If that range is nice and the other members friendly, the Peace of mind might be well worth the extra money. Your post already tells us you won't feel safe or comfortable where you plan to shoot if you don't renew your membership.

Remember, everything has gotten more expensive and someone has to pay to maintain everything at the range.

[Hatchdog]

All good points BOM. The range I belong to allows reloads and big bore guns but the rest of your points do apply. This range is set up for paper punching only. That’s fine for sighting in and doing group/load development. For safety I would do better to go to the public land with others but I would avoid it on a weekend (crazy busy) so that leaves out many others to join me.

I have property up north near the border that would be perfect to set up a range on and I have considered that often. Trouble is that it’s a 90 minute drive away. Can’t shoot here at home due to to community rules but I have shot rimfire here from time to time.

[BrokenolMarine]

All good points BOM. The range I belong to allows reloads and big bore guns but the rest of your points do apply. This range is set up for paper punching only. That’s fine for sighting in and doing group/load development. For safety I would do better to go to the public land with others but I would avoid it on a weekend (crazy busy) so that leaves out many others to join me.

I have property up north near the border that would be perfect to set up a range on and I have considered that often. Trouble is that it’s a 90 minute drive away. Can’t shoot here at home due to to community rules but I have shot rimfire here from time to time.

When I first left the Corps, I rented for a year while I got situated and locked into the new career, but once that first lease was up and I started looking for a house, I made sure we were going to be in an area where I could shoot on the property. I had just an acre, but it backed up to a power line easement and the Sheriff confirmed it was legal to shoot. I did find out that ONE of the neighbors would later become a Karen before there was such a thing. If she was tired, frazzled, annoyed, not in the mood, whatever... no one in the area was supposed to do anything that made noise. (Shoot, mow, use power tools, kids play outside.... ) I was just on an acre, but the others in the area were on anywhere from three to fifteen. She was on seven.

A couple years later I moved farther away from my job, to the farm we'd live on for the next 28 years.... and we eventually had 20 acres and I had a nice range there. I made sure when we moved again there would be room to place a range and shooting wouldn't be an issue. The guy across the road had a formal range for years until he passed and for a good while ran classes once a quarter. It's overgrown and in disuse now... I told miss Tina, I have TWO requirements. 20 acres minimum in the country... and a place for my range. Everything else is on you.

[fortyshooter]

All good points BOM. The range I belong to allows reloads and big bore guns but the rest of your points do apply. This range is set up for paper punching only. That’s fine for sighting in and doing group/load development. For safety I would do better to go to the public land with others but I would avoid it on a weekend (crazy busy) so that leaves out many others to join me.

I have property up north near the border that would be perfect to set up a range on and I have considered that often. Trouble is that it’s a 90 minute drive away. Can’t shoot here at home due to to community rules but I have shot rimfire here from time to time.

Maybe get a built shed setup up there and go for weekend shoots?? I need to insulate mine and do some camp outs at my place.

[Hatchdog]

All good points BOM. The range I belong to allows reloads and big bore guns but the rest of your points do apply. This range is set up for paper punching only. That’s fine for sighting in and doing group/load development. For safety I would do better to go to the public land with others but I would avoid it on a weekend (crazy busy) so that leaves out many others to join me.

I have property up north near the border that would be perfect to set up a range on and I have considered that often. Trouble is that it’s a 90 minute drive away. Can’t shoot here at home due to to community rules but I have shot rimfire here from time to time.

Maybe get a built shed setup up there and go for weekend shoots?? I need to insulate mine and do some camp outs at my place.

Fortunately there is this building on the property. My wife’s uncle used to live here in a shack that was so awful that we had it demolished. This building is still in pretty good shape. In the foreground is the rv pad my wife and I put in. We have power and phone but no water. I’m thinking strongly about putting a range in up there and I like your idea about setting up “shooting” camp. Just to the right of my tractor is a dirt berm her uncle dug out when he needed dirt which would make a backstop with improvements. Trouble is the property line is right behind the berm and I don’t like the idea of shooting towards the neighbor’s property. I understand that this spot is not accessible by vehicle due to not being able to cross the creek but still it’s not a good idea. The property takes a pretty steep uphill climb and then level’s out somewhat. That’s probably where I would put the range. We’re heading up there today to take an overall look and I’ll give a look at a range site.

IMG_2327.jpeg (4.52 MiB) Viewed 2407 times

[Wabash kid]

Even though I built a shootin range on my property, I still keep up my membership at my club. If I were you, I would think long and hard before you let your membership laps. You can still go to the quarry and practice off hand shootin. And I also agree, learning to shoot offhand is the best annd only way to defend yourself, there’s no benches in a defensive situation. But still having a bench to sight in your guns and play the 1/4 inch game are good things too, keep your membership up, and have the best of both worlds!
Paul

[BrokenolMarine]

I don't know if you remember my range project when I started. But I used 48 railroad ties to build the u shaped berm backing. As you'll see, there are gaps between the ties because they are used, and unless you buy HIGH dollar new ties you'll get the gaps. I didn't want the stray shot to slip thru and nail a duck, goose, cow, or donkey... or somehow fly over the woods due to a richocheet and land somewhere it shouldn't.

sweet.jpg (581.34 KiB) Viewed 2399 times

It was always my intention for that berm wall to enclose and contain a dirt berm. I filled the inside of the U with dirt from the various spots around the farm and a 13 ton load from a construction site they were looking to dump. (Always available at a low cost.) I'll keep adding as I can. Here you can see I came back in after it settled and added ten more buckets from the pile at the end of the dam by the pond. (You can tell by the difference in color.) I'll keep adding until the entire loop is filled in. Maintenance.

improving the berm 2 230426.jpg (671.23 KiB) Viewed 2399 times

For a bench? Folding table and a small step ladder....

02 Shooting Bench.jpg (477.91 KiB) Viewed 2399 times

Works pretty good, since the groups are tight. My point of aim here was the intersection of the lines between the four orange blocks. Scope sighting target.

three hunting rounds at 60 yards.jpg (392.47 KiB) Viewed 2399 times

I keep all this stuff in my range house on the range. A risk, but a slight one. All covered by the cameras and there are signs warning of video surveillance. The building is well back off the road, behind the cattle barn.

range house front.jpg (647.36 KiB) Viewed 2399 times

[Hatchdog]

Made a trip up north today so I replicated the picture above. Last year I pulled all the thistle and sprayed Ground Clear on the pad. Earlier this spring it looked great but today, not so much. What a mess. We will want to get up here in September to do some grouse hunting so I’ll get up and clean it up before then. I want to mow the field and I am surprised how green it is this late in this hot dry summer. This area however has a micro climate and gets much more rain than where I live 60 miles south. Plus I believe it is sub-irrigated, at least on the other side of the creek there’s a spring that is wet most of the year.

I don’t want to mow until the field gets a bunch of rain, both because of my mower blade hitting a rock and sparking a fire and just the misery of sitting in a hot cloud of dust while mowing.

I did find a location that I think will work great for a range. This spot is just above where the building is and the direction of shooting is to the rear of the property. Advantage of that is the rear of the property is hundreds of acres of timber company land and there are zero homes that direction. Plus from where I took this picture my place rises another 50 - 75 heavily timbered feet which will provide an excellent backstop. This is 50 (paced) yards and I can cut into the trees to extend the distance but I think if I do my target will be in the low light.



Here’s the spot for shooting. (Sorry for the picture size, I need to learn how to resize)

IMG_4163.jpeg (7.97 MiB) Viewed 2392 times

Here’s my disaster of an RV pad.

IMG_4167.jpeg (7.29 MiB) Viewed 2392 times

Field mowing pending…

IMG_4161.jpeg (6.88 MiB) Viewed 2392 times

[Shakey Jake]

I envy those of you with land that can shoot outside your back doors. I pay a bit over $500/yr to shoot. It's still better than paying the per session price. That's for a family shooting plan. It would only be about $50 cheaper for just having an individual plan.
Jake

[The Happy Kaboomer]

That's not a bad price to me even with the increase..........Taxes/Insurance/morgage/rent paymnets/range upkeep..........It all goes up just like groceries and gasoline.

[BrokenolMarine]

My initial investment to build MY range, not including the range house, was about $1,000 not including labor. BUT, I caught the RR ties on sale from the RR. Just under $8 each. Normally they are about $20 each at the box stores or Home Depot. I bought three 16 tie bundles, wish I had bought four to six.

I'll improve as I go. I intentionally built mine in the shaded corridor. It's OK. Temps in the summer easily pass 100. The shade offers a ten to fifteen degree drop.
Plus, I'm no longer training for match competitions so there is no pressure.

[Hatchdog]

My initial investment to build MY range, not including the range house, was about $1,000 not including labor. BUT, I caught the RR ties on sale from the RR. Just under $8 each. Normally they are about $20 each at the box stores or Home Depot. I bought three 16 tie bundles, wish I had bought four to six.

I'll improve as I go. I intentionally built mine in the shaded corridor. It's OK. Temps in the summer easily pass 100. The shade offers a ten to fifteen degree drop.
Plus, I'm no longer training for match competitions so there is no pressure.

BOM, I searched yesterday for your original post regarding your range build but couldn’t find it. I’ll look some more today but my question is this. I recall you used a very clever method to tie your RR ties together using rebar. Would you remind me how you did it? Even tho I have a safe backstop I would rather have a RR tie wall to collect the bullets and not have them damage live trees. My intent is mostly to shoot pistol caliber carbines and handguns but there will be the occasional bottle neck rifle cartridge fired, mostly .223 from a bolt or semi. I don’t own any big bore rifles anymore so no magnum rifle cartridges for me.

[Hatchdog]

I envy those of you with land that can shoot outside your back doors. I pay a bit over $500/yr to shoot. It's still better than paying the per session price. That's for a family shooting plan. It would only be about $50 cheaper for just having an individual plan.
Jake

I hear ya Jake and I too wish I could just step outside and shoot but while that’s legal where my home is the community rules prohibit it.