Outdoor Range in Georgia

[papaSR9]

I wanted to see if anyone who lives in Georgia has had any experiences with Creekside Outdoor Shooting Range in Taylorsville or if anyone knows of other outdoor ranges that haven't gone to membership only. I want to find a place can fully utilize my AR15. Taking it to an indoor range limits the 'fun' factor of shooting it.

 

[427mach1]

I've been to Creekside, it's a nice range.

If by "fully utilizing" your AR you mean doing a full mag dump, that is against the rules there, too. From their website, "*There will be no rapid fire on the rifle range. Shooters will not exceed 1 round every 3 seconds on the rifle range. "

 

[papaSR9]

An understandable but interesting reply but, no. All ammo becomes an expensive waste if all you are doing is going 'Rambo' with a weapon and defeats the respectful purpose of owning one. The first time I let my sixteen year old fire my SR9, he went through the 17 round clip in about twenty seconds. The range officer and I both admonished him for the rapid fire, plus I told him that he now owed me 5dollars. Shooting at a range is nice but can become very static/sterile even for a hand gun so it is sometimes more enjoyable to shoot different targets over a terrain with the challenge of windage, natural light and longer sighting.

So, tit for tat, besides the clean bathrooms, how is Creekside a nice range? Now that was my CDO showing. :wink:

 

[427mach1]

I can't comment on the clean bathrooms, I used the potty before I left the house. However, the range was very clean the day I was there and the rifle benches are all shaded. I took my wife to shoot my AR and after a long, friendly conversation with the attendant, he didn't charge for her range time since "she had fun". Setting up a chronograph is allowed.

They have a 25 year handgun/rimfire range separated from the 50 and 100 yard rifle range by a large berm. The 50 yard range uses a "clothesline" that you must hang your targets from; it can be a challenge to hit a moving target on windy days. The 100 yard range uses fixed targets and I believe you have to use their hangers/stands. For members only, they have long range shooting days where they move the 100 yard shooting line back to 200 yards (1 hour), then 300 (1 hour) etc. out to 500 yards. Again, this is members-only. If you want to shoot long distance and NOT be a member, it probably isn't the place for you. I haven't been there for a long-range day but it as I recall it is fairly flat so you won't have much terrain change and the targets are all at the same location (no way to shoot different targets). I think Tues-Thurs is members-only. I am considering joining; the rates were reasonable but I don't recall what they were. You can probably find that information on their website. It's probably worth the price of admission for you to give it a try on a "public" day. If you find the range that meets your criteria, let me know, too, as it sounds like the kind of place I would like to shoot.

Have you been to Riverbend up north? They have several different ranges all the way out to 600 yards scattered over 400+ acres. It is fairly pricey, however, and it too is members-only.

 

[papaSR9]

Thanks for the detailed reply, very informative. I will look to check out Creekside after the winter months and see how they are. That will probably give me time to find some .223 since it is scarce after the election.

Have you been to any of the WMA ranges offered by the state?

Happy and safe shooting.

 

[427mach1]

I've been to John's Mountain and Sumac. John's Mountain was VERY busy when we arrived and it sounded like a war zone; people everywhere, lots of rapid fire. We didn't even unpack, we just left as I didn't feel particularly safe with my family there.

I like Sumac better. It has a covered shooting bench with a 25 yard area (left side) and 100 yard range (right side). The first time we were there, there was a group of about 5 or 6 20-somethings shooting at the left end of the bench. They were very courteous and had obviously been well trained in range safety and procedures. As my son and I were setting up, I saw a small black bear about 25 yards past the other group of shooters. He wandered up the bank and into the woods, only to return a few minutes later, walk down the left side of the range behind some trees, and he began eating some of the fruit from these trees. We all stopped and watched him through our scopes. He did not seem to be afraid of the gun fire (they had been shooting rimfires) until we started shooting larger calibers. We eventually weren't even paying attention to him and he left at some point.

The second time we went to Sumac, there were 2 or 3 other shooters and all was well. I did use the restroom at Sumac and it wasn't bad for an outhouse type facility.

 

[papaSR9]

Thanks for another informative reply. Unfortunately both of those are 'way up thar' close to the Tennessee line. I live in the Metro Atlanta area so Creekside would be a shorter trip.

Thanks again.

Happy and Safe Shooting.

 

[427mach1]

Unfortunately both of those are 'way up thar' close to the Tennessee line. I live in the Metro Atlanta area so Creekside would be a shorter trip.

Yes, they are a little bit of a drive. I'm in Kennesaw so it is almost an all-day trip to go to Sumac; John's Mountain is fairly close to the interstate so it's not as bad of a drive. It actually takes longer than you think to get to Creekside - it is about 10 miles west of Cartersville and the roads getting there aren't exactly super-highway.

 

[blairsville-dave]

Check out the range at Charlie Elliot Center off Hwy 11 - it has 50 yd pistol range and 100 yd rifle range - DNR personnel on duty. Will need WMA stamp. Closed Sundays. Usually not to crowded. The pricing for Riverbend has really gone up as a way to hold down membership. About 8 years ago I was a member and I believe they were over 1,500 members back then. Dave