The joys of an outdoor range

Joined
Nov 5, 2007
Messages
11,832
City & State/Province
Dallas, TX
I’m at the range right now. Traffic was light driving here. The in-laws are home with my wife. The weather is pleasant.

There are only two other people here. They are on the rifle range, I’m over in one of the pistol bays. We have awnings for shade. There is a slight breeze.

I can hear some birds off in the distance. And the occasional car on a highway further out.

All is right with the world.

Except…. The pistol bay has Astro Turf between the shade and the target. It absorbs heat like crazy. I pick up loose brass and it’s like molten metal in my hand. In fact I think I got a blister! Yikes!
 
I’m home now. I usually go to the range on Sunday, and more often than not I have the place to myself, or at most there are two or three other members there.

It’s kind of funny to think that shooting is a relaxing, meditative sport.

Except when it’s 100 degrees and you have to walk 25 yards in the blazing sun to hang a new target. 😀
 
Well, you've been to my range. It's not fancy,,, but it's very serviceable. I was on a skid steer loader some yesterday & today moving some more dirt. A little maintenance,, and a little more expansion.
There are joys to outdoor ranges,, but there are downsides as well.
 
My range is open 24/7 with easy access. Never crowded, and free BBQ and drink.


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Well, you've been to my range. It's not fancy,,, but it's very serviceable. I was on a skid steer loader some yesterday & today moving some more dirt. A little maintenance,, and a little more expansion.
There are joys to outdoor ranges,, but there are downsides as well.
Contender, I think your range is pretty fancy.

But as to maintenance, a few years ago my range go a direct hit from an F5 tornado.

It was in the spring, and a group of us spent a lot of time cleaning it up and rebuilding. I helped with the cleanup, but the rebuilding was a lot of welding, so some other guys did that.
 
My bench is about 75 yards from back door. There's 25 and 100 yards plus a 1/4 mile that's a bit overgrown due to lack of maintenance. 100 yards up the driveway is a long range steel plate stand (325-400 yards).
The only time I've utilized a public range was 2010 when we worked all summer in Chaffee County Colorado.
 
My picnic table is about 10' from the back door and I have a 25yd target stand. If I go up on the deck I can plink at the Christmas Forest across the ravine.
 
Must be tough checking behind all those trees for people in case of an errant round.
🙄 Not a problem. The picture was taken from the top of the very tall ridge above the targets. The truck is parked there for the shade. (The dogs are in the back for their safety and because my old Lab is sensetive to gunfire up close.) If someone is out there (very rarely) they are most likely in a vehicle and have enough sense to avoid someone else who is shooting. What you're talking about must be a Maryland thing. We don't have that problem here.
 
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Best range experience ever. Being on the NRA Whittington Center rifle silhouette range early on a weekday morning with nobody around. Set up all the silhouettes and then got busy with my M1 Garand and a full can of loaded clips.
Shoot near, shoot far, shoot trigger creep slow or run a line of 8 rams standing offhand rapid fire.
Play call your shot for dollar a miss with my brothers shooting scoped rifles and me shooting the Garand. I really could use a fun day like that again.
 
I used to live off 67th right by Cline Falls. Heading out there was great- except with a 3/4 T truck it was pretty bouncy! My most favorite was outside of Sisters. Road 500 cinder pit. You had the pit itself plus several short range backstops. Smooth road and no moon dust to hide your brass. That was my old Jeep in the pic
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This is the pit by my home now.
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Exactly 1 mile away, but you have to park on the road and walk it all in. Plus there is no real level ground- it’s all some grade of slope. My favorite was shooting steel- I have several hanging silhouettes but they weigh a ton…3/8” plate with a thick wall tube stand.
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