Shooting range rant....

[Grayfox]

From the early 1960s until about 2002, the Shelby County Public Shooting range was the local haunt for many shooters. In the late 70s Shelby Farms park was formed right across the road and the range was just absorbed into it. In the late 90s, a new anti-gun park manger decided to make it his mission to get rid of the range. Long story short, he cooked the books to make it appear the range was loosing money (it wasn't). He used that excuse to close it down.
Rumor had it that a large developer wanted the property badly since the largest park in the county (Shelby Farms 4,500 acres) was right across the road. He could make a fortune on upscale housing.
However there was close to 50 years of lead in that ground. There were clean up estimates that ran into the millions of dollars. The deal never happened.
To this day the range sits abandoned. The buildings are badly run down and the grass is rarely cut. Although I have heard that the Sheriff's dept and County Police do still use it a couple of times a year. But only rarely.

 

[rwsmith]

Sounds reasonable...

We got a BLM shooting location about 20 miles away.
I hesitate to call it a range, it’s a legal place to shoot with a big hill behind it.
Earlier in the year it was closed for fire danger.
Now you are required to bring water or extinguisher and a shovel.

Sounds reasonable to me. What they would do here is threaten to close the place down permanently.

 

[rwsmith]

Back in the old days......

...I'd pull up at the range and if the people there looked sensible I'd ask if they'd seen any nuts today? Usually the answer was 'yes'. One time a couple guys told me that some guy walked out of the woods with a big Bowie knife on his belt and glared at them for about a half an hour with his hand on his knife.

 

[Jon651]

Here's a link to a University of Florida study on lead contamination in the soil at shooting ranges.

https://www.cdc.gov/nceh/lead/acclp...mination in Shooting Range Soils-Hardison.pdf

Yes, it's pretty specific to Florida but I think it was an important reference when the State and the NRA built a new outdoor range not too far from where I live. I was lead to believe that when it was built, the top soil was scraped back and a layer of red clay was laid down in order to mitigate leaching into the drinking water (like they do at new landfills).

I'd imagine that this would be a huge concern with large, popular, unregulated shooting ranges...

 

[Redeker]

I don't shoot at public ranges for all the reasons stated....



I belong to a local gun club with rifle, pistol, rim-fire and trap ranges.



This is the main rifle range. We have a full time grounds keeper.

.

Ha! That looks just like my range.

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[Gamer]

We are lucky here in upstate SC, several indoor ranges and at least one DNR outdoor in an adjacent county last I checked. My last trip to the outdoor range I was swept by a guy trying to set his laser on an LCP. Not cool. I stepped back and educated him as to what he just did. He was very apologetic and explained he was a new owner. There’s a problem. I helped him set it up and gave him the gun safety rules rundown. I haven’t gone back.

Soon after I joined a club and couldn’t be happier. The cost is minimal monthly and the initiation wasn’t bad. Mostly I shoot in a bay by myself with family and friends but there are great events as well if one likes to participate. I have heard for myself the same issue of bullets missing the berm on occasion there. Buzz. Root cause, people shooting targets at short distance on a longer bay. Every effort is made to correct it. Public range not so much I suppose.

I am of the opinion everyone needs firearms training. I would be hesitant to mandate it prior to purchase for defensive reasons but it should be highly recommended. We would be safer at public ranges. I was fortunate to grow up on a farm and everyone I knew hunted and shot. Many don’t but feel the need to protect themselves. Perhaps a nonprofit training organization should be formed. Maybe one exists outside of concealed training etc I’m not aware of.

 

[andy52]

If I had my own range. I'd shoot there, too. I shoot at a nearby indoor range where it's usually colder and hotter inside than it is outside.

Owning a range is sorta' a blessing and a curse. It's really nice to have someplace to shoot whenever I wish but I shoot a lot more and it cost more..

I'll be at the range today and will take a few photos. I'd bought a electric clay bird thrower earlier this week and I need to set it up.

 

[challer61]

Mining and reclaiming lead is very expensive to do. Even though the recycle company keeps the lead.

At our range, the reclaim people come, take the lead away and then write us a check. You make many have the lead reclaimed

 

[rwsmith]

I don't think good sense is at work here.

At our range, the reclaim people come, take the lead away and then write us a check. You make many have the lead reclaimed

Apparently the DNR just doesn't care or want anything to do with keeping the range open because they act like screaming chickens anytime a problem arises.

 

[rwsmith]

Thanks....

A Burn (hill of dirt) across the range at 7 yards might help the flying bullet problem but it is up to the shooters to stay safe.

By chance, does the other guy want to close the range down so new homes and be built ??

Good luck.

Though they are building houses around here like a Monopoly game this is in the middle of the National Forest. However, these days I wouldn't be surprised if something shady was going on.

 

[keith44spl]

Ha! That looks just like my range.

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Probably is.........If'n your on the Green River


.

 

[Jeff423]

A Burn (hill of dirt) across the range at 7 yards might help the flying bullet problem but it is up to the shooters to stay safe.

Good luck.

I think the word you mean is "Berm".

 

[mmb617]

I belong to a local gun club with rifle, pistol, rim-fire and trap ranges.

This is the main rifle range. We have a full time grounds keeper.

The club I belong to has similar ranges out to 300 yds on the one rifle range. I consider myself very fortunate to have access to such a facility.

Another thing. I wouldn't go to a public range in SC alone. I have heard reports of theft at Leeds and Beaverdam.

You bring up a point I've also thought about. While at my club there is a gate across the road and that gate requires a code to open, it would be very easy for anyone to simply walk around the gate and onto the grounds.

I'm often there alone and have considered that someone could steal my rifle while I'm changing a target 300 yds away. While walking to the target I'd have by back turned to the firing line and wouldn't even know if someone sneaked up there. The chance that would happen is probably small but it could happen.

I don't presently have a sling but think I might buy one and simply carry the rifle with me when I change targets.

 

[Mike SC Hunter]

RW
Get your local politicians involved/ your senator/congress critter......Raise enough HAY they pay attension. Also call scdnr in Cola. and demand answers etc......Remember......The squeeky wheel gets the grease

 

[Jon651]

Apparently the DNR just doesn't care or want anything to do with keeping the range open because they act like screaming chickens anytime a problem arises.

Do they have the budget for it? Can they take on the liability? Or are they just the ones who got stuck with it without any way to pay for cleaning it up, improving it, managing it, insuring it, and staffing it? With no funding for any of this, just what else do they manage that will have to go underfunded to take on a project like this?

I can't imagine that a project like this would be cheap - especially in an era of record-low tax collections due to high unemployment and closing/failing businesses.