Morning, everyone! Curiosity question about outdoor ranges...

[ButchA]

Good morning,

I meant to post this the other day and forgot.... Even though it's awful outside in the heat/humidity and 102° heat index, is anyone thinking about keeping current with firearms marksmanship and shooting ranges? Indoor? Outdoor?

I am here in the west end, Henrico Co, outside of Richmond. Amelia WMA is the closest thing for an outdoor range. I was out there last week or so, checking out the brand new DGIF fishing pier that they rebuilt on the lake. Very nice, and made of high quality aluminum w/ a safety railing.
Good -- it's big, it's out further than the old POS one that busted, and is in like 15' of water.
Bad -- it's steel framed heavy gauge aluminum. Every footstep goes bam! bam! bam! bam! through the structure, and most likely scaring away any fish!
Getting to the point... While there, I heard "Pow! Pow! Pa-pow! Pow!, etc..." off in the distance. I knew it wasn't hunting season! (W)hiskey (T)ango (F)oxtrot, you know?
Now, now, now, I am not a "narc" or whatever, but this tripped me out! I packed up and took a drive... 3 pickups were at the skeet range and guys were blasting clays even though it's supposed to be closed until Sept 1st. Um... Okay... Whatever... Just kind of made me chuckle. I guess they wanted to go skeet shooting anyway! LOL!
Edit: Oh before I forget... I continued to the turnaround at the rifle range. It's still there, big wooden pavilion, etc... But the range itself is bare! It's nothing more than what looks like a flat 100 yd "football field". No target holders, no railroad ties, no rebar frames, ....nothing! You're on your own, unless the DGIF fixes it back up.

The other outdoor range, aside from Clark Brothers in Warrenton is way out in the National Forest south of Staunton along Route 42 called Hite Hollow Range.
I've been there too, and it's fantastic. 150 yd range going a little uphill, and a 25 yd handgun range. Bring whatever you want, shoot whatever you want.
Pack a lunch, some soft drinks, and make a day out of it! Awesome place!

Now for indoor ranges, the best place I know if is up towards Ashland, across the street from Bass Pro, called Green Top Range. I love that place! But it's constantly packed to capacity, which is both good and bad. Colonial Shooting Academy here in Richmond on Broad St. shutdown, closed up, and got bought out my Freedom Outdoors based out of VA Beach. They are now reopened, but (rumor has it) they are seriously pushing for membership or "members only" or whatever. Expensive A... F... to go there compared to Green Top Range!

Anyone else know of good shooting ranges around Virginia? (Notice I said "good" --- and not that ratty, nasty, ol' place in town off Midlothian Tnpk).

 

[C Z]

Hi Butch,

First time posting here...but I believe we've conversed on another forum (1911 addicts). I go by Zipper046again over there. I had asked about ranges before I moved down to Richmond (Midlothian) and now I'm here.

This is what I found:
- Greentop - I agree with your overview of Greentop. Great place, but crowded. Even as a member it is first come/first serve, so I have to get there 20 minutes before the doors open and if you are in the first 25 in line, you'll get a lane. Otherwise, you're waiting. Pricing isn't bad (I get LE pricing), about $38/month or so. They did just start a "lane reservation" system for members. I tried it and it worked fine, but you are limited to 1 hour.

**Bonus at Greentop - if you are LE or take their "holster" course, you can draw from the holster when practicing.

- Freedom Outdoors (Old Colonial Shooting Academy) - I joined here too (25 min from my house) under the LE membership ($35/month). A good range. Pleasant staff, lanes are clean and modern (and being upgraded still). No limit to lane time, and they have a lane reservation system too.

**DRAWBACK: there is no drawing from a holster at this range, so all practice drills are from low ready off the table.

- Rivanna Rifle & Pistol Club - I work in Charlottesville, so joined this club as it's 10 - 15 minutes from my office. $140/year and it's great. It is older, but they are working to upgrade alot. Outdoors they have trap, skeet, and "wobble" courses, a steel range with steel targets, a "plinking range" (throw stuff on the berm and have at it), a 50 yard pistol bullseye range (NRA style matches), a rifle range (50 & 100 yards), and a "practical shooting" range that is 25 yards. INDOORS they have a range with 2 bays about about 8 lanes per bay. The indoor range is dated and needs alot of work, but they are looking to replace and upgrade the whole range. The BONUS is that you can shoot on the move in front of the tables and draw from the holster. They also have IDPA matches (both indoor and outdoor), Cowboy Action shooting matches, Steel Challenge matches. It's a little over an hour from me in Midlothian (and I'm right off 288).

Hope this helps.

 

[Surrywoodman]

Wow I hate to hear that about the Amelia rifle range. I used to go there to the rifle range every Tuesday and shoot black powder and HP rifles when I lived up that way in the early 90s. I am not terribly far from there now in Surry County and our nearby range is Airfield Shooting Club at the 4-H center in Wakefield, rifle, pistol, trap, skeet and matches periodically. Freedom Arms indoor range is about 10 minutes from where I work in Norfolk/VA Beach and it is crowded certain days and times.

I was in Winchester for a N-SSA shoot in May, and it seems there was a very cool range set up just on your side of Fredericksburg but I can't remember the name of the place, it was pretty big though, indoor and outdoor ranges...Wonder if it could have been Clark Bros., that sound familiar