St. Louis ranges

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nicademus

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What are the range options around the St. Louis area?
I finally worked my way up the waiting list for the Boulder rifle club (CO) and after 7 years have a place to shoot now.
I might have an option for a job change and go to work for the government (NGA). I’m not to hot on moving but if there are some good range options in MO. or Ill. It would make it a littlie easier. From what I hear most of the people work in St. Louise and live in Ill.
The kids are starting to shoot now really like outdoor private ranges as I think they are a littlie safer.

I shoot IDPA, IHMSA and plink.

Thanks in advance.
 
Public in STL= Henges and Busch, both are extremely safe but only paper targets. (20 mins)

Then there are outdoor ranges in near by counties, basically uncontrolled. Lot's of hillbillies at those, and no supervision. (45 mins)
All above are operated by the conservation department.

Private/ allow members and public though....
Arnold R&P (outdoor) (45 mins)
Highland R&P (indoor and out) (1 hour)
Bull's eye (indoor) (10 mins)
Piasa Pistol (indoor) (1 hour)
STL Benchrest (outdoor, out to 600 yards) (1 Hour)
Bellville Pistol (indoor) ( 1 hour)
Others?

Benchrest will have the most matches, followed by Arnold for the stuff your looking for. Most are spread out pretty far, but most are within easy reach of the city. I live in U. City, which is on the boarder of the city.
 
If you like guns, do yourself a favor and live on the MO side- IL's gun laws are insane.

For standard paper punching, the Henges and Busch MO Department of Conservation ranges are good. You can't do practical shooting there, but they're good places to do basic target practice.

Bull's Eye (STL city) and Top Gun (Imperial) are good indoor ranges.

Those are pretty much the ones I've been to. I hear great things about Benchrest, which is a bit farther away yet, but they and Arnold do a fair amount of the practical shooting.
 
I have lived about 1 hour from st louis my whole life. Do yourself a favor, if you have to work in st louis, live in missouri. Pick a nice suburb 20 mins or so outside of the city. Where are you looking at working if you dont mind me asking. I have worked for about 6 years in st louis, myself.

Here in illinois we have a saying that goes "Welcome to the peoples Republic of Illinois, comrade." Its really the bad. No ccw, at all, period. No class III. In chicago, no handguns period. No deer hunting with rifles, only shotguns. No hunting with any hundgun that isnt a revolver. Cant even carry an auto as backup in the woods when deer hunting, has to be an revolver. Stay in MO, do yourself that favor.

:cuss:I'll stop ranting now.
 
Don't move to Il. Gun laws there are bad. Benchrest is apparently very good, but I haven't shot there yet. http://www.shootingstl.com/

Busch Wildlife is decent, very organized/safe. There are a lot of smaller unattended ranges around too, depending where you live.

As far as moving goes.... I strongly reccomend staying on the MO side. Look into O'fallon, Wentzville, and Lake St. Louis. All are about 30 mins out of St. louis and are fairly nice middle to upper-middle class areas. Benchrest is ~15 mins from there too.

If you need to know anything else about ranges or the area PM me, I've lived here my whole life.
 
Dude, I've got a house that is going on the market in about a week and a half in Wentzville, which is 45 miles outside the "city" (which is really rather small, and you probably don't want to live inside the city limits unless you have to, especially with kids) but only 25 minutes from the beltway. It's also about 18 miles from the St. Louis Bench Rest Rifle Club, which is one of the nicest facilities in the country. No waiting list for membership either. I know for sure they have IDPA matches, probably the other too...

How big a house do you need? This place is 3 bedrooms, full basement, mostly finished, with a "bad teenager" or "hobby room," a large laundry room, a storage area, with the bulk dedicated to a large recreation room. 2 car garage.

Unless you work downtown, you definitely don't want to live in Illinois.
 
Here in illinois we have a saying that goes "Welcome to the peoples Republic of Illinois, comrade." Its really the bad. No ccw, at all, period. No class III. In chicago, no handguns period. No deer hunting with rifles, only shotguns. No hunting with any hundgun that isnt a revolver. Cant even carry an auto as backup in the woods when deer hunting, has to be an revolver. Stay in MO, do yourself that favor.
Click to expand...

But you do have lots of bars and strip clubs.... Wait, is that a good thing :uhoh:

HB
 
National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA) it is on the river accros the street from the Bud factory. I think it is an old civil war fort. The guys I talked to were golfers so maby that is why they said the lived in Ill.

How are the taxes?
 
Is that the DOD mapping station and whatnot, or am I thinking of something else? If so, my brother works there. All of the guys above are dead on about illinois. I think my next move will be across the river. I have lots of friends on the mo side, and its a lot nicer place to live. I believe in MO you dont even need a CCW to carry in your car, its protected like your home. Not a bad state to live in at all. If you would like to visit IL though, I would be glad to take you shooting anytime. Just drop a PM when you make the move!:)
 
Well, working in St. Louis City, you're going to get hit with City Earnings Tax - That's 1% of the paycheck...

Welcome to St. Louis City.

I'd look out west on Interstate 44 or south on Interstate 55... Straight shot commute into the brewery area.

The Illinois housing is cheaper, but there's probably a reason for that... And I suspect that Missouri has better golfing than Illinois... Definitely better shooting.
 
No way to avoid the CET, but Illinois taxes are heinous. MO has WAY cheaper property taxes, and Illinoisians usually cross the river to buy gas here. Illinois gun laws = firearm hell. Missouri has shall issue CCW, and in St. Louis it's a big plus since East St. Louis Illinois is a thug's heaven (Criminal Protection Zone....no CCW).

Benchrest Rifle Club in Wright City is world class. (They also have pistol ranges) Bullseye indoor range near Kingshighway is nifty, but you'll probably need your CCW getting to the place. Top Gun in Imperial Missouri is a great indoor range. Clean, Well lit, Awesome staff, and nearby.....just a few miles south of AB on I-55.
 
nicademus - stay it MO. Look south on 55, I live in Arnold. Market is pretty good right now, and you can get the best house for your buck. A buddy of mine works for NGA and lives in Arnold. He was downtown, but just got transferred to the Arnold location. He walks to work now. The downtown office is only a 25 minute drive.

As far as a range, I am a member of the Arnold Rife & Pistol Club, and it is great! They have a wide variety of ranges, and also have competitions (SASS, IDPA, Steel Challenge, Bullseye, etc.)

If you do come to town, send me a PM. And if you end up working for NGA here, let me know, as I am sure you will end up working with my buddy at some point.
 
I don't have a choice as I will be getting stationed at Scott AFB, will be living in O'Fallon IL...any decent ranges in this area or are they all on the MO side?
 
As far as gun laws, I do agree that MO is the better side of the river to live on. For your proposed work location, the I-44 or I-55 way to work would be a good idea.

I live in IL, but I work in MO. Each state has pro's and con's. Strictly on gun laws MO is better, but ask the MO guys about personal property tax and vehicle inspections (IL doesn't have either).

Most of the bigger home builders build on both sides of the river. Housing can be cheaper in IL if you are comparing the same house with the same builder. St. Charles County is really a hot bed for development now, and you will pay a premium for the same house there than in IL or Jefferson County, MO.

If you do not have any reason to live in one location other than your commute (no in-laws, etc); I would recommend looking into Jefferson County, MO (in/around Arnold). Take I-55 into work, most of the homebuilders, and you don't pay the premium for St. Louis County or St. Charles County housing.

Edit for TCmofo: Caseyville Gun Club is now in Mascoutah - near SAFB. Their site is down, so I don't know if they are still around or not. There is an indoor range in Belleville, but I typically drive to one of the MO Dept of Conservation ranges (Henges).

Josh
 
IL's gun laws are insane.
Click to expand...
I think you guys have a low bar for insanity honestly. You need to mail in $5 and get a FOID card. You need to transport your guns unloaded and in a case. Short of that I don't think there is anything too horrible. I wish we had concealed carry and foid is a pointless thing but its low hassle. Oh yeah 1 day wait for long guns and 3 day wait for pistol purchases. Insane or hell? I think you're being a bit overly dramatic.

I don't have a choice as I will be getting stationed at Scott AFB, will be living in O'Fallon IL...any decent ranges in this area or are they all on the MO side?
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Belleville shooting range is just a few minutes from the base. The staff are jerks and the prices are high but the range itself is ok. Fosters mentioned the Caseyville gun club. There's also the Millstadt Sportsmen's Club. I know little about either but just know that they're there.
 
I think you guys have a low bar for insanity honestly. You need to mail in $5 and get a FOID card. You need to transport your guns unloaded and in a case. Short of that I don't think there is anything too horrible. I wish we had concealed carry and foid is a pointless thing but its low hassle. Oh yeah 1 day wait for long guns and 3 day wait for pistol purchases. Insane or hell? I think you're being a bit overly dramatic.
Click to expand...

Last gun I bought...

Impulse purchase.

They didn't ask to see a special card. Filled out the standard paperwork, they called it in.

Thanked the man, paid for it and a box of ammo. Loaded it (they knew me...), walked outside, and tossed it in the glove compartment.

I don't drive into Illinois unless I absolutely have to.
 
Thanks fellas I will look into the ranges here in about a month when I get up there.
 
Speaking of STL ranges, what's the name of the range off of 370 just before the Missouri River on the St Louis side.
 
Missouri Bottoms? I didn't know it was still there.

Comparing it to the St. Louis Benchrest Club is like comparing Sauget to Chesterfield...

I'll be happy to take you as my guest to the St. Louis Benchrest Club.
 
Do you know of any ranges located near lambert airport in St. Louis? All I can find are private ranges and I dont want to spend most of my money just paying to get in the door.
 
Thanks all for replying, will let you know when I come out for the interview. Hope it will be in St L. could be in D.C.
 
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