Driving Distance to Firing Range

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Babarsac said:
I live 15 miles from the NRA range which is the only range in my immediate are that allows rifles. If there was a place where I could shoot outdoors I'd be willing to drive further, especially a place that isn't always crowded.
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I just found a couple of Isaak Walton Leagues in the area and am looking to see about them. I too don't like shooting indoors, even though the NRA range is okay.

http://www.arlingtonfairfax-iwla.org/ 14708 Mount Olive Road, Centreville, Virginia

and the Alexandria chapter http://www.iwla.us/ 2729 Garrisonville Road
Stafford, Virginia 22556-3412

There is also the Fairfax Rod and Gun Club in Manassas, VA ( but it is spendy and has a waiting list)

To the OP: the NRA range is only 7 miles away but last night it took 45 minutes to reach due to typically bad traffic. Too long for me. But my last one was 3 minutes away so I got used to "the way things should be"
 
I've heard the trick is to stay away from the NRA range on the weekends unless you bring a copy of War & Peace with you. I've got a Babar-mobile loaded up and I'm gonna try a Friday afternoon shoot after work.
 
I wouldn't travel very far with the price of gas at $3.85/gallon right now. Shooting is a luxury for me and the gas to get to the range is a factor.

However, I don't think distance is the biggest factor. If the range 2 minutes from my house is always jam-packed I will drive 30 minutes to shoot at a larger or less crowded range. Time is money and spare time is hard to come by. If you want to avoid alienation by distance offer something the "closer" ranges don't. Or excel at something they suck at.
 
How far you drive to a range depends on many things. I will drive up to about 1.5 hrs to go to one range I frequent, but I have one within 10 minutes of my home also which I am a member of.

Added: The gas cost is an issue and I pretty much will not drive to the more distant range at current gas prices. I infact do very little driving other than what I have to. There are no joy rides. Every drive has a specific purpose. Hobbies get suspended until gas prices stabilize relative to income.

Urban shooters will drive further than country folks that can shoot close to home. The appeal to a country person would be better facilities (shooting bench, the ranges, and the facilities in general) at a modest cost. Good folks attract other good folks.
 
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I just found a couple of Isaak Walton Leagues in the area and am looking to see about them. I too don't like shooting indoors, even though the NRA range is okay.

http://www.arlingtonfairfax-iwla.org/ 14708 Mount Olive Road, Centreville, Virginia

and the Alexandria chapter http://www.iwla.us/ 2729 Garrisonville Road
Stafford, Virginia 22556-3412

There is also the Fairfax Rod and Gun Club in Manassas, VA ( but it is spendy and has a waiting list)

To the OP: the NRA range is only 7 miles away but last night it took 45 minutes to reach due to typically bad traffic. Too long for me. But my last one was 3 minutes away so I got used to "the way things should be"
Click to expand...

I belong to the Fairfax IWLA (I posted on page one but didnt include names of places). If you have any questions about it, PM me and we can talk, i have alot of great and a few bad, things to say about it.
 
I've got a free range within a five minute drive of me. I occasionally drive 20 minutes (from work) to a $5/day indoor range as I like that they have electric target pulleys so I can change my targets without the entire range having to go cold.

Barring a value-added feature like that, I wouldn't personally drive very far to any range.
 
1/4 mile for the pistol range, 1 mile for the rifle range. I'm also the range safety officer, range owner and sole member. :neener:
 
I can't really answer that, because even though the local club is ten minutes away, very nice but cost a chunk to join, the river is also about 12 minutes from here. The range requires paper targets for rifles.

There are no other outside ranges near here for rifles. If we had no nearby range, my shooting would all be at the river, and 80-90% of it is there anyway.

Quite frankly, the freedom of sitting by a river and choosing my own targets is the only reason I developed a solid interest in guns (in '07), and happened late in life.
 
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I pay $40 a year to belong to a rifle club that has both indoor and outdoor ranges. The range use is free with membership. The drive is about 30-40 minutes from my doorstep. Some gravel pits within a couple miles of me that are usable if no one is working in them that day. My choice, and the indoor range is used in the wintertime a lot.:D
 
it is a minimum of 30, and most are over 45 minutes away for me. i just drive 3 miles out into the woods near my house and shoot into dead stumps. if i go during the week, i have seen another soul a total of 5 times, in 3 years. weekends are a lot busier. so i avoid it like the plague. the last thing i would ever want is to shoot someone accidentally. the next would be shooting someone on purpose.
 
about 10 minutes and there's 3 silhouette ranges, a 1000 meter range, action ranges, a dedicated BP range and a public 100 meter....great club for 60 bucks a year family membership or 8 bucks a day but daily peeps can only use the 600 meter rifle sill and the 100yd public....it's great and unless there's a club shooting that day, the pistol sill range is usually very quiet......
 
I unfortunately drive about 1-1/2 hours to get to our club.

It is worth it as the facilities are top notch, with friendly people, and I have never felt crowded.

I drive by two closer, crowded, unfriendly, expensive ranges on the way.

I often say that the ONLY thing wrong with our club is that it is not closer.

Bob
 
Iceman: I live in the Twin Cities also and currently go to the Oakdale range and am going to go to Hudson if it's not raining tomorrow to see what their range is like.

If your range is closer than Oakdale I'd love to come shoot there.

The main issue I have with Oakdale is that it's closed to the public during the winter and doesn't open until June!

I have a friend that would like a 1000yd range and if you set one up he'd be sure to come shoot.
 
I drive about 30 miles each way. the rang is outside, and very well kept. There are srperate area for hand guns, rifels, and shotguns. On certain days of the month there is a seperate range for firing auto's ie AK's M16, etc. The cost for me is free as I am a disabled Vet, but for anyone else the cost is $3.00 per person, or $6.00 per car load. Don't think you can beat the price, but 60 miles round trip is a bit much. Doc6798
 
I drive 45 minutes now to use the only outdoor rifle range near me. As far as starting your own range, would you mind posting how much insurance costs when you do it. I have heard it is astronomical.
 
I live seven miles from a nice, never crowded outdoor range. Pistol and rifle.
$50 a year membership and no use fees. Members get the combination to the gate and no range officer, ever.

It is the reason I really have got into guns and reloading the last several years.
 
25 yards indoors - 5 min. away from my office
50 yards shooting lanes - 15 min. from my home
100 yards - 1 hour from my home
 
200 yds off the front porch.

Presently putting up a 500 yd stop off the back porch.

Too bad my eyes are getting old.
 
There's also an unfortunate reality with a cheap range with few rules - it often attracts a lot of idiots, thus forcing the creation of a bunch of new rules that then punish those who wish to seriously practice for HD and CC.
 
You have gauge for the community so asking folks all over the country isn't going to help much when someone in the country might drive 5-15 minutes willingly and someone in an urban or heavy suburban setting might drive 30 minutes and a western urbanite might drive an hour without reservation. In the Twin Cities area you might get people who are willing to drive the same as their morning commute.
 
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