Thousand-Yard Club?

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fiddleharp

fiddleharp

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Oct 6, 2007
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Crackerville, Florida
During our "Housing Boom" here in Florida, I was a dump truck driver. I visited all the local "borrow pits" for fill dirt and road-building gravel.
All of these places have something in common. They are out in the country, and they would make excellent long-range target shooting locations.
Every one of these pits is excavated deep and surrounded by a sheer dirt wall. Not only is there very little chance of a bullet escaping, but the shooting wouldn't disturb anyone.
I approached some of these mine owners and offered a proposition. Since no mining activity takes place there on weekends, why not rent the pit to a long-range shooting club, if I could form one?
Every one of them told me their insurance companies wouldn't permit it.
Two hundred yards is about as far as we can shoot at our local public ranges.
How can we practice longer ranges unless we live near a desert or someplace equally desolate?
 
Hey, thanks for the link. That place is about an hour's drive for me. Twenty bucks will buy me a day on the thousand-yard range. Here in South Florida, if you want a couple hours of wind-free precision shooting, you have to hit the range at first light.
This place doesn't open till 9AM. In the summertime, there would be no wind until the afternoon thunderstorms roll in. Of course, the heat, humidity, and bugs would be there to make your "Third-World sniper experience" more realistic.
 
tell them you will buy your own insurance. Go to the same place thr used when we did our get together
 
Pretty much. The dirt at shooting ranges is considered contaminated, and is not usable for anything else. They can't even build houses on the lot without a LOT of cleanup. Because of this, no active quarry is going to allow it.
 
<<Sigh>> When we lived in northern Mihcigan, our home bordered a huuuuuuuge, inactive gravel pit. When I reached the end of our driveway, I merely had to walk through the ditch, and I was there. It was only about 500 yards wide, but was nearly 3/4 mile long. The best part was it had roadways throughout, which really faciliated setting up and/or checking targets when desired. Myself, I never shot beyond 600ish yards, but could have if I had been so inclined. Wow, I miss those days. Fast forward 19 years, each time I look out of our front window here in SE, the longest view I can take is 195 yards, and that's down a paved road. :(
 
If the NRA supplies the insurance to your local club ask them to add the other property owner's name and location on as additionally insured . I did and it was not a problem, there was no extra charge, almost routine.
 
One nice thing about Nevada is you can find some places where you can shoot at those long ranges if you want. I have 1 2 250 400 600 and 800 yards stacked off in one of the places I shoot.
 
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