Free gun range exist anymore?

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I’m sorry but in a metro area you have to pay if you want to play. Maybe in out state Minnesota you can still find a free place to shoot on public land but you will need to drive for 2-3 hours to get there. I have belonged to various gun clubs (sometimes more than one at a time) for over 40 years in the Minneapolis/StPaul area and never remember any free shooting ranges. Typical membership is $200 plus work days to belong to the 4 or 5 major clubs. Gun club membership in the upper Midwest is one best bargains in the country. Most clubs have 25-500 yard ranges plus trap and skeet Gopher Rifle & Revolver has a 20 position 1000 yd range. Members pay and work to have access to these facilities and they aren’t going to let someone come and shoot for free or $5 a day. Most of the clubs are open to the public for matches so my advice would be check out some matches at various clubs that are convenient to you and see what their facilities are and then pick one and start the application process. Be prepared to be on a waiting list for the nicer clubs. I don’t mean to rain on your parade but compared to most major metro areas Msp/StPaul is a shooters dream for ranges.
 
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I have to agree with KENDIVE as far as his comment on stupidity. My son recently picked up an AR, a shotgun, and a pistol and him and a buddy head out to this “free” range area. He gets there early, like really early and never on weekends, as on weekends here come the Escalades pulling up loaded up with folks with “only” AR’s.

There are so many “stalls” with shooting benches in this area. No range master. I’ve known of this place, driven by it, but have never personally shot there and probably never will, as I like a setting that’s organized with a shooting time frame and a range master. 

So here’s where the “stupid people” come in- imagine 20 stalls(guessing on the amount). At best, that’s 20 shooters. At worse, that’s 40 if shooting pistol or shotgun, one guy at each side of the bench standing, right? Now imagine a few carloads of wanna be navy seal guys showing up, toting their non compliant full auto platforms, and what they do so they’re not rubbing shoulders with the 40 guys already there, they step back about 3 steps from the firing line and that’s their spot to shoot from. So what you have is this staggered line of folks shooting. Once my son witnessed that, he looked at his buddy and said we're outta here, shaking their heads cause the stupid people see nothing wrong with shooting from behind you. 

Yup, have to agree with KENDIVE on that one.
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That's a crazy story.

I would not feel comfortable taking the grand babies shooting at a public range. Emily 7 now loves shooting the LCS SK19 at soda cans. Besides we also have go karts up there for them also. The land is only 10 min from our house.





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We have public ranges in Iowa operated by the DNR, typically affiliated with a state park, some are decent, some suffer from drunken farmers and such, I'm paying $50 annual for a less chaotic range setup for bench and skeet competion owned by the local Isaac Walton chapter. A public range specifically for air rifles and archery is in the planning within my county conservation board.
 
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Indiana DNR has some public ranges. Haven't been to any. Joined a local club for a couple of reasons. 1. have to pass a gun safety test before becoming a member, so at least everyone on the range has passed that and we are all working off the same set of rules. 2. met good shooters that are always friendly and helpful. 3. they have quite a few organinzed competitions that I never knew existed. 4. limited number of shooters using the range, so it is seldom crowded and usually only one or two other shooters there. 5. Got to shoot some interesting guns just by getting to know other shooters on the range and being friendly.

There is a cost for the facility. Someone has to mow the grass. The target berms need maintenance. There is liability insurance. So pay a little and join a club. Put something back into the sport instead of just using what others have to maintain. By joining the club the collective fees can go toward range improvements, Steel targets, plate racks, etc. There are a lot of advantages to being a part of a club. Plus depending on the club, most around here once you join, the range is free to use about anytime.


 
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I get where you’re coming from—things have definitely changed. It’s a bit of a pain now trying to find free places to shoot. This is a reply to an old post, but I’ve been in a similar situation recently. I found Burnsville MN conceal carry might be a good resource if you’re looking for options without joining a club. Sometimes local gun shops or outdoor sports stores can point you to less obvious places. It’s worth asking around to see if there are any hidden gems for a 100-yard range.
 
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PigeonMan said:
I remember growing up as a kid there were free gun range and anyone can go out and just shoot whatever they want. No hidden fees, no membership. Just bring your own gun and target and you are set.

Now I can't find any free gun range at all where I live. The ones I can find are $20 per person or have to pay $250+ for membership. I do not want to join any gun club. I just wanna go out and shoot and see how accurate my gun is. Anyone in the st paul/Minneapolis area know any free outdoor gun range one can go shoot without being a member of a gun club? Looking for a 100 yard range to test out my guns. Thanks for any info.
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One Word LIABILITY. hence needing membership fees for private clubs or daily fees for ranges that allow non members to shoot
 
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Missouri Conservation Dept. has quite a few free ranges, a few are staffed but most are not. I do pick my time when I go to one. Two weeks ago I went to one on a Wednesday morning and sighted in my .223 at 100 yards and my .44 Magnum handgun at 50 yards. I had the range all to myself. I've seen a lot of crazy stuff and just uneducated shooters that readily accepted some help, sometimes people just need a little guidance.
 
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PigeonMan said:
I remember growing up as a kid there were free gun range and anyone can go out and just shoot whatever they want. No hidden fees, no membership. Just bring your own gun and target and you are set.

Now I can't find any free gun range at all where I live. The ones I can find are $20 per person or have to pay $250+ for membership. I do not want to join any gun club. I just wanna go out and shoot and see how accurate my gun is. Anyone in the st paul/Minneapolis area know any free outdoor gun range one can go shoot without being a member of a gun club? Looking for a 100 yard range to test out my guns. Thanks for any info.
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Land is an asset - assets cost money - assets need insurance and maintenance and where lead is discharged environmental issues may come into play. No free rides these days unless you can find a generous land owner willing to take some risks who also enjoys the same activities that you do.
 
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jkingrph said:
The Ouachita Parish Sheriffs dept operates a range in West Monroe, although not completely free, is no cost to seniors, military vets and some others, cannot remember what. Back when I was paying it was $5.00 day as long as you wanted. Range is highly controlled and supervised, and one of my favorite ranges to use. 200 yard max on hi power rifle and cannot remember 25 or 50 on pistol/rimfire side( also small pistol caliber rifles like 32-20, 38-40, 38 special ect)
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I have shot there many times. Excellent range. Was there just a few weeks ago actually. West Monroe is my home town.

I can shoot out to 200 yards in my backyard. I have targets at 15, 20, 25, 30, 50 and 100. The encroachment of more houses has me restricting myself nowadays to mostly air rifles though I do still shoot some of my lever guns and rimfire guns.
 
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kendive said:
One reason I bought alot of land a while ago. I have 200 yards setup. But I shoot alot and do alot of power burner shooting including machine guns. We have a group where we all own machine guns and the only place we shoot is my property because all the ranges don't let you shoot full auto anymore.

I also will not go to an public range anymore. To many dumb people there doing stupid stuff.

Good luck.



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The dumb people doing stupid stuff are annoying as hell, but it doesn’t end there. Around here, in order to cope with the dumb people doing stupid stuff, they will usually have some rangemaster who tries to run the range like a drill sergeant. For me it just takes all the joy out of shooting.

What I usually do is drive out into the National Forest. It takes an hour and a half of driving each way and the places to shoot usually aren’t more than 100 yards or entail hiking across steep clearcuts full of brush and thorn bushes, but at least you can have an enjoyable time of it.
 
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Sawney Bean said:
The dumb people doing stupid stuff are annoying as hell, but it doesn’t end there. Around here, in order to cope with the dumb people doing stupid stuff, they will usually have some rangemaster who tries to run the range like a drill sergeant. For me it just takes all the joy out of shooting.

What I usually do is drive out into the National Forest. It takes an hour and a half of driving each way and the places to shoot usually aren’t more than 100 yards or entail hiking across steep clearcuts full of brush and thorn bushes, but at least you can have an enjoyable time of it.
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Yea it's sad. That's what happen to our good public ranges we had they hired a hole range masters. I can't remember the last time I went to a public range indoor or outdoor.

At least you found you a place to shoot and be able to enjoy it.

Another thing is they don't let anyone shoot full auto anymore so all the full auto shoots happen on my property. We have a group od us that have some cool toys. I have MP5's, M11 and an M16's I know those are not airguns but I shoot everything. Reload all mine own ammo mainly because all the testing I do with subsonic .308, 300, 9mm.

My Favorite gun is my MP5 SD you don't need subsonic ammo. The gun makes them subsonic. HK makes an awesome platform. Best one to take through the kill house. They designed it to run the 124gr nato but works very well with standard 115gr ball.

Enjoy...




:)
 
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Join a local Rod and Gun Club, most can use the support. Our dues are only $30 per year and should be $130.00 to cover the expense. Around urban areas it is a completely different story. Initiation fee plus several hundred a year and you have to donate time.

Think about it!!!!! Usually several hundred acres that are taxed and must be insured. Cost of equipment and trying to find somebody to run it. $10K for a trap machine about the same for skeet. $10K + for a lawn mower and then you have to beg somebody to keep thing fixed up. Son and I mowed yesterday took 1 1/2 hours and we maintain the equipment, club buys parts but we furnish the free labor and police the trash. AND THE 2 GUYS THAT HAD TO WAIT FOR US WEREN'T TOO HAPPY! We hoped to meet our expenses by raffling a ATV side by side. Can't get the members to buy their $100 worth of tickets and it looks like we may lose money. Same story at every small club in WNY.
 
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kendive said:
One reason I bought alot of land a while ago. I have 200 yards setup. But I shoot alot and do alot of power burner shooting including machine guns. We have a group where we all own machine guns and the only place we shoot is my property because all the ranges don't let you shoot full auto anymore.

I also will not go to an public range anymore. To many dumb people there doing stupid stuff.

Good luck.



.
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Guns + own land + free State of Florida...

= Paradise 😎
 
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We have a public range here. About a square mile. 1000 yard to the farthest berm. No fees. Lots of concrete benches. Good target backings. Several individual ranges. Room for 25 shooters on each range. 5-6 50 yard pistol pits.

No range control. You work it out amongst yourselves.

It's all public land here. You can shoot anything anywhere within reason. Most folks just find a spot just outside town rather than drive to the range.

New Mexico brothers. Everyone is packing. Everyone shoots. Everywhere.

We have the biggest range on the planet called White Sands Missle Range. It's 100 miles wide and 300 miles long. They shoot the big stuff there all the way up to nuclear bombs. They design, build and test everything the military has in its arsenal.

The arms industry is our biggest employer here. Most folks work on the range or in support of it.

Guns r us.
 
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South Carolina has a number of free to the public shooting ranges. I visited one with a friend a while back.

We took a couple of garbage bags and cleaned up after some of the other shooters. What is about having a gun in hand that makes people feel entitled to litter? We're not (yet) a third world country.

www.carolinasportsman.com

Check out SCDNR's public shooting ranges - Carolina Sportsman

From the upstate, to the midlands, and to the coast, the SCDNR operates seven public shooting ranges. Most are free to use.
www.carolinasportsman.com www.carolinasportsman.com

Cheers,

J~
 
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