I have recently relocated and went to a nearby public range for the first time today. It is on State Forest land and is maintained by the Missouri Dept of Conservation. It was a very nice facility with multiple concrete benches for 25, 50 and 100 yards. Nice high burms around three sides, an area for trap shooting, paved walkways and even a restroom. There was not a soul there when I got there, but the place looked like a trash dump. There were shot up soda cans, paper targets, cardboard ammo boxes covering the ground. What really got me was the fact that there were TWO dumpsters in the parking lot, one of them full of bullet holes! In between groups while my barrel was cooling I went around and picked up all the trash left by the other slobs. I don't think most of the members of this forum would behave in such a way, so my ranting is probably wasted here. But local public ranges seem to be vanishing to make room for housing or some other form of development. One I used to frequent had to close because owners of newly built homes nearby protested about the noise. This kind of lazy behavior will only aid in the closing of more and more ranges. OK, venting completed.

Sad to say I can duplicate your observations. Holes in about every stick of lumber, including the roofs. A very large, legible sign just as you enter the range areas states paper targets only, and I continue to watch just about everything but paper being used. Obviously one of the favorites is the clay pigeon, plastic bottles and old boxes. Pretty discouraging. If I were rich (not now and never will be) I'd pay the county to hire a full time range officer. Signs also indicate you're to police your brass, but I find most of the younger shooters simply buy cheap ammo, come out and blast away as fast as they can pull the trigger and leave as quickly. Most of them don't really need a target as the way they blast away, they're lucky to hit the ground, let along the paper.

They used to have a 10' X 10' building with metal target frames and cartboard free for the use, but they were destroyed so frequently that they gave up and torn the building down.

It doesn't take very many to spoil it for the whole group.

Dan

We have full time range officers at our range who take their jobs seriously. Safety is paramount at all times. Absolutely NO shooting of anything other than paper targets on the range provided cardboard backed frames. There are steel plates at the 100, 200 and 300 yd butts that may be shot. Armor piercing ball and .50 cal BMG excluded.

One of the best ways to lose your membership or daily priviledge is to be caught shooting trash or to destroy range property.

Shooting hours are from 7AM to 6:30PM for members with a member gate key. General public has access from 7:30AM to 5PM, daily. Only days range is closed is New Year's, Easter, Thanksgiving and Christmas. Monthly cleanup of general range is last Thursday of each month, which shuts down the general range for approx 3-4 hours. All shooters go to the High Power range during this time. Range Officers are on duty at the HP range at this time to conduct the shooting relays.

The club I belong to, nothing fancy by any stretch, doesn't have any public shooting with the exception of matches and hunter sight-in in the fall. The slobs get weeded out by the other members. I applaud your leaving it better than you found it, as that is the ideal we expect the members of our club to follow.

If there is a private club you can get into it's usually a nicer situation, as the folks who shoot there are not anonymous and tend to take a little more pride in the place...and it doesn't hurt that some of them don't want to have their membership card revoked.

Maybe it's just the part of the country I'm in but I've never SEEN a public range. Open to the public, but never a public range in the sense that it was a public facility like a park or the like. To be honest, in this day and age, I cannot even fathom how such a thing could exist in the way you desribed it.

Ted H; I know the feeling. I live just south of Springfield, MO.
We have two unsupervised MDC ranges within a 30 minute drive of me. Sad to say, both are much like what you describe. I won't shoot at either of them. More because of the Rambo wannabe's than anything else.

However, we are fortunate to also have a supervised MDC range at Bois d'Arc. I shoot there most of the time. It has a full time officer and works smoothly. Only bad thing is the hours can be a bit inconvenient. I've learned to schedule around the hours.

The public range I use is on a state WMA. It is very nice, but is not staffed by a full time attendent. Sadly, just as you describe, trash is everywhere, bullet holes can be sceen in the roof, trash cans, and even the concrete block wall of the toilet. I simply don't understand the thinking and behavior of some people.

Maybe it's just the part of the country I'm in but I've never SEEN a public range. Open to the public, but never a public range in the sense that it was a public facility like a park or the like. To be honest, in this day and age, I cannot even fathom how such a thing could exist in the way you desribed it.
Pennsylvania has alot of Public Ranges on State Game/forest lands. They just had to close a few for lead cleanup & berm problems but many more remain.

Central NJ has one at a WMA, kinda a scooped out bowl w/ a bench @ one end. allows Muzzleloaders & Centerfire rifles to be sighted in addition to slug guns. Guys who hunt w/ a rifle out of state would need to pay otherwise. Nice public pay to shoot range in Englishtown...

It kinda surprises me that there are ranges like this. I've only been to a few, the one I frequent the most being a MDC-run place a few miles outside of Saint Louis county, and none of them have been even remotely like this. I guess I should consider myself lucky.

We had a nice public range in Lewiston Idaho a few years ago. It only had a hundred yards, but you could sight in a rifle and it had nice covered benchs and a bathroom.

A lot of shooters spent time putting it togather and donated material for it.

It wasn't a year before it looked like a war zone. Even the toilets in the bathroom had been shot up and all the buildings looked like well used targets.

Several of us who helped build it and tried to maintain it finally gave up in disgust and dismantled it and closed it.

I don't know what gets into folks to do this, but it's not confined to the highly populated areas. You would think in a state like Idaho where hunting is one of the biggest draws to live and work here folks would be a little more respectful of something like that set up for their use.

It says something about the way these folks have been brought up. I know that our schools are being vandelized more and more.

When I was driving truck cross country I could not believe how many rest stops now have a state policeman on duty 7/24 just to keep the public safe and from being distroyed.

Brought up not to do this...drilled into me...but times change and the slobs are runing things for the rest of us.

Camera phone of them in action...licence plate picture...email.

Buy a cheap broom and dustpan with a long handle and just leave it there. If you have some extra money leave a cheap 20 gallon plastic pail. It worked at the range where I shoot.

Buy a cheap broom and dustpan with a long handle and just leave it there. If you have some extra money leave a cheap 20 gallon plastic pail. It worked at the range where I shoot.

Tried that, someone stole two brooms and shot the pail full of holes before they stole it. Range is history now. Never did catch who was making the mess and shooting the dickens out of everything, but it was several to do that much damage.

Ted - I live "upstream" of you in the same state where the range I go to is on the "honor" system. Same story when it is left to the "standards" of the "lowest common denominator" - it competes with the "trash dump" for "best kept" area. In-other-words, no rules, regulation, or supervision it turns into a disaster - just like our society. Many want complete, unbridled freedom to do whatever they feel like doing any time without consequences; and when there are no consciquences imposed for their actions, they become irresponsible. Our legal system (used to be justice system) and "feel good" politicians have helped us escape "adulthood". The "rule of law" is important and reasonable rules and regulations to ensure the safety and enjoyment for all should not compromised by the "spoiled" few who have neither earned nor deserve consideration over the "many". In the mean time, those of us that do care will continue to "clean up" after those that don't in order to have a place to enjoy our sport until some "anti-gun" group or county offical decides it is "public domain". BTW, the tip about a broom, dust pan, and pail is a great positive step. We have to become "proactive" in policing our own ranks. My 2 cents. Riley

TedH,

I'm originally from Missouri, although I live in Ohio now, the MDC range at forrest 44, just west of St. Louis is very nice. It is however a supervised range.

I know exactly what you mean about slobs on unsupervised ranges though. The range I shoot at on Ohio DNR land near my camper is the same way. Everything shot to chit, and trash everywhere. It's nothing fancy, 100 yds. a couple of benches, target holders at 50 & 100 yds, no buildings or bathrooms. But hey, it's free. Everytime I go there (usually every other weekend) I try to leave it better than I find it. Last weekend I took my 2 kids there to shoot .22s, and they helped my and the wife pick up a kitchen size trashbag full of ruined shotshell hulls for disposal. We always try to pick up as much trash off the range as possible, and usually take it home for disposal as the range trash can is shot full of holes. At least I can usually "mine" the range for reloadable brass.

People make me sick. Fortunately I have never been present when these people trash "MY" range.

SSB

I use a public range on a WMA. I am usually there by myself but the place is often full of trash people hauled out there to shoot. Last weekend someone hauled some angle iron out there, big pieces, and shot it full of holes. I just dont get it. They also shot up the metal target frames. I guess they didnt have anything else to shoot. I bring my own target frame made of pvc. Wouldnt dare leave it there. The signs and the covered bench area are not trashed or shot up thank goodness. The place is littered with brass of all types. If you wanted to pick it all up you could probably make some money selling it. I sweep out an area around the bench just to be able to walk around. The closest nice private gun range is 55 miles away and I and thinking of joining.