Greetings from PA.  My daughter and SIL recently moved to Havelock, MCAS Cherry Point.  Any members from this forum either stationed at Cherry Point or living within maybe 45min+/- of that area?  

I'm hoping to find some good info from locals on fishing and maybe even some places to do a little shooting when I go down to visit.  

Google yielded plenty of charter boat options($$) and several public ranges but I'm looking for personal recommendations/suggestions.  Any members with a boat that probably won't sink and/or access to a not so public range would be ideal, compensation offered of course.  Also interested in fishing from shore if anybody cares to share any tips/suggestions related to that as well.

TIA

If you own a boat there are many state ramps that are free to use and very well maintained.

Only “state range” I know of close to there is Holly Shelter Shooting Range.  200 yard rifle range bench shooting only thru a  rectangle box.. pistol range is 50 yards . I think it’s 10 a day to shoot or 200 for the year, but it will be over a hour drive

I would not recommend the Holly Shelter range unless all you want to do (are allowed to do) is shoot your rifle from the bench, through a tube, with an RSO watching you like a hawk. The handgun range area looked like a cluster fuck.

I visited there when it first opened. Sat through the safety orientation, went to see the range, and chatted with the RSO a bit.  Said "nope" and left.

Steel core and steel jacketed ammuniton are not allowed at this outdoor range with dirt berms. Why? Per the RSO (retired Army know it all) when the steel hits the dirt, it gets so hot it could set the tree stumps in the berm on fire.

Don't own a boat, was hoping to find a suggestion on a boat to use..either charter or informal charter.  




Sounds like the type of place I'm looking to avoid.  Was really hoping to find somebody with a range on property or worst case one open to the public without all the hassle you mentioned.  I'm also hoping to win the lottery and catch a leprechaun...but figured it couldn't hurt to ask around.  


Thanks for the replies.  

B&R range.  Looks like afternoon hours.

Ricky Kellum "The Speckled Specialist"for a fishing charter.  He's toward Jacksonville, though.  I haven't used him, but a few guys I worked with did.  They liked him.

Also, you can go down to Chasin' Tails in Morehead City.   They have some charters and/or some they would recommend.

Sureshot Gunsports in Havelock is the only range I'll go to now. Very friendly and pro 2a staff, the RSOs are the furthest from fudd you can get while still maintaining high levels of safety; they'll help newbies out and if they see you know what you're doing they'll leave you alone.

Thanks for the suggestion.





Sounds like a good option, thanks.  

I have a house on Emerald Isle and I keep a boat in Atlantic beach.  You could do some nice shore fishing off  of Ft Macon and Radio Island has people fishing there too.

I’m about an hour from Cherry Point (Lejeune area) and was stationed at Cherry Point over a decade ago. B&R is the closest range to it I’m aware of but haven’t been there in 12 or 13 years. I was just at Holly Shelter range this weekend and it was good but likely too far for you (probably close to 2 hours). There’s charter fishing in Moorehead City or maybe New Bern.

Flatwoods Outfitters Gun Shop and Range in Hubert (near Swansboro) is where I would go - went to a friendly match there a few years ago and was impressed with the staff.

Lived in Havelock/Cherry Point from 1959 until 1972, Dad was XO and chief test pilot of what was then called NARF (Naval Air Rework Facility, now NavDep) on base. I don't go back all that often but will be in the area this weekend (October 8th) for a funeral. My guess is that Havelock will dry up and blow away when the Hwy 70s bypass is finished and nothing of value will be lost.

Back before 9/11, the Rifle Range Detachment (now part of Weapons Battalion) at Stone Bay, Camp Lejeune, used to welcome civilian teams once a month for Saturday matches with the various teams on base. They were pretty casual about "teams" and we often made up a team on the spot with whoever showed up. As a bonus, you could volunteer to police the range after the match and keep the brass. An extra bonus was when former match armorer Sgt. Charlie Lauer (Ret) would come by with his mobile shop and do trigger jobs and such. Them was the days.

We still have matches Sat/Sun about once a month at Lejeune.  Got a prone match coming up this weekend.  One XTC match a year, the remainder prone.  Might up it to two XTC matches a year.  Matches conducted by Coastal Carolina Rifle Club.   Club has Facebook and MeWe pages.

Not many post/station teams active anymore.   Typically they get stood up for base intramurals and Division matches.  We did the XTC match during Eastern Division matches.  Only had a handful of Marines show up.  They had a schedule change that had them firing during the weekend while the club match was being conducted.

That's good to hear, I enjoyed the matches there when they were run by GySgt Mock and StaffSgt Stoneman back in the 90s. One of the features was a visit by Charlie Lauer, a retired "China Marine" who had a mobile gunsmith shop in the back of his truck. He would do trigger jobs and other chores and never asked for penny. He just enjoyed being around fellow shooters.

Sgt Mock was the best coach I ever had ("get hard on them sights, boy") and Stoneman told some of the dirtiest jokes I ever heard.

Mock and Stoneman retired ages ago and I went to Charlie's funeral in 2001. Seems like there are very few guys like that around these days.