I'm looking for a public place to shoot in the Southern Maine area. I live down in Saco/Biddeford, so anything around there really. I'm trying to avoid joining one of the local clubs, as I don't really have enough free time to make the membership worth it. I used to have a few sand/gravel pits that I would use a bit farther up north, but those have since been closed off. I know people are generally tight lipped about any good shooting spots, because for someone reason others like to use it as a landfill and shoot at TVs instead of paper or steel.

I lived in Sanford / Springvale many years ago. When I first moved to Springvale in 1987, there was a pit behind what is now Margaret Chase Smith School that we could use. The use of that pit didn't last long, though, when they decided to build the school. After that, we used a pit off New Dam Road for years. The writing was on the wall about it, though. There's a trailer park to the west of the pit and the people living there started throwing Holy Hell about shooting in the pit. The last time I shot there, while home on leave from the Army in about 99, I even had some lady walk over and stand on top of the berm to bitch at us, saying she was going to send her husband over to take care of us. (That didn't sound like a very solid plan in relation to her husband's health, though. LOL)

I know my brother has asked around several times on a local FB page trying to find a place to teach my niece, but has had zero luck.

About the only real choice for someone who doesn't have their own land or connections is the Rod and Gun Club range out by the airport. I've shot there a few times many years ago and thought it was good enough for my needs. If I lived back there again, I'd probably pay for a membership just so I'd have somewhere to go without much hassle.

ETA: In the Saco/Biddeford area, I'd just bite the bullet and join the Scarboro Fish and Game Association and use their really nice facilities.

Sanford gun club is cheap and it's a nice facility.

Thanks guys. Seems like joining one of the clubs is going to be my best option. Absolutely cannot justify the cost/volunteer hours for Scarborough though.

I was looking at the Sanford Fish & Game earlier. It seems like a nice place, and isn't as expensive as the York County Fish & Game in Lyman. While that facility is closer, it's more expensive and I don't like the whole "if we deny you membership we still keep $100 of yours" mentality.

Nowadays I only get around to shooting a few time a year, unfortunately.

I have heard good things about both norway paris fish and game and It looks like a nice facility
http://npfg.org/about/

probably to far for you though

Wife and I are members of NPFG, it is a nice range/club and inexpensive to join, to be honest we got our memberships last spring hoping the wife would get into shooting trap and I would have a place to shoot out to 200yds but we have yet to actually go shoot there. I am thinking once the weather cools off I'll start making my way to the range and get the rifles out.