Just wondering for all my friends in Nortern IL/ Southern WI. What would it take for us to open our own range in Nortern IL? What stops u from starting a club and opening our own outdoor range? What would be involved in opening a public range? How much land do you think we would need? Curious. Ottawa is a great place and I am very, very grateful for it but sure would be nice to have something up north.

Great Idea, but....I'm afraid that the amount of land we would need would make it cost prohibitive.  And land that we could aford would be just as far away as Ottawa, or farther.  Just my 2 cents.......

Quoted: Great Idea, but....I'm afraid that the amount of land we would need would make it cost prohibitive.  And land that we could aford would be just as far away as Ottawa, or farther.  Just my 2 cents.......

Maybe, maybe not. How much land do you think would be needed? Anything is possible and if public, I see no reason as to why it wouldn't be packed all the time.

i would think you would need a couple hundred acres minimum.  not to mention a fantastic attorney.

Here is the idea I have tossed around. I have looked into this as a matter of fact. Like I am sure we all agree Ottawa is in fact a pretty far drive for most of us. I come from Wisconsin.
Just over the border on the Wisc. side is some land that is for sale which is great for us C3 guys. I would love to have a range open in that area. The problem is that you would have to get it zoned for us to use it in a "safe" way. Most of the people on the board would not like to see another range open. We have Bristol right there and every year they try to change things there too. Noise is a problem for most. I would have to agree we would need at LEAST 100 acres. This way we could make it profitable with running matches there, or other outings.
If you wanted a "private range" this could be done for less money and headache. It is another option if people would like to go this route. We would have to buy the land, fence it off, level the ground out and build a berm at the rear rounding out the corners to make a U shape. I have all the plans and everything done. All I need at this point are backers for a project or better yet some friends to pool some money together to get the ball rolling. Feel free to e-mail me if you have more questions.
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Where abouts is the land Batch ??   And what kind of initial investment would we be looking at ???   Keeping it private eliminates a lot of headaches, but it also could increase the cost.  Anyone else interested ??    Speak up.   Brother Batch has done his homework ! !

Quoted: Where abouts is the land Batch ??   And what kind of initial investment would we be looking at ???   Keeping it private eliminates a lot of headaches, but it also could increase the cost.  Anyone else interested ??    Speak up.   Brother Batch has done his homework ! !

Very interested. Private may just be the way to go if a group of us had a club but we would need revenue, so it would have to be somewhat public or I suppose the mortgage on the land could be paid with membership dollars. I won't go to Bristol. Really, what good are they actually doing? One round in the magazine? Please. They seem like they could suck all the enjoyment out of the shooting sports. Question remains, how much land? We could have a Nortern IL/ Southern WI club/range. My guess is that with the political climate in the Peoples Republic Of Illinois, WI may be a better bet. However, a new range opening in IL may be just what we need.

I have carpentry skills. More than happy to build the benches and backers!

Why yes I have done the homework. I was looking into doing this a few years back before I bought the Gym. I would still be willing to go in on this as a private range. wisc taxes on the land in the Kenosha County area would be a ton better than Lake County Il. Illinois being more expensive. The biggest expense would be the purchase of land and the taxes each year. Depending on the price split among the owners we could keep it private, only problem would be making money to pay for everything. We could get around a buisness zoning by eliminating a buisness outbuilding. All we would need is the land, and someone who has an in with the local sheriff who would support this kind of buisness in their county. I had talked to the old Sheriff in Kenosha about this deal when I was there getting some C3 papers signed. As long as it is presented in the right light, it should be no problem. Words were exchanged about local (Plesant Prarie, Kenosha, Bristol) using the facility to train durring the week. This gives us the "one hand washes the other" phrase. I still have to meet with the new Sheriff here and I will bring this up to him if we has serious people that would want to do it. I know right now I don't have a ton of funds flowing my way to fund another project on my own. I guess what it comes down to is would we be doing it to make money or do it just to have a place for friends to meet and shoot when we like?
I have a ton of tools and 16yrs experience in remodeling houses and deck building. I know a few people that stick out in my head and they would help out too. My brother also owns a landscaping company and a bobcat and dozer would help with the land moving.
If we started a small club we could have dues which would help out with the payment each month. I wouldn't count on alot of cash coming in that direction though. It could be set up like Bristol but with the rules of Ottawa, and a pit, you need a pit. maybe not from the height of Ottawa but a place to shoot at crap.
I could go on about the indoor facility I have designed that could be added to the property later down the road. It includes a 8 room CQB training center. Like I said thats down the road if this even gets anywhere but on paper.
Hope this helps and ask me for any other info if you like. I will see if the land is still there for sale and call on it.

I think this is something we really need to consider. I would be more than OK with local LEO's shooting there whenever they wanted. This may also be a way to get a tax break on the land. If we had enough people together, I see no reason why this couldn't be done. Obviously I'm not the only one with this on the brain.

Patriot-
I agree this could definatly be done. Let me check into a little more on my end with the land and check out the price and I will get more info from some other people out here. I will keep you posed on things as they unfold.
Batch114

Outstanding. I am willing to help how ever I can.

HERE IS SOMETHING THAT MAY HELP...

I visited the Aurora Sportsman's Club and their 100 yard rifle range consists of a flat concrete firing line where you can shoot standing, sitting and kneeling like you would do at a CMP competition.
Right above, about 10feet high or so, and across the length of the firing line is a box-like overhang that "forces" the shooter to shoot straight at the targets and berm straight ahead and this way shooters cannot accidently shoot over the targets and berms into the populated land past the target range.
I'm thinking that this is some legal and safe way of having a rifle range in a populated area without needing hundreds of acres of land to shoot. Of course, you would still have to deal with the noise levels.
A rapid fire or a plinking pit may not be suitable for this set-up, but it would be alot better than nothing and alot better than the plain old bench only rifle ranges and trap shooting ranges.

Just my .02

Thanks for the info, some great tips. I wonder what the acerage is at Aurora, Buffalo. You know I joined Sycamore this year and have not had time to go out there. I really want to go. If we do this though I think we should abandon the "it's better then nothing" theory. We already have lots of "better then nothing options" If we do it, we should do it all the way.

I agree about doing it the way we would like to have it done. I think we should look into different ranges and see what they have to offer as far as land and different setups. I am going to Bristol this Sunday morning. If anyone wants to join I should be there around 9:00am. There is 137 acres for sale we could either get the whole lot or just a part of it for what we would need. I have left the guy a message and hope he will get back to me on the price per acre.
A Bristol type set-up would not be a bad thing, just the rules there are "bad" for most of us with mag fed weapons. At least that is they way I see it. As soon as I hear back I will post the price.

Batch114

I have never actually shot at Bristol I refuse to give them money. I think it's great if it is a range for bolt action rifles but in my humble opinion, they aren't doing much to help us keep our rights in tact nor are they doing much for our sport/hobby. I am sure it is a nice facility I just don't spend much time with PC shooters. I am interested to see what you come up with. I will too keep my ears to the track. Do we have any rough idea what the acerage may be at some of these facilities? Any idea what Fox Valley was? The closing of Fox Valley was a sin. What was the real story behind that? I have heard everything from the EPA to greedy kids to liberal neighbors. I have an idea, next time a range opens, let's make sure all of us buy our houses next to it. Living next to a range would work just fine for me.

If possible have a long enough range for DCM/CMP Matches. That will bring in more people and help promote the sport up there. See about a juniors program. CMP is big into that stuff. You should be able to get deals on ammo and club rifles for the programs.

Check with your insurance man. The premiums take into account the number of members. See where the price breaks are.

The state has a program called "Acres for Wildlife" where you can get grants. I wouldn't count on getting anything, but you might as well try.

I would try to stay private, with members coming from referrals. Have them fill out an app, and have them be sponsored by a current member.That way everyone shooting at the range will have a stake in it. At the public ranges I've been to, you get some real dumbasses.

Be prepared for some dumbass to buy the property adjacent to yours, and then he will bitch about the noise.

I hope you guys succeed, it sounds like it's desperately needed up there.

Desperately needed. Great tips.

I agree this is much needed. Still nothing from the land owner.

Batch114

Hey Batch and all the other guys, I was thinking
we should consider forming the club, coming up with a name and taking a head count on how many guys are interested. Maybe we need to also consider a means for gathering some revenue even before we open the range and then possibly a trust fund or mutual fund to actually grow the funds. Batch, should we start a new IL thread asking who would be interested in starting the range/club? I like the CMP idea. There has to be a way we can have a club and still bring in revenue somehow without getting creamed on the taxes and being zoned as a full out business.

Aurora Sportsman Club is doing this now. They are located on Rt 47 and Rt88 in Sugar Grove. They have approxiately 40 acre gun club, Shotgun, Rifle, Pistol and Archery. With the Sugar Grove housing boom they have decided to purchase land move to a location where they can get enough land to make a better club that will not get over run by housing developments.  I don't know the exact details but it goes something like this: They purchased appr 230 + acres in Waterman. Have options to purchase 2 more pieces of land over the next couple of years, Totaling  appr 750 acres. Plans sound real good, 40 acres for shotgun sports. 100,200,300,600 yard rifle range etc etc. They would also like to put a campground in and host National Matches Camp Perry style. This would be great and would really put them on the map if they pull it off. Hopefully this will happen over / in the next 5 years?. They have not broken ground yet but are in the advanced planning stages now.  I started shooting Trap out there in the fall and became very impressed with this club. I joined in the spring and been having a ball out there. It's a lot closer than Buffalo Rock for me. Lots of terrific people/ shooters out there. Check this club out. They host Matches every  month and lots CMP clinics/ shoots. http://www.aurorasc.org/

That sounds like an outstanding facility. Perhaps rather than starting this new club we would wish to combine resources with Aurora. if they are truly opening this type of facility, it would be excellent. Just a thought, strength in numbers.