Posted: 6/15/2010 8:05:22 AM EDT
| What are the best ranges in this state? BY THAT I mean, if you want to work 3 gun/practical skills. Multi-targets, stings, movement, drawing, etc. Where can I go where when I draw the place isnt getting locked down and some guy doesnt run out with mace and a loud speaker telling me to step away from the gun? |
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What are the best ranges in this state? BY THAT I mean, if you want to work 3 gun/practical skills. Multi-targets, stings, movement, drawing, etc. Where can I go where when I draw the place isnt getting locked down and some guy doesnt run out with mace and a loud speaker telling me to step away from the gun? If you don't own private land in MD forget the above. If you don't mind a drive to PA, then Westshore Sportsman's Club in Lewisberry PA. Annual fees are VERY reasonable. They have bays for practicing drawing/moving/shooting, a bay with steel plates (multiple targets). They also run the NTI there (annual big shooting event plus monthly shooting seminars), IDPA, and cowboy shooting. If you want to move-n-shoot it's the place to go. It takes between 90 minutes to 105 minuts to get there from the Columbia area. |
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What are the best ranges in this state? BY THAT I mean, if you want to work 3 gun/practical skills. Multi-targets, stings, movement, drawing, etc. Where can I go where when I draw the place isnt getting locked down and some guy doesnt run out with mace and a loud speaker telling me to step away from the gun? If you don't own private land in MD forget the above. If you don't mind a drive to PA, then Westshore Sportsman's Club in Lewisberry PA. Annual fees are VERY reasonable. They have bays for practicing drawing/moving/shooting, a bay with steel plates (multiple targets). They also run the NTI there (annual big shooting event plus monthly shooting seminars), IDPA, and cowboy shooting. If you want to move-n-shoot it's the place to go. It takes between 90 minutes to 105 minuts to get there from the Columbia area. Hmmm...about the same distance to Elk neck... |
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The OP points out the down side to most ranges around here: they will not allow anyone to practice "practical skills. Multi-targets, strings, movement, drawing, etc"
On the one hand, I fully understand the range owner's concerns because a good friend owned a range (Shooters Paradise), I worked there, and we constantly saw unsafe gun-handling by the public at large. In one incident in late 2006, a vet who served in Afganistan & who was employed as an LEO, managed to fire a .40 round into his thigh with his Sig; the bullet exited near his testicles & they had to land a medivac helicopter in the parking lot in front of Shooters Paradise (he made it, BTW). And that was someone who the public would consider to be "highly trained." On the other hand, another old friend of mine, Travis Haley, recently produced two training videos demonstrating carbine and handgun skills which simply cannot be practiced at most ranges without violating the range rules. You can watch Travis & Chris shoot, but unless you own or have access to land, you will not be practicing those skills around here. The result is that most of the public ranges can be fairly called "sight-in only" ranges, since not much else is allowed (I guess you could also practice "bench rest competition" shooting, but I am not into that). The arfcom community is slowly catching on to the limitations of the typical "sight in only" ranges all over the US. OP: you do have one option: shoot 3gun, USPSA or IDPA. While that is not really the "practice" you were thinking of, you will be drawing from a holster, shooting on the move (walking or running), engaging multiple targets at ranges from point blank to 50 yards with a handgun & to 300 meters with a carbine, etc. A new venue just opened at Summit Point in nearby W.Va. There are 2 and 3gun events in York, PA. Thurmont MD & St. Charles have shoots monthly. The opportunities are there, but you will have to seek them out. Or save up to buy your own land. |
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What are the best ranges in this state? BY THAT I mean, if you want to work 3 gun/practical skills. Multi-targets, stings, movement, drawing, etc. Where can I go where when I draw the place isnt getting locked down and some guy doesnt run out with mace and a loud speaker telling me to step away from the gun? If you don't own private land in MD forget the above. If you don't mind a drive to PA, then Westshore Sportsman's Club in Lewisberry PA. Annual fees are VERY reasonable. They have bays for practicing drawing/moving/shooting, a bay with steel plates (multiple targets). They also run the NTI there (annual big shooting event plus monthly shooting seminars), IDPA, and cowboy shooting. If you want to move-n-shoot it's the place to go. It takes between 90 minutes to 105 minuts to get there from the Columbia area. Hmmm...about the same distance to Elk neck... Which is why I was a member for several years, about the same distance, but no toll to pay. If you can get there during the week it's really nice as nobody is around so you can run drills on the rifle range. The 10-20 yards in front of the targets is flat and covered in gravel - makes it perfect for drills with the shot timer. |
| Forrest is right. Also, Elk Neck during "non peak" times (though I never ran drills there) used to be deserted. If you'd get there during the week right at dawn (or whenever they allow you to first shoot these days) you'd have the place all to yourself & that used to carry MANY benefits - even if you don't run drills. For example, not dealing with fudds who sweep you with loaded guns, being able to piss in the woods as nature intended, etc. I always enjoyed shooting there. |
| Last time at Hap Baker was pretty interesting. I was in the bench rest mode just seeing what kind of groups I could shoot(bench rest mode is all that is pretty much allowed at Hap Baker-I think.) This guy comes in and sets up next to me with some suppressed tactical type carbines. He proceeds to start shooting from all sorts of postions. The thing that surprised me the most was how loud the suppressed guns were. I got to talking to him and it was really an interesting day at the range. Sorry OP, that was no help to you. |
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Last time at Hap Baker was pretty interesting. I was in the bench rest mode just seeing what kind of groups I could shoot(bench rest mode is all that is pretty much allowed at Hap Baker-I think.) This guy comes in and sets up next to me with some suppressed tactical type carbines. He proceeds to start shooting from all sorts of postions. The thing that surprised me the most was how loud the suppressed guns were. I got to talking to him and it was really an interesting day at the range. Sorry OP, that was no help to you. That is an eye (or ear) opener isn't it? We are so misled by Hollywood where it's actually the sound engineer who "supresses" all of the firearms. |
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I have a buddy with 7 acres and I have a 25 yard range set up. You can get maybe 75 yards, but that's pushing it.
I love outdoors shooting - no RO, I can move and shoot, do drills, speed shoot, shoot at cans, bottles, bowling pins. Great for sighting in, no idiots muzzle sweeping you Hometown members are welcome, with some restrictions - I don't need 10 people up there - 3 or 4 max. Downside = local PD sometimes show up. They are usually cool when they see I am 100% safe, but once in a while you get the hard-ass. I'm legal, so push comes to shove I make that very clear to them. Last time 3 MSP showed - but they were fine. The neighbors complain sometimes to no avail. I do have a new friend with 96 acres who wants to shoot - he has a .40 pistol and a .22; however he is waiting for hay to get harvested so we can post targets. This locaton would be ideal as it's about 10 minutes from my house. He is excited about shooting some of my more exotic rifles. The 7 acres is about 20 minutes. Hurtz has been there as has Bronz and TD308. The reason I like it is: it's close, I can run up and test fire something anytime I want, I have written permission and I can shot any way I like without a range Nazi chewing my ass. Lately I have been fine tuning a 6.8 SBR and testing reloads. Baker isn't all that bad - just observe normal safety rules. The advantage there is they have 200 yards, which is the longest range I've found. Once the RO sees you are safe and respectful, they pretty much leave you alone. I let the guy shoot my 6.8 SPC, so I made a friend. |
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What are the best ranges in this state? BY THAT I mean, if you want to work 3 gun/practical skills. Multi-targets, stings, movement, drawing, etc. Where can I go where when I draw the place isnt getting locked down and some guy doesnt run out with mace and a loud speaker telling me to step away from the gun? No MD ranges will allow any of that - you can only punch paper 
Where do you live in relation to 21085 zip? I need some range work done - barrier creation, new OSB (plywood) for the el presidente setup I have. We can cut all the OSB at my house, toss it in my truck and assemble it with a sledge and cordless drill. |
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Baker isn't all that bad - just observe normal safety rules. The advantage there is they have 200 yards, which is the longest range I've found. Once the RO sees you are safe and respectful, they pretty much leave you alone. I let the guy shoot my 6.8 SPC, so I made a friend. It has been a long time since I shot there (it was pre-fire if that tells you anything) but that was my experience there too. For what it is, Hap Baker was fine & I never had any issue at all with any of the ROs there (come to think of it, never had any issue with other shooters there either). I think we got into it with the dump lady at the front gate once - I think I remember she accused us of trying to dump trash even though we just headed to & from the range. She was a real bitch. But she was not part of the range staff at all. |
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Last time at Hap Baker was pretty interesting. I was in the bench rest mode just seeing what kind of groups I could shoot(bench rest mode is all that is pretty much allowed at Hap Baker-I think.) This guy comes in and sets up next to me with some suppressed tactical type carbines. He proceeds to start shooting from all sorts of postions. The thing that surprised me the most was how loud the suppressed guns were. I got to talking to him and it was really an interesting day at the range. Sorry OP, that was no help to you. That is an eye (or ear) opener isn't it? We are so misled by Hollywood where it's actually the sound engineer who "supresses" all of the firearms. Was he using subsonics? |
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Last time at Hap Baker was pretty interesting. I was in the bench rest mode just seeing what kind of groups I could shoot(bench rest mode is all that is pretty much allowed at Hap Baker-I think.) This guy comes in and sets up next to me with some suppressed tactical type carbines. He proceeds to start shooting from all sorts of postions. The thing that surprised me the most was how loud the suppressed guns were. I got to talking to him and it was really an interesting day at the range. Sorry OP, that was no help to you. That is an eye (or ear) opener isn't it? We are so misled by Hollywood where it's actually the sound engineer who "supresses" all of the firearms. Was he using subsonics? It was actually the first time I have ever been around a firearm with a can on it. He was shooting regular rounds as I recall. The guy was decked out like he just stepped off the plane from the Hindu Kush. I believe he was some sort of Fed. Nice fella though. |
When I lived in MD, I went to Hap Baker twice. The first time, there was a short guy with a beard who wanted to check my pistols before I shot. He went off and gave me a lecture about having an empty magazine in the pistols, saying it was against the law. A little while later, I was shooting a .22 pistol. I was going through a mag at a good pace, but it really wasn't that fast. I wasn't just spraying, all my shots were still within a few inches of each other. Some RO sticks his head in and looks down the line and stares at this guy and his young daughter. The guy laughed and said, "Hey, it wasn't me this time!". The RO looks at me, I looked at him kind of confused and said, "Too fast??". He just replied with "Two seconds between shots...". 
For all the ranges in the area, I used to drive almost every weekend to PA to shoot. I lived in Sykesville, and where I went in PA was about an hour and a half away, but I still preferred to go there and it was still cheaper even factoring in gas. |
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Back yard range, work in progress. The digging by hand makes for slow going. http://i161.photobucket.com/albums/t238/windyhill_album/001-3.jpg That looks like a good set up to work on our Spetznaz backflip shovel throwing drills. |
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When I lived in MD, I went to Hap Baker twice. The first time, there was a short guy with a beard who wanted to check my pistols before I shot. He went off and gave me a lecture about having an empty magazine in the pistols, saying it was against the law. A little while later, I was shooting a .22 pistol. I was going through a mag at a good pace, but it really wasn't that fast. I wasn't just spraying, all my shots were still within a few inches of each other. Some RO sticks his head in and looks down the line and stares at this guy and his young daughter. The guy laughed and said, "Hey, it wasn't me this time!". The RO looks at me, I looked at him kind of confused and said, "Too fast??". He just replied with "Two seconds between shots...".
For all the ranges in the area, I used to drive almost every weekend to PA to shoot. I lived in Sykesville, and where I went in PA was about an hour and a half away, but I still preferred to go there and it was still cheaper even factoring in gas. What is it that brings out these attitudes?! It isnt illegal to have an EMPTY mag in a gun. Why do gun ranges seem to attract people that feel the need to show their force in silly ass ways like that? |
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Quoted: Quoted: When I lived in MD, I went to Hap Baker twice. The first time, there was a short guy with a beard who wanted to check my pistols before I shot. He went off and gave me a lecture about having an empty magazine in the pistols, saying it was against the law. A little while later, I was shooting a .22 pistol. I was going through a mag at a good pace, but it really wasn't that fast. I wasn't just spraying, all my shots were still within a few inches of each other. Some RO sticks his head in and looks down the line and stares at this guy and his young daughter. The guy laughed and said, "Hey, it wasn't me this time!". The RO looks at me, I looked at him kind of confused and said, "Too fast??". He just replied with "Two seconds between shots...". For all the ranges in the area, I used to drive almost every weekend to PA to shoot. I lived in Sykesville, and where I went in PA was about an hour and a half away, but I still preferred to go there and it was still cheaper even factoring in gas. What is it that brings out these attitudes?! It isnt illegal to have an EMPTY mag in a gun. Why do gun ranges seem to attract people that feel the need to show their force in silly ass ways like that? I went to the range at Marriottsville a couple times to look into becoming a member down there. The guy I dealt with there was a lot worse. I read stories about him after, the guy with the big white beard stained yellow with tobacco. He was just standing around doing nothing, but he acted like talking to me and answering some simple questions about the range was a major hassle to him. |
I am fortunate enough to have a lil spot at my father inlaws to shoot .22 or 5.56 suppressed. It is only about 60 or so yds max but it is good for sighting in or shooting shit the ranges wont let you do. Going up there father' day to do a little shootin'...  The best part about it is that its only 20 minutes from my house.
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What are the best ranges in this state? BY THAT I mean, if you want to work 3 gun/practical skills. Multi-targets, stings, movement, drawing, etc. Where can I go where when I draw the place isnt getting locked down and some guy doesnt run out with mace and a loud speaker telling me to step away from the gun? No MD ranges will allow any of that - you can only punch paper
Where do you live in relation to 21085 zip? I need some range work done - barrier creation, new OSB (plywood) for the el presidente setup I have. We can cut all the OSB at my house, toss it in my truck and assemble it with a sledge and cordless drill. Last time I went to the range (SCSC) they allowed it...granted that was over a year ago. |
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What are the best ranges in this state? BY THAT I mean, if you want to work 3 gun/practical skills. Multi-targets, stings, movement, drawing, etc. Where can I go where when I draw the place isnt getting locked down and some guy doesnt run out with mace and a loud speaker telling me to step away from the gun? No MD ranges will allow any of that - you can only punch paper
Where do you live in relation to 21085 zip? I need some range work done - barrier creation, new OSB (plywood) for the el presidente setup I have. We can cut all the OSB at my house, toss it in my truck and assemble it with a sledge and cordless drill. Last time I went to the range (SCSC) they allowed it...granted that was over a year ago. Where and what is SCSC? I am having problems getting someone to help me buy, cut and erect plywood on my FREE range. It could be vastly improved if only I had a little help. 
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Hap wouldn't be a bad place for load testing except for that overhead cover. It doesn't allow enough light for my Chronograph to operate. Forrest - what chrony are you using? I bought one and am awaiting the Brown Truck of Happiness as I type. They mis-routed my press to NY, so I hope the Midway package arrives. Maybe they are having a bad day. |
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What are the best ranges in this state? BY THAT I mean, if you want to work 3 gun/practical skills. Multi-targets, stings, movement, drawing, etc. Where can I go where when I draw the place isnt getting locked down and some guy doesnt run out with mace and a loud speaker telling me to step away from the gun? No MD ranges will allow any of that - you can only punch paper
Where do you live in relation to 21085 zip? I need some range work done - barrier creation, new OSB (plywood) for the el presidente setup I have. We can cut all the OSB at my house, toss it in my truck and assemble it with a sledge and cordless drill. Last time I went to the range (SCSC) they allowed it...granted that was over a year ago. Where and what is SCSC? I am having problems getting someone to help me buy, cut and erect plywood on my FREE range. It could be vastly improved if only I had a little help. Saint Charles Sportsman's Club in Waldorf. |
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Hap wouldn't be a bad place for load testing except for that overhead cover. It doesn't allow enough light for my Chronograph to operate. Forrest - what chrony are you using? . Chrony Alpha with printer. I just need some $%^&#@* free time so I can go use it. |
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What are the best ranges in this state? BY THAT I mean, if you want to work 3 gun/practical skills. Multi-targets, stings, movement, drawing, etc. Where can I go where when I draw the place isnt getting locked down and some guy doesnt run out with mace and a loud speaker telling me to step away from the gun? No MD ranges will allow any of that - you can only punch paper
Where do you live in relation to 21085 zip? I need some range work done - barrier creation, new OSB (plywood) for the el presidente setup I have. We can cut all the OSB at my house, toss it in my truck and assemble it with a sledge and cordless drill. Last time I went to the range (SCSC) they allowed it...granted that was over a year ago. Where and what is SCSC? I am having problems getting someone to help me buy, cut and erect plywood on my FREE range. It could be vastly improved if only I had a little help. Saint Charles Sportsman's Club in Waldorf. Kinda long drive from the Parkton area
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Hap wouldn't be a bad place for load testing except for that overhead cover. It doesn't allow enough light for my Chronograph to operate. Forrest - what chrony are you using? . Chrony Alpha with printer. I just need some $%^&#@* free time so I can go use it. Always the way |
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I think the best way to have a good shooting range in MD is to buy the land or make friends with a farmer. Access to lots of land and most are into shooting. If you are into shooting enough, you could probably trade some labor in exchange for shooting privleges.
I have a range out to 600 yards and 730 in another spot. I couldn't imagine having some range idiot telling me I had to shoot from a bench or something. I can just drive up and shoot out the window if I want. Thats nice in the winter. Only drawback is the hours I work limit my shooting time. -dan |