IU is at it again. After kicking Sycamore off the land and seeing to it nobody in town let them move, the IU indoor range was the only one left. You can't find mention of it on the site, or get a phone number from information, so I emailed and here's the answer I got:

                                                                     
Date: Wed, 27 Aug 2003 08:46:14 -0500 (EST)                            
From: recsport <[email protected]>                                  
To: Clay Bond <[email protected]>                                      
Subject: Re: shooting range?                                          
                                                                     
Hi Clay,                                                              
                                                                     
The shooting range is not operational at this time.  The university is
working on solutions but we do not anticipate any changes in the near  
future.                                                                
                                                                     
Thanks for checking,                                                  
                                                                     
Recsports                                                              
--

That means it won't open again ever. I've lived here 29 years now, and there's never been any problem at the indoor range. None. And this ticks me off.

I think everybody in the state that pays taxes and pays the IU salaries needs to know about this.

Yeah, it's one of those things that makes me glad that I live in the country with farmland surrounding my home. If I want to shoot, I just go beside the house and fire away. Granted, I can only get 200 yards here, but its better than nothing at all. Believe it or not, I've never been to a public range before. I would like to see more public ranges opened, even if I never utilized their services. I know of guys who drive long distances just to fire their weapons. You'd think that there would be at least one public range in each county.

I think the shrinking number of safe and legal public places to shoot is the most serious threat to the future of shooting sports and gun ownership.  As M4Madness alludes, the costs associated with finding a place to shoot and traveling there will outweigh the benefits of shooting for lots of people, particularly urban dwellers.

I remember pestering the crap out of my father, a non-shooter, to take me shooting when I was a kid.  We lived in surburbia and it was a major ordeal to find a safe and legal place open to the public.  That memory provided strong motivation to purchase an acreage this summer so my kids won't face the same hassle I did.

As for bondc's lament about the closure of the IU range, I have a dream that someday my political career will take me to a place where I will have some say about IU's appropriation!

As for bondc's lament about the closure of the IU range, I have a dream that someday my political career will take me to a place where I will have some say about IU's appropriation! hr

Want somebody to work on your campaign?

Quoted: As for bondc's lament about the closure of the IU range, I have a dream that someday my political career will take me to a place where I will have some say about IU's appropriation! Want somebody to work on your campaign?

Asking that question of a politician is like a very hot woman asking if you want to party!