Hey guys, open ended question since I don't even have an AR yet :D

Where is your favorite place in the Cen-Tex area to go shooting??  Any long range outdoor ranges in the area??

I've only been to Red's since I've lived in Austin, but that's just because it's easiest to sight in my hunting rifles there....and I know the trajectory for my particular loads (175 gr. :), so re-zeroing them is no problem.  But, I'd like to get out to some bigger ranges, and was simply wondering what you recommend.

Thanks!
Max

I usually go to Eagle Peak, since it's closer to where I live.  Cook's (now Red's) in P-ville is closer, but I don't like indoor ranges much.  EP is nice, but the BAD thing is, they don't allow FMJ rifle ammo.  There's Tony's on 183, and there's SUPPOSED to be a new, really nice range a little further up 183.  Hill Country Rifle Range is nice, but the guy who runs it is a SERIOUS tinfoil hat wearing kooky bastard.  

Eagle Peak has 200 yard, covered but outdoor
range.  Good folks there.  Works for me.

DanM

Cool...thanks guys.  Where is this Eagle Pass??

Max

There are several ranges in Austin that I frequent. Red's is nice if you just want to quickly get to the range and put some brass down. I regularly go to the south range and put 300-400 pistol rounds downrange, and about 120 556's at 50 yards to practice some fundamentals.

Hill Country Rifle Range is south-west of town, off of 71 & Hamilton Pool Road. There are IDPA matches out there twice a month (pistol & rifle) that I regularly attend. This is an outdoor range with steel targets out to 400y, IIRC.

Tony's Gun Range is off of north 183 - it's a nice place, but kind of small. The nice thing about it is that he'll let you rock and roll to your hearts' content. It is outdoors, and I think he has 100 yard rifle ranges (it may be further - I'm not sure)

Search a little bit - I believe Karl Rehn still has an 'Austin area range' guide on his site - www.krtraining.com

Doc

So, I'm sitting in class today surfing the AR15.com website......well, during break a gentleman comes up to me and says, "hey man, you're into AR-15's?"  I replied, "well, I don't have one yet, but I'm looking into it!"

He informed me of a place called Thunder Ranch.  I looked at the website, it looks completely badass...have any of you guys ever paid for any of the training??  My friend said he's done it 8 times already.  Needless to say, I was quite impressed....especially since I now have a gun-buddy in class :D

Max

 Where do you guys recommend for Full Auto, cool owner, and at least 100 yds range in Austin?  
 Tony's Gun Range qualifies these three requirements.  Anywhere else?
 I have a former classmate who lives in Georgetown, and he would like to try out.

 Thanks

Ishikawa....that is one bad ass Toy! I have owned 11 toyotas over the years but none have been that cool! You are welcome to come shoot with us anytime! We put on IDPA matches (handgun) and Carbine matches at the Hill Country Rifle range. We are also starting our Night/Lowlight shoots this month. Check out our website for more info:

mywebpage.netscape.com/texastactical/tx.html

Ishikawa :

I have been to TR 4 times now. Haven't been in a while because of work and toy budgets :D but I am hoping I might be able to squeeze in another class next year. Be forewarned, TR is shutting down soon and moving out of the state - so if you're interested in going, now is the time! The training is absolutely top notch, the instructors are second to none, and the facilities are superb. I can't talk enough about how great the ranch is.

Mojo:
"Cool" range owners .. hrm.. that kind of narrows it down. Tony's is okay, so long as they see that you are semi-competant with what you're doing. If you flip the selector to 'fun' and put a few over the berm, he's gonna toss your ass out. (and rightfully so!) Hill Country is okay with auto, but the owner there is kind of a strange guy. Just be sure not to engage him in any sort of long conversation and you'll be okay. Other than that, Red's South is really the only other range I know of in Austin that will allow people to go auto. I've heard some folks talk about Austin Trap & Skeet out on E290 being okay with it, but not many. I would stick to Tony's if you're up in Georgetown - it's going to be the closest range to you, I think.

Doc

Another one to consider is Austin Rifle Club. They have some very nice facilities out in Manor. I just took the range safety orientation class and hope to be made a member at the next meeting. They have a BUNCH of shooting positions. There ~ 40 for pistol at 25&50yds alone. www.austinrifleclub.org/

It's $75/year with no range fees.

ARC has very restrictive rules. No full auto. The club facilities are very nice, but they are routinely hassled by their ignorant, non-shooting neighbors. A good value for the money, but not if you want to rock and roll.

Doc

Mojo,

Tony's is probably the only place...  Maybe HCRR, but that's way southwest.  There's supposed to be a new range out 183 a little further than Tony's, that's supposed to be nice, but I don't know what it's called, or if the owner will allow full auto.

BTW, if you DO come down here with the MP5... let me know!  I want to try it out too!!  I'll go to wally world and get some Win White box... otherwise, I'll be getting Olympic from Ammoman (it works great in my CZ!)

Quoted: Mojo, Tony's is probably the only place...  Maybe HCRR, but that's way southwest.  There's supposed to be a new range out 183 a little further than Tony's, that's supposed to be nice, but I don't know what it's called, or if the owner will allow full auto. BTW, if you DO come down here with the MP5... let me know!  I want to try it out too!!  I'll go to wally world and get some Win White box... otherwise, I'll be getting Olympic from Ammoman (it works great in my CZ!)

 M_Q.  If I'm heading South, I let you and DPeacher know.

Quoted: Ishikawa : ..........Be forewarned, TR is shutting down soon and moving out of the state - so if you're interested in going, now is the time!

Another good reason to look up Karl Rehn at KR Training http://www.krtraining.com He's local (Austin), more affordable, offers many different training opportunities and he brings in pro's from other local's to hold some of the training sessions.

Mojo: ............Hill Country is okay with auto, but the owner there is kind of a strange guy. Just be sure not to engage him in any sort of long conversation..........

.......at least not about religion and politics.  :-)

Hey Ishikawa....we need to go wheelin sometime.

I'll be heading up to Shiloh Ridge in Alto, Tx. November 21-23 with some other folks.  You're more than welcome to caravan or meet us there if you're interested in going.

Here's a pic of my Bronco.....
http://www.superford.org/getfile.php?id=90087&toggle=fullsize&f=climbing.jpg