The Firing Line Forums

Go Back   The Firing Line Forums > The North Corral > Lock and Load: Live Fire Exercises

Reply
 
Thread Tools Search this Thread
Old January 23, 2009, 08:13 AM   #1
BlueTrain
Senior Member
 
Join Date: September 26, 2005
Location: Northern Virginia
Posts: 6,141
Ranges in George Washington National Forest

I mentioned in another thread that you could shoot at ranges in George Washington National Forest. I have never done that and in fact have never been to any such range. But I believe there are two located somewhere within the National Forest. Has anyone here done so? What are you allowed to shoot?

The thing is, G.W.National Forest runs almost the entire length of Virginia, which makes the southern end perhaps 300 miles from where I live. Chances are, the ranges are located further rather than nearer.

I believe there is also a public range somewhere in Maryland not far from Washington, DC, though I suspect it may be for Maryland residents and in any case, from where I live in (very liberal) Fairfax County, Front Royal is closer than Greenbelt.

I think that it would really be better to join a club, like the IW League, for shooting, but my shooting of rifles has always been limited and sporatic since my father passed away. That's where I used to go to shoot. It was free but the longest practical range was only about 75 yards. Not much for a rifle but at least I found out it was a long way for a .44 revolver. I haven't shot a rifle since then.

Private ranges are scarce, too. There is the NRA range in (very liberal) Fairfax County, just down the road from here, and of course, Clark Brothers, which makes for an extremely interesting outing. I believe I could buy stuff there with our Confederate money but we're holding on to our bonds.
__________________
Shoot low, sheriff. They're riding Shetlands!
Underneath the starry flag, civilize 'em with a Krag,
and return us to our own beloved homes!
Buy War Bonds.
BlueTrain is offline  
Old January 23, 2009, 08:37 AM   #2
alloy
Senior Member
 
Join Date: September 11, 2008
Posts: 1,931
yes i do frequently, and i have never seen any posted restrictions except they prefer paper targets. range etiquette should keep you from blasting your ak next to some guy trying to practice with in his 300 yard elk gun. its operated on the honor system. no range officials, clean up your own mess, operate safely. do what you want as long as it fits safety guidelines, and whatever the guys next to you are doing.

i like it, it means that every trip i practice different things, trying to follow whatever fits the program that day.
__________________
Quote:
The uncomfortable question common to all who have had revolutionary changes imposed on them: are we now to accept what was done to us just because it was done?
Angelo Codevilla
alloy is offline  
Old January 23, 2009, 09:09 AM   #3
ZeSpectre
Senior Member
 
Join Date: June 4, 2007
Location: Shenandoah Valley
Posts: 3,276
Bluetrain,
I run a bi-monthly, informal, get together called the "Staunton Shoot n' Greet". We meet at the Hite Hollow range in GW Nat'l Forest.

The SSNG is actually taking place tomorrow (Saturday the 24'th), if you want more information and/or to be added to the email list just PM me with an email address and I'll put you on the mailing list.

It's a serious haul from Fairfax to Staunton (then another 20 miles to "the Hollow") but I have folks who come regularly from Alexandria and Arlington to spend the day at the range.
ZeSpectre is offline  
Old January 23, 2009, 09:30 AM   #4
BlueTrain
Senior Member
 
Join Date: September 26, 2005
Location: Northern Virginia
Posts: 6,141
I had been thinking that even Garrisonville (the Isaac Walton range) was a little on the too far side, especially since it meant a trip down I95. But Staunton (Stant-un) is over half-way home to southern West Virginia (and what am I doing in Northern Virginia?). But thanks for the information anyway. It takes some doing to visit a range a couple hundred miles away but it could be worth it, depending.

I knew several members of the Isaac Walton League back when The Loading Bench was still open in Annandale. Another gun shop sorely missed. Some interesting characters used to hang out there.
__________________
Shoot low, sheriff. They're riding Shetlands!
Underneath the starry flag, civilize 'em with a Krag,
and return us to our own beloved homes!
Buy War Bonds.
BlueTrain is offline  
Old January 28, 2009, 05:40 AM   #5
tacweapon
Member
 
Join Date: September 23, 2008
Location: Shenandoah Valley
Posts: 34
The other Range in the George Washington National Forest is the West Side Rifle Range, it is technically in West Virginia about 45 minutes to an hour west of Harrisonburg. I used to shoot there but have since stopped going, the range is decent and all legal weapons are allowed there, basic safety rules and commonsense are the rules of the range.

I have not been there for atleast 5 months but I went to the Hite Hollow Range on Saturday and that range is much nicer.
__________________
Greater love hath no man, than to lay down his life for a friend

People Sleep Peaceably In Their Beds At Night only Because Rough Men Stand Ready To Do Violence On Their Behalf
tacweapon is offline  
Old January 28, 2009, 01:08 PM   #6
gwnorth
Senior Member
 
Join Date: September 3, 2008
Location: North Carolina
Posts: 692
There is also Low Moor, Potts Slope Shooting Range, Blacksburg Shooting Range, Wythe Shooting Range and Bath County Shooting Range.

I've shot handguns at Low Moor and Blacksburg - nice places. Low Moor has separate rifle and pistol (25yd benches) ranges. When VT is in session, the Blacksburg range can get pretty busy, as it is popular with students.

http://www.fs.fed.us/r8/gwj/recreati...es/index.shtml
gwnorth is offline  
Reply

Thread Tools Search this Thread
Search this Thread:

Advanced Search

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off

Forum Jump


All times are GMT -5. The time now is 05:30 AM.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.7
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions, Inc.
This site and contents, including all posts, Copyright © 1998-2021 S.W.A.T. Magazine
Copyright Complaints: Please direct DMCA Takedown Notices to the registered agent: thefiringline.com
Page generated in 0.05689 seconds with 9 queries