Virginia Gun Owners Forum - VGOF

Im unsure of the exact name, but its a public shooting range in the national park outside Harrisonburg on the other side of the mountain (technically WV but only by a mile). Very nice range, usually pretty quiet. New pistol stands, well kept rifle benches. Approximately 10 rifle lanes with 25/50/100 yard setups. Approximately 5 pistol lanes about 100 yards down from the rifle lanes, this is a 25yd setup. Bring your own target stand just in case because there are steel posts in the ground with twine run between them that most people tape their targets to, however the last few times I have been out, the twine has been damaged. I started bringing my own to help out me and whoever uses it after me.

There is NO RSO, sometimes there is NOBODY AT ALL around. This is a FREE range. Please don't trash it up. The park keeps it pretty clean, but there is still quite a bit of debris around from peoples makeshift targets (bottles, cans, etc).

Beware, this is 1.2 miles off 33, it is on a gravel access road with very deep ruts in it. I have a VW Golf that is slightly lowered and I scrape quite a bit getting back there. If you have any vehicle with a low clearance, take this road VERY slow as there are quite a few bottomless pits in the road.

Sounds like a nice place. Thanks for letting us know about it.

If there is no RSO, it would be a good idea to use a system to ensure safety of yourself and anyone else that may be down there at any given time. If you are going down-range to place or replace a target, the range should be "Safe" and everyone present should understand and verbally acknowledge that the range is safe - safe all firearms and step back from the firing line until such time as everyone present agrees that the range will be "Live".

nickf829 wrote:Beware, this is 1.2 miles off 33, it is on a gravel access road with very deep ruts in it. I have a VW Golf that is slightly lowered and I scrape quite a bit getting back there. If you have any vehicle with a low clearance, take this road VERY slow as there are quite a few bottomless pits in the road.

I'm pretty sure it's called the West Side Shooting Range. I was at our cabin last weekend and drove out there on Saturday. It's in the GWNF just over the ridge of Shenandoah Mountain if you heading west on 33, and there was quite a bit of ice on the road in addition to the ruts. Might want to let it warm up a bit before driving back there unless you're driving a 4x4.

R/Kurt

It is called West Side Shooting Range. Its a pretty good range, but Hite Hollow near Staunton is a lot nicer and worth the extra driving time.

because there isn't a range officer there, people often times shoot stuff they shouldn't be shooting.

case in point: i was there over the summer and there were the remnants of road flares and spray paint cans. not cool. i've also found plenty of broken beer bottles at long distances.

they say no flying targets on their sign. that means no clays. they also say no shooting glass. other than that, you can shoot whatever you want out there. they don't have a policy that's only paper targets. i've shot bowling pins out there along with an old computer. i took the computer home after shooting it sothe trash can wouldn't get full.

i didn't include this range when i started a bunch of threads in the gunshop/range review section because its not technically in VA, but i guess its close enough

for those of you who are wondering, its thirty miles from route 81. you get off of route 81 and go on rte33 west. it gets twisty, i hope your car has good brakes and good tires. beautiful road, lots of curves. right at the sign for the shooting range. gravel road 1.2 miles, as stated above. nice place.

Wow. I need to wake up. I saw the topic title on this one and thought it said there was a shooting in a National Park...

zephyp wrote:Wow. I need to wake up. I saw the topic title on this one and thought it said there was a shooting in a National Park...

Good morning DK *blink* *blink*

allingeneral wrote:

zephyp wrote:Wow. I need to wake up. I saw the topic title on this one and thought it said there was a shooting in a National Park...

Good morning DK *blink* *blink*

My heart fell until I opened it and read then realized it said "National Park Shooting RANGE"

its george washington national forest not national park (if that makes a difference to anyone).

i just looked at this thread again and noticed it. bang bang!