Virginia Gun Owners Forum - VGOF

Found this place here while I was looking for a nice easy place to take my fiancee shooting: http://www.covecampground.com/index.html

It's like being at an old abandoned construction site. There's a few ranges set up with sand bunkers behind them. They allow any weapon to be fired that is legal in the state of VA. My fiancee had a blast shooting my Mossberg 500(with Winchester Extra-Light Target Loads). While we were there a few other couples were already there. They let my fiancee shoot off a few rounds from a .22lr rifle and a .357 and a .38 revolver. She wasn't ready to shoot an AR-15 that was there, but she had fun and learned a lot and that's what counts. We'll probably head up there for most of the long holiday weekends in our future now. now that she's gotten a chance to shoot, she wants to do it more(even though she does have a nice bruise from her first shots with the shotgun and not holding it tightly)

I'd say if you go there, please police your empty shells, but by this point that range has so many empties buried in the sand there that that may be talking to the wind.

Seems like a good place. Thanks for letting us know about it!

If you get a chance, could you go to http://vgof.org/submit.php?stype=l and submit a link or two? To this place and any other ranges in your area? Thanks!

I remember hearing some years ago that they were cool with explosives.

Any idea if that's still true?

I don't know, but there was no RSO or Camp Management around or near their range. The only thing posted was that what you shoot has to be legal in VA.

This is what I came to the board for!!!!!!

Please give me more information. The place I like to shoot is in PA. It's an outdoor range on private property where people bring whatever the want to shoot at whatever they want (non-organic). They have benches and it's outdoor, which is great when shooting an M1 Garand. It's was an old strip mine, so there are large sand berms on the perimeter. I would mention the name, but it's a word of mouth site and people tend to get upset when it's mentioned on the internet.....anyway.

Please give me details. I assume it doesn't cost anything to shoot, it's more or less known by word of mouth and outdoors? What are the hours and is it crowded on weekends? Can you shoot on weekdays, etc.

I don't see any mention about a gun range on the site. Is the range easy to find???

Sorry, in my eagerness about hear the answer to my prayers, I didn't bother to look first.

Looks reasonable. I assume the general admission price of 13 bones on the weekends covers the range. How big is it? Do they have benches?

Looks like a cure to my range problem in NoVa.

Was about $30 for my fiancee and I, though we camped overnight. We just showed up, and did not make a reservation. The range is hidden, though there are signs on the path, they are really spaced out. Best advice for getting to it is simple: Don't turn off the path you are on unless you see a sign telling you to turn. The map they give you is not really to scale.

I heard from one of the other couples that was up there that they have seen cars make it up the path to the range before, but I don't think I'd try it with anything less than a truck with some ground clearance. There were a few spots where I kicked on my Expy's 4x4 to get there, but that was more so I could get there quickly and safely and have more time to shoot. Safety first!

It's all outdoors and despite the fact it's surrounded by trees in a forest, there isn't much in the way of shade. Pack your sunscreen and plenty of water

The range is shaped kind of like a 'Y'. You drive up the bottom of it. You park and set up wherever you like. The left side is the 100 yard side with a few targets up a bit closer. The right side is the 15 yard side. There aren't any stands or official distance markings. Really it's just common sense, just be courteous to any others there and both you and your fellow shooters/operators there should have a good time. I was at their range from 9am till noon on 5 JUL and only saw two other couples/families there. Since it was my first time there, I can't really say how busy they are.

Though I definitely do recommend the place

Well I don't have a truck. Do you know how far the walk is? Carrying ammo is heavy. Is the road really that bad???

Would a front wheel drive car work?

Sniff, my dream seems to be dying.....

We camped at Camp V, Site 3. ( http://www.covecampground.com/CampMap.html )

We hiked from there to near the Camp Overlook. On foot, I'd estimate that it was around .75 of a mile. Took my fiancee and I about 1.5 hours to get as far as we did, but we didn't really follow the path or go in a straight line. Uphill most of the time though.

I don't know if it is rentable, but there is a cabin at the base of the trail that leads to the range. A car could easily get there and that would mean about a 15 min hike up the trail to the range.

Aside from that, pick a day when it hasn't rained in awhile and give it a shot. Worst case there's plenty of people passing through with ATVs and 4x4s who might lend a hand if they have tow straps or a winch. And both of the couples I met there said that they had seen cars make it to the range. I'd probably walk the path first if I only had a car though, but I'm a bit on the over-cautious OC side

Kool. Thanks for the info. I will try to go up there in 3 weeks with my cous and his AK. Between possibly lugging ammo and steel targets for a 1/4 mile, I don't know if this will be a practical place to shoot.

There is an outdoor range a little closer to me. They have no fees, but you must buy their ammo and targets. Their targets don't seem too expensive, but 10 bones for an 8 round Garand clip, seems a bit expensive.

Clarks Brothers. But I guess everyone's gotta eat.

OH Man! This is my secret spot!

My brother-in-law (Fairfax Cop) and one of my Secret Service buddies turned me on to this place.

Yeah, it's cool there. It's a ways out there though. No benches definitely and do not try getting out there in a car. Although I did see this guy and his son pull up in a 199? Toyota Corolla P.O.S. something or other. Don't know how he did it. I went last weekend in my Mercedes ML350 SUV and took it slow.

Please don't blow poop up there. It's off the beaten track and maybe nobody would notice but if you've ever been there and take a break from firing you can hear 4-wheelers cruising nearby and there are families camping at the lakes not far away. The Boy Scouts use those grounds for cryin out loud. I'm fairly certain if blowing crap up isn't frowned upon now, it will be as soon as you start blowing crap up.

The place is already a damn dump. Back in Cali we had range clean-up programs all the time at ALL ranges. You'd never see a paid public range in that condition out there. Maybe out in the desert.

Anyway, it's a good place.

Know what's beyond your targets. There are rocks just beneath the cover.
Watch your angles.

I haven't been up there in a few years, but you can pretty much shoot anything at that range. They used to allow tannerite from what I am told, but don't allow it due to some clowns who shot up a junk car on the range filled with some tannerite. Honestly, I don't recall how I got to the range portion once I was in the campground area, but the road was rough but capable in a normal 4x4.

You could call this a range, but a "free fire zone" might be more descriptive. I've seen so many safety violations there that it would make peoples' heads spin. The best was a guy getting out of his truck with a beer and a Glock in the same hand.

anyone know what hours the range can be used?

TheGearGuy wrote:You could call this a range, but a "free fire zone" might be more descriptive. I've seen so many safety violations there that it would make peoples' heads spin. The best was a guy getting out of his truck with a beer and a Glock in the same hand.

That's a little concerning to the least! But it's the downside to all public ranges/ranges with on site ROs.

TheGearGuy wrote:You could call this a range, but a "free fire zone" might be more descriptive. I've seen so many safety violations there that it would make peoples' heads spin. The best was a guy getting out of his truck with a beer and a Glock in the same hand.

A beer and a Glock in the same hand!!!! He could have dropped the beer...beer should go in the range bag....

bryanrheem wrote:We should def. set up a VGOF range day out there!!!

I could make it. It's only an hour drive from here.

Jakeiscrazy wrote:I could make it. It's only an hour drive from here.

Are you still in Chesterfield? I don't think it's an hour away unless you're flying - Gore is practically in West Virginia.

Yeah, I think I mapquested it. Maybe I typed something wrong.

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