Viriginia is really a gun hating state - here's why

[LittleLebowski]

What is so hard about realizing how costly it is to build and insure a range as opposed to making the land into a subdivision?

[LittleLebowski]

How much land have you bought for your range you're building?

All,

I don't know if this is really an op-ed rant or what, but I wanted to get something off my chest. I live in Chesterfield, southside of Richmond. I know that this is a traditionally gun friendly state, right? It was billed that way. I moved into this area from out west about 15 months ago. The area I came from is likewise gun friendly, so I thought that this would be a 6's experience.

However, in practical terms I wanted to point out that we've been duped. Virginia appears to have some of the most severe gun restrictions that exist anywhere in the country. I'm sure that there's some that will send me a friendly "you're an idiot" note on this point, but it's true. Not because VA's laws close the front door. They don't keep you from getting a gun. Oh yes, you can easily buy one and easily find ammunition. Gander Mountain, Bass Pro, several specialty gun stores will all sell you everything that you need. BUT, and this is where the gun control comes into play. THERE'S NO WHERE TO SHOOT IT!!!!....and if there's no place that I can easily shot the darn thing - that's gun control in my book.

Some will say, "Hey wait now, there's Dominion range in Midlothian". That cruddy little basement should be condemned. Half the lane target hangers don't even work, are you kidding me? I feel like I should get tested for lead poisoning every time I've been in there. That's the only place that's available?! How did this happen?! How did we all let county and city ordinances come up that would prevent the building of ranges? There's a scant few private ranges that will charge you an arm and a leg, require you to put in more hours of community service then most criminals and then wait for 3 months to 3 years to get in. Insane!

Where's the uproar on this? Why hasn't anyone developed a 100 yd range in the local area in the last 30 years? Why haven't we elected leaders that would help us with this? I can't believe it.

Does anyone agree? Should we be pushing for ordinance changes and grant variants to allow for the building of more ranges in this state? The shooting sport is suffering guys and gals and I just wanted to point out that I appear to be the only one who sees it - and that scares me. Anyone with me?

[andykim]

I'm not sure how to tackle all of these "specs" "issues" raised. I live in the middle of the state. (hi G-Men! ) Fortunate enough to have private land. I also utilize "public" ranges at times. As for 'Indoor" ranges? Well, I find them mostly restrictive and not suitable for my Ammo Blow offs. I'm a "plinker". Love to shoot stuff up. Paper and steel targets are nice but nothing compares to "creative" set ups and tannerite!
That's just me.
Sorry for your situation.

[HighExpert]

Ryn, You could buy my house in Cumberland, Co. I shoot in my backyard, legally, all the time. You just live too close the a bunch of Northerners where you are at. Get in the country and enjoy.

[Wolvee]

I'm from michigan and back home we target shoot on public land. If it's good enough to shoot a deer on, it's good enough to make a quick range and blow through some ammo.

Hell it was easier to shoot in California than it is here.

The quality of indoor ranges here also sucks bad.

I'm used to shooting in well lite, well ventilated and air conditioning. My first time shooting here was at The Marksman in New port news I felt like I was back in Hati shooting DeSean ed dogs. It was at least 110* inside.

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[MarcSpaz]

Sounds like you are going to the wrong places man. There are some pretty nice indoor ranges around. I always prefer shooting outdoors though.

Also, you can setup a temporary range on public land in VA too. You can't in a national park, but there are some established ranges at a few of the national parks. GWNF alone has 7 public shooting areas.

As far as the state lands goes, though there are many places to shoot, there are also many restrictions on shooting on public land in VA because most of the land is multi-use. People are hiking, camping, riding horses, 4-wheeling, etc. They don't want to have people getting shot by mistake, so the multi-use land and Wild Life Management areas don't allow target shooting.

The Department of Game and Inland Fisheries has a whole section of their website talking about managed lands we can use for target practice including 5 or 6 established ranges. keep in mind, both on public and private land, there are some caliber restrictions depending on the county you are in. An example is, I can target shoot and hunt in Prince William County, but I can't use a rifle any larger than a .22 cal. No shotgun or handgun restricts are in place though. If I where to guess, I would think PWC doesn't want high powered rifles being discharged due to the dense human population and the likelihood of a 5.56/.223 or larger traveling long distances and still being very lethal.

Figured I'd share. Hope this info helps.

[Wolvee]

The only two Parks ranges I've found are closed throughout the summers. :0/

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