List of 500 yard gun ranges in Virginia

[allingeneral]

If you know of a gun range that offers 200 to 500+ yard shooting areas, please list it here.

I've seen a lot of requests for this information over the years, and I never have an answer. Time to fix that, hopefully, with a little help from the community

[MarcSpaz]

Range 82 in Midland is building there 200 yard shoot point right now. I just sent the owner a quick text message to see when it will be done.

340 Defense in Charles Town, WV is decent ride for NOVA shooters. They go out to 400 yards.

Also, Peacemaker National is about the same distance in Gerrardstown, WV. They go out to 1,000 yards.

Quantico's range goes out to 1,000 for our military folks.

Those are the only ones I am aware of.

[skeeterss0]

C2 shooting range in VA Beach (nearly NC) goes out to 300 yds.

[MarcSpaz]

Talked to the owner of Range 82 via text message on the phone. I'm going to see him in person on Saturday, so I'll get some pictures if anyone is interested.

Basically, he said the 200 yard shoot point will be done in October. There will be a competency test before using it. Shooters will need to fire a 5 round 1 minute group at 100 yards.

My assumption is because we will be shooting between post for the covered shoot points and from the 40 yard point in is partially enclosed. Between the objects he obviously doesn't want damaged and the backstop is going to be harder to hit, I'm sure he wants to make sure shooters are going to be on target.

[allingeneral]

Basically, he said the 200 yard shoot point will be done in October. There will be a competency test before using it. Shooters will need to fire a 5 round 1 minute group at 100 yards.

That's kind of a strange requirement, isn't it? Seems strange to me, anyway. Roughly, how big is a minute at 100 yards?

[Chasbo00]

A minute of angle is about 1 inch at 100 yards (actually 1.047").

[Ironbear]

Shooters will need to fire a 5 round 1 minute group at 100 yards

Just for clarity (because when I first read it, I assumed 60 seconds, and didn't think of the MOA side)... Is that a 5 round, 1 minute-of-angle (MOA) group. Or a 5 round group, in one minute (60 seconds) at some acceptable accuracy?

One MOA would seem pretty demanding, and would preclude me from shooting iron sights.

[MarcSpaz]

Shooters will need to fire a 5 round 1 Minute Of Angle (MOA) group at 100 yards. That's approximately a 1 inch group. He didn't mention a time limit to execute the shots.

You need tight groups, like this...

[Taggure]

just shoot 5 golf balls at 100 yards and you should have no problem Right Marc?

[TallEd]

Not sure if they are open to the public without taking a class but...
http://bangsteel.com/Home_Page.php

Wytheville, VA

[TallEd]

http://www.myvssa.org/content/where-shoot-virginia

[M1A4ME]

1 MOA rules out most hunting rifles, most military surplus rifles, and lots of people.

I guess its okay for the varmint hunters (the ones that can shoot) and the bench rest shooters.

Two hundred yards isn't that far, but just shooting small groups doesn't cut it. I have a buddy who used to build very accurate rifles, and shoot them. He came home one weekend at we went down to the "strippen" (WV way to say strip mine). He shot very nice groups at 100 yds. with his custom built rifle with custom reloads. Only being able to shoot at 100 yds. up in his home state he knew exactly what the rifle would do, at 100 yds. We moved the targets out to almost 450 yds. and my old standard model M1A was the only rifle to put holes in the target, till he figured out where to turn the knobs on the scope.

And that's just one example I've seen over the years of small groups NOT hitting the target when the range gets past the shooter's "normal range".

Not in VA. There is a range down in NC, about 3 hrs. drive from Richmond, that has field shoots about 5 times a year, maybe 6 times. They shoot out to about 500 yds. They have target lines where they let you put up paper and make sure your group is hitting where you want it to hit. Then the field shoot starts. GI type pop ups at 200, 300, 400 and about 460 yds. Good people, lots of fun. It's near a small town named Ramseur, NC. Its the RWVA "home range". Many of the regular shooters at the field shoots are Appleseed instructors.

[Chasbo00]

1 MOA rules out most hunting rifles, most military surplus rifles, and lots of people.

Exactly. This requirement, if correct, is too stringent.

[MarcSpaz]

At first I was thinking the same thing... but that target I posted is a pic of a target I shot while dialing in an $80 scope. It was 100 yards on a DPMS LRT-SASS, which is not "rated" as a sub-MOA rifle. The target is a 12" target with a 2" bulls-eye. All 4 of those groups are sub MOA. And I'm not a good shot.

[Chasbo00]

The diameter of a US quarter dollar coin is 0.955 inches. Just to put this requirement into perspective, essentially a shooter needs to shoot a 5-shot group at 100 yards so that when a quarter is placed over the shot group, all rounds will be touching the quarter. Not that easy. Especially if asked to do it on demand and repeatedly.

[Utah]

I was an RSO at Peacemaker couple years back and they have (or use too) the same requirement and to be honest it should be tighter. I saw more $1k+ guns and “long range” shooters fail to qualify their guns than I can count…more excuses than who farted in a kindergarten class.

[MarcSpaz]

Here is the thing, this is intended to be a list of ranges from 200 to 500 right? That means that this info would be relevant to shooters who can actually shoot accurately at that range. Accuracy is important due to safety and expected degree of success.

With that in mind, lets add a bit more prospective...

What would be an acceptable group at 100 yards? 2"? 4"?

Lets be really generous and give you a 4" group at 100 yards. That should be pretty easy, right? Now you can shoot at 200 yards The problem is, if a 4" group is the best you can muster at 100 yards.. that group is now 8" at 200 yards... and that is your best. You will likely completely miss more than a few shots on a 12" target at 200 yards. There is no way in hell you're going to hit the target consistently at 300 yards, if at all. Forget trying to shoot a target at 500 yard. At 1,000 yards, a 4 MOA group is almost 3 1/2 foot diameter group.

So... 4 MOA group is a no-go.

Well, lets get a little more stingy, lets make it a 2" group at 100 yards. Well, that's a 4" group at 200 yards. I guess that isn't too bad, but you still aren't consistently hitting a 12" target at 300-500 yards away... at 500 yards, you are still shooting a 10" group at your very best.

Guess you aren't really a candidate to shoot 200-500 yards even at a 2 MOA group, if that is your very best. You're still going to miss a lot.

Well, what about a 1 minute group? If you shoot a 1" group at 100 yards, that means you are shooting a 2" group at 200 yards, a 5" group at 500 yards and a 10" group at 1,000 yards, at your very best. If you get a little sloppy at 500 yards while shooting at a 12" target, you'll likely still be on paper (or metal) if you are typically shooting a 1 MOA group.

If you can't shoot a 1" group at 100 yards, you really aren't a candidate to shoot 200-500 yards, simply because you are likely to miss too often at the longer ranges. I say this because, the owner of the business and RSO are responsible for making sure you and everyone else is safe. If you are not a good enough shot for them to feel willing to take that responsibility, you can't really be upset about that. Practice more.

[Chasbo00]

When that new indoor range in Manassas opens with the 100 yard lanes, I'll be happy to wager against most who claim they can shoot a 1 MOA 5-shot group on demand with a semi-auto rifle and factory ammo.

It's also not just about shooting skill. Someone may have just mounted a scope and only bore sighted it. What if the scope mounting has loosened? A minute of angle is probably not in the cards here.

MOA accuracy is easy on the internet, but much tougher in real life.

[MarcSpaz]

When that new indoor range in Manassas opens with the 100 yard lanes, I'll be happy to wager against most who claim they can shoot a 1 MOA 5-shot group on demand with a semi-auto rifle and factory ammo.

That's kind of a broad statement. What rifle? What ammo? What support?

If I have to shoot while standing and using a piston actuated 1.5 MOA rated, 16" 1:9 bbl M4 battle rifle, crappy 38 cent 55 grain ball ammo reloads and BUIS, it will never happen.

If we are talking tactical prone with sandbags and/or adjustable bi-pod and mono-pod on a high-end DI sub-MOA rated rifle with a 24" 1:7 bbl in a .223 Wylde, a quality 10x50 scope, shooting Nosler match grade .223 Remington 77 grain competition rounds, I'm on it all day long.

And who said it has to be a semi? There are bolt guns out there too.

It's also not just about shooting skill. Someone may have just mounted a scope and only bore sighted it. What if the scope mounting has loosened? A minute of angle is probably not in the cards here.

I hope you are not serious there? If you haven't zeroed your hardware before trying this and you have not done a complete inspection of your rifle before you even try to shoot, you have no business being on the line.

MOA accuracy is easy on the internet, but much tougher in real life.

You make it sound impossible... you did see that picture I posted, didn't you? I am far from a great shot. There were several witnesses including the owner of the range that will confirm that was a sub-MOA group at 100 yards with an SASS while sighting in a cheap scope.

And then there is stuff like this... I hit a 1/8" bullseye with one clean shot from 50 yards into a 2.75"x5" target. I only fired one shot so people wouldn't say it was luck.

Its not as hard as it sounds.

[Chasbo00]

Here is the deal. When the new indoor range opens with its 100 yard lanes, you can wager with me that you can shoot a 5-shot 1 MOA group at 100 yards using a semi-auto rifle and factory ammo. You only get 1 attempt and one prior shot just to ensure that you are on paper and to foul the bore. I'll give you two to one odds on a 20 dollar wager so that if you achieve success, you make 20 bucks plus another 20 to cover your range fee. If you don't make it, I get 20 bucks from you to cover my range fee. Fair enough?