Virginia Gun Owners Forum - VGOF

Fort Lee Firing Range Needs Shooters
[VCDL Report]

Board Member Dennis O'Connor writes:

Late last year, Fort Lee re-opened its newly reconstructed, Privately
Owned Weapons (POW) shooting range off River Road in Prince George. It
is open 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Sundays, and is now also open 5-8 p.m. on
Wednesdays. The Range Safety Officers have told me they are required
to report the number of shooters and number of rounds fired to justify
keeping the range open, but few people use the range and they are
afraid of losing their jobs if it is shut down for lack of use.

The times I have been there on Sundays I have seen maybe 4 or 5 other
people at most firing a couple boxes or so, and when I was there for a
couple hours last Wednesday, I was the only shooter who was there at
all, even though they have so many empty lanes available! RSOs were
sitting in the bleachers twiddling their thumbs wondering why no one
uses their range.

Cost is only $5 for the first hour, and $2.50 for each additinoal 30
minutes. Targets are available for purchase, but you must bring your
own eye and ear protection, and ammunition.

Shooting is currently limited to handguns, muzzle loaders, shotguns,
and rimfire, although work is in progress to open it up for centerfire
rifles in the future (if it gets sufficient use to stay open).

Directions: Heading toward Fort Lee from Temple Avenue in Colonial
Heights, passing South Park Mall, turn left on River Road and cross
over the railroad tracks. Turn right into Range Control and follow
the road to the end where you'll reach the POW range.

For more information, call Range Control at 763-2286 on Sundays, or
Outdoor Recreation at 765-2212 during busines hours M-F, or visit:

http://leemwr.com/Rec/rec_odr_pow.htm

Thanks, for the update.

Anyone up to a Meet and Greet there in the near future If I had known that yesterday I would have left a box or two since we went to SouthPark Mall.

I wouldn't mind shooting some clays. Anyone have a clay launcher and a couple of shotguns?

I wonder if you have to be a government employee or active/retired military in order to shoot there. It's run by MWR, so I would assume so. I'll try to give them a call this week. If anyone else calls them for info, please post it here.

The area code there is 804, I guess?

"Shooting is currently limited to handguns, muzzle loaders, shotguns,
and rimfire, although work is in progress to open it up for centerfire"

And therin lies the problem. A range is needed for centerfire long rifles an sporting rifles. Once they do so, I'll go...

Has anyone checked to see if this range is open to the public or is it just for military

I called today and explained that I was retired law enforcement. They said that this was a public range and all are welcome. I plan on going out this Sunday.

Draken158 wrote:I called today and explained that I was retired law enforcement. They said that this was a public range and all are welcome. I plan on going out this Sunday.

Let us know how it was, when you can. I'm thinking about going if its open to the public.

If it turns out this place is nice, I think it would be a great place for a VGOF meet-up!

allingeneral wrote:If it turns out this place is nice, I think it would be a great place for a VGOF meet-up!

Agreed

Ft. Lee POW (privately owned Weapons) Range was great. They have metal target stands and frames/backers, so you only need to supply your targets (available for purchase if you need them). They even have staple guns if you don't have one. You do need to supply your own ear and eye protection, but they did have a limited supply of muffs and plenty plugs if you forget. They do have a tower, but it is not in use yet, so the range masters are on the ground with the shooters.

They are open two days a week, Wed, 5-8pm and Sundays 10-4, but call ahead to double check. I think they said they would be closed over the 4th of July weekend.

Thanks for the feedback on the place Draken. Did they have a range suitable (or allowable) for skeet? I would really like to shoot some clays.

Rick,

Ft. Lee has a separate facility for Skeet/Trap that is actually on the main base.

Take a look at http://leemwr.com/Rec/rec_odr_gun.htm.

Their web site says that Civilians ARE welcome!!

Have Fun!

But do they have a long rifle range and what are the costs if they do? I wouldn't mind going as long as it's worthwhile. Please respond, cause my 10 yr old is dying to go target shooting ASAP. Do you have to buy their ammo? targets?

Does sound like a good place to meet up and maybe after wards take a OC stroll through Southpark Mall

Great! I've been looking for a place to shoot my black powder pistol. I also have 2 9mm handguns that I will bring to shoot.

I'll try to be there this Sunday!

Went to shoot at Ft. Lee Sunday afternoon. It's a great outdoor range - put about 130 rounds downrange in about an hour. I'm looking forward to shooting my black powder pistol there soon.

Funny thing is, I work on the base and didnt even know they had a public range until recently. I'm a civilian contractor working on Fort Lee, so I cant really shoot after work on Wednesdays, because I cant carry my firearm in the company vehicle, nor can I bring it on the main base where I work. I may have to drive up on a Sunday and give the range a try...those prices are attractive for sure.

Could be a great place for Bill to show us all a thing or two...

did the VGOF outting ever happen there?

perhaps an OC pinic and then a ride to the range???
just thinking out loud....

BluemontGlock wrote:Could be a great place for Bill to show us all a thing or two...

did the VGOF outting ever happen there?

perhaps an OC pinic and then a ride to the range???
just thinking out loud....

We never did an outing there. Our first outing is the OC picnic this Saturday. I'm planning to take interested parties to the Northern Virginia Gun Club after the picnic for some shooting, though.