Jacksonville Ranges?

[Gulltrek]

Hey, I'm new to this part of airwarriors. I usually stay in the spouse's section, so this may not be the absolute best place for this post but it probably fits better here than there...

Does anyone know of good shooting ranges (and / or leagues) in Jacksonville? Indoor or outdoor, doesn't really matter, but I'd like to work on my NRA rifle marksmanship quals and maybe join a league.

I started the light rifle quals when I was living in Alaska (before I got married) and got the basic and pro-marksman done with the first day, but never got a chance to go back. In order to continue the program where I left off, what do I need to take with me - the pro-marksmanship certificate?

 

[picklesuit]

Gateway Rifle & Pistol Club
[SIZE=-1]By: Casey - maps.google.com
1 of 74 placemarks in Silhouette Shooting Locations - 101k[/SIZE]


Home of the Sunshine Classic - The First Event of Southern Trifecta

Address: 9301 zambito road, jacksonville, fl, 32210

Contact: Chuck Deason, email: cwdgun@bellsouth.net
Website: http://www.grpc-jax.com/index.htm
Silhouette Type(s): Smallbore/High Power/Blackpowder Cartidge Rifle


This is where I did all of my shooting in Jax, great place.

 

[Herc_Dude]

A wife looking for a range - now that's hot.

 

[Gulltrek]

Thanks for the info (and the compliment). That place looks pretty nice.

Did you get the membership? Does the membership eliminate the daily fee?

I know some ranges (e.g. the indoor range in Fairbanks, AK) have ridiculous membership fees and then you still have to pay an hourly fee (although it's reduced).

 

[picklesuit]

My buddy got the yearly membership, and there was no daily fee (I didn't shoot enough to justify the yearly) plus he could take a guest for free (usually me )
I would call to verify that with them. I know when I first went there I had to sit and watch a video and take a safety test, but it was all pretty professional there. The range safety guys are pretty good (you get the occasional Nazi) and the biggest benefit of the membership is the members only ranges. It makes it a lot easier to shoot and change targets at yer own pace. Otherwise all of the daily guys are at the same 100 yd range and you can tape holes/change targets about every 10-15 min. Sucks when you are zeroing in a scope/sights on a rifle.

They sell reloads and their own ammo, but Walmart is cheaper. Lots of old guys around to ask for advice, plus lots of strange weapons run through there, good chance to see differnet stuff.

Good luck, happy shooting (btw, what guns do you have?)

 

[Gulltrek]

I'm getting a Marlin 60 (.22 LR) in Jax. The base Marlin is small and pretty generic, I know, but they're ridiculously accurate and have an 'old-school' look to them that I like. Plus, I've successfully hunted grouse and rabbits with the Marlin 60 (w/ just iron sights) before, so I want to stick with what I know is a good gun for me.

When I was in Alaska, a good friend of mine was a big shooting fanatic and certified NRA instructor, so I've shot a pretty wide variety of firearms and learned to how load ammo. The Marlin 60 is just my favorite so far.

While I'm not terrible with a pistol, I don't really like shooting them because the business end is a little too close to me for comfort. I do enjoy shooting the Walther PPK though (the James Bond gun).

Playing around with the Marlin 60 w/ iron sights, at about 50 feet, maybe a few more? I was at a ghetto outdoor range and I didn't measure.

 

[PropAddict]

^^ I love those Shoot-N-C target stickies. Just wish I could get 'em cheaper.

The Model 60 is a nice plinker. For a touch more, you can get a Ruger 10/22 which I've found to be a little nicer.

Then again, in .22 rifles, you can't beat a Henry, IMO.

 

[Gulltrek]

I know it's a shallow reason, but I don't like the look of a lot of Ruger's rifles. The crazy colors are just silly looking to me.

 

[picklesuit]

I got my Marlin 60 back when I turned 12, awesome squirrel/rabbit gun. I put a 4x scope on it, have two confirmed kills out to 75 yds (no wind day, non moving rabbit) I love that rifle, can't wait to pass it down to my son.

 

[Gulltrek]

I got a grouse with one long distance shot to the neck with a Marlin 60... of course, grouse are stupid and so it pretty much sat there and watched me while I shot it.

 

[Gulltrek]

Free, clean, and only an hour from Jax

As an update to this thread.... once we got to Jax, we found this range in Lake City (where my brother lives) which is really nice and totally free.

Lake City is about an hour west of Jacksonville.

The range itself is really clean as far as foreign debris goes -- there's basically none. No shooting at garbage allowed... and pretty much everyone actually follows that rule. They have plenty of garbage cans, for regular trash and others for used brass & etc.

They have a couple of wooden target frames up that you can tack your target papers on to. They aren't in every shooting lane though, so I don't know who puts them up to begin with.... I ended up making my own target bases out of old moving boxes and duct tape and then weighting them with a 5lb circular weight from Walmart. I stuck a plastic tent spike down through the open center of the weight and the bottom of the box and that helped hold it in the ground pretty well.

There are also bathrooms if you or your guests absolutely have to go, but I probably wouldn't....

There are three main shooting areas. You can see them if you open this up & zoom in on Google Maps and switch to Satellite view.

Just check the friendoftheosceola website before you go to make sure there aren't any events already scheduled. Otherwise, enjoy!

The Range
http://friendsoftheosceola.com/
http://www.floridaconservation.org/huntered/osceola_range_brochure.pdf

Another Map
http://friendsoftheosceola.com/Map_to_Range.htm

 

[picklesuit]

And they probably won't kick you out for shooting at human silhouettes...stoopid PC rules...