Places to Shoot
Harrisburg Hunting Club
West Town Park Road, Carrier Mills, IL 62917
From Rt 13: Turn South onto the Carrier Mills Blacktop to Town Park Road. Turn right and go 3/4 mile to Club. (Left side of road)
Contact: John Baker (618-926-7511)
Facilities: Trap Range plus a Rifle/Pistol Range with 25, 50 and 200 yard service.
There are 7 concrete shooting benches.
Hours: Tuesday (1:00 PM until Dark)
Friday (5:00 PM until Dark)
Royalton Sportman's Club
Mailing Address: P.O. Box 7, Royalton, IL 62983
Physical address: South Pump House Road, Southeast Corner of Royalton, IL
Contact: John Bullock (618-984-2434 or 618-922-6001) or Bob Stagner (619-218-4867)
Facilities: 100 Yard Rifle/Pistol Range with 12 covered concrete benches.
3 Shotgun Stations
Planned: Archery and dedicated Pistol Range
Directions: Royalton Sportsman's Club.pdf
Williamson County Gun Club
110 Dewmaine Road, Carterville, IL (Approximately 1 mile North of Carterville Crossroads)
Contact: Bob Ramsey (618-997-4261 or 618-889-3342)
Facilites: 200 Yard Rifle Range and dedicated 25 Yard Pistol Range.
Covered firing lines on both ranges.
Directions: Williamson County Gun Club.pdf
Website: http://www.wcgunclub.org/
Carmi Rifle Club
County Road 1250 East, Carmi, IL
Facilities: Outdoor Rifle and Pistol Range plus Indoor Pistol Range
Shawnee National Forest
Note: The article below applies to the 240,000 acre Shawnee National Forest. This may be an option for those of you that don't currently have a range membership.
Restrictions: You must stay at least 150 yards from any dwelling.
I would also visit the Vienna Ranger Station for a map, scout the area and find a place with a good natural backstop; preferably shooting into a hill with no protruding stones.
Larry
Subject: Shooters Heard: Interior Will Not Ban Target Practice
Shooters Heard: Interior Will Not Ban Target Practice
November 17, 2011
Under fire from gun owners concerned about draft guidelines that could limit areas for target practice on western public lands, the Interior Department today said it would make sure shooters still have access to lands long available for firearms recreation.
"Our goal is to leave lands open to shooting," said an Interior official for the Bureau of Land Management, which is drafting guidelines to deal with the growing clash between skittish urbanites moving to western wilderness areas and America's tradition of letting gun owners shoot targets on public lands. "We don't want to have to close any areas," said an official as BLM provided Washington Whispers with a statement clarifying the developing guidelines.
"We are in no way interested in banning recreational target shooting, hunting, or fishing—on the contrary, our goal is to develop guidance that will help land managers maximize and preserve opportunities for recreational shooting," said the BLM statementHowever, the official said it is possible that areas previously used for target practice that are too close to houses or areas of urban growth could be put off limits. The new plan would be to provide shooters with a map or guide on where they can go for target practice nearby, said the official.
"It's the difference of driving two minutes [to shoot] or 15 minutes," said the official.Whispers reported on the controversy yesterday. A committee of conservationists and outdoors groups advising BLM has expressed outrage over the developing guidelines, charging that BLM is making it hard for shooters to practice on public lands, which has a long tradition in the West. The Interior official said that the committee's concerns will be addressed in a "redraft" of the guidelines.
The story, promoted on the Drudge Report and Fox Nation, had gun owners up in arms.
Below is the full BLM statement to Whispers:
The Department of the Interior fully supports and encourages hunting, fishing, and recreational shooting on America's public lands. Nearly 400,000 hunters visit Bureau of Land Management lands every year, generating an estimated $785 million in economic output. The vast majority of BLM's 245 million acres is open to recreational shooting, and we want to keep it that way.
The BLM wants to protect opportunities for recreational shooting on public lands and reduce the possibility for conflicts that in the past have resulted in some recreational shooting closures. That is why we are currently working with the Wildlife and Hunting Heritage Conservation Council (WHHCC)—which includes representatives from sportsmen's organizations, the outdoor recreation industry, state resource agencies and others—to develop guidance to protect long-term access to recreational target shooting.
We are at the early stages of our work with the WHHCC and will be guided by their input and recommendations. We are in no way interested in banning recreational target shooting, hunting, or fishing—on the contrary, our goal is to develop guidance that will help land managers maximize and preserve opportunities for recreational shooting. It is important to note that hunting and fishing on public lands is managed by state fish and game agencies—and is not the subject of these discussions.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Going out of town and want to find a range?