Out of Range (The Anti Self-Defense lobby's war on shooting ranges)

America;s 1st Freedom(NRA) | Apr 2002 | Kayne Robinson

[coloradan]

You are correct, but so am I: True, you can own them for a $200 tax on a $5 silencer, including an invasive background check, with fingerprints and a signoff by your local sheriff - if in fact he will sign off and they are not otherwise banned by state law. But I am correct because they are banned from ordinary civilian ownership, say, compared to guns or Bibles, and you will get a no-knock raid if the feds think you own one, or plan to make one, outside of their channels. People who merely owned tubing and disks have been convicted of possession of parts to construct, with intent to construct, a silencer, which is a felony. It is difficult to reconcile this type of enforcement attitude with the concept of something being "not banned." And, indeed, some counties have sheriffs who will not sign off on any class-3 items, and for people who live there, they are indeed very much banned. No doubt there is some overlap between those places and the ones where shooting ranges are imperiled because of noise complaints.

[coloradan]

They claim that the lead bullets are bad for the environment.

"They ban steel- and bronze-core handgun ammunition as "cop-killer" bullets, and then ban indoor shooting ranges because of the lead exposure." Also J. Ross, Unintended Consequences. (A line or two from the first quote.)

[coloradan]

You could take up a collection for the tax on a silencer from these neighbors - at $200, a mere 20 people who could pony up $10 would cover it. Of course, should they refuse, you could tell that to the cops who came to talk to you about noise. "But officer, I asked them to pay just the tax on one, and they refused, so clearly it isn't really that important to them..."

[quietolong]

"But officer, I asked them to pay just the tax on one, and they refused, so clearly it isn't really that important to them..."

LOL

[quietolong]

guns or Bibles, and you will get a no-knock raid if the feds think you own one

Do you mean guns or Bibles or both will get you a no-knock. You know with these Lib-a-Rats in goverment.... ;)

Secrets, Lies, and Atomic Spies,.....Or... Joe McCarthy was more right than he ever knew

[Rifleman]

You know, the ban on suppresors is a small but telling point. Why has this not been repealed so shooters could be better neighbors? We should bug our legislators about this.

[M.K. Borders]

In Indiana there is a National Guard Armory in almost every county. About half of these buildings have an area intended for indoor shooting (long room, bullet traps, etc.) When I came into the Guard in 1979, units were using indoor ranges.

There are NO units firing on Armory property today! Either local laws, OSHA, or EPA has shut down the whole practice. In Evansville a new Armory was built. It was moved into in 1998. This building included a state of art indoor range (.22 only I believe). The soldiers of this Battalion have never been into the range, most have never seen it, the doors have been locked since the unit moved in. The problem? EPA says there is too much lead contaminate in the air if used.

Now friends, this is a goverment owned/operated, military facility, and THEY can't get the right to shoot!

This unit must drive 3 hours to the nearest military post in order to practice with their weapons. It takes about 5,000gals of gas to get them there. (Battalion moving with all it's vehicles). You pay for the gas, you paid for the range, and you are supposedly paying for soldiers who are trained in their weapons.

[sit-rep]

I don't like public ranges due to the fact they have a one round at a time policy. Since I like to load about 10 - 30 round mags when I shoot, I go to a private farm about an hour from me. It is a pain in the ass, but, I can zero in at 200, then walk slightly out of the range line and back up to 1500 yards. An ideal area that has no immediate plans to shut down.

SR

[AAABEST]

Any of you guys have problems finding a suitable range?

I don't shoot .308 so there are a lot of good places to shoot where I live.

[2nd_Amendment_Defender]

When I used to live in Sacramento, CA I would have to drive over an hour to get to a decent shooting range near Yuba City, CA. The other range they had was near Rancho Cordova, CA and cost $8 per day and they were way too strict with their rules (probably because some gun hater was aching to shut it down).

When I moved to Ogden, Utah I found they had a nice shooting range real close by that only costs $30 a year for a membership or $3 per day. The range is only open on the weekends in the winter however.

There is a major problem with the need for shooting ranges in the United States, especially in the liberal states.

[CWRWinger]

"And they can't shut down, because they would have to reimburse the state for matching grants..."

Always a bad idea to make deals with the devil. Government money means lose of rights. I don't care if it's states taking Federal grants, or schools or shooting ranges. It's wrong to get tangled in the state money octopus. There will always be strings attached to any money from any government.

[Dan from Michigan]

BTTT