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Where do I shoot now?

705squat

705squat

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Oct 15, 2009
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Taunton
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I just found out that the Taunton Rifle and Pistol outdoor range will be closed indefinitely. I got a new rifle this week and I cant even try it out.[sad] Anyone know of a outdoor range in the Taunton area open to the public? Thanks
 
i would ask for a refund or credit for diminished services...

NB has a 300 and 500 yard range...the only update is a minor has to be 12 to shoot (NB police chief regulation).


website info below is somewhat outdated..best to call and ask for Jeff

The New Bedford Park Department maintains a rifle and handgun firing range as well as an archery range and police firing range (for Massachusetts residence only). It is open to the public as well as police personnel. Prior to use you must obtain a permit from the Range only.

Ages Residents * Non-Residents **
15-17 $20.00 per year $40.00 per year
18-64 $40.00 per year $60.00 per year
65-69 $20.00 per year $40.00 per year
70 years old and over Free Lifetime Permit Free Lifetime Permit

* Resident Status: New Bedford and Dartmouth
** Non-Resident Status: All other towns and cities in Massachusetts

Under 15 years old, a permit is not needed but must be with a parent or legal guardian over 18 who holds a valid range permit.
Junior permits under 18 are available with parents consent only.

A range permit can be obtained only at the New Bedford Rifle Range located at:

100 Woodcock Road,
North Dartmouth, MA 02747
R. Costa, Range Supervisor

Please call ahead prior to going to the range!
Telephone Number: (508) 636-4669 - or leave a message - 508-636-8029
 
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Raynham — State police from Middleboro are investigating a report of an errant bullet striking a vehicle Monday afternoon on Route 24 in Raynham.
State police spokesman Lt. David Wilson said the vehicle was approaching the Interstate 495 north interchange on Route 24 south at about 12:30 p.m. when a piece of copper became lodged in the windshield.
There were no reports of injuries.
Police questioned members of the Taunton Rifle & Pistol Club near the Raynham Middle School on Titicut Road to determine if the metal item was a bullet fired from the shooting range.
The range is about 700 yards from the highway interchange.
“The investigation is still continuing,” Wilson said.
Raynham Police Chief Louis Pacheco said there have been no incidents of stray bullets at the shooting range in recent years.
Click to expand...

http://www.tauntongazette.com/news/...struck-by-bullet-on-Route-24-near-rifle-range

this sucks. I've never been to this range, so I have no clue as to how the backstops are arranged, etc. but I hate to see ranges closing down.[sad2]

also:
http://www.tauntongazette.com/topst...pect-bullet-struck-car-on-Route-24-in-Raynham

Posted Feb 18, 2010 @ 08:44 PM
Last update Feb 18, 2010 @ 09:58 PM
Raynham — State police from Middleboro are investigating a report of an apparent stray bullet that stuck a vehicle Monday afternoon on Route 24 in Raynham.


State police spokesman Lt. David Wilson said the vehicle was approaching the Interstate 495 north interchange on Route 24 south at about 12:30 p.m. when a piece of copper became lodged in the windshield.


There were no reports of injuries. The name of the driver has not been released.
Police questioned members of the Taunton Rifle & Pistol Club near the Raynham Middle School on Titicut Road to determine if the metal projectile was a bullet fired from the shooting range.


The range is about 700 yards from the highway interchange.
“The investigation is still continuing,” Wilson said.


Raynham Police Chief Louis Pacheco said there have been no incidents of stray bullets at the shooting range in recent years.


Club president Eric Dewhirst is cooperating with the investigation in hopes that it will clear the club of being the source of the bullet.


“We don’t feel it came from us and we want to make sure it didn’t come from us,” he said.


Adding, “And nobody’s even sure it’s a bullet.”


About four or five members were at the club at the time of the incident, he said, but noted that others gun enthusiasts were also in the surrounding wooded area.
The Taunton Rifle & Pistol Club was founded in the 1950s. The club also operates an indoor range on East Britannia Street in Taunton.


“We’ve had an excellent safety record,” Dewhirst said.
Click to expand...
 
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If I owned the property I live on at the moment, I'd offer up the space. It is greater than 500 yards from any dwelling not owned by the land owner, nor near any roads that you would have to shoot across, etc etc. There are a couple of private ranges around here, due to the total "ruralness" of the area. In fact, it is so rural, the local pack of coyotes have a mailing address.

Maybe you could find a nice rural tract of land out by you and ask the owner if you could set up a little shooting berm, etc? Sign a waiver to assuage liability concerns?
 
One of the public ranges here in CT has been going through something similar. There were reports of bullet impacts on houses/trees a mile or 2 away from the range. The owner of most of the land between the range and the houses is a developer who has been trying to get the range closed for years. The range has been in a huge legal fight for the last couple years. They were temporarily closed and had to increase berms etc. They ended up closing one of the rifle ranges and are still battling.(see stories on Blue Trail Range in Wallingford CT).

I wish the best for your club etc.
 
When something similar happened at Southborough Rod & Gun, the outdoor range was out of commission for a year and a half, and there was no attempt by anyone to let the members know what was going on. I gave up on that club and joined Harvard.
 
Marcus in the Darkus said:
When something similar happened at Southborough Rod & Gun, the outdoor range was out of commission for a year and a half, and there was no attempt by anyone to let the members know what was going on. I gave up on that club and joined Harvard.
Click to expand...

That is NOT what I wanna hear. But thanks for the warning.
 
Hi Mark,
We put in a new and improved range...There were several other clubs that looked at our rifle/pistol range as examples for their ranges....Come on back and try it again!
 
The wheels of 'injustice' turn very slowly - the powers that be are in no hurry, and every anti group out there will be screaming bloody murder.
Down here it was definitely guilty until proven innocent.
 
Marcus in the Darkus said:
When something similar happened at Southborough Rod & Gun, the outdoor range was out of commission for a year and a half, and there was no attempt by anyone to let the members know what was going on. I gave up on that club and joined Harvard.
Click to expand...

I talked to people during the monthly meetings to figure out what was going on over at Southboro, heck I even donated money to the range fund. But then I decided that the new rules they put into place after it was reopened weren't something I wanted to deal with, so I left.
 
700 yards is actually pretty dang close by rifle standards. A .308 elevated 22 minutes will be crossing muzzle elevation at about 700 yards.

Identifying this piece of shrapnal is important. I'd really like to know what has been done to attempt to identify this piece of copper. If it was a bullet traveling from the range, it should be fairly easy to identify as a bullet case. The fact that they haven't identified it suggests its more likely a mangled copper fragment, which could be shrapnal from a bullet impact on a hard object, but that's a lot harder to forsee traveling 700 yards.
 
I have never been there, but what about Ames in Easton? I have heard they have a decent rifle range.That would not be to bad of a ride for you if your really jonesing to try out that new rifle!
 
Each "incident" (that was not caused by a BR&P shooter on the range) created a "downtime" of 1 year before the ranges reopened, after massive and expensive renovations were done.

Another small (and poor) club that I used to belong to was shut down for 18 months due to a skip-shot that happened from another club in the town. Took a lawyer (who I don't think really helped) and >$14K in renovations (which the club didn't have, they borrowed from the members) before the selectmen and police chief would ALLOW them to reopen.
 
LenS said:
Each "incident" (that was not caused by a BR&P shooter on the range) created a "downtime" of 1 year before the ranges reopened, after massive and expensive renovations were done.

Another small (and poor) club that I used to belong to was shut down for 18 months due to a skip-shot that happened from another club in the town. Took a lawyer (who I don't think really helped) and >$14K in renovations (which the club didn't have, they borrowed from the members) before the selectmen and police chief would ALLOW them to reopen.
Click to expand...

Another case of guilty until proven innocent? [sad2]
 
As someone previously posted, Woodcock in Dartmouth is outdoor. It is cheap to join, $60.00 for non residents of NB or dartmouth... I believe the info posted is still current as well.
 
705squat said:
It looks like I may have to take a look at Woodcock.
Click to expand...

It's worth looking into. I've been going there for ~30 years.

PRO's:
1) The range is laid out correctly. You fire in a northward direction, so the sun is at your back.
2) Good distances; I believe at least out to 500 yards. At one time I believe it went out to 1000 yards, but that was cut back as development occurred in the bullet impact zone.
3) Not terribly expensive to join.
4) Longitudinal berms to separate the shorter distance ranges from the longer ones. At one time there were no berms, so the entire line had to be shut down if anyone wanted to change/check targets. Now you only have to shut down one portion and others can continue firing.
5) I do not believe there are any caliber/bullet restrictions except for tracers. Considering the amount of vegetation there, tracers would probably not be a good idea in any event.
6) They rent target frames and sell paper targets at a very reasonable price. (Example: target frame rental is $1.00. You can bring your own, but they have to conform to their dimensions.) Water, soda, and coffee are also available at low cost.
7) The range house is large and has some comfortable seating. Big fireplace with a cast iron stove to warm yourself up on chilly days. Air conditioned in the summer.
8) There are shooting benches and chairs available at the firing line. There are some stationary metallic targets on the rifle sections.

CON's:
1) Absolutely no handguns are to be used on the rifle portion of the range. Inconvenient if you want to use a handgun at distances longer than 50 or so yards. Similarly, at least one of the handgun ranges has a prohibition against any rifle caliber except for rimfire. IIRC, one of the handgun ranges is mixed rifle/handgun. There are signs denoting what can be used on the various ranges. Read and heed them to avoid problems.
2) The rifle section has a canvas covering, the pistol ranges are completely uncovered. If the weather is lousy, you will get wet. Sunny weather, you will get burned. Hat, sunscreen, and bug spray are highly recommended. The City of New Bedford does try to spray for mosquitoes during the summer, but the tree line is just behind the firing line on part of the range. Early morning and dusk is feeding time for the little aerial bloodsuckers, and you will get bitten, whether the city has sprayed or not.
3) You must have a permit to use the range, unless you are a guest. Guests are limited to a single use, after which they must join for further use. I get a sense from some of the RO's that guests are somewhat frowned on. This isn't a problem unless you want to bring a newbie to the range a couple of times to introduce them to shooting. Some RO's are less strict about this than others. I wish they would issue a one day range pass for a small fee. I would gladly pay that for newbies and occasional shooters.
4) Paper targets or the existing metallic targets only. No glass, cans, etc. Necco wafers, balloons, and lollipops are okay. Pick up your trash, if any.
5) There are sanitary facilities, but they consist of Porta-Pottys. This isn't really a negative since they had outhouses for decades before this. You haven't lived until you've used an open pit outhouse on a 90 degree day, complete with nesting yellow jackets. After a few experiences with that, Porta-Pottys will seem like heaven! [wink]

All-in-all, it's actually a pretty nice place to shoot and many of the shooters there are pretty friendly. When you go into the range house you'll probably find several older guys there, a few of them napping. Don't worry if you make noise and wake them up. They'll doze off again when you leave. [laugh]
 

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