1000 yards in Louisiana. Looking to gauge interest in a new private range.

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  • Bowman26

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    Sep 3, 2013
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    The opportunity to develop a 1000 yard range in Louisiana has recently been given thought and I would like to get feedback from those who might be interested in joining such a club.

    At this time the longest range in the state is Palo Alto to 600y as far as I am aware.

    This new range would be located in Ventress La. only a few minutes drive from the new Mississippi River bridge. Within a hours drive from Baton Rouge I would say.

    This would be a limited membership club with a cap limit yet to be determined. Memberships would cost $300 a year.

    Plans would include a nice covered firing line with benches. A scoring pit at 1000y and variety of Silhouette shooting types. Pistol ranges could also be considered and easily included. Basically it all boils down to not having a nice place to shoot out to 1000 yards and also no place to shoot steel HP Silhouette.

    So please if any of you are in the area are interested let me hear from you here or feel free to email me at dja1070@hotmail.com.

    Or if you know someone that lives in this area that shoots F-Class, Long Range Benchrest or just wants a club to shoot at they can actually join in the near future but doesn't get online pass the word.

    Any and all comments or suggestions welcome.

    EDIT *****NOTE***** Please email me or dustinflint@yahoo.com to show your interest and so we can collect the email of potential members for a list. We are getting more interest faster than we imagined and would like to compile a list for the future. Thanks!

    Thanks,

    Bo

    Here is a picture of the land. As you can tell it is prime for long range shooting. I took this one day when we were practicing HP Silhouettes shooting at swingers. The white spots you see out there are paper backers and under them are the even smaller white animal dots you can hardly see. That longest one to the right is the Ram at 550 yards. So you can see this piece of flat, clear cut land goes a long way to the back wood line.

    LandforRange-1.jpg
     
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    jmeng

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    I would be very interested, depending on all the details. Would like the ability to fire from field positions, not just from the bench. If I'm listing all my wish list items, would like to see steel set up for everyday use, not just matches. By the way, mapquest says Ventress is 1hr 8 min from my house in Prairieville. Email address is jmeng63@yahoo.com if you're putting together a mailing list.
     

    dustinflint

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    Would like the ability to fire from field positions, not just from the bench. If I'm listing all my wish list items, would like to see steel set up for everyday use, not just matches.

    There will be field positions for F-class and prone at 800 and 1000 yards (and wherever else is required) also across-the-course field positions at 200, 300 and 600 yards. I'm sure we will stick some steel targets up at different distances for everyone to shoot at.

    Dustin
     

    Emperor

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    Considering Palo Alto new memberships are on a waiting list (so I am told), I think you will have a winning project here.
     

    dustinflint

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    Would you have benches other than 1000y... 100, 200, 300 yd etc.?

    The benches will be stationary under the covered firing line but anyone could set their target at any distance they like. I would assume there would be some 200 meter benchrest going on too. There will for sure be berms at 200, 300, 385 and 500 meters for highpower silhouette since the group pushing this project are all silhouette shooters. The plan is to have a LOOOONG covered firing line. There will be something for everyone out to 1000 yards. Going to be a BLAST!

    Dustin
     
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    Barney88PDC

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    Somewhere over the rainbow
    I would be interested. Here are just some thoughts I have.

    1. It appears to be a square range so there could really only be 1 fring line. If you only have 1 berm and you have to set up your target then back up to the distance you want to shoot then this presents a problem. Shooter A shows up and wants to shoot 300 yards, shooter B shows up and wants to shoot 600 yards and they are shooting past each other which obviously would not work.

    It does work if they are both on the same line and there is a target at 300 and another at 600. Easy to do but you have to have berms every X amount of yards or you have to be ok with assuming the bullet that hits at 300 is not going to leave the property without having a dedicated berm to impact. From the looks of the picture it seems like there is not a berm behind every target so you may be ok with this. I shoot at tactial matches where due to the location of the property and terrain it is fine to do this but we are usually shooting into hills or we are in BFE.

    2. Steel targets are the way to go once you get past 300 yards IMO. Paper you cannot see holes much past that even with white backgrounds and the best optics, especially once you factor in mirage. If I go by myself then steel with a good dry dirt berm gives me good feed back. I paint my steel white and I can see impacts all the way out to 800 and sometimes even 1000 on steel and if you miss and the berm is not wet or grassed over you can usually see the dust fly and correct. This eleminates having to go down range to pull a target and see where you are hitting the paper. Then by the time you get back the conditions have changed anyway. The instant feed back and being able to see where you hit will keep the line hot longer. I CANNOT stand going to a public range where every 3 rounds the guy next to you needs a cold line to go check hit target at 100 yards to see if he hit the paper. Factor in the amout of time it would take to go back in fourth from 1000 yards to check paper and this would lead to a lot of down time.

    3. Safety policy, there are a pile of people that want to shoot 1000 yards but few who have the equipment and knowledge to do it. I would suggest having to prove yourself and your equipment before letting strangers on your place to just launch pills. God forbid something went wrong.

    4. Insurance is going to be a must, I would check into that. I think the NRA might have something in place to be able to help out. I could talk to a guy who is doing this in TX and see if he would not mind talking to you if you are interested, he may be able to cut the learning curve a bit.

    5. Who is going to cut the grass? The property looks great but unless you build a tower or cut the grass regularly then you will not be able to see the target at 1K during the grass growing season. Long Range Alley just south of Shreveport has a 1K yard range and they do not keep up the grass very well. I know of a guy who went this weekend and was limited to shooting out of the bed of his truck at 900 to get over the grass and could not even see the target at 1000 due to how high the grass was.

    If you build a tower or if you really build up the firing line with alot of dirt to get say 10'+ over the natrual terrain this will greatly eliminate or midigate this problem. Please Please Please listen to atleast this if you move forward. The 1K yard line at LRA is high, they have elevated firing lines every 100 yards going from the berm back to 1K and every frining line is elevated slightly higher than the one before it so you can shoot over each one to get over the grass and the firing postions down range of the shooter and grass height is still a problem. There are steps to get up to the benchs at 1K that firing line is so high and like I said this weekend the target was still not visible.

    6. Be aware of people shooting steel core or armor pearcing rounds at your expensive steel. Sadly people are asses and will shoot your steel with a 50 BMG at 100 yards just to "see what it will do". I am not sure how you stop this but it will happen. Be very selective on who you let in.

    I wish you ALL THE LUCK and would love to have a place like below closer to go shoot. If it were set up like below with steel at various marked and known distances I AM IN!!! It really is not all that hard to do just dig a hole with a back hoe, make a pile of dirt and put a target infront of it. I can get you some contact information on a few different steel vendors that support and provide targets to the tactical matches around the country. If I can help in any way let me know.

    n6449j.jpg
     
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    Emperor

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    I would be interested. Here are just some thoughts I have.

    1. It appears to be a square range so there could really only be 1 fring line. If you only have 1 berm and you have to set up your target then back up to the distance you want to shoot then this presents a problem. Shooter A shows up and wants to shoot 300 yards, shooter B shows up and wants to shoot 600 yards and they are shooting past each other which obviously would not work.

    It does work if they are both on the same line and there is a target at 300 and another at 600. Easy to do but you have to have berms every X amount of yards or you have to be ok with assuming the bullet that hits at 300 is not going to leave the property without having a dedicated berm to impact. From the looks of the picture it seems like there is not a berm behind every target so you may be ok with this. I shoot at tactial matches where due to the location of the property and terrain it is fine to do this but we are usually shooting into hills or we are in BFE.

    2. Steel targets are the way to go once you get past 300 yards IMO. Paper you cannot see holes much past that even with white backgrounds and the best optics, especially once you factor in mirage. If I go by myself then steel with a good dry dirt berm gives me good feed back. I paint my steel white and I can see impacts all the way out to 800 and sometimes even 1000 on steel and if you miss and the berm is not wet or grassed over you can usually see the dust fly and correct. This eleminates having to go down range to pull a target and see where you are hitting the paper. Then by the time you get back the conditions have changed anyway. The instant feed back and being able to see where you hit will keep the line hot longer. I CANNOT stand going to a public range where every 3 rounds the guy next to you needs a cold line to go check hit target at 100 yards to see if he hit the paper. Factor in the amout of time it would take to go back in fourth from 1000 yards to check paper and this would lead to a lot of down time.

    3. Safety policy, there are a pile of people that want to shoot 1000 yards but few who have the equipment and knowledge to do it. I would suggest having to prove yourself and your equipment before letting strangers on your place to just launch pills. God forbid something went wrong.

    4. Insurance is going to be a must, I would check into that. I think the NRA might have something in place to be able to help out. I could talk to a guy who is doing this in TX and see if he would not mind talking to you if you are interested, he may be able to cut the learning curve a bit.

    5. Who is going to cut the grass? The property looks great but unless you build a tower or cut the grass regularly then you will not be able to see the target at 1K during the grass growing season. Long Range Alley just south of Shreveport has a 1K yard range and they do not keep up the grass very well. I know of a guy who went this weekend and was limited to shooting out of the bed of his truck at 900 to get over the grass and could not even see the target at 1000 due to how high the grass was.

    If you build a tower or if you really build up the firing line with alot of dirt to get say 10'+ over the natrual terrain this will greatly eliminate or midigate this problem. Please Please Please listen to atleast this if you move forward. The 1K yard line at LRA is high, they have elevated firing lines every 100 yards going from the berm back to 1K and every frining line is elevated slightly higher than the one before it so you can shoot over each one to get over the grass and the firing postions down range of the shooter and grass height is still a problem. There are steps to get up to the benchs at 1K that firing line is so high and like I said this weekend the target was still not visible.

    6. Be aware of people shooting steel core or armor pearcing rounds at your expensive steel. Sadly people are asses and will shoot your steel with a 50 BMG at 100 yards just to "see what it will do". I am not sure how you stop this but it will happen. Be very selective on who you let in.

    I wish you ALL THE LUCK and would love to have a place like below closer to go shoot. If it were set up like below with steel at various marked and known distances I AM IN!!! It really is not all that hard to do just dig a hole with a back hoe, make a pile of dirt and put a target infront of it. I can get you some contact information on a few different steel vendors that support and provide targets to the tactical matches around the country. If I can help in any way let me know.

    n6449j.jpg

    One of these days, you will have to be my Kuato, and I your Quaid; for long range training! ;)
     

    dustinflint

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    Sep 3, 2013
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    Baton Rouge, LA
    I'll try to respond quickly to each of these.

    1. It appears to be a square range so there could really only be 1 fring line. If you only have 1 berm and you have to set up your target then back up to the distance you want to shoot then this presents a problem. Shooter A shows up and wants to shoot 300 yards, shooter B shows up and wants to shoot 600 yards and they are shooting past each other which obviously would not work.

    This range is being designed and built by silhouette shooters so there will at least be berms at 50, 100, 150, 200, 300, 400 and 500 meters. As the design stands now, there will be a giant berm with a pit at 1000 yards and the shorter berms will be angled to one side of the range to allow a full sightline to 1000 yards. There will be a big covered firing line and firing will only be allowed from that line unless there is a match in progress that has shooters firing from downrange firing lines. Of course, if one of those matches is going on, there will be a safety flag and/or lighting system that lets everyone know that the covered firing line is closed. This range will accomidate competitive shooters so there will be lots of matches.

    It does work if they are both on the same line and there is a target at 300 and another at 600. Easy to do but you have to have berms every X amount of yards or you have to be ok with assuming the bullet that hits at 300 is not going to leave the property without having a dedicated berm to impact. From the looks of the picture it seems like there is not a berm behind every target so you may be ok with this. I shoot at tactial matches where due to the location of the property and terrain it is fine to do this but we are usually shooting into hills or we are in BFE.

    This is a giant piece of property but there will be sufficient berms.

    2. Steel targets are the way to go once you get past 300 yards IMO. Paper you cannot see holes much past that even with white backgrounds and the best optics, especially once you factor in mirage. If I go by myself then steel with a good dry dirt berm gives me good feed back. I paint my steel white and I can see impacts all the way out to 800 and sometimes even 1000 on steel and if you miss and the berm is not wet or grassed over you can usually see the dust fly and correct. This eleminates having to go down range to pull a target and see where you are hitting the paper. Then by the time you get back the conditions have changed anyway. The instant feed back and being able to see where you hit will keep the line hot longer. I CANNOT stand going to a public range where every 3 rounds the guy next to you needs a cold line to go check hit target at 100 yards to see if he hit the paper. Factor in the amout of time it would take to go back in fourth from 1000 yards to check paper and this would lead to a lot of down time.

    I dont like being interrupted either. People need to get spotting scopes. We may have a rule for this. One suggestion is to invest in a steel target that you can bring to the range and set up wherever you want.

    3. Safety policy, there are a pile of people that want to shoot 1000 yards but few who have the equipment and knowledge to do it. I would suggest having to prove yourself and your equipment before letting strangers on your place to just launch pills. God forbid something went wrong.

    I believe that the way to go is to limit shooting at 1000 yards to times where there is someone in the pit. If you want to shoot at 1000 yards, bring some targets for the retractable f-class target stands and bring a buddy to put in the pit and tell you where your hit is. Probably will have a safety certification before being allowed to shoot at that distance.

    4. Insurance is going to be a must, I would check into that. I think the NRA might have something in place to be able to help out. I could talk to a guy who is doing this in TX and see if he would not mind talking to you if you are interested, he may be able to cut the learning curve a bit.

    Yep, a gun club has got to have insurance. That is one of the reason we need paying members!

    5. Who is going to cut the grass? The property looks great but unless you build a tower or cut the grass regularly then you will not be able to see the target at 1K during the grass growing season. Long Range Alley just south of Shreveport has a 1K yard range and they do not keep up the grass very well. I know of a guy who went this weekend and was limited to shooting out of the bed of his truck at 900 to get over the grass and could not even see the target at 1000 due to how high the grass was.

    Grass is not a problem. We have all the equipment and someone to use it.

    If you build a tower or if you really build up the firing line with alot of dirt to get say 10'+ over the natrual terrain this will greatly eliminate or midigate this problem. Please Please Please listen to atleast this if you move forward. The 1K yard line at LRA is high, they have elevated firing lines every 100 yards going from the berm back to 1K and every frining line is elevated slightly higher than the one before it so you can shoot over each one to get over the grass and the firing postions down range of the shooter and grass height is still a problem. There are steps to get up to the benchs at 1K that firing line is so high and like I said this weekend the target was still not visible.

    Everything will be properly elevated. There will be no issue seeing the targets at 1000 yards.

    6. Be aware of people shooting steel core or armor pearcing rounds at your expensive steel. Sadly people are asses and will shoot your steel with a 50 BMG at 100 yards just to "see what it will do". I am not sure how you stop this but it will happen. Be very selective on who you let in.

    First, our steel silhouette targets will only be out at matches. Any other steel put out by the club will be expected to be torn up BUT destroying targets or any other range property will be a one way ticket out of the club. The land/club owner lives on the property about 1200 yards from the range so the place will be monitored. We think there is going to be a big group of responsible shooters that want to be part of this club and membership will be limited so it will be a zero-tolerance policy on safety breaches and property destruction.

    I wish you ALL THE LUCK and would love to have a place like below closer to go shoot. If it were set up like below with steel at various marked and known distances I AM IN!!! It really is not all that hard to do just dig a hole with a back hoe, make a pile of dirt and put a target infront of it. I can get you some contact information on a few different steel vendors that support and provide targets to the tactical matches around the country. If I can help in any way let me know.

    We'd love to have you. Make sure and send an email to get on the list.

    Dustin
     
    Last edited:

    Bowman26

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    The range land runs North to South with a slight angle to the SE. We have shot out there during most times of the day and throughout the year and not had any issues with the sun washing out out sight pictures. Should be just fine for having the sun pass overhead from side to side all day long.



    Bo
     

    jgreco15

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    This sounds like a great thing for our area. I'd love to have a range where I can shoot steel out to 1k and would be willing to drive from Lafayette to do it. Please keep us all informed.
     

    superscar17

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    id be interested. would be nice if you could add a cctv system that would be directed towards the targets and could be visible from the firing line. i dont think it would be all that expensive to implement either.
     
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