Tag Archives: Shooting Range

AZGFD seeks to improve road leading to Northern Arizona Shooting Range

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PHOENIX — The Flagstaff Ranger District of the Coconino National Forest is considering a proposal by the Arizona Game and Fish Department to improve, operate and maintain a portion of Forest Service road 128A, which provides access to the Northern Arizona Shooting Range near Flagstaff.

The goal is to improve a half-mile stretch of 128A and provide a simple road structure of adequate strength to support increases to vehicle traffic, while also providing drainage as necessary to prevent unacceptable environmental damage.

The range, which opened in July 2012, has experienced an average of 3,852 user days since 2014. That’s considerably more use than a Maintenance Level 2 road is intended to provide, being that it’s designed for high-clearance vehicles and not for user comfort. In order to provide safer access to the range, the department is requesting the ability to make 128A a Maintenance Level 3 road to be accessible by a standard passenger car.

The public is invited to share comments, concerns or ideas with Jessica Richardson, District NEPA coordinator, at the Flagstaff Ranger District, 5075 N. Highway 89, Flagstaff, AZ, 86004. Richardson can be reached at (928) 527-8219, or email at jessicarichardson@fs.fed.us. Input also can be provided at comments-southwestern-coconino@fs.fed.us. The deadline to submit comments to ensure consideration in the decision process is May 30.

Deadline to apply for shooting range development grants is January 15

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PHOENIX — The Arizona Game and Fish Department is accepting applications for up to $100,000 in annual grant funding from nonprofit organizations and government agencies that are committed to the development and improvement of public shooting ranges.

Application packets can be downloaded at https://www.azgfd.com/Shooting/RangeGrants. All completed application packets must be received or postmarked by January 15, 2018. Grants will be awarded through a competitive application process.

The Arizona Game and Fish Commission created the Shooting Range Development Program in 1996 to foster the development and improvement of shooting ranges and to support their maintenance and operation. Through the program, the commission encourages hunters to become more proficient with firearms, promotes safe hunting and shooting practices, provides Arizona residents with safe recreational shooting (including archery) areas, and supports law enforcement training.

“This grant program is an investment in groups that are committed to carrying out the important mission of passing down our recreational shooting heritage to the next generation,” said Matthew Schwartzkopf, the department’s statewide shooting range administrator. “This is a great opportunity to make a difference.”

Grant funds are used to reimburse eligible project expenditures up to 50 percent of the total cost. Grants can be matched with cash, donated labor and materials, and other secured funding.

Projects for development, redevelopment, relocation, noise abatement, improvements and purchases of capital equipment must have an expected useful life of five years or more. The acceptance of a grant requires that the range be made available for the department’s Hunter Education Program activities, hunter recruitment efforts, and activities that support the Archery in the Schools Program and Scholastic Clay Target Program.

There is no cost to Arizona taxpayers for this grant program. Game and Fish does not receive any of the state’s general tax funds and operates under a user-pay, public-benefit model. The grant program is an investment in the continuance of wildlife conservation efforts and outdoors recreation participation in Arizona. To learn more about how hunters, anglers, shooters and boaters fund wildlife conservation, visit www.azgfd.gov/h_f/federal-aid-cycle.shtml.

For more information about the grant program, or application materials, contact Schwartzkopf at (623) 236-7395.

BASF introduces exciting target-shooting experience

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Saturday_Steel_-_BASF_1PHOENIX — “Clang!”

That distinctive sound of a bullet hitting steel soon will be ringing out every third Saturday of the month on the small bore range at the Ben Avery Shooting Facility in north Phoenix.

Christopher Dean, range manager for the Arizona Game and Fish Department, said he hopes a new target-shooting experience – “Saturday Steel” – will hit the mark with recreational shooters of all ages and skill levels, beginning Saturday, May 21.

“This is meant to be a fun opportunity,” Dean said. “There isn’t a competitive element. There isn’t a scoring element. This is just an opportunity to shoot some steel targets in an interesting presentation.”

There’s nothing quite like the appeal of steel. Whereas paper targets are great for showing where a bullet hits, the “clang!” from hitting a steel target provides immediate feedback and gratification. That gratification is further enhanced by seeing that target swing and spin.

“We want to create a shooting opportunity in a non-pressure environment,” Dean said. “Some people don’t want to shoot competitively, but they like competitive shooting.”

For a flat fee of $20 for adults, $13 for youths (price includes the $7 BASF daily range pass), customers will have the unlimited option to shoot from several stations, with distances varying from 15 to 85 yards. A range safety officer or mentor will be available to assist customers at each station. Shooting hours will be from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Time will be allotted for each customer to shoot one full magazine and reload up to two times, if they have extra magazines loaded and ready. Those customers who are shooting revolvers will be able to reload using speed loaders. Only rifles and carbines chambered in .22 Short, Long and Long Rifle or pistol caliber ammunition will be allowed. Not allowed: rimfire magnum cartridges, handguns chambered in any caliber larger than .45, and magnum loads.

In addition, “hot” loads that could penetrate or deform the steel targets, as well as steel core ammunition of any caliber, are not allowed.

Youths also must adhere to the following stipulations:

1 All participating youths must be accompanied by an adult.
2 No youths under 5 will be permitted on the range.
3 Youths 5 to 9 will be limited to shooting rimfire cartridges in .22-Short, Long or Long Rifle only.
4 Youths 10 and older will be allowed to shoot other handgun calibers, with close adult supervision.

As a reminder, all firearms must be cased or properly holstered before entering the range. Hearing and eye protection also is required.

Dean said targets will come in various sizes and shapes, including silhouettes, circles, squares and rectangles, each presenting a unique challenge.

“If you come back the following third Saturday of the month, it’s going to be a totally different presentation,” Dean said. “It’s not going to be the same. We’re going to make it interesting so there’s a reason to come back and shoot again.”

For more information about BASF, call (623) 582-8313 or visit https://www.azgfd.com/Shooting/BASF.