I love outdoor ranges! The best one here in Virginia is a 2+ hour drive, west from the metro Richmond area, out beyond the Blue Ridge Mtns, out near Staunton, VA and the I-81, I-64 areas in Augusta County. It's called
Hite Hollow Range, along Route 42 south heading to Craigsville.
George Washington & Jefferson National Forests - Hite Hollow Shooting Range
www.fs.usda.gov
50, 100, 150 rifle range. 25 yard handgun range.
Do what you want, bring what you want, shoot what you want. Ain't nobody gonna care! No RSO's, no cops, no forest rangers, ...nothing. You are on your own! Pack a lunch and make a day out of it (like we do with a 2½ hour drive each way). Oh, and uh... good luck getting a WiFi signal or heck, even a signal at all! "Police your own" is the philosophy out there at Hite Hollow Range...
A few of the WMA's (Wildlife Management Area) around the area have 100 yd rifle ranges, but... No. Just... No. They are always packed to capacity no matter what day it is. There is always a line leading back up to the main parking lot too. I have seen people there with a brand new .270 rifle that they just bought and have limited firearm skills - bystanders often will help out, which is good to see. Other times, a dad will be there with his 12 yr old son and a little Ruger 10/22, teaching the kid how to shoot. They don't just bring a box or two, but an entire brick of 500 rounds, and will stay there and stay there and stay there, bogarting the rifle bench!!! C'mon, man...
Indoor ranges are great, but can be deafening, especially when they allow .223's in there! There are three here in the metro Richmond, VA area that I have been too and have mentioned plenty of times.... Here's a repeat:
Winding Brook Indoor Range - Ashland, VA --- right next door to Bass Pro Shop along I-95.
Unbelievable place, now that they reopened! Absolutely incredible indoor range! Very clean, very high tech, electronic LCD touch screen controls, and excellent lighting. You can breathe easy in the place too as they have upgraded the exhaust system, ventilation, etc... and it's just amazing. You have to check it out if you're on I-95 coming towards the Richmond, VA area... Also, they have really cool, professional, RSO's who don't have a Napoleon Complex or attitude, or act like the typical "Range Nazi".
Colonial Shooting Academy - Richmond, VA --- right here in town on Broad St. It was a furniture store years ago, and they had all these civil engineers and architects, totally redesign the place all the way down to it's foundation, to make it "bullet proof", etc... It originally was a great place, just like how Winding Brook is now, but what sets the two ranges apart, is CSA for some reason or another, sadly, copped an attitude or something. Two words: Range Nazi's. You know what I'm talking about... I mean, you could be a retired military veteran, LEO, etc... and you want to speak out, "Whoa, want to see my badge? Look kid, I've been shooting since you were in diapers! Now, get outta my face!..."
{post within a post} -- Talk to the guys up at Winding Brook, and they will tell you, they have seen a massive increase in membership, as people have been leaving CSA, and driving up to Ashland, and shooting up there!
Lastly, to wrap up this thread... The vote for the absolute worst ever indoor range in the metro Richmond, VA area goes to none other than the old D&P Range off Midlothian Tnpk, which is now called
Dominion Range, by Midlothian Tnpk & Turner Rd.
No... Just no... A thousand times NO... You have been warned!! Honest and very seriously - the place needs to be shut down! It is nasty, dark, rundown, and worst of all - you can't breathe in there due to the awful, outdated, often not working, ventilation system! It's a wonder nobody has gotten brain damage from shooting in the place!!
The "straw that broke the camel's back" for me was years ago, the last time I ever stepped foot in the place.... I witnessed two of "Da Boyz"... Um, I mean, uh, two street dudes with their pants lowered, showing their underwear, baseball hat on sideways, etc... playing around with a loaded 9mm, stepping back with the loaded 9mm, taking cellphone "selfies" of themselves with the loaded 9mm!!!
I immediately freaked out, unloaded my RIA 1911, unloaded my mags, looked at the RSO, who apparently couldn't care less, as he was too involved with a scared, timid, lady shooter, trying to handle a S&W .38 snubby for the first time. I don't know if he was trying to score points, get a date, or what, but he should have been fired! I grabbed my things, ran back upstairs, and complained to the clerks at the desk. To my amazement and shock, they were too busy with customers to acknowledge what I was saying. They did look out through the overhead windows, down onto the range, at "Da Boys", but then, again, to my shock and disbelief, they shrugged their shoulders, and went back to assisting customers!!