Why no shotguns on public ranges?

[Va boy]

What is the deal with the ranges not allowing buckshot or slugs? Sometimes a person needs to pattern a shotgun or sight in a slug gun.

 

[CviewGarand]

Well I can only speak for the range that I work for (Shoal River Sporting Clays). Buckshot is prohibited because of the distance to our pattern board, along with the fact that beyond the berm we have set up are trap machines. That buckshot will A: tear up our pattern board pretty bad, and B: If it goes over the berm, there's a chance that pellets could impact the traps behind it. Unless you're willing to shell out a few thousand dollars for the traps we have, we're being more safe than sorry. As for slugs, we'll only allow slugs out of a rifled barrel. The reason here is simple. Roughly 785 to 800 yards immediately behind our range, someone has built a housing development. We do not want to take a chance of a bullet of any kind leaving our property and hitting a home, car, or worse, a person. The rifled barrels keep more control over the slug, making it more like a large bore rifle, rather than a shotgun.

I hope that helps.

 

[Va boy]

Foster slugs shot through smooth bores stabilize fine. I see no sense in thinking they will leave the berm area, especially with the tubes you have in place. Not sure what you mean about pattern boards as I have not shot on your range. I guess I would want to pattern buckshot outside the tubes so I totally understand the rationale there. The other ranges are the same in their prohibition though. Do they have the same residential areas? Any others out there to chime in?

 

[CviewGarand]

By pattern board, I mean a fixed position you can attach a paper target to, to check the shot pattern. The position we use is about 15-20 yards in distance, so bird shot doesn't do much. With buckshot, however, it would tear up the target holder something fierce and we'd be replacing it constantly. I think that's probably the biggest reason for a range restricting buckshot.

 

[Va boy]

Thanks

 

[FUPAGUNT]

Because public ranges suck.. Unfortunately around here they got you by the balls because unless you know someone with land, you would have no place to shoot..

 

[Rebuilt]

At santa rosa shooting center the target stands get chewed up pretty bag by pistols, i can only think about how bad those wood stands would be destroyed by buck

 

[Va boy]

I totally get the fact the target stands cannot take shotgun abuse. However, I believe a large target frame at the end of the firing line, portable so it can be removed when not needed, can be used to occasionally acommodate the few that may want to pattern buckshot. Shooters can supply their own target cardboard. I need just a few shots to figure the most effecient load and the gun would be cased.

 

[Gravity3694]

I see no reason why shotguns can't be used on pistol ranges.

 

[CviewGarand]

As Rebuilt said, it would tear the hell out of the target stands.

 

[Shley65]

ERML range lets you shoot buck and slugs

 

[gulfwaterman]

styx river has a pattern board but im not sure about rules on buckshot.

 

[Hopin4aboat]

Probably a no since they won't let you pattern steel shot bigger than no 6 which is pretty useless for steel shot.