Winter Rifle Range

[grimbeaver]

No one probably wants to talk about winter yet but I would like to plan ahead. Should I want to do some 100+ yard rifle shooting outdoors this winter what clubs within driving distance of the metro area are open when there is snow on the ground? Guessing odds are I will have to get on the membership wait list somewhere.

[Sigfan220]

I don't know of any that close. Some don't plow on a regular basis so having 4x4 is nice. That leaves you with a ton of options. I like Gopher Campfire in Hutchinson and Beaverbrook in East Bethel. Gopher does not have a waiting list, I don't believe Beaverbrook does but I am not certain. There are plenty of other nice clubs, many have waiting lists.

[ex-LT]

Guessing odds are I will have to get on the membership wait list somewhere.

That's likely your best bet, as I don't know of any clubs in the metro area that have public hours in the winter.

Given your location, I would say your best options are: Beaverbrook, Forest Lake, or Bald Eagle. According to their websites, all three currently have openings.

FLSC has a pretty high buy-in ($526 one time fee, plus $175/year membership fee)
BESA requires sponsorship by a current member. $100 initiation fee, $75/year dues plus 8 work hours.
Beaverbrook $130 dues, $40 initiation fee.

[870TC]

Both Bald Eagle Sportsmans association and American Legion Post 435 are plowed and open all winter. Both have no waiting list.
http://www.besamn.com/
http://www.post435gunclub.org/

[hard h2o]

Oakdale Gun Club (OGC) is open to members year round. 100 yard and 200 meter ranges.

membership opens in the spring however so get on the waiting list now.

[grimbeaver]

Thanks for all the suggestions guys. I'll have to spend some time looking into them and figure out what I want to do.

[BigDog58]

Don't know how far you are from the Cokato area? But Rainbow is a cheap outdoor range. There have been Springtime flooding periods that prevented shooting. Winter shooting has never been an issue for me, at Rainbow

[andrewP]

BESA requires sponsorship by a current member. $100 initiation fee, $75/year dues plus 8 work hours.

I'm happy to be the OPs sponsor @ BESA, but the longest range there is 100 yards, so it might or might not fit with the goals in question.

[OldmanFCSA]

I have a local farmer that lets me shoot 800 yards, but im still looking for a full mile if you find anything.

[grimbeaver]

This summer I've been driving up to DelTone-Luth but they are closed most of the winter. That's about an hour drive for me which is about the max I would like to drive.

* Rainbow is about an hour from me and nice to see that they have 200-300yd too so will probably look into them.
* Beaverbrook is a lot closer to me so even though only 100 yards will have to check them out. Also nice that I could go there and throw my own clays if I wanted to.
* Bald Eagle Sportmans is fairly close and looks like it has some nice facilities. Thanks for the offer andrewP and I will let you know. I may try and go during public hours sometime soon and check it out.

* Forest Lake would be tempting but based on the picture of their shelter it doesn't look very friendly to left-handed shooters. Also the cost is quite high so I'm hesitant on that one.
* Oakdale Gun Club I've heard is pretty hard to get into. I know people who are members but they are not people I see or talk to regularly.
* American Legion Post 435 would be a decent drive. I would have to join the Sons of The American Legion first. There are other options closer to me with similar facilities so I think this one is out.
* Gopher Campfire well would be a bit of a drive too, I would actually drive by Rainbow to get there.

Now I just gotta find time to check out the top 3 and figure out which one to join.

Anyone know anything about Waverly Gun Club? The look to be a little closer but the way they word their work requirements is a little concerning.

[BigDog58]

This summer I've been driving up to DelTone-Luth but they are closed most of the winter. That's about an hour drive for me which is about the max I would like to drive.

* Rainbow is about an hour from me and nice to see that they have 200-300yd too so will probably look into them.
* Beaverbrook is a lot closer to me so even though only 100 yards will have to check them out. Also nice that I could go there and throw my own clays if I wanted to.
* Bald Eagle Sportmans is fairly close and looks like it has some nice facilities. Thanks for the offer andrewP and I will let you know. I may try and go during public hours sometime soon and check it out.

* Forest Lake would be tempting but based on the picture of their shelter it doesn't look very friendly to left-handed shooters. Also the cost is quite high so I'm hesitant on that one.
* Oakdale Gun Club I've heard is pretty hard to get into. I know people who are members but they are not people I see or talk to regularly.
* American Legion Post 435 would be a decent drive. I would have to join the Sons of The American Legion first. There are other options closer to me with similar facilities so I think this one is out.
* Gopher Campfire well would be a bit of a drive too, I would actually drive by Rainbow to get there.

Now I just gotta find time to check out the top 3 and figure out which one to join.


There is a caveat at Rainbow. The only way to shoot 200-300 is to put up a barricade across the road that goes down to the other ranges, including the 100 yard. If anyone wants to shoot at the 100 or any other range downwind from the 200-300 (they are in line with each other and the 100) you will have to stop shooting the longer ranges until the ranges are once again clear. Rainbow, also floods out frequently in the spring. I was a member for 4 years and only was able to shoot the 300 twice, and both of those were during the winter, mid-week.

Anyone know anything about Waverly Gun Club? The look to be a little closer but the way they word their work requirements is a little concerning.

[cs tunes]

There is a caveat at Rainbow. The only way to shoot 200-300 is to put up a barricade across the road that goes down to the other ranges, including the 100 yard. If anyone wants to shoot at the 100 or any other range downwind from the 200-300 (they are in line with each other and the 100) you will have to stop shooting the longer ranges until the ranges are once again clear. Rainbow, also floods out frequently in the spring. I was a member for 4 years and only was able to shoot the 300 twice, and both of those were during the winter, mid-week.

They've addressed this temporarily by designating certain days/hours for 2-300yd range use, one of which is on Sunday morning for a few hours.

[karlobag]

If you want to check out Beaverbrook, come up on Sunday, September 11th from 11:00am -to- 1:00pm. That is when they have their new member orientation and tour.

Beaverbrook pro-rates their memberships, so if you join this year, your membership fee carries over through 2017.

Otherwise, PM me and I can probably meet you up there and give you a tour.

[grimbeaver]

If you want to check out Beaverbrook, come up on Sunday, September 11th from 11:00am -to- 1:00pm. That is when they have their new member orientation and tour.

Beaverbrook pro-rates their memberships, so if you join this year, your membership fee carries over through 2017.

Otherwise, PM me and I can probably meet you up there and give you a tour.

I went ahead and filled out the membership form online and am going to go up there next Sunday for the tour.

[bummey]

Oakdale Gun Club (OGC) is open to members year round. 100 yard and 200 meter ranges.

membership opens in the spring however so get on the waiting list now.

Membership renewals are deadlined in February. When I joined, I got my membership notification in October, one month after I put in a wait list reservation. If you sign up for the wait list now, you may get in at the beginning of the next cycle.