Urban sprawl vs. your gun range. . .Guess who loses!

[plinker]

I'm a brand new member to this board which I just happened to stumble across a few days ago. The reason I stumbled across this board started with my ongoing quest to find a good smallbore range.

I began shooting under the guidance of my father - a devoted competitive pistol shooter - and a shooting coach friend of his whose daughter set some Camp Perry top scores during her competitive shooting career. The smallbore range was located in some bottom land, not far from the city, which was nice for a number of reasons. First of all, it was big enough to field regional championships, having a firing line of approx. 80 slots. Second of all, it boasted a very active Junior shooting program. We had small matches, practice sessions, monthly meetings, etc. As Jr. shooters we got to know each other, the shooting community and got our competitive feet wet. I became a very good competitor. In high school, I was a member of the ROTC rifle team and lettered every year in shooting. Then, I went off to college and continued my shooting career in collegiate competition (this pre-dated NCAA). We were one of the top teams in the region and I also lettered there every year. During my absence from home, my shooting world changed. Our city grew quickly and encroached on the area around the range. Development went crazy to the point where keeping the range in it's old location would be a costly legal battle. The land sold, and the range disappeared.

It never came back. There is no longer an active shooting community. There is no longer a Jr shooting program. There are a few urban ranges in the city, but for a competitive smallbore shooter, they are poor substitutes for what once was. I don't know what the solution will eventually be for me. Maybe I'll get a chance to shoot on another range every now and then, but as far away as they are now, I'm afraid my competitive days may be over.

[Josed]

This is a common thing in our Country this days. Developers are always on the praul for more land to steal. Our local Trap/Skeet club has been under attack by a developer for the last five years. I don't know the answer to this delema, but something has to be done at some point.
The shooting sports are not the evil the media has maid it to be. It is probabli the safest most holesome sport out there. Good luck in your quest to find a sutable range to partisipate in the sport.