New range in Liberty Hill?

[A-R]

I overheard one of the gun counter guys at GT Distributors today mention a new range opening in Liberty Hill area (far north Austin). Some quick Google-foo and I think I found it .... http://texasshootingrange.com/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Looks AWESOME! Exactly what we've been needing up here on north edge of Austin area. Austin Rifle Club is great, but much too far of a drive from Cedar Park/Leander area. Liberty Hill is about same distance as Eagle Peak range in Jonestown and this seems like it will be much nicer.

Anyone know any details about this place?

[dcphoto]

Outstanding. I drove right past it 2 days ago and didn't even notice. I'm going to drive out and check it out tomorrow.

[slinco]

The had a semi grand opening last Sat but I'm not sure its officially open yet. Looks like a pretty big operation with firearms sales, ammo, archery equipment_ I think they even plan to put a restaurant in there! it's only 5 min from the house, I'll go by today and check it out.

[slinco]

OK, just drove by, sign says Now Open. I will stop in when I get a chance.

[dcphoto]

Just got home from shooting at The Texas Shooting Range. Although they are open, range construction is not quite completed yet. That being said, this place is going to be a great facility. They have 6 pistol "bays," a pistol range for shooting fixed distance, and rifle further down that range. Even a 1000 yard range. Right now they have the office set up in the CHL classroom, but they say construction on the main building and the restaurant will be starting soon. There will also be archery facilities, but I didn't get any info on that.

Couldn't get any photos. Camera battery died last night and I lost the charger when we moved. Still waiting for amazon to deliver the new one.

[slinco]

What are they charging to shoot? Do you have to pay for each range you use or is it one price?
Thanks for the report!

[dcphoto]

What are they charging to shoot? Do you have to pay for each range you use or is it one price?
Thanks for the report!

It's two different pay scales. One if you buy a membership, one if you don't. For a member ($100 for 1 year) it's $6/day except for rifle over 200(?) yards. Long range rifle is $10, but includes everything else. For non-members, it's $16/day except for long range rifle, and I don't remember how much for the non-member long range.

Overall costs are going to be similar to eagle peak if you shoot a lot.

[HankB]

It will be interesting to see if they try to . . . "encourage" . . . you to buy their ammo by banning FMJ the way Eagle Peak does . . .

[A-R]

Went out to this new range this morning and shot with member dcphoto and I am THOROUGHLY impressed. This is a first-rate operation that, even in a semi-complete state, is IMHO already the best outdoor shooting facility available to the general public in the greater Austin area. Eagle Peak is an afterthought at this point. Lonestar down in Lockhart is OK, but this is much larger and much better. This will rival or surpass Austin Rifle Club when it's complete. Only range I've been to around here that is better is the DPS Training Facility, and they're not open to the public (I asked ).

The place was hopping when I got there at 8:30. They had a charity skeet-shooting contest and a lot of folks were signing up and milling around waiting for that event to begin. I read over the three-page release & indemnity form, intialed and signed it, paid my $16 and guy at counter told me I could go on down to "tactical area #1". They have 6 or more very large tactical shooting areas - three sides blocked by 20-foot berms, at least 50 yards deep and probably 30 yards wide. I just backed up the pickup and start setting up some cardboard targets I brung from home.

We were very free to practice to our ability. I was rapid firing, drawing from holster, using "cover" etc. We even set up some IDPA-like "courses" to practice different scenarios with multiple targets. dcphoto ran through our mini course with his tactical shotgun full of buckshot. No problems. A nice lady drove by in a golf cart about halfway through to ask if we needed anything. Other than that we were free to practice safely, completely covered by the large three-sided berm.

I'll definitely be signing up for the annual membership on my next visit - $100 per year, reduces your daily fee to $6 instead of $16. I'm sure I'll use this place more than 10 times in a year so it will be worth it. Will also probably hold CHL class qualifications here once I get that up and running.

I encourage all Austin-area members to give these guys a try. You will be impressed.

[OldCannon]

I encourage all Austin-area members to give these guys a try. You will be impressed.

I'm definitely dropping the dimes for a life membership as soon as I can.

[O6nop]

So, without going there, unless there' something I missed,here's my take:
Cons:
1) It's $6 to $10 per range to shoot in addition to your annual membership dues.
2) Public range - anyone ... anyone... can drop in as they want and shoot.
3) No safety class required.
4) no validation of background check.
.............What's the FMJ rule?

Pros:
1) It does have a skeet/trap range
2) Long distance shooting, up to 1000 yd range.

It sounds like it may have great success, I hope they have great success, but it's not necessarily for everybody. What gets me is that Austin Rifle Club has been looking for land in the Austin area to expand their club facilities and this sounds like it would have been a great place for them to acquire. I wonder why they didn't jump on it?

[dcphoto]

So, without going there, unless there' something I missed,here's my take:
Cons:
1) It's $6 to $10 per range to shoot in addition to your annual membership dues.
2) Public range - anyone ... anyone... can drop in as they want and shoot.
3) No safety class required.
4) no validation of background check.
.............What's the FMJ rule?

Pros:
1) It does have a skeet/trap range
2) Long distance shooting, up to 1000 yd range.

It sounds like it may have great success, I hope they have great success, but it's not necessarily for everybody. What gets me is that Austin Rifle Club has been looking for land in the Austin area to expand their club facilities and this sounds like it would have been a great place for them to acquire. I wonder why they didn't jump on it?

1) Yes, it's $6 to shoot, but those fees keep the fully staffed range open.
2) True, anyone can drop in, but I don't understand the problem. Anybody can join ARC. The "background check" could be forged easily, and only covers convictions in Texas.
3) The range orientation you get at ARC only provides an appearance of safety, not actual safety. So no real difference. It's still up to individuals at the range to act responsibly.
4) See #2.

The FMJ rule refers to Eagle Peak. They don't allow FMJ rifle ammunition. There are several "reasons" given for the rule, but they are mostly bologna. The most legit "reason" is that neighbors complained about finding rifle ammo in their yards. They require hollow point/soft point/ballistic tipped ammo because "it won't ricochet." I think they do it so they can sell overpriced rifle ammo to a (somewhat) captive customer. The closest place to buy ammo (that I know of) is at least 15-20 minutes away on 1431.

The skeet/trap ranges look very nice. I haven't shot them yet, but they look top notch. I don't shoot long distance so I haven't given that range a look, but I don't know of another 1000 yard range within 1.5 hours drive.

I think (not certain about this) that the land was already owned, and they didn't have to go find it.

[Saintkingdom]

Would it be possible for someone to take some pictures of this place and post them? for those not in the area and dont want to make the drive for nothing. Don't get me wrong, this place "sounds" nice but I've only seen one pic of the place done and it didn't show much.

1) $6/$16 is not a lot to ask for for an all day pass. Especially for a high production place(if it is indeed that).
2)Tru, any yahoo can plunk down a $20 and walk right in but it is up to the responsible shooters to take notice of your surroundings and take action when you see something wrong. and plus a place where you can shoot a gun is always a dangerous place!
3) I agree for some kind of initial breifing besides "you know how to shoot? ok go on in." but yes safety is an illusion.
4)this would be good for returning trouble makers.

[O6nop]

Don't get me wrong, I think this place is going to be great for the shooting community, I think everyone has their own ideas of what is right for them. Believe me, the concept of no range officers on duty at a facility such as Austin Rifle Club, can be scary, but it is as safe as or safer than any place.

I don't understand the "safety is an illusion" or an "appearance" statements. When is education and encouragement of safety an insignificant effort? (paraphrased by me). ARC has a 4 hour orientation and safety class and a required demonstration of basic gun handling proficiency in the presence of RSO's before you can join. No place else has that.

I can just see some of the less responsible types going to a place like this because it's too much hassle to go through a background check or an orientation/safety session.
I don't know how easy it is to forge a background check, I use my CHL. I would think it's a little more difficult than just checkmarking off some boxes and saying you're good. But if it's that easy, I would imagine the NICS is pretty much a waste of time, too. Wouldn't that be a jailable offense? Not worth the risk.

Also, from what I can tell, the daily charges are a per shooting-type charge. You can't shoot pistol then shotgun then rifle without paying a fee for each range. I may be wrong. Even Eagle Peak allows all day access for one price. Their main drawback is the FMJ policy. My early question about FMJ was meant to ask, does this new place allow FMJ, what is the policy? I didn't mean to ask the definition of the "FMJ rule"... sorry about the confusion.

Again, I'm glad to see expansion of shooting opportunities in the area. I don't mean to be putting anyplace down. An "accident" could occur at any of these places that would put a damper on keeping an already too anti-gun town like Austin, relatively gun friendly.

[dcphoto]

The range fee covers everything except the long range range. However, if you pay for the long range range, you are entitled to shoot everything else. The only thing that would cost extra is trap/skeet, which you would still have to pay per round.

A 4 hour safety class doesn't make the range any safer. It is still up to individuals to put safety into practice, and without RSOs to enforce those safety rules, ARC is just as dangerous as any public range. No matter how you slice it, you are still occupying a range with persons of unknown experience and attitudes towards safety. Further, there are always threads on the forum discussing range violations. Those violations have lead to an extensive list of rules about what you can, and cannot, do on each particular range.

I'm not saying there is a safety problem there, just that it isn't any safer than any other quality range. The suggestion that it is safer because the members take a class, or have a CHL, is misleading at best. In fact, some of the least safe persons I've ever shot with were in my CHL class, despite multiple safety briefings by the instructors.

Please don't misunderstand, I'm not trying to say ARC is a bad or unsafe range. I'm just trying to say that the "safety factor" provided by a range orientation only gives the appearance of safety. Actual safety would require RSOs on the range to enforce safety rules.