THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, July 1, 1994 TAG: 9407010399
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B1 EDITION: NORTH CAROLINA
SOURCE: BY LANE DeGREGORY, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: STUMPY POINT LENGTH: Long : 105 lines
Outer Banks arms enthusiasts have been gunning for their own shooting range for almost five years. Now, they're all fired up. The area's first public rifle range will open at 11 a.m. Saturday.
``Natives of this area used to just go out in their yards and shoot whenever they felt like it,'' said Bill Beadling, a retired Army colonel who constructed most of the new range himself. ``Now, the barrier islands have become too crowded. Shooting in residential areas has become too dangerous.
``We needed to get out of town and get our own place to practice.''
Located on the Dare County mainland on a 22-acre tract adjacent to the construction and demolition landfill site, the Dare County Shooting Range is almost six miles away from the closest house.
The outdoor facility, which is still partially under construction, contains four separate ranges: for rifle, pistol, archery and skeet shooting. It also houses a 250-by-50-foot field for radio-controlled airplane pilots. It will be open to the public, members of the Outer Banks Gun Club, and area law enforcement officials.
``Right now, I have to travel 120 miles to get to the closest gun club. The only ones in this area are for police,'' Beadling said. ``I believe in the rights of American citizens to bear arms - and use them. People should have a place to shoot in safety.''
Dare County commissioners donated the land and $10,000 for the shooting range's construction. The N.C. Wildlife Commission gave a one-time gift of $50,000 for the project. And 160 members of the Outer Banks Gun Club provided the remaining money necessary - and most of the labor.
Total cost of the range is about $75,000.
``The Wildlife Commission's money is from the 1937 Pitt-Robinson Act which diverts funds generated by firearms and equipment sales into a separate fund,'' explained County Commissioner Clarence Skinner, who helped start the shooting range. ``It's not tax money. It's gun money. And this is the first range in the state constructed with those funds.''
Although the county officially owns the public rifle range, the Outer Banks Gun Club will oversee its daily operations. Skinner estimates upkeep will be between $10,000 and $15,000 annually. He hopes user fees and the wildlife commission will fund that cost. If not, the gun club and county may have to make up the difference.
The range is constructed on muddy flat lands within eyesight of a 50-foot-tall pile of construction waste. Shooting alleys are surrounded by 14- to 20-foot high berms of earth, covered with grass. Concrete slabs provide shooters a dry place to stand.
The rifle range contains 50- and 100-yard alleys with 22 separate firing positions and paper targets for muzzle-loading, semi-automatic and other weapons. The pistol range has 25- and 50-yard ranges, designed for NRA-style competitions. Archers will have use of 75-yard-long ranges with fixed and field targets - including simulated running deer.
But the pride of the place is the trap house sporting clays course.
On a separate grassy range behind the rifle and pistol alleys, a $7,000 machine sends clay pigeons soaring into the air. Shooters get 50 fake birds fired from 13 different spots for $15 - $12 for gun club members. There are six separate sizes and styles of pigeons, including a ground-bound rabbit disc which rolls and jumps just like a fleeing hare.
``This is an English sport that's more than 100 years old,'' said shooting range master Walt Willis, who helped Beadling build most of the range. ``It's really a challenge to shoot those moving targets.''
Annual Gun Club memberships are $25 each, and club members may use the range any time for free. Visitors are welcome all hours as well, for a $5 per day fee.
Although most users will use their own guns, Beadling said beginners and people who don't own firearms are welcome. Gun Club members will gladly lend their pieces, he said, and eventually rifles will be available to rent.
Ammunition is available at the site for $5 per box. Skeet shooting activities have separate fees. Wooden benches and tables for steady-armed shooting also are available for free.
``Eventually, we hope to have a covered area for shooting in bad weather, a permanent caretaker to man the place and a campsite for out-of-town shooters,'' Skinner said.
Hunter safety training courses, beginners shooting classes and self-defense classes may begin on the range as early as late August. Beadling hopes to bring national and international competitions to the new facility. The U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service also plans to conduct classes at the range.
``This is a non-profit, public, handicapped-accessible shooting range that's really for everyone in Dare County,'' Beadling said. ``It's an on-going project that will grow and be open year-round. Right now, it's the first corridor in the area - maybe in the state - that's open for public shooting.'' ILLUSTRATION: Photo
DREW C. WILSON/Staff
Range master Walter Willis prepares to fire his M1A1 rifle. The
$75,000 shooting range was financed by Dare County, the State
Wildlife Commission and the Outer Banks Gun Club.
Graphic
DARE COUNTY SHOOTING RANGE
At 11 a.m. Saturday, Dare County Commissioner Clarence Skinner
will open the area's first public shooting range with a ceremonial
shot fired from a Civil War-era black-powder muzzle-loading rifle.
The Dare County Shooting Range, located on the mainland adjacent
to the construction demolition landfill site, will be open from 10
a.m. to 6 a.m. weekends and at least one weekday per week.
For more information, or to join the Outer Banks Gun Club, call
(919) 441-6512 or (919) 491-8678.
by CNB