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PA State Gameland ranges

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Anyone have experience going to any of the PA state ranges? The one in Lehigh Valley is a little bit over an hour of a drive for me, with a 100 yard outdoor range and another one near Jim Thorpe which is about an hour and a half drive for me and they have 100, 200 & 300 yard ranges. I see it's $30 a year for a permit, anyone have experience there? are they worthwhile? I like EFGA but I'd like to keep my options open. Looking at their range regulations, can you shoot AR's there? Only reason I ask is because rule 6 states:

 

 (b)  Prohibited acts. At a rifle and handgun range located on land under Commission ownership, lease or jurisdiction, except when authorized by the appropriate regional director or a designee, it is unlawful to:

   (1)  Discharge a firearm from any location on the range other than an established shooting station on the firing line.

   (2)  Discharge a firearm at any target other than a paper target placed on a permanent target backboard mounted by the Commission. Users are prohibited from intentionally shooting at or damaging the frames or stands constructed by the Commission to mount permanent target backboards.

   (3)  Discharge armor piercing, incendiary, explosive, tracer or multiple projectile ammunition.

   (4)  Be intoxicated, use or possess an intoxicating beverage or controlled substance on the range.

   (5)  Discharge an automatic firearm.

   (6)  Load or discharge a firearm that contains more than six rounds of single projectile ammunition.

   (7)  Shoot clay birds anywhere except areas designated by the Director by signs stating that clay bird shooting is permitted.

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oh ok, so that only applies to handguns, not rifles. Good to know. Are these ranges good to go to? 

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I was also considering going to Davis in Goshen, but my instincts say regardless of what the laws are in New Jersey to shoot my AR's, it's probably wise to not go in to NY with one.

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16 hours ago, JR88USMC said:

oh ok, so that only applies to handguns, not rifles. Good to know. Are these ranges good to go to? 

No, it applies to both. You just can't load more than 6 rounds.

Which PAGC range in the Lehigh valley. There used to be one at Lake Nockamixon, but it's been closed for years AFAIK.

Adios,

Pizza Bob

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I have used several ranges on PA gamelands.  I currently use the lehigh range off of PA 100.  I used to live in the poconos and i was at the ranges in Tobyhanna  and Nesquehoning many times over the past few years,  and one out near Dubois which even has a canopy over the shooting seats.  I have heard a few negative things about the ranges, but in have never seen problems when i was there, and i have been using them for the past 6 years.  For me, the $30 is a bargain.

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I've shot at the Tobyhanna and Wallenpaupack ranges. As someone else said at $30 it's a bargain. You do have to watch the other shooters. On a rare occasion i've seen a stupid human trick such as a guy on the 50 yard rifle range just walking down to change a target while several people were shooting on the 25 yard pistol range which normally isn't an issue except there is no berm separating the 2 ranges.

I called a quick cease fire and myself and another guy went to politely remind this gentleman that he should ask for a cease fire when he wants to change targets. His reply was " you guys are 20 yards to my right what's the problem"?

I guess he never heard of a ricochet or poor marksmanship. He did ask for a cease fire the next few times he wanted to change his target though.

As to round counts I thought it was only 3 in a rifle and 6 in a handgun but I could be mistaken. 

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PA state ranges can attract an undesirable element at times.  Look for gun club ranges all over the NE PA area.  Have one just across the DWG area where membership is the same price (East Bangor Sportsman's Assn,).  In fact they have quite a few NJ members.  Most will ask for copy of your FID card as they require signed forms for background checks of PA applicants.

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4 hours ago, 1LtCAP said:

i'd be interested in learning more about these too, as i fear that very soon we won't be able to shoot our fun stuff here.......

I stopped at Sarco today before I went to EFGA and asked one of the guys about the gameland ranges, he told me don't go alone whatever you do because it isn't regulated. (although this could be their way of not wanting out of staters using their land) EFGA is a solid range as well, I have no complaints, but sometimes it's nice to be able to shoot some medium distances (2-300 yards like the one near jim thorpe). For yourself, join EFGA, I can't speak for what it's like on the weekends because I haven't gone on a weekend yet, but I go during the week days on my days off and there is no one there, it's a beautiful thing when you can shoot at your own pace, call cease fire's when you want. Like today I was there for 5 hours, more than half the time I was there, I was by myself and it was perfect for sighting in my new scope on my AR-308. Then for the remainder of the time I was there another guy showed up and it was cool. He was sighting in a AR-pistol and we would go cold every 20-30 minutes or so, or if one of us wanted to go cold for whatever reason, we did.

 

As far as a day off goes, it doesn't get much better than a range all to yourself and being able to shoot for a few hours. I honestly shot less rounds through both of my rifles in that time than I do when I go to an indoor public range. I feel like when I go to RTSP or TTC I'm trying to shoot as many rounds as possible in an hour.

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That doesn't sound fun at all. I guess on the positive side you're less likely to mag dump and rapid fire.

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7 hours ago, JR88USMC said:

That doesn't sound fun at all. I guess on the positive side you're less likely to mag dump and rapid fire.

It's three rounds per mag. I bring 10 mags so i'm OK with it for the price.

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so...this may be off topic a bit......but.....are there any outdoor ranges in pa near'ish to philly? as in..less than an hours drive from cherry hill area?

 i can't see going onto game land if i'm gonna be limited to less than i will be here shortly.......

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There's Wiccen's range near New Hope, 100 yard rifle range but it's pay to play every time. Other than that there are so many Rod & Gun Clubs in PA. I like Easton Fish & Game because it doesn't require a sponsor and it's cheap. From what I see it looks like most clubs in Southeast PA are trap ranges, probably due to the heavy population around Philly. Gotta go up to Lehigh Valley, the Poconos or west inland if you want to shoot rifles somewhere

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That's OK......maybe make a weekend out of it.....would like to see what a nice place to shoot looks like again...use to shoot up in Wallingford at Blue Trails many years ago when I lived in Ct.  back then they also had many museums and collections like Winchester, in New Haven...Marlin, Remington, Mossberg, Colt and High Standard.....it was nice.

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