I am in southern Monmouth and either of these ranges are within a reasonable distance from me.   I am primarily interested in using the muzzle loader range.  

Which of these would be a better choice in terms of being less crowded on an average day, and which one is better maintained?  

The only other WMA range i've been to is Makepeace, and although it was a nice spot, its kind of a long drive form Monmouth county.

Thanks

Stafford the muzzle loader and clay range are the same field. Every 1/4 hour is supposed to be a cold range but few abide by it. I haven’t been to colliers mill yet but stafford is kinda out of way the and not busy during normal weekdays. Obviously we aren’t in normal weekdays currently.

Thanks, maybe ill try Stafford on a weekday.

I spent most of the day at the Collier-Mills range yesterday. Of the seven shooting tables, at most four were in use(including me) at any one time. About the same as  the other times I have been there. 
 

The range is 100 yards. No clay shooting allowed. Shotgun buckshot and slug, Muzzleloaders, rimfire(eg 22lr),  and (new starting this year) centerfire up to and including .30 caliber are all good. 
 

Be sure to have your valid hunting license with you.  The game warden came by twice and checked for valid hunting licenses. (in the prior 10-15 times I have been there, never encountered that.) 

Last time I was out there, Stafford Forge still only had 2 benches to shoot from.

Is this .30 cal rifle thing at all WMA ranges?

EDIT>>> Nevermind. I found it....

*Centerfire rifles up to and including .30 caliber are allowed at the Clinton, Colliers Mills and Millville ranges ONLY

1 hour ago, dajonga said:

Last time I was out there, Stafford Forge still only had 2 benches to shoot from.

Is this .30 cal rifle thing at all WMA ranges?

EDIT>>> Nevermind. I found it....

*Centerfire rifles up to and including .30 caliber are allowed at the Clinton, Colliers Mills and Millville ranges ONLY

Thanks for the info.   Honestly the centerfire thing makes me want to avoid Colliers as this will probably mean bigger crowds there.   

Sucks that there's only 2 benches at Stafford Forge.   Anyone know if there's any rules against bringing your own table?   I have a folding card table in the basement that could probably be pressed into service as a shooting bench.  

I might just keep going to Makepeace.   Its not fun driving over an hour away, but it really is a nice range with plenty of concrete tables, and there are berms at 25 yard intervals which is a nice feature..   

9 hours ago, oldguysrule649 said:

I spent most of the day at the Collier-Mills range yesterday. Of the seven shooting tables, at most four were in use(including me) at any one time. About the same as  the other times I have been there. 
 

The range is 100 yards. No clay shooting allowed. Shotgun buckshot and slug, Muzzleloaders, rimfire(eg 22lr),  and (new starting this year) centerfire up to and including .30 caliber are all good. 
 

Be sure to have your valid hunting license with you.  The game warden came by twice and checked for valid hunting licenses. (in the prior 10-15 times I have been there, never encountered that.) 

thanks for the tip, just printed out my license for the new year.

Your welcome.  Btw, a few additional tips:

1) I take I-195 and get off at exit 16, the exit for Great Adventure.  Turn left toward Great Adventure, continue on 537 and make the left onto Hawkin Road.  Go straight approx 4 miles, the entrance will be on your left.  (When you first get on Hawkin Road, do NOT make the left onto Reeds Road.  My GPS had me do that my first time going there and I ended up in the middle of nowhere.)

2) Once at the CMWMA entrance, the range is 2 miles ahead.  (At about 1.5 miles the road forks.  You need to make a left there. There is a small (like 6") sign pointing left.  Easy to miss.    Then in about 1/2 a mile, you will see a clearing on your left. Turn in there and the archery range will be on your left and gun range ahead.   If you instead reach a lake, then you went past it a bit too far.

3) The parking area is about a 50 yard walk to the shooting positions.  So a cart comes in handy if you have a lot of stuff to lug.

4) Even though there are a few garbage pails there, I bring all my garbage home with me and try to leave the place cleaner than I found it.  

Does anyone have a traffic report from Stafford Forge this week? It is about a 30 minute drive for me to get there.

As I round that last turn on the dirt road, my heart always drops when there are a ton of cars parked there.

When I make that turn and I see ZERO cars, I let out a YESSSSSS! I tend to go on too cold/too hot days just so I can shoot alone. 

It's not that I don't like people, I just like having the range to myself to shoot as I want in solitude.

On 5/26/2020 at 9:40 AM, oldguysrule649 said:

The range is 100 yards. No clay shooting allowed. Shotgun buckshot and slug, Muzzleloaders, rimfire(eg 22lr),  and (new starting this year) centerfire up to and including .30 caliber are all good. 

 

5.56mm NATO is now allowed?

 

 

 

Yes.  I shot 223/556. Both are less than “.30 caliber”. 

7 minutes ago, oldguysrule649 said:

Yes.  I shot 223/556. Both are less than “.30 caliber”. 

 

In New Jersey, at a public range and a Swat Team didn't show up?  Incredible. 

Definitely have to check that out. 

I haven't been the Clinton Range in years. When I did it was weekdays and had the place to myself, probably overrun these days.