Range Report: Washington National Forest
We frequently visit my in-laws in Virginia for long weekends and such, so I thought I’d try to find a place to shoot while there. My father-in-law had mentioned that the Washington National Forest had a public range, so I did a little research and found this page describing several ranges in the park. On our latest visit, I set aside a little time to do a recon mission to the one nearest my in-laws’ house: Hite Hollow Shooting Range.
This range is open from sunrise to sunset every day for firing rifles, pistols and shotguns at stationary targets. Moving targets such as clay pigeons and bottles are prohibited. From Staunton, take Route 254 west to Buffalo Gap, then Route 42 south about eight miles to Augusta Springs. Take Route 845 about a half-mile to Forest Development Road (FDR) 82, and follow this road about one mile to the range.
The range consists of two sets of lanes, one for rifles and the other for pistols (although it’s not a hard rule; there were some guys sighting in their new .22 rifles at the pistol range). There are 6 benches for rifles and two for pistols. You need to bring some kind of stand to affix your targets; the only thing there is a piece of rusty wire fence. There is no fee; the range is maintained by the Commonwealth of Virginia and that Evil Politician-Manipulating Gun Lobby, the NRA.
The place was pretty busy when I visited on New Year’s Day, but not terribly so. There didn’t seem to be a need to wait very long to use a lane. I got the impression that there was a pretty high spectator:shooter ratio. Made sense to me; it was a beautiful, warm day, and you can only watch so much football.
Unfortunately, the drive out took a little longer than I thought and I hadn’t set aside much time for the trip, so I didn’t get a good look at everything. In particular, I’m not sure of the exact distances for the lanes, but based on the data for the other range sites, I’d say that the pistol lanes were about 25 yards, and the rifle lanes were about 50 and 100 yards. I also only had my cell phone to take pictures with, so I apologize for the crummy pictures.
In summary, the range is quite nice, especially for the price. It’s definitely a good place for someone who can’t afford to join a shooting club or who doesn’t live close to a commercial range.
Click to view pictures:
Rifle lanes:
Handgun lanes:
January 4th, 2005 at 1:22 pm
i did not know the sky was sea green in Virginia
January 4th, 2005 at 1:24 pm
Yeah, like I said: those pictures aren’t the greatest.
January 4th, 2005 at 2:38 pm
Eh, don’t feel bad. Better than my cell camera.
Does remind me of an episode of Wonder Years, though. The kids are pestering their dad to replace their black and white TV with an All! New! Color! TV!!!
“Those people are walking on a beach. I wonder if the ocean is blue. It’s been blue every time I’ve been to the ocean, but you can’t be sure.”
“Look. That woman is eating a gray banana.”
January 4th, 2005 at 6:41 pm
I was just kidding, the pics are really good for a camera phone
i was impresed, then decided that i was jealous because i do not even have a regualr digitial camera, so i had to make fun of it.