Tennesseans Gun Range Advice

[STXhammer]

I have been trying to find a gun range that I can practice shooting off of my shooting sticks but every range I have been to doesn’t seem fit for it. Any recommendations would be appreciated. Thanks!

 

[Joker12]

I live in Michigan so no advice on location but I have found that sportsmans clubs in rural areas that have a range are a delight to use. The range at the club that I use is open to everyone, no restrictive rules just common sense. At state run ranges up here they insist that a shooter must stay at the bench and only one round in the firearm at a time. Look for a small club and I'm sure you will enjoy it. Good luck!

 

[Ontario Hunter]

The important thing about sticks is learning how to set up the gun and adjust while you're on them. You can do that without pulling a trigger. Find someplace that has irregular surface to practice setting up and readjusting.

 

[JG26Irish_2]

TN is a big state. Where are you located? I know a couple of good ranges that would suffice but they are both in the Eastern and far Eastern end of TN and might not be worth the drive if you are in Nashville or Memphis. For learning to master sticks I did 90% of my practice shooting a suppressed 22lr in my back yard at 1/2" diameter Dum Dum suckers at 35y distance. I placed them into a large earth berm for a safe backstop and used the suppressor to avoid disturbing my neighbors. Hitting a 1/2" tgt at 35y with the 22lr is roughly equal to hitting a 3" kill zone at 210y with a 308 or 7mm. You get lots of time setting and mounting the sticks which is important and you get the real trigger time and immediate feedback of hits and misses without burning hundreds of heavy rifle rounds or wearing out the bbl of your favorite hunting rifle.

Precision marksmanship being a perishable skill, I would practice and hit 5 tgts per day until I could hit all five without a miss. Then once per week to maintain skill. Closer to hunt date, I would ramp up again and finish with 2-3 range trips to shoot the big guns at longer ranges of 200 or 300y. This builds high confidence for the shooter and lower real cost and lower time cost. My shooting club is a one hour drive and if I had to go there every day to practice it would not happen. But I can pop into the garage and shoot 5 rds in less than 10min time every day. Be sure to get and use the same type sticks as your PH will have on hand or bring yours with you on safari. I found the quad sticks to be 100% more accurate and stable than the tripod traditional type but the quads take a few more seconds to set up and mount so the practice is critical to have that muscle memory cemented in place. These sort of prep will add many hours of enjoyment to your hunt as the preparation is half the fun. I use a 22lr rifle that is similar in stock style and weight to my hunting rifles to further aid in building correct habits. The 22lr does not have to be a tack driver but needs to be capable of 1moa more or less. In my case, I use a Sako Quad, a CZ, Winchester or a Bergara that is able to hit the Dum Dums from a bench out to 100y reliably. This also aids in wind reading since the 22lr at 50y is about the same ballistically as a high powered centerfire at 300-400y.

 

[Keelebilly]

I’m in Manchester. You’re welcome to come shoot at my place

 

[odonata]

I have a state-run game & fish shooting range near my home that is really nice but is visited by a lot of shooters, has a range safety office & a lot of rules & restrictions.

If I want to do my own thing & have a lot more freedom, then I head out into a national forest & find a remote unattended federal range (Tennessee also has unattended ranges in state Wildlife Manage Areas). Out there, I have a lot more flexibility even if I don't have the nicer amenities that come with the range near town. I need to be courteous to other shooters but 90% the time, I have the range all to myself & can do as I please especially if I go on a weekday. Tennessee is a long skinny state. Crossing over into a neighboring state to shoot is always an option depending on how close you are to the border.

The Jessieville range in the Ouachita National Forest

I’m in Manchester. You’re welcome to come shoot at my place

I thought "Nice offer but what would the odds be that another AH member would be passing through a random town in Tennessee?". Ha! In my case 100% as I pass through Manchester on my way from Little Rock to visit my daughter in Chattanooga multiple times a year. It's a small world sometimes.