Sunday, March 24, 2013

Woodbury Wildlife Area ODNR Range Recon

For the first time, I happened to be in the neighborhood of the Woodbury Wildlife Area ODNR shooting range.  So, I decided to stop by and take a quick look at it.  Sadly, I didn't think to take any pictures.

The Woodbury range has 25 yard, 50 yard, 100 yard, and 200 yard ranges.  They have covered shooting areas with benches.  Unlike the Grand River Range, the parking lot is on the same side of the fence as the range.  You can pull your vehicle right up the bench you want to use.

Check-in is a little different too.  There is a small building just as you enter the fenced area.  The check in sheet is inside the building.  (Recall that entering a building with a state employee is of special concern if you have a CCW license.)  They don't seem to be very aggressive at controlling entry, so I suspect you can go park your vehicle where you want to shoot then walk over to the building to get target backing and sign in.  The fellow manning the station was friendly.

I was there about 4pm on a beautiful Saturday, and there was only a single shooter there out at the 200 yard range.  It doesn't look like you'll need to fight for spot.

Though I didn't not look at it closely, they have throwers for trap or skeet.  Since the ODNR ranges do not deal with money on-site, the currency they use are the daily pass shooting licenses.  1 Pass = 1 Round.  One round consists of 25 launched clays from their automated throwers.  If there is no one there, which seems likely, you can also bring your own clays and launcher or hand thrower and shoot for no cost.

They also appear to have an archery range along the entry road.  It doesn't look quite as nice as the one at Punderson, but certainly seemed functional.

In general, I'd say the range is nicer and far less crowded than the Grand River Wildlife ODNR range.  I hope to return one day when I have more time to actually do some shooting.



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