Cast of Characters:
Alex M. (AM)
Alex H. (AH)
Myself
Weapons:
Colt M-16-style 22LR rifle
S&W .357/.38SPL revolver
Ruger 10/22
Sig Mosquito
Both
of the Alexes are work friends. AM shoots regularly and owns a couple
of guns; AH is new to it and has only shot a handful of times, mostly
with AM and myself.
The morning
of Saturday the 21st, the three of us set off for Parma Woods, a public,
outdoor range operated by the Missouri Department of Conservation. It
was about 30 min. from Overland Park - the trip includes a quick jaunt
through the quaint-looking downtown Parkville.
The
first thing I noticed about Parma Woods is that there are RULES and
they are to be FOLLOWED. The Alexes were having a smoke so I went up to
put my name in and pay. I was holding my range bag in one hand and my
rifle, uncased, in the other hand. I was gripping my rifle behind the
trigger group, finger nowhere near the trigger, and pointing it toward
the ground. Walking to the man who took names I learned that I was
noncompliant in two ways - the rifle bolt was closed and it was pointed
at the ground. I put my bag down to lock the bolt open and was informed
that it had to be pointing up while I did so. I am not complaining about
all the safety here, but if you go just be aware that this is not the
kind of place that plays it fast and loose with the rules.
AH and I were new so we had to watch a 6-minute video about procedures. Boy are there procedures! Here's how the range works:
-Cease-fires are called every 15 minutes. When cease fire is called,
you must fully unload your weapon, lock the bolt open, place the weapon
in either the pistol or rifle rack with the muzzle in the air, leave
the booth, hook up a yellow plastic chain in front of the booth, and
change a colored metal placard from orange to green.
-When everyone has followed this procedure, the target area is open
to patrons to go out, change their targets, or move their target holder
from one of the target sockets to another, closer or farther away.
-When done with this you sit back on the bench outside the booth,
switch your placard back to orange (or black if you're done shooting),
and wait. Once everyone is orange and the range is clear, you're free to
reenter your booth to shoot again or clean up.
The
staff here is vigilant and enforces rules regularly. The guys next to
us fired one shot out of their shotgun before a RSO came up to them and
informed them that shooting shotguns at the short distance they were is
not allowed - apparently it chews up the foam target holders too much.
AM was informed that it was necessary to wait 3 seconds in between shots
of his 22LR M-16 - a rule that, for example, The Bullet Hole has on the
books but doesn't seem to enforce except in really egregious cases
(AM's firing was not one of these egregious cases).
This
safety has a point, and again, I'm not complaining - just pointing out
that shooting here is a very regimented experience. It sometimes felt
like we were spending just as much time seated on the bench waiting to
shoot as we were shooting.
Overall, though, I liked Parma
Woods and will be going back soon. Being outside is nice - lower noise
levels, no ventilation to worry about, and just being out in the
elements instead of a hot, dark indoor range. Parma Woods provides free
ear and eye protection, targets, and bench rests - the latter of which I
had never used before, but really enjoyed and was able to put to good
use in learning my 10/22's sights a little better. The price is also
quite right - $3 per booth, per hour. The three of us paid maybe $6 in
total (not each) for a solid hour and a half.
In short, if you're ok with a little more procedure than you'd get at your typical indoor range, Parma Woods is worth the trip.
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