FNG with a question

stevemccallister

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Valdese, NC
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New to area. Have been using the public range near Shelby NC, but now looking for nearby (within 30 miles of Valdese, NC) shooting club to join. Main interest are rifle and handgun.

Have visited Catawba Valley Wildlife Club near Vale, NC. Nice facility but highly restrictive on shooting on the move, and more focused on shotgun than rifle and handgun.

Visited Carolina West Shooting Club near Marion, NC. Closed on Sunday except for BB guns. Lol. Very poor range arrangement with questionable focus on safety. Doubt this range would pass a NRA range safety inspection. Accident waiting to happen there in my opinion. Would not return there even on Sunday with a BB gun.

The range in Caldwell County was shut down due to noise complaints. Heard the owner didn’t abide by the county permit.

The proposed range for Alexander County was denied by the county.

Getting tough to enjoy shooting. Any other ranges that I’m not aware of close to Valdese, NC?
 
Welcome Steve

Check out Bullseye in Vale. Ive never shot there but we have a few members that do

@draco88 can give us more insight
 
Welcome aboard!
 
Greetings Steve and welcome to CFF.
 
Welcome to CFF, enjoy the forum..
 
Welcome, we're happy to have you with us.
 
Welcome to the CFF family!!

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Welcome Steve

Check out Bullseye in Vale. Ive never shot there but we have a few members that do

@draco88 can give us more insight

Thanks for the info. I heard they are closed on Sunday like that place in Marion. Working 5 days a week and only having Sat and Sun off limits me. But I'll call Bullseye and find out for sure.

I was told there is a range in Conover, NC called Catawba Valley Rifle Pistol Club, but heard it was expensive and there is a long waiting list to join there.
 
New to area. Have been using the public range near Shelby NC, but now looking for nearby (within 30 miles of Valdese, NC) shooting club to join. Main interest are rifle and handgun.

Getting tough to enjoy shooting. Any other ranges that I’m not aware of close to Valdese, NC?
Might also check out @VOD Tactical while you’re looking.

Shows 40 miles from Valdese to Old Fort, but it’d be worth the trip.
 
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Welcome and thanks for joining up with us here.
 
Thanks for the replies! Received alot of good info. Discovered that there are some membership spots available at the range in Conover, and will check out the range in Old Fort. After visiting the unsafe Carolina West Shooting Club, I was becoming concerned if I could find a nice safe place to shoot. Thanks for the help and I plan on being here often.
 
Welcome aboard!
 
If you don't mind my asking, what did you find unsafe at CWSC? No affiliation whatsoever, just curious.

Many problems in my eyes. The range is not completely fenced in is the major issue. The biggest issue for me. Several homes right beside the range. Many children in the vicinity. Easy to walk right onto he property without restrictions. 3 of the range bays are jammed on top on one another. The clay pigeon pieces fall into the rim fire range from the shotgun range. Sharpe fragments will shower you if you are changing a target. The bullet berms on the rim fire and pistol range are very very low. Well blow standard. They added some wood boards on top of the bullet berms. What a joke. A 38 special would shoot right through it. The side berm of the rim fire range does not shield the entrance of the pistol range. You actually are exposed to the muzzles from the rim fire range when entering that range. All of these problem are due to poor planning by people who had no clue. The rifle range is also a hazard. No fencing preventing anyone walking into the line of fire. And I was told that has previously happened. But nothing was altered to fix it. Mud. Lots of it. Rifle range between 200 and 300 yards is a swamp after a average rain. I’ve seen some poorly designed, unsafe ranges before, but this one takes the cake. I'm surprised the county hasn't stepped in and shut it down.
 
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Many problems in my eyes. The range is not completely fenced in is the major issue. The biggest issue for me. Several homes right beside the range. Many children in the vicinity. Easy to walk right onto he property without restrictions. 3 of the range bays are jammed on top on one another. The clay pigeon pieces fall into the rim fire range from the shotgun range. Sharpe fragments will shower you if you are changing a target. The bullet berms on the rim fire and pistol range are very very low. Well blow standard. They added some wood boards on top of the bullet berms. What a joke. A 38 special would shoot right through it. The side berm of the rim fire range does not shield the entrance of the pistol range. You actually are exposed to the muzzles from the rim fire range when entering that range. All of these problem are due to poor planning by people who had no clue. The rifle range is also a hazard. No fencing preventing anyone walking into the line of fire. And I was told that has previously happened. But nothing was altered to fix it. Mud. Lots of it. Rifle range between 200 and 300 yards is a swamp after a average rain. I’ve seen some poorly designed, unsafe ranges before, but this one takes the cake. I'm surprised the county hasn't stepped in and shut it down.


Thanks, I haven't been there in years. You are obviously a very observant fella with an eye for safety.
 
Hard to miss all the safety issues there. They preach safety but the range is just not safe in it's current configuration. Not a place that I would ever return to. But dont take my word for it. Go look for yourself.
 
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Quick update. I finally got to visit Catawba Valley Rifle & Pistol Club on Rifle Range Road near Hickory. Really liked what I saw. Plan on going back for their next meeting and begin the process to join. Thank you to everyone who chimed in, and welcomed me to the forum.
 
I’m on the BOD for CVWC if you have any questions. The pistol range does not allow for a lot of movement. At one time it did but so few people used it we changed it to the current set up. It gets used much more now. And we are limited to the ranges we have grandfathered in as well. We have a few folks that would like something like that and no where to do it. It’s a decent size club but we have our limitations too.


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Thanks for you comments and offer to answer any questions. I did visit Catawba Valley Wildlife Club a while back. Its a nice place, but for the reason you mentioned of not being able to shoot while on the move is the main reason Im not looking to join there. I like to practice practical pistol shooting which requires a lot of movement. I understand that your club is geared more toward shotgun rather than rifle or pistol and thats okay if thats what one is looking for. Also Catawba Valley Rifle and Pistol has 3 pistol ranges with lots of reactive steel targets and since Im geared toward practical pistol, that range fits me better. What sold me on Catawba Valley Rifle and Pistol was a 3 gun match that I recently attended as a guest to watch. Was much more than stand and shoot straight ahead and was setup and conducted in a very safe manner. Both ranges serve this area well, but cater to different people . Catawba Valley Wildlife Club seems to cater toward hunters, where Catawba Valley Rifle and Pistol caters to shooters. If that makes sense.
 
Thanks for you comments and offer to answer any questions. I did visit Catawba Valley Wildlife Club a while back. Its a nice place, but for the reason you mentioned of not being able to shoot while on the move is the main reason Im not looking to join there. I like to practice practical pistol shooting which requires a lot of movement. I understand that your club is geared more toward shotgun rather than rifle or pistol and thats okay if thats what one is looking for. Also Catawba Valley Rifle and Pistol has 3 pistol ranges with lots of reactive steel targets and since Im geared toward practical pistol, that range fits me better. What sold me on Catawba Valley Rifle and Pistol was a 3 gun match that I recently attended as a guest to watch. Was much more than stand and shoot straight ahead and was setup and conducted in a very safe manner. Both ranges serve this area well, but cater to different people . Catawba Valley Wildlife Club seems to cater toward hunters, where Catawba Valley Rifle and Pistol caters to shooters. If that makes sense.

Yeah. We are founded as a wildlife/Sportsmans club first. So that’s part of it. Population and membership is part of it too. Not sure what the zoning differences are since we are in the same county but along the way something happened on our side of the county that seems to have limited what we are able to do. Or so I’ve been told in some of the conversations that have come up.


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