Stones River 100 yd rifle range

[ExMachina]

First, I'm posting this thread to say how thoroughly impressed I was with this range facility--$5.50 gets you a whole lot of outdoor shooting and the staff that works there was super-helpful and friendly. We are very lucky to have such a facility within a 20 minute drive of Nashville!

Now, that said, I'd love to try the range out when it wasn't so darned crowded. Yesterday (morning of a weekday) the line was full by 11:30am. Wost part was that the guy that ended up next to me had a short barrel AR15 with a muzzle-compensator that was absolutely intolerable to be next to. Each relay I had to wait for him to drain his magazines before I could even approach the firing line. Is it always this crowded?--when are the best times to go?

Thanks,

Dave.

[Guest the_accuser]

Friday is really the best day to go there as it tends to get crowded on the weekend especially Saturday.

[mikegideon]

I'm on my second annual membership there. Yep... great facilities. Fridays are always best. I won't let them put me next to a muzzle brake. If that's the only lane available, I'll pick up my toys and go home, or move over to handguns.

[extremescene]

Always crowded! Best to get there as they open.

[Guest Maelphaedor]

Basic rule there: if it's nice outside, it'll be crowded. Only time I've not seen the place packed (at least on the rifle side) is when it's cold and wet. Only being open on the weekends is partly to blame. I'm sure if I could hit them up bright and early on a monday morning it'd be much more tolerable. I've actually been looking for a decent range I can shoot at during the early hours since I work nights. I'd considered trying to join the DCSC, since they are closer, but the couple times I've driven by there I saw no one and don't really know anyone that's a member there to make some introductions. Also thought about checking out the Charlie Haffner Memorial Range, but again, really wouldn't want to go as the newbie without someone there to walk me thru the place.

Aside from the crowding, my only problem with Stones River is the lack of "fat guy friendly" seating and the overall "formal" atmosphere. Now I'm not saying "crack open a cold one and lets shoot some guns!", but the rangemasters I've met at Stones River were all just stand-off-ish, formal, businesslike. And with a crowd that size, not really knowing who they had on the line, I suppose they have to be. I just prefer a more informal group to shoot with, 5 or 6 guys, everyone taking a turn on the others weapons just to see how other people have their stuff set up, chatting about guns/gear/cars/women/whatever, etc.

So yeah, I'm looking for my gun range home away from home, Stones River, however nice, just isn't it.

[mikegideon]

I'm there a lot when it's not crowded. The RSO's are all personable folks. Their job just gets tense when the place is full. I've had a lot of time to chew the fat with those guys. They have stories. That place can be a handful when the line is full, usually with some newbies mixed in. It's why they use red cards for the first timers.

The crowds die down in the dead of summer too. The nicer the weather, the bigger the crowd. If you're willing to freeze or sweat a lot, you'll wind up getting to know the RSO's a little better.

[ExMachina]

Basic rule there: if it's nice outside, it'll be crowded. Only time I've not seen the place packed (at least on the rifle side) is when it's cold and wet. Only being open on the weekends is partly to blame. I'm sure if I could hit them up bright and early on a monday morning it'd be much more tolerable. I've actually been looking for a decent range I can shoot at during the early hours since I work nights. I'd considered trying to join the DCSC, since they are closer, but the couple times I've driven by there I saw no one and don't really know anyone that's a member there to make some introductions. Also thought about checking out the Charlie Haffner Memorial Range, but again, really wouldn't want to go as the newbie without someone there to walk me thru the place.

Aside from the crowding, my only problem with Stones River is the lack of "fat guy friendly" seating and the overall "formal" atmosphere. Now I'm not saying "crack open a cold one and lets shoot some guns!", but the rangemasters I've met at Stones River were all just stand-off-ish, formal, businesslike. And with a crowd that size, not really knowing who they had on the line, I suppose they have to be. I just prefer a more informal group to shoot with, 5 or 6 guys, everyone taking a turn on the others weapons just to see how other people have their stuff set up, chatting about guns/gear/cars/women/whatever, etc.

So yeah, I'm looking for my gun range home away from home, Stones River, however nice, just isn't it.

for a public range with the resources offered, Stones River rivals most commercial ranges I've been to.

but yes, i agree--i'd prefer a place to shoot that was more regulated by membership, and less regulated by the criteria of the "stupidest shooter". that said, all the range officers were respectful and polite and pretty much left me alone.

the Charlie Haffner Memorial Range has always seemed ideal, but it too far away for me to ever (realistically) use it very much. The Gallatin gun club is perpetually closed for membership and the Davidson Co Sportsman's Club range is (if I recall correctly) pretty far away too.

So, who should I write to to lobby for Stones River to increase their hours?

[mikegideon]

So, who should I write to to lobby for Stones River to increase their hours?

I've asked about that more than once. It's limited by the number of available RSO's. All those guys are unpaid. That's one of the reasons I always stick up for them. They're doin' it for free.

Stones River also had a problem with some NIMBY neighbors awhile back. I would have to dig, but the NIMBY's basically tried to force a reduction in hours.

[ExMachina]

I've asked about that more than once. It's limited by the number of available RSO's. All those guys are unpaid. That's one of the reasons I always stick up for them. They're doin' it for free.

i had no idea! that's amazing. i will thank them even more profusely next time

[mikegideon]

I've pondered the mystery of why they do it, and can only come up with one thing... they're dedicated shooters. They're also pretty cool folks when they're not trying to keep the newbies from shooting up the other customers.

[PirateQui]

I used to visit Stone's River when I first started shooting a couple years back... The crowd and long wait.. (Along with witnessing a couple accidents) made me not return. We often had to wait 1-2 hours for a lane. It was a big PITA.

[mikegideon]

I used to visit Stone's River when I first started shooting a couple years back... The crowd and long wait.. (Along with witnessing a couple accidents) made me not return. We often had to wait 1-2 hours for a lane. It was a big PITA.

I usually don't attempt to go there on Saturday and Sunday if the weather is nice. It's a five minute drive for me, and everything else is an hour or so. Even if I did wait two hours, it would be a wash timewise. It's just too easy to turn around and go home if I find a full parking lot.

[Guest BungieCord]

There's less of a crowd if there's a big NASCAR race or a Titans game on TV.

If you need to shoot there in the month before black powder deer season opens, get there 30 minutes before opening and get in line or faggedaboudit. It's not uncommon to have to wait an hour before you can get a lane.

You could buy an annual membership and shoot the 200-yard range. Many times all the other lanes will be full but there'll be no one @200.

[mikegideon]

I almost never see anybody on the 200.

[Westwindmike]

So do you have to be an annual member to shoot the 200?

[mikegideon]

So do you have to be an annual member to shoot the 200?

Who knows. They have changed the rules a couple of times. Call ahead. It used to be that you had to qualify with a certain size group. i qualified with several different rifles, but never have shot the 200. I have an annual.

[ExMachina]

how much is a membership?

and does the 200yd range have target stations @25, 50, 100yd etc? (i didn't see where it was when i visited)

thanks

[mikegideon]

how much is a membership?

and does the 200yd range have target stations @25, 50, 100yd etc? (i didn't see where it was when i visited)

thanks

The 200 yard is the last 2 lanes on the 100 yard range. There are two tubes through the berm. It's just 200 yards. There's a golf cart for getting to the targets.

[JR2ATN]

I was there this afternoon. It was pretty full but no waiting. I hadn't taken the ole M1 out to play in quite some time...love the sound of that en-bloc PING!!

The RSOs do a pretty good job IMO, I'm glad they err on the side of caution.

[Guest Maelphaedor]

I was going to go, but considering how pretty it was today, I figured it'd be packed. Plus driving from the other side of the county (I'm out west, near Charlotte Ave & White Bridge Rd) for 40 mins there and another 40 back just to not get to shoot because it was too crowded just didn't appeal to me with gas prices the way they are.

[mikegideon]

I was going to go, but considering how pretty it was today, I figured it'd be packed. Plus driving from the other side of the county (I'm out west, near Charlotte Ave & White Bridge Rd) for 40 mins there and another 40 back just to not get to shoot because it was too crowded just didn't appeal to me with gas prices the way they are.

You could have just gone to Cheatham and shot it out with the locals

[Guest Maelphaedor]

You could have just gone to Cheatham and shot it out with the locals

Coulda, shoulda, woulda.

Never been there, actually haven't been to very many commercial/professional ranges. Most of my shooting has been done at friends/family lands in rural areas, so when I first go to a new range, I almost always go with someone that's been there before, just to point things out that site does differently. No one wants to be the clueless newbie at a new place. Strength in numbers, you know. Plus a little spirit of competition among friends for who's shooting the best that day, talking shop while reloading mags, etc. Just hard to get that sort of experience at a commercial facility.

[Guest BungieCord]

Yes, you have to be an annual member to shoot on the 200 yard lanes at SRHEC. And you have to demonstrate that you can shoot 2" groups @100 yards. It's no big deal, they're just trying to restrict its use to people who aren't going to shoot down the wooden supports that hold up the awnings that hold back the earth above the mouth of the tunnels. Or hit the interior of the tunnel itself. And no .22 rimfires or black powder. Their MV is too slow and their trajectory is too arcuate; having a "ceiling" at the midpoint increases the likelihood of hitting the top of the inside of the tunnel.

They also have nitwits who don't use the center tongue on the bench for their support, they rest their elbows on the bench (or stand) forward of and to either side of the tongue. Since their target is centered in the lane, this means their bullets don't go straight down their own lane, they angle over into the adjacent lanes and they often end up shooting the supports for the targets in the adjacent lanes, or the supports for the 200-yard lanes' awnings. This is why they don't allow the target in Lane 18 to be placed at 25 yards. With the target at 25 yards, you don't have to move too far left before your bullet will pass far enough into Lane 19 that you'll end up shooting the supports for the 200-yard tunnels.

If you want to try your hand at more than 200 yards, try the Montgomery County Shooting Complex. Their 100-yard range isn't nearly as nice as SHREC but they do have a 400-yard range (targets at 200, 300, and 400). There's five shooting benches and four targets per target sled so it can accommodate five shooters, provided all five don't have to be shooting the same range. Because there's so few shooting points, and because people who come to shoot 400 yards are usually pretty serious shooters, and because a lot of their customers come from Ft Campbell/101st Abn, it's run much less rigidly (but no less safely) than SHREC. I've never been there when there were more than three shooters, and all you have to do is ask your fellow shooters if it's okay to do so and the RSO will call the range cold so you can check/change your target(s). Even with the extra drive time, I find it's often a more effective use of time to drive the Mgm County range because of the flexibility in the relays. I almost always shoot over a chrono and the timing of the relays at SHREC can make it difficult to get the chrono set up and properly adjusted. At least half the time I go there, I'm the ONLY 400 yard shooter, which means I can call the range cold any time I feel like it.

Mgm Co's 400-yard range has no 200-yard test, no tunnels, and they couldn't care less if you're shooting a rimfire or a blunderbuss. However, it is in the middle of no-freakin-where (Southside community) and it takes bout 45 minutes to drive there from I-24/Briley Pkwy.

[mikegideon]

I like Southside. It's a journey from Nashville, but a great experience once you get there. The facilities aren't near as good IMO, but it's nice to be able to park at the shooting lane, instead of having to haul all your crap though the checkpoint at Stones River.

[ExMachina]

i still can't find out how much an annual membership costs?

and does it get me anything other than 200yd privileges?

thanks

-Dave