Anybody been to Prentice Cooper Lately?

[Guest Messer]

Been thinking about catching up on some long overdue shooting  maybe in Sept when it should get cooler and I had not been there in yrs. I have found out they are now only open Th,Fr. and Sat I wonder why since they used to be open 5 days a week yrs ago?

 

Is it in decent shape and how crowded is it? Know it used to be full and sometimes dangerous on weekend but used to be empty weekdays in the morning,

as far as I know it is the only Free place in the Chatt area?

 

Also heard that now the 3 pistol ranges were set up for 25 yrds which I don't like that much, any info is appreciated.

 

Thank's

Edited July 31, 2014 by Messer

[miller_man]

I moved from Chattanooga in April, and the last time I was at prentice cooper was probably last September or so. I didn't frequent too often because of the scary things I heard, saw and then experienced, and it did get really busy sometimes - but was hit or miss though, sometimes it would be packed, other times just a small gathering.

 

It is a cool place that is fun and best of all free but not too sure if I'd go back now for safety's sake. They should really charge like $5-10 per person per day and have a range officer to watch things. It is the only free place I knew of in Chattanooga.

 

They had redone the shooting bays, at least on the pistol side. With nice wooden table tops/dividers for each bay, and had the rules posted at each bay (A VERY GOOD MOVE).

The pistol bays are at 3 different ranges, just depends on which target wall you get in front of. 1 at prob 5-7 yards, 1 at prob 10, and the other at maybe 15-20 yards tops.

There are about 4 bays for each target wall I think. Usually where I shot just depended on what was open, or opened up.

The rifle ranges are at 100 and 50 yards if I remember correctly, and there's lots of bays for each.

 

You can get on their?/some website and find out a little more info, which is a good idea before you load up and head there because they'll close it off to public some weekends for hunting and other events.

[TheDude_Abides]

I frequent prentice cooper but only early Thursday or Friday mornings. If you get there after 11 it usually can be quite crowded. I went one Friday morning and it was just myself and another guy shooting on the 100 yrds range. Nice and quiet and laid back. On another note, I went one Saturday about 1 in the afternoon and everybody and their mother who owned a gun in Marion and Hamilton co. were there. Some clean cut, most not. It's a shoot at your own risk, if I'm not comfortable shooting around the people that's there, I turn around and go home. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Edited August 6, 2014 by TheDude_Abides

[battleop]

Been thinking about catching up on some long overdue shooting  maybe in Sept when it should get cooler and I had not been there in yrs. I have found out they are now only open Th,Fr. and Sat I wonder why since they used to be open 5 days a week yrs ago?

 

Is it in decent shape and how crowded is it? Know it used to be full and sometimes dangerous on weekend but used to be empty weekdays in the morning,

as far as I know it is the only Free place in the Chatt area?

 

Also heard that now the 3 pistol ranges were set up for 25 yrds which I don't like that much, any info is appreciated.

 

Thank's

 

I've not been there since the mid 90s because of the idiot Ranger that was there at the time.  

 

I had been up there shooting with some friends alongside some other people that were not with us.   One of the guys in the other group was shooting an AK for the first time and the gun go away from him.   He sent a 2-3 rounds down range but above the backstop before his friend could take control of the gun.  About 15 minutes after the other guys left we were packing up when the ranger came down and proceeded to chew us a new one because the rounds had made it to the front yard of his trailer that he said was about 250 yards down range.    We explained to him what happened and he told us how he didn't care, blah blah blah, we were responsible for the other party.   I left thinking what kind of complete idiot would live in a trailer 250 yards directly down range and never went back again.

[Currently]

It's not the place, it's the crowd. Any more than two people where I'm going to shoot, I move to another bay. If no bays available, I leave or find someone to talk to.

[glowdotGlock]

I've never shot there but I did go for my first time a couple weekends ago with 29 other Wranglers. Nice place.

[TNID]

I went up one morning recently.  I was first on the range and of course the second guy to arrive set up right beside me.  Maybe it's just me, but I think of the range like I do a public restroom.  Whenever possible, it's always polite to leave an empty bay between occupants.  Also, just as in a public restroom, NEVER MUZZLE SWEEP YOUR NEIGHBOR!!!   :rant:

 

On that note, I noticed that the outhouse has been removed from beside the range.  

 

Unless things have changed over the last year or so, the afternoon crowds are just too much up there.  Too many people, and too much unsafe weapon handling.

 

Anyway, this was my first time at Prentice Cooper since the range renovations.  The new bench areas are nice, but the cross board at the firing line is too low for anyone over 6 feet tall.  I only shot in the pistol area, but that board was at about mouth level for me, so I had to place my targets at the bottom of the backer board just to be able to see them.  I really appreciate the work that has gone into making it a nicer place to shoot, but that seems like pretty big oversight.

 

After putting a few downrange, I took a drive around the WMA and saw plenty of deer and turkeys.

[Guest TheDrip]

I was up at PC a few months ago right after the renovation. I got there early when it was quiet, left after the bangers showed up.

 

The boards are too low all around -- in pistol you can barely see the targets, in rifle bays you can't see down range unless you're sitting at the bench.

 

5 trips in a row I left before I was done due to safety issues, now I go elsewhere.