Valley ranges offer shooters opportunity to sharpen skill
Wbig game hunting seasons on the horizon, anyone with a big game tag will need to spend time practicing on the shooting range before their season begins.
There was a time when one could drive to the edge of civilization in the Las Vegas Valley, find a safe place to set up an impromptu shooting range and practice to your heart’s content.
And we did.
But with more than
2 million people now living in the valley, those days are long gone. The places we went back then are either covered by development or fall within the boundaries of regulatory closures to the discharge of firearms.
Luckily, there are four outdoor shooting ranges located within 30 minutes of downtown Las Vegas depending on traffic. These ranges will all accommodate rifle, muzzleloader and handgun shooters, and in some cases, archers. On the list are the Clark County Shooting Complex, Desert Sportsman’s Rifle and Pistol Club, Pro Gun Club and Boulder Rifle and Pistol Club.
There are positives and negatives to each of these facilities, but all provide hunters with a safe and legal place to shoot.
As its name implies, the Clark County Shooting Complex is a publicly owned facility. It is managed by the county’s Parks & Recreation Department, open to all shooters and operated under the watchful eyes of certified range safety officers. Depending on their sight-in or practice needs, shooters can take advantage of distances ranges measuring 50, 100 and 200 yards.
Open hours are seasonal. From June 1 through Sept. 30 the range is open from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. on Wednesdays and Thursdays. On Friday, Saturday and Sunday the hours are 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. It is closed Mondays and Tuesdays.
The cost to shoot on the firearm range is $9 per adult but free for those under 18 years of age. Archers pay $7 to shoot on the known distance range and $10 if they also want access to the 3-D course.
Desert Sportsman’s Rifle & Pistol Club opened in 1959, but only to members and their guests. This is a National Rifle Association affiliated range, so membership in that organization is a prerequisite for club membership. Annual fees are $15 for youths 8-18 years old, $200 for adults 19-59 years old, and $75 for shooters 60 and older.
Ten well-groomed ranges provide shooters with multiple distance options ranging from 25 yards to almost 900 yards. Visit at 12201 W. Charleston Blvd. or on the web at dsrpc.org.
Pro Gun Club is off U.S. Highway 95 just south of Boulder City. This also is a membership range, but it does allow non-members. Nevada residents pay $15 to shoot on the rifle range while members shoot for free. Others pay $20.
The public rifle range will accommodate as many as 12 shooters at a time and is marked at 25-yard intervals to facilitate sighting-in to a maximum of 200 yards. In addition, the range offers five utility bays ranging from 25to 100-yards deep. A standard Pro Gun Club membership is $300. Visit progunclub.com.
Also located in Boulder City is the Boulder Rifle and Pistol Club, a nonprofit operated by volunteers who enjoy shooting sports. Though membership is required to access much of what this facility offers, there is a courtesy range open to the public with 12 bays ranging from 25 yards to 200 yards.
The courtesy range is open on Tuesdays, Thursdays, Saturdays and Sundays, and on Mondays that are federal holidays. Hours are 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. The cost is $10 per shooter for two hours. Visiting shooters must check in with the range safety officer before proceeding to a shooting bay.
This facility hosts multiple special events each month, so you may want to check the calendar first at www.brpc1.org .
No matter which range you choose, be sure to follow all range rules and pick up your mess before leaving for home.
Freelance writer Doug Nielsen is a conservation educator for the Nevada Department of Wildlife. His “In the Outdoors” column, published Thursday, is not affiliated with or endorsed by the NDOW. Any opinions he states in his column are his own. He can be reached at intheoutdoorslv@gmail.com.
LONDON — Roger Federer was a point away from a rather tidy, straight-set victory in the Wimbledon quarterfinals. One lousy point.
And then, slowly, over the next two-plus hours, all the way until the fifth set reached its 24th game, everything came apart for the eight-time champion. Against an opponent who’d never beaten him, never had made it this far at the All England Club.
In a stunning turnaround in an unfamiliar setting — No. 1 Court instead of Centre Court — the top-seeded Federer blew a third-set match point and, eventually, his big lead in a 2-6,
6-7 (5), 7-5, 6-4, 13-11 loss to No. 8 Kevin Anderson on Wednesday in a 4-hour, 14-minute struggle.
“It was just one of those days where you hope to get by somehow,” said Federer, who last played at No. 1 Court in 2015. “I almost could have. I should have.”
Two of his long-time rivals, meanwhile, set up a semifinal showdown: Rafael Nadal versus Novak Djokovic. Nadal, who’s won two of his 17 Grand Slam titles at Wimbledon, edged Juan Martin del Potro 7-5, 6-7 (7), 4-6, 6-4, 6-4 in a 4-hour-48-minute match.
Djokovic reached his first Grand Slam semifinal since 2016 by beating No. 24 seed Kei Nishikori 6-3, 3-6, 6-2, 6-2.
In Friday’s other men’s match, Anderson will face No. 9 John Isner, 33, an American who reached his first major semifinal in his 41st try by eliminating 2016 runner-up Milos Raonic 6-7 (5), 7-6 (7), 6-4, 6-3.
Federer hadn’t been broken until facing Anderson. Still, the 20-time major champion was leading by two sets and 5-4 in the third when, with Anderson serving, he got to Ad-out. He could have ended things right then and there. Federer managed to return a 134 mph serve, but on his next stroke, he shanked a backhand.
“I had my chances,” Federer said, “so it’s disappointing.”
It marked the third time in Federer’s 20 years of contesting Grand Slam matches that he lost after taking the opening two sets; both of the other defeats came in 2011. And, according to the ATP, it’s the fifth time Federer lost a match at a major after holding a match point, something else that last happened seven years ago.