One of state’s largest outdoor ranges opens, but without a bang

After years of waiting and a number of delays, a new shooting sports park has opened, although only on a few days each week and at limited capacity.

The Palm Beach County Shooting Sports Park opened this month at 50% capacity in northwestern Palm Beach County as a result of a partnership between the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission and the county.

It’s the first public outdoor shooting range in Palm Beach County, joining Markham Park as one of the few outdoor ranges across the region.

All handgun ranges are open and the 100- and 200-yard rifle ranges are open. The 300-yard rifle range is still closed until electronic targets can be installed. Trap and skeet fields and sporting clays course are closed until construction on those is complete.

The range, located at 11730 Seminole Pratt Whitney Road near the entrance of JW Corbett Wildlife Management Area, is by appointment only for now and is only open on Fridays, Saturdays, Sundays and Mondays from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Appointments can be made by calling 561-512-0285.

Customers are limited to an hour at a time for now and one person per lane. When making an appointment, you can book up to two lanes for two people at a time. The fee for all ranges at the moment is $15 per hour.

As with most other public ranges, eye and ear protection is required and can be purchased if you don’t have your own.

Officials are also urging customers follow CDC guidelines for social distancing when visiting the park.

“When recreating outdoors, group size may not exceed 10 people and CDC guidelines for social distancing and personal safety should be followed,” said Carol Lyn Parrish, a spokeswoman for Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.

The FWC has put in several public safety measures, including extra cleaning and limiting the number of customers in the pro shop and classrooms. “In addition, all handgun ranges and some rifle ranges will have fewer available shooting lanes to maintain a six-foot separation between shooters,” the FWC said.

Construction on the park started in 2016 and has largely been built by Leisure Construction, although subcontractors have done some of the work.

The second phase of opening is contingent on the pace of construction and conditions related to COVID-19.