Public Ranges in the state of Pennsylvania.

[LifeInPa]

Hello my name is Chris. This past Saturday I bought myself my first rifle, an S&W MP 15-22. I was looking forward to this Friday when I would have a chance to finally fire this rifle. Now today I might have learned of a rule that might totally ruin any enjoyment I can have from this hobby. I was told by a friend of my fathers that you can only have a certain amount of rounds in a magazine at a time.

Since I was working today my father called on my behalf and told me public ranges in this state only allow you to have 3 rounds loaded in the rifle at a time. Right now I am very worried that this is true. I am hoping he just misunderstood the person because I was talking to someone on the S&W forums and he tells me in his state they only allow you to fire 2 burst at a time but you can have as much ammo in the rifle as it can hold. I am thinking this is what the person told my father and since he doesn't know anything about firearms he had a misunderstanding.

So is this true, can I only have 3 rounds loaded at a time when operating rifles on a Pennsylvania range? If so how can I get around this? I can't fire this rifle on my property since I live in an enclosed community and they will not allow it. I am thinking about going to a private range but I am worried they will force me to pay a monthly fee for the use of their range. Or the fee to get on the range will be ridiculous. Either way if anyone can recommend some private ranges I would be grateful.

So please help me out, thank you.

[rovert97]

3 round rifle rule is correct, if youre at a stage game land range, like the one on Rt 6 by Hawley.

as far as another range, the only one i can think of thats close is Sunset Hill in Monroe County. load up your mags, but no rapid fire. you can do double taps, but dont just start going ape shit on the trigger.

other then that, there are a few gun clubs in Pike county. do a search on google or here.

[Al-Mumit]

Sorry to say you heard right; you're limited to 3 rounds in a long gun. Break the rule (as I once did) and you can expect to be fined (as I once was).

I'm sure someone else can post the rest of the rules, but that's the 'big' one that everyone talks about.

IMHO its worth it to pay for a yearly pass/membership to a private range. Its better than being fined... it can even be cheaper if you're the stubborn type.

[WhiteFeather]

Originally Posted by LifeInPa

Hello my name is Chris. This past Saturday I bought myself my first rifle, an S&W MP 15-22. I was looking forward to this Friday when I would have a chance to finally fire this rifle. Now today I might have learned of a rule that might totally ruin any enjoyment I can have from this hobby. I was told by a friend of my fathers that you can only have a certain amount of rounds in a magazine at a time.

Since I was working today my father called on my behalf and told me public ranges in this state only allow you to have 3 rounds loaded in the rifle at a time. Right now I am very worried that this is true. I am hoping he just misunderstood the person because I was talking to someone on the S&W forums and he tells me in his state they only allow you to fire 2 burst at a time but you can have as much ammo in the rifle as it can hold. I am thinking this is what the person told my father and since he doesn't know anything about firearms he had a misunderstanding.

So is this true, can I only have 3 rounds loaded at a time when operating rifles on a Pennsylvania range? If so how can I get around this? I can't fire this rifle on my property since I live in an enclosed community and they will not allow it. I am thinking about going to a private range but I am worried they will force me to pay a monthly fee for the use of their range. Or the fee to get on the range will be ridiculous. Either way if anyone can recommend some private ranges I would be grateful.

So please help me out, thank you.

yep its true, join a private gun club that will allow you to do what you want, just pay for the privilege.

Freedom its free at least not at the states PGC ranges paid and maintained by the sale of hunting license the rules are easy to find on the PGC webs site.
If you want to shoot for free on public PGC, you got to play by the THEIR RULES.

Or search the forums on PAFOA, this subject comes up all the time.

Welcome to the forums BTW.

[LifeInPa]

Originally Posted by rovert97

3 round rifle rule is correct, if youre at a stage game land range, like the one on Rt 6 by Hawley.

as far as another range, the only one i can think of thats close is Sunset Hill in Monroe County. load up your mags, but no rapid fire. you can do double taps, but dont just start going ape shit on the trigger.

other then that, there are a few gun clubs in Pike county. do a search on google or here.

Ah damn.

The one on Route 6 is where I planned on going, since thats the nearest range to me. This one in Sunset Hill is a private range? Does this range have a web link? I am fine will firing the gun in a non-rapid way but I think this law is a load of shit. If they want to limit the amount of rounds I can put downrange in a certain amount of time I can live with that, but having to reload the rifle after firing just three rounds is just stupid IMO. Maybe 10, but 3 is too low.

Originally Posted by WhiteFeather

yep its true, join a private gun club that will allow you to do what you want, just pay for the privilege.

Freedom its free at least not at the states PGC ranges paid and maintained by the sale of hunting license the rules are easy to find on the PGC webs site.
If you want to shoot for free on public PGC, you got to play by the THEIR RULES.

Or search the forums on PAFOA, this subject comes up all the time.

Welcome to the forums BTW.

Thanks for the welcome WhiteFeather. I plan on following the rules, but IMO it's a very stupid rule. Like I said in my response to Rovert why not just limit the amount of rounds you can put downrange in a certain period of time? Then I wouldn't have to reload my rifle every three shots. Now I need some recommendations for private ranges, I will also do a search. Please though feel free to throw some names out. Thanks again.

Originally Posted by Al-Mumit

Sorry to say you heard right; you're limited to 3 rounds in a long gun. Break the rule (as I once did) and you can expect to be fined (as I once was).

I'm sure someone else can post the rest of the rules, but that's the 'big' one that everyone talks about.

IMHO its worth it to pay for a yearly pass/membership to a private range. Its better than being fined... it can even be cheaper if you're the stubborn type.

Yeah I heard about the fines, this guy that informed me of this stupid rule got in trouble with the same people that enforce these rules. It had something to do with his ATV and they gave him $110 fine. You seem to be a member of a private range how much do you pay for the privilege?

[Al-Mumit]

Actually I'm not a member at a range. Couldn't say about prices to be honest... Half the forum could quote you some though.

Personally, I go off into the middle of the state and shoot far away from people, either on private property (with owners permission of course) or far enough into the hills that nobody will hear/bother you. Some friends and I fired off a couple rifles & handguns out near Centralia, PA without incident a few weeks ago.

[LifeInPa]

Originally Posted by Al-Mumit

Actually I'm not a member at a range. Couldn't say about prices to be honest... Half the forum could quote you some though.

Personally, I go off into the middle of the state and shoot far away from people, either on private property (with owners permission of course) or far enough into the hills that nobody will hear/bother you. Some friends and I fired off a couple rifles & handguns out near Centralia, PA without incident a few weeks ago.

Thanks for the tip, but honestly I don't know anyone in that region that would allow me to use their property in such a fashion. Anyway I don't want to go that far every time I feel like using my rifle.

[Al-Mumit]

Originally Posted by LifeInPa

Thanks for the tip, but honestly I don't know anyone in that region that would allow me to use their property in such a fashion. Anyway I don't want to go that far every time I feel like using my rifle.

The unwillingness to travel everytime is the reason I think I'm going to get a range membership for the coming year. Its no fun having to spend 4 hours in the car everytime you want to fire off a few rounds.

[Curmudgeon]

Why don't you show up at the Memorial Shoot this Sunday?

http://forum.pafoa.org/general-2/749...-1st-nepa.html (Meleanie Hain Memorial Shoot - Nov. 1st - NEPA)

You can shoot there, meet some folks, maybe learn about some reasonable ranges in the area.

And it's all for a good cause!

[LifeInPa]

Well I might have found a ray of light in this whole thing. I was checking out Sunset Hill Shooting Range and it seems like they have no problem with loaded clip. The only thing they don't want to see is burst fire and I can live with that. However the only thing that worries me is I cannot find a price for admission anywhere on their website.

General Questions

1. Can I bring my own ammo?

2. Is it one shot then reload or can the stock magazine for rifles be loaded? ie

5 or 10 rounds at a time.

3. If you come with lets say 6 or 7 people are they broken up into groups or can we all shoot from the same spot?

4. I read in the forums that I guess tips are appropriate. How much is allowed or is it allowed?

5. Are there bench rests for the rifles I would like to zero a scope?

6. I have a ruger 44 carbine, 30-30 winchester and 2 22LR's can they all be used on the 30yd range?

1. Yes

2. Load your clips, just shoot 1 shot a time, no multi round bursts

3. You can shoot from 1 bay but with a group that size you would have a better time if you had maybe 2 adjoining bays.

4. Tips are of course up to the individual, if you and friends have never shot at sunset before you will all have to go thru a range safety certification. This is performed by an instructor and he will spend as much time with you as he deems necessary based on your previous shooting experience. When complete he will issue each person a card so that you don't have to go thru it every time you come to shoot.

5. Sand bags are available and I believe that you can rent bench rests at a modest fee.

6. Yes.

Originally Posted by Al-Mumit

The unwillingness to travel everytime is the reason I think I'm going to get a range membership for the coming year. Its no fun having to spend 4 hours in the car everytime you want to fire off a few rounds.

Yeah I just want to take a quick trip, not a 5 hour voyage. I don't mind paying for membership at a range but it has to be reasonable.

Originally Posted by Curmudgeon

Why don't you show up at the Memorial Shoot this Sunday?

http://forum.pafoa.org/general-2/749...-1st-nepa.html (Meleanie Hain Memorial Shoot - Nov. 1st - NEPA)

You can shoot there, meet some folks, maybe learn about some reasonable ranges in the area.

And it's all for a good cause!

Thanks for the invite, but I work Sunday's.