Shooting Facility Rules & Regulations

• Four basic firearm rules are ALWAYS in effect on ALL MDWFP Ranges:
  • All guns are always loaded! Treat them that way!
  • Never let your muzzle cover anything you’re not willing to destroy!
  • Keep your finger off the trigger ‘til your sights are on the target!
  • Always be sure of your target!
• All shooters and their guests must check in at the Range Office PRIOR TO USING ANY RANGE. Before departing, all shooters and their guests must also check out there.
• All individuals (shooters and non-shooters) 16 years of age and older are required to pay a daily fee of $15.00 to use the facility.
• Unless you are inside of a building or vehicle (not including golf carts) eye and ear protection must be worn by everyone on the entire range facility, at any time during which firearms are being discharged.
• Shooters and guests must promptly obey all Range Officer commands!
• Shooters are responsible for the conduct of non-shooting guest(s). This is not a playground. For obvious safety reasons, parents or guardians (18 years or older) must ensure that their children are close beside them at all times (no more than 10 feet away).
• Shooters under the age of 18 must be accompanied by an adult (meaning someone 18 years of age or older.
• Persons drinking or under the influence of alcohol or drugs will NOT be permitted on any MDWFP range facility!
• Smoking is PROHIBITED at all range facilities. The only place that anyone may smoke is within the confines of their personally-owned vehicle, with all openings closed (meaning all doors, windows, hatchbacks, etc.). For other tobacco users, spitting upon the ground, concrete, porches, shooting stands, etc. is PROHIBITED! Use of spit cups is PROHIBITED! Use of capped, spit bottles is acceptable, but bottles must be in your possession at all times and taken with you, whenever you depart the range facility. Do not dispose of your spit bottles in any range garbage can, bag, or dumpster!
• Littering is not only PROHIBITED, but is a violation of state law. Violators will be cited!
• Shooters and guests who damage or destroy range property are liable for the cost of repair or replacement of damaged or destroyed property.
• Shooters may collect their own brass, but may not collect someone else’s brass – especially while the other person is shooting! No shooter may collect brass forward of an active firing line, for obvious safety reasons. To collect their own brass, forward of the active firing line, shooters must wait until there is a halt in firing and the range is safe/cold.
  • Firearms and ammunition are subject to inspection by any Range Officer, at any time.
  • Tracer, armor piercing, white phosphorus, incendiary, or any other excessively destructive ammunition is PROHIBITED on all ranges!
• No dogs are allowed on any part of the range premises.
• Firearms shall be unloaded and either holstered or cased, as you enter or depart the range area!
• Firearms must be handled in a safe manner at all times. ALWAYS KEEP THE MUZZLE POINTED DOWN RANGE!
• Keep your finger off of the trigger, outside of the trigger guard, until ready to fire, after the range has been declared “hot.”
• FIREARMS SHALL NOT BE HANDLED WHILE ANYONE IS DOWN RANGE! This includes while setting up or packing up your gear!
• Shooters observing any violation(s) of range rules are required to IMMEDIATELY make on-the-spot safety corrections or report the safety violation(s) to the Range Office or a Range Officer!
• Profanity is PROHIBITED on all ranges!
• No running allowed on any of the ranges!
• On the archery range, NO BROADHEADS may be used on any target!
• Rifle and pistol shooters may only use targets approved by the Range Officer. We reserve the right to prohibit targets that we deem offensive or unsafe. Additionally, only paper targets may be used. No fruits, vegetables, plastic or any other type of targets may be used.
• Fully automatic fire is PROHIBITED on all ranges! Controlled, semi-automatic rapid fire is permitted (note the emphasis on controlled) with all bullets staying on your respective target. Spraying the berm with semi-auto rapid fire WILL NOT BE PERMITTED, and violations will result in expulsion from the range!
• The command “CEASE FIRE” will be observed IMMEDIATELY, no matter who says it! Anyone may call a cease fire. All shooters shall IMMEDIATELY holster (or clear and ground) their firearm and step back from the firing line, in order to make it safe! (Ground means put your firearm on the ground.)
• Use caution, if your firearm fails to fire, when the trigger is pulled. On rare occasions, a cartridge or shotgun shell may not fire. If this occurs, keep the muzzle pointed in a safe direction for one minute, then carefully open the action. A mechanical failure or broken part in the firearm may suddenly release the hammer or firing pin, causing the cartridge to fire.
• Carts (both golf carts and push carts) are provided for the convenience of shooters on the Sporting Clays range ONLY! Only licensed drivers may drive a golf cart. No more than 4 people may ride in or on the golf carts. Passengers must sit on the seats and not stand on the rear bumper and hang onto the rails. Violators of this rule, or individuals misusing the carts in any way, will be expelled and such conduct will result in the loss of cart privileges for a period of not less than one year! Individuals renting carts are responsible for any damage caused by careless misuse.
• If a range officer has to speak to you, give you any guidance, or correct you for any violation of range rules, he will more than likely be doing so in a very loud voice. This is because both the range officer and the shooter are wearing hearing protection (which is mandatory). If this offends you, you may ask to go to the range building to discuss whatever you are doing wrong.
• If you do not follow range procedures and/or commit an unsafe act, at the range officer’s discretion, you may be asked/ordered to leave for a period of time at the range officer’s discretion (1 day, 30 days, 1 year, or permanent expulsion), depending upon the severity of the violation and your attitude.
• All ranges will close immediately following a lightning strike, and will remain closed until 15 minutes after the last strike.

Pistol Range Rules & Regulations

• On the pistol range, all shooters must shoot from the same firing line, no matter which side of the range they are on, left or right of the centerline.
• The “active firing line” is a term meaning the line that is being used/shot from at that time. There can be only one active firing line at a time and at least one foot must be touching the extreme forward edge of that line. That firing line is determined on a “majority rules” basis (Turcotte and McHenry).
• The only time that you may touch a firearm is when you are on the active firing line, with at least one foot touching the extreme forward edge of the concrete on that line. (The
  “forward edge” is the edge on the “target side” of the concrete. It is also the “north side” of the concrete.) You may not pick up a firearm and walk up to the forward edge of the concrete, nor may you step off of the forward edge of the concrete with a firearm in your hand. Make sure that you understand this rule! • The only direction that any firearm may be pointed at any time, is down range (toward the target berm)! You may not walk around with a handgun dangling from your hand or pointed toward the sky or any direction other than toward the berm, at any time!
• Shooters must stand directly in front of the target they are shooting. Shooting at multiple targets from any position is PROHIBITED! Shooting while moving in any direction is PROHIBITED!
• The use of any handgun chambered for a cartridge larger/more powerful than .45 Colt and .44 Magnum is PROHIBITED anywhere on the pistol range, due to the excessive muzzle blast and effect on adjacent shooters!
• All pistol shooters are encouraged to have and use a strong-side belt holster that orients the firearm in a muzzle down position. No cross draw holsters, shoulder holsters, or “small of the back” holsters are allowed. If you do not have a holster, then you may use a pistol rug, pistol case, or something similar, and place your firearm on the ground immediately in front of you, but it must be pointing down range, at all times! You may NOT place your firearm beside you or behind you – ONLY IN FRONT OF YOU, AND POINTING DOWN RANGE, TOWARD THE BERM!
• When the range is cleared for shooters to go down range, all firearms must either be holstered or “unloaded and grounded.” (“Grounded” means placed on the ground.) If grounded, pistols must have their magazines removed and actions open/slides locked back. Revolvers must have their cylinders swung open. In either case, WHENEVER ANYONE IS DOWN RANGE, NO ONE CAN TOUCH A FIREARM, FOR ANY REASON!
• If any firearm malfunctions and the shooter needs/desires assistance from range personnel, they shall place the firearm on the ground directly in front of them, pointing down range, then go to the range office and request assistance from range personnel.

Shotgun Range Rules & Regulations

• While on the Sporting Clays range, all persons must stay on designated trails! DO NOT CROSS THE FENCE FOR ANY REASON!
• Under NO circumstances are shooters to work on or load the sporting clay machines! Report any problems to a Range Officer.
• While shooting Sporting Clays or 5-Stand Sporting Clays, do NOT load your shotgun until you are within the confines of the shooting station/platform, with the barrel protruding through the “window.” Load only TWO shot shells at a time and do NOT step off of the platform until your gun is unloaded!
• While shooting on any shotgun range, empty shot shells and trash must be picked up and disposed of properly. On the Sporting Clays range, only shot shells on the shooting station and trail side of the fence are to be picked up. DO NOT CROSS THE FENCE to pick up expended shot shells.
• On the Patterning Range, USE OF BUCKSHOT OR SLUGS IS PROHIBITED! Use of buckshot is PROHIBITED on any MDWFP shotgun range. Slugs may be used ONLY on the rifle range.
• Do not stop at a Sporting Clay station to “practice” on just that station, if anyone is following you on the course. When on the course, be courteous to other shooters and shoot through your round, or yield to other shooters.
• On all shotgun ranges (with the exception of the Shotgun Pattern Range), DO NOT USE SHOT SHELLS LOADED WITH SHOT PELLETS LARGER THAN NUMBER 7 ½ (i.e., 7 ½, 8, and 9 shot are okay)! USE ONLY 2 ¾ INCH TARGETS LOADS! DO NOT USE HIGH BRASS SHOT SHELLS! PELLET VELOCITY MUST BE 1250 FPS OR LESS!
• On the Skeet Range, DO NOT place the hand controller on the ground and step on the buttons to actuate the throwers. If you do so and damage the controller, you will be responsible for the cost of repair or replacement of the hand controller.
• If a Promatic card is lost, the shooter will be assessed a fee of $50 to cover the cost of replacing the card and the clay targets thrown. If a skeet controller is lost or damaged, a $250 fee will be assessed. This is non-negotiable.
  Rifle Range Rules & Regulations
• The use of muzzle brakes on rifles is PROHIBITED, due to excessive muzzle blast and its effect on adjacent shooters! Flash hiders are not considered muzzle brakes and vice versa.
• On the rifle range, DO NOT SHOOT ACROSS RANGE LANES, and MAKE SURE THAT YOU POSITION YOUR TARGET IN FRONT OF THE EARTHEN BERM! (The berm is the big pile of dirt, 300 yards in the distance.) Change shooting tables, if you desire to change shooting lanes.
• After finishing at the rifle range, remove all targets from the rifle range target frames (and dispose of them properly). Return the steel rifle stand/target holder to the firing platform, leaving the rifle target frame (with cardboard backing) attached.