Renovations Underway at Etowah Public Shooting Range

By DAVID RAINER, Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources

The Etowah Public Shooting Range is closed until fall for renovations, but it will be well worth the wait. The range near Gadsden, operated by the Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources’ (ADCNR) Wildlife and Freshwater Fisheries (WFF) Division, will get a total makeover and will become one of only three WFF shooting ranges to be staffed by certified range personnel. A 3,000-square-foot building that will be used for training and education classes will also be constructed.

“The Etowah Public Shooting Range is the third most utilized range in our Public Shooting Range System,” said WFF Enforcement Chief Michael Weathers. “All of the existing ranges at Etowah are going to be renovated, and an additional 50-yard pistol and rifle range will be installed.

“To this point, it has been one of our unstaffed ranges. When it reopens, it will be fully staffed with range safety officers, which will make it a more safe and friendly environment. It will be like our Swan Creek and Cahaba ranges. The public really likes staffed ranges.”

Weathers said the WFF’s 13 public shooting ranges see a wide variety of shooters, some with little or no experience to expert shooters.

“We have everyone from those who have just purchased their first firearm to competition shooters who are polishing up for their next match,” he said. “It’s going to be a great resource for the public, especially the 3,000-square-foot training facility that will host our hunter education classes as well as our Firearms 101 classes. People can come out and receive training in the classroom environment and then move out to the range to do a little bit of shooting, get used to the environment, learn range etiquette and learn how to handle their firearm safely.

“Those new shooters will be able to come back to the same range where they received training and polish up their shooting skills at any point in the future.”

When range renovations are complete, the new rifle/pistol range will be a 10-position facility with covered shooting positions and benches. The rebuilt and enhanced 100-yard range will have 12 shooting positions, while the rebuilt and enhanced pistol range will have 10 stations with firing from 25 yards.

“We will be able to accommodate 30 shooters at any one given time,” Weathers said. “The training facility will seat 150, big enough for our largest classes and public meetings.”

Weathers thanked Sheriff Jonathon Horton and the Etowah County Commission for providing the match money for WFF to receive grants to enhance the range from the Pittman-Robertson Act, which derives its funds from an excise tax on firearms, ammo and archery equipment.

“Sheriff Horton and the Etowah County Commission partnered with us,” he said. “It would have been a much tougher task to get this done without their assistance.

“I think the public will be happy with the enhancements. It’s going to be so much nicer. Our staff spends a lot of time at our unmanned ranges cutting grass and cleaning up debris. When the Etowah Public Shooting Range transitions to a staffed facility, it will stay cleaner and will be much more orderly. People who use it are really going to see the difference.”

Weathers said Swan Creek WMA Shooting Range is the most utilized range in the state with Cahaba WMA Shooting Range in second place.

“Swan Creek’s popularity has a lot to do with its population base,” he said. “It’s fairly close to Huntsville. Madison County is the fastest growing county in the state. The range is easily accessible, and with the explosion in popularity of target shooting, you have a great combination. Cahaba is a very popular range as well, seeing nearly 15,000 visitors a year. The combination of ease of access and proximity to population base is key to range success.

“The Etowah Public Shooting Range fits that mold exactly, so when we move to a staffed format, I think we’ll see a lot more utilization. The population in the area and ease of access make it a great range.”

WFF Conservation Enforcement Officer Sgt. Ben Kiser serves as Shooting Sports Coordinator in District II and said the upgrades at Etowah are going to make it a quality range.

“A lot of the construction will include dirt work that will correct water issues,” Kiser said. “In the past, the site held water. The dirt work will reroute drainage, so you won’t have to walk through mud to change a target. The training facility will be utilized for anything from departmental hunter education training to citizen firearms classes. We have citizen firearms classes just about every weekend. It will be an ideal place for our Firearms 101 classes.

“Any time we build a shooting range, especially a staffed range, we want it close to a good population density so it will get utilized. We want it less than 30 miles or 30 minutes from where people are. We’ve found that if people have to drive more than 30 minutes there is less of a chance they will use that facility. Etowah is in a great location.”

Weathers said the shooting sports have become so popular across Alabama and the nation that they have become the basis for a majority of the federal funding WFF utilizes.

“That has been the case for quite some time, at least for the federal funding for wildlife restoration, purchase of new lands and the construction of these ranges,” he said. “In fact, 75 cents out of every dollar comes from a target shooter. This is a success story. It’s a way for us to take those dollars that Alabamians are paying and give them something back.

“They may or may not hunt, but there are a lot of people who support our programs as target shooters. For those folks who hunt, these are great places for them to go zero their deer rifles and polish up their equipment and shooting, and for those recreational target shooters it will be a year-round resource.”

Visit www.outdooralabama.com/activities/shooting-ranges for a map of the public shooting ranges in the state. Click on the icon for each range for information on times and days of operation. To use a public shooting range as an Alabama resident between the ages of 16 and 64, you will need any of the following: a valid hunting, heritage, fishing or WMA license. For non-residents, a valid WMA license or non-resident hunting license is required for all range users age 16 or older.

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