MaximusPew wrote:Hi there guys, I have been trying to find somewhere to shoot long range targets (gongs) in Victoria for the last three years without any luck whatsoever..I have tried letterdrops/doorknocks/internet searches/posts word of mouth you name it I’ve tried it..I’m just looking for someone or somewhere on private property that I can shoot steel without the worry of shooting in the bush and not knowing if I can or can’t do it in a particular location..I’ve tried Inland Hunting Properties but to be honest I’m not willing to pay the $440 minimum booking fee for one day of shooting..I’ve been shooting at Little River and I just can’t do it anymore..Firstly 500 metres is too short and no challenge at all..secondly, having a ceasefire every twenty minutes then waiting 1/2 hour for some bloke to walk out and back to 400 to check his targets is driving me crazy..thirdly, I’m bored witless shooting groups at 200,300 etc and I’m not interested in shooting F-class or Fly with all of its regulations and restrictions etc..I’m honestly at the point of selling all of my stuff and giving up the sport I love because I just can’t do anything I want to do which is shooting targets at long range (800+)..I’ve spent over $30k on guns, gear, reloading equipment and all the other necessities yet I can’t really use it all for anything..I know there’s a few clubs that shoot longer ranges but I’m not keen on driving to Mildura to shoot 1000 yards, nor am I interested in any of the VRA clubs with its single shot .308 or .233 etc.. I’m fully licenced, 46 years old, SSAA member with insurance, range officer qualified..I’m willing to pay S fee to anyone with property who will allow me to shoot targets (I’m not interested in hunting or spotlighting) within a couple of hours of Melbourne just target shooting in a safe environment..sorry for the long post/whinge but I have tried everything and this is my last option..I have a 6.5 Swede and a 6.5x47 Lap for long range..thanks for reading this far
I can only suggest you start looking for a block of land of your own, or even go into a block with a bunch of other shooters. I would suggest you find somewhere big though. An acre is only 4000m2, or a 63 meter square, or as a range, 20m wide by 200m long. 100 acres could give you 1000m shooting, if it's only 400m wide, which means both neighbours are close by. You also want to be well away from roads if possible. And you'll need clear line-of-sight. One of our blocks is 1200m by 200m, which sounds like the perfect rifle range, but one end of it is flat on top of a hill, and the middle part is dense native bush. I can shoot .22LR out to 650m, but that's because the bullets are coming into the target at 50-degrees, so they hit the ground just a couple meters behind the target (at 45-degrees into a target two-meters above ground, the bullets hit the ground two meters behind the target). A high-velocity rifle bullet would go through the target and keep going over the hill so I can't shoot anything flat-shooting at this particular target. I can shoot out past 800m on a neighbour's block, but it's over a long valley with hellish winds tearing along it all the time.
I shoot a lot of high-velocity rifles here as well, but I try to keep those to weekdays when kids are at school and most parents are working in town. I talk to all the neighbours and they're all fine with it, but you can never be quite sure how anybody really feels about anything. They could say they're fine with it and yet be straight on the phone to Police at the first shot. The neighbours that are actually working the land don't mind me shooting at all, as they all shoot as well.