Central Illinois Shooters

Not many near me that are not private or at least require a membership of some sort. I'm in Peoria, so When I go out, it's usually to the property of a friend of up to a place in Ottawa called the "Buffalo Range".

How central do you want to get? I can ask to host a get-together at Abe Lincoln Gun Club in Springfield, although I don't know that I could do it.

That would mean some restrictions--no targets that could cause ricochet, no full-auto or approximations thereof, and absolutely no alcohol or even empty containers on the property even after the guns are put away.

Darnall's in Bloomington is supposed to be great, and they do some really good defensive classes as well. Midwest Training Group is based there and they say they will do classes for groups on request, so if we could put together enough people we could do a THR shooting class. Bloomington is also very central, maybe even more so than Springfield.

The Buffalo Range is in Ottawa, which as observed above is not very centrally located, but it has the advantage of being a lot "looser" venue. They've got a "pit" area where you can shoot pretty much any target you want, for instance, and I believe they've got an area that's good for barbecue.
I haven't been there myself, this is just what I've been told.

I go to buffalo range. Its a pretty cool place for shooting, but it does have weaknesses. The longest rifle range is only 100 yards. I would like to see something like 300-500. Also, the tables and stools you get are pretty old and rotted. Other than that, it's an awesome place to shoot. Its the only place I can go within 2 hours of my house and pretty much the only place I've ever shot.

does anybody have contact info for the buffalo rock range?

TIA

anybody have contact info for bufalo rock? TIA

buffalorange.tripod.com

They are closed until march 31st though. I have nighmares about not being able to shoot and thats the only place I can go.

Buffalo Range

Great place and good people. They have done a lot of work to the place and there are plans for a two hundred yard range to be put in within a couple years.

100yrd benches


The plinking pit, bump firing your weapon is ok!



This is the area where AR15.com held their Tactical rifle match this fall. It was a low speed casual match where newbies were encouraged to join the fun.

Looking out at the 50/75/100 yard target stands.


There is a dedicated pistol area and a dedicated shot gun area with clay throwers.

There is a large area where you can set up a picnic and I think there is a grill already there.

I know the CRO and some of the employees. If Buffalo works for you guys in the spring let me know. They may be willing to open up the area where the Tac rifle shoot was held for a THR only shoot.

Us Illinois ARFCOM guys will have a spring shoot also with a possible three gun shoot. Last falls three gun turned into seperate rifle and shotgun matches.

Midwest Training Group is based there and they say they will do classes for groups on request, so if we could put together enough people we could do a THR shooting class.

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I am 100% in on this.

The only reason I haven't taken a course yet is I have nobody to go with. It would be great if we could put something together.

I am down for a get together of some sort at the Buffalo Range or even something in Blomington. The best thing about the buffalo range is the price and the atmosphere. Can't wait till the cold breaks.

I have been thinking the same, since I moved back from the sheeples republic of California....but the land is pretty expensive as most of it is prime farming and hunting land. The one good thing about the west coast was the abundance of BLM land. An added bonus in southern California was the proximity of the BLM land to the bombing ranges for the Navy, Maarines, and AF. On multiple ocassions we got to watch some f-15 &f-18s drop ordinance at the other end of the chockwalla valley. Iw ould be down for a training class in blomington if it works with my travel schedule for work.

The only reason I haven't taken a course yet is I have nobody to go with. It would be great if we could put something together.

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So go by yourself. It'll be fine, trust me on that.

There's a relatively new range north of Peoria (on the East side of the river). Midwest Firearms invited a bunch of people out there last July and Springfield came down along with Armalite and a couple of other mfg's and let people shoot for free. It was pretty good. I was able to shoot a M1A Supermatch and a Leatham TGO .45. (Very impressed). My neighbor and I have put together a crude 100 yard range that's not too bad but it's a single lane. I've heard that Darnell's (Bloomington) has 200 and 300 yard ranges but I haven't been out there to check it out. (I'm not much of a shot at 100 . . .so . . )

Regards,
Dave

I was just looking at that Darnall's range in Bloomington. I've never seen this place before, and it looks very interesting. Although it is about 45 mins further away from my house than Buffalo Range, the extra time is well worth it. They have a 300 yard range, and membership is only $65 a year. I go to Buffalo Range like 4 times per summer and thats $80. Not to mention Buffalo Range is closed during winter, whereas Darnalls is not. I'm probably going to shoot there sometime soon or I might go into withdrawal. I need some more info about it but I'll save that for a separate thread.

Buffalo Range

nucstl1 said:

I am down for a get together of some sort at the Buffalo Range or even something in Blomington. The best thing about the buffalo range is the price and the atmosphere. Can't wait till the cold breaks.

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Ditto.
I shoot on a friend's farm most of the time but we go to Buffalo once in awhile for the atmosphere. It is a nice place to shoot. Other shooters are great. I've had the opportunity to shoot a few nice guns by invitation to do so including a couple ARs and a S&W 657 41 mag.
I intend to get an AR rifle but need to learn more about them first.

I previously held a membership at Darnall's. It is a nice range...located just outside of Bloomington. Shooting the 200 and 300 yard ranges require advance notice because the 300 yard lane basically scans the entire firing line. I only let the membership lapse because I moved another hour north...else I would have re-upped.

Buffalo Rock Range is OK for a public range...but I must confess that I have had more than a few bad experiences there with other shooters. The "plinking" pit runs a bit loose for my taste...and I have seen some ludicrous behavior on the covered lanes. The bullet holes in the shelter roof gives you some idea... I have shot there many times over the last 10 years or so...it just seems that the quality of my experience has really been dependent on the quality of the other shooters' level of concern (or lack thereof) for safety. YMMV.

If we stay in the Springfield/Bloomington/Peoria area, I'm game. Just depends on when and where.

Bump, anyone?