WESTBAY — To practice shooting, Joe Davenport has been driving 100 miles roundtrip from his home on Panama City Beach to a Gulf County gun range.
“I was a member at the St. Joe Rifle & Pistol Club for years,” he said. “It’s way out of the way.”
To his delight, that trip won’t be necessary starting Oct. 10, when the first phase of a new Bay County gun range at 11411 Landfill Road opens.
“This new range is only 15 to 17 miles from my home,” he said.
A portion of Phase 1 of the range is scheduled to open at 9 a.m. Oct. 10, including parking and stormwater management, 100-yard, 50-yard and 25-yard small-bore rifle ranges, and a 50-foot pistol range. A combination classroom, restroom and maintenance building also are part of Phase 1, but that isn’t done yet.
Portable restrooms will be at the site initially.
“Our goal right now is to get the shooting range open so people can get started sighting their rifles for hunting season,” said Valerie Sale, spokeswoman for Bay County.
Alex Tucker of Panama City Beach said he’s glad the range is opening so he can use it to sight in his rifle. He said he usually just hunts in public wildlife areas, but they don’t allow people to sight in their rifles on those properties.
“I also think the range will bring more people to the area because there is no real good gun range in a drivable distance near here,” Tucker said. “A lot of people in my situation who want to sight in rifles maybe drive 30 miles or more.”
The second phase of the project is proposed to include a 15-position sporting clays course. The final phase includes archery, trap and skeet fields.
BayCounty Parksand Recreation and Solid Waste employees are building the project, with the county pitching $200,000 toward the project from recreation impact fees charged on new development. In addition, the National Rifle Association contributed $25,000 to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) for the planning and design of this shooting range. The commission is operating and staffing the range and investing about $200,000 for equipment needed for the supporting clays, trap and skeet fields.
FWC operates similar facilities throughout the state and will manage Bay County’s facility. FWC officials have said the range will help alleviate a shortage of public recreational shooting facilities in Florida and will allow for FWC to hold hunter safety courses and provide a location for gun owners to practice the safe handling of a firearm.
The time frame for the opening of the other phases of the project is not yet known, said Jamie Jones, the county’s general services director on Wednesday.
Salesaid she has personally fielded quite a few calls from residents inquiring when the range is opening.
“I get more calls on this project than anything the County Commission has done in the 7½ years I’ve been here,” she said. “I’ll get a minimum of three calls a week.”
CountyCommissionChairman Guy Tunnell said he is excited about the range opening.
“I think from what I’ve seen this is going to be an excellent addition to our recreational facilities across the county,” he said.
He said the range could be used for future shooting sporting events, and it’s another amenity tourists can enjoy when they come here, he said.
FWC spokesman Stan Kirkland said it will cost $10 for a person to use the range for a day.
“There will be a concession stand there we’ll staff and operate, and all kinds of shooting supplies will be made available,” he said.
During fall and winter, the range will be open from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, and 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday, Thursday and Friday. The range will be closed all year on Tuesdays and Wednesdays. During the spring and summer months, the range will be open from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday, Sunday and Monday, and from noon to 7 p.m. on Thursdays and Fridays.