County moving ahead with plan for gun range

Adrienne Packer

Tuesday, March 19, 2002 | 10:01 a.m.

Clark County has yet to secure about 2,900 acres from the federal government, but park planners are preparing to pull the trigger on a $20 million shooting range in the northwest.

Commissioners today were expected to approve an advisory committee, the first significant step in designing and developing the "shooting park."

"Once we get the land, we need to be prepared," said Jeff Harris, the county's park planning manager.

Legislation designed to transfer a swath of vacant land north of Moccasin Road and west of Decatur Boulevard to the county is moving through Congress, Harris said.

Elected officials, gun enthusiasts, law enforcement authorities and members of the "general public" will be invited to serve on the advisory committee, says a parks and recreation report.

County planners for years have discussed developing a shooting park, but with development encroaching on existing ranges and the illegal hobby of firing weapons in the open desert still popular, timing is crucial, Harris said.

Five years ago an off-duty Metro Police officer who was riding his dirt bike in the desert near Apex died after he was struck by a stray bullet fired by target shooters more than 1,000 feet away.

And bullets presumably from weapons fired from a private gun club off Charleston Boulevard have been found in campgrounds in Red Rock Canyon.

"When you have bullets falling into campgrounds, there are some public health issues," Harris said. "People have always gone out to the desert and practiced shooting; it continues today, unfortunately.

"I think having a place to go, an outlet, is one of the solutions."

Harris said funding sources haven't been identified; flood control improvements and studies are expected to cost an additional $10 million.

The facility will be designed after Phoenix's Ben Avery Shooting Facility, which includes 16 specialty rifle and pistol ranges, five field archery ranges, a clay target center, training classrooms and conference centers. All-day shooting at the Ben Avery center costs adults $5; children younger than 18 are admitted free.