“Ron Mason, who has managed the site near the Indiana National Guard's Camp Atterbury for three years, says 2,000 to 3,000 people hone their skills at the facility each month.
That's down 30 percent to 40 percent from past years, despite a facelift in 2008 that more than doubled the size of the range.” Mason noted that he had raised fees and limited shooting hours to try to balance income to expenses, but still couldn’t get enough users to keep the range financially viable.
The range was set to close at the end of December 2009, though the Department of Natural Resources said it hoped to re-open it sometime in 2010.
‘The shooting range opened in the mid-1970s with about 30 open-air firing stations. It underwent a $4.7 million renovation in 2008 and now features four trap and skeet fields, a long shotgun shooting area and a pistol and rifle range with 66 stations.
Mason said the facility helped produce a national championship team of clay target shooters.”“I hope that whoever takes it over is successful,” Mason told the Tribune. “It's a fantastic facility, and it's a shame to let ($4.7 million) go to waste of the sportsmen's money.”
Source: Illinois Tribune
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