County shooting range will reopen on Friday

Realignment of Douglas County's pistol range is complete and it will be open and ready for business Friday.

"The range was closed for safety reasons," said Scott Morgan, Douglas County's community services director. "It was an alignment issue. Given the design and orientation of the range, ricochets were going over public trails."

The 50-yard pistol range was also pointed toward private property, Morgan said.

To address the issues, the angle of the range has been changed and berms added to the site, located on six acres of Douglas County's old landfill at the end of Pinenut Road south of Gardnerville.

The project, which started Sept. 12, cost about $40,000, Morgan said.

"We made some improvements," he said. "We moved the shade structure and poured a new pad for that, plus we had to move a lot of dirt. We put a 20-foot berm between the rifle and pistol range and added some security features, like a camera at the entrance."

The range will be open from sunrise to sunset seven days a week, with the exception of 9 a.m. to noon on Wednesdays when it is reserved for law enforcement training.

The cost is $2 per vehicle.

The shooting range has been open for nine years and offers a 50-yard pistol range and 300-yard rifle range.

n Susie Vasquez can be reached at svasquez@recordcourier.com or 782-5121, ext. 211.