Ricochet bullets close county shooting range

Stray bullets from the Douglas County Shooting Range have caused county officials to close it while they realign the pistol range.

Community Services Director Scott Morgan said the changes to the shooting range are under way to prevent ricochets and overshots from leaving the range.

"We've had a concern that overshots may be going toward a line of houses and that ricochets were heading over the hill toward the road and trails.

The problem is that the 50-yard pistol range is pointed toward private property.

Because people shooting pistols rarely shoot at 50 yards, they set targets at 25-yard and 10-yard intervals.

Because they are shooting down at the target, there is a chance for a bullet to glance off a rock and ricochet out of the range.

In order to correct the issue, the entire range will be tilted 30 degrees and berms will be built up on either side and at 25 and 10-yard intervals.

"The 10-yard berm will be clean fill with no rocks," Morgan said.

Morgan recognized that just before hunting season is a bad time to have the range closed.

Hunters use the rifle range to site their weapons.

Contractor Greg Lynn, who did the original work on the shooting range, is making the adjustments.

"He is a shooter, too," Morgan said. "We have a lot of interested people involved in this."

The shooting range has been open for nine years and is located on the site of the former Douglas County landfill.

It offers a 50-yard pistol range and a 300-yard rifle range and is open Tuesday through Sunday.