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Hunting near Shooting Range??

Kmark77

New Member
Jan 17, 2020
26
11
3
29
SE WI
Over the past few weeks i've been looking for a new public hunting spot closer to home. One of the areas I scouted is full of deer sign and has several different stand opportunities. The only drawback is that the public land butts up against a trap shooting range.

Has anyone had experience hunting near a shooting range? Any suggestions? Is the fact that i'm so close to the range going to kill my chances?
 

TNbowhunter

Well-Known Member
SH Member
Mar 12, 2019
1,030
1,788
113
Middle Tennessee
I’ve seen deer wander out into the mowed area 100-200 yards down range at a skeet/trap range here in TN, and they didn’t seem bothered by it in the least. Over time, I think deer become accustomed to stuff like that and don’t let it bother them, like how they’re not bothered by a farmer on a tractor.
 

HuntNorthEast

Well-Known Member
Jul 24, 2020
1,027
1,416
113
33
Southern Maine
YOUTUBE
HuntNorthEast
Over the past few weeks i've been looking for a new public hunting spot closer to home. One of the areas I scouted is full of deer sign and has several different stand opportunities. The only drawback is that the public land butts up against a trap shooting range.

Has anyone had experience hunting near a shooting range? Any suggestions? Is the fact that i'm so close to the range going to kill my chances?
Shootin' range up here has a ton of deer all around it, year round!
 

LtMoe66

Well-Known Member
SH Member
Jun 1, 2020
915
1,446
93
57
I’m hunting a public area that has a shooting range that butts right up to were I’ve been hunting. I’ve noticed the deer seem to be used to it and I missed a 145” deer that came from a bedding area that was right next to the fence that separates the range. I also think they get overlooked because same reason your not sure . Lol! Go for it! Can’t hurt to at least try.
 

bloodsoakedberber

Well-Known Member
Oct 9, 2018
1,014
820
113
38
Wheeling, West Virginia
I hunted a spot with a friend that bordered a shooting range. He was a member there and said he always saw deer in the place. I didn't hunt there a lot but it didn't seem to bother the deer best I could tell and he killed a ton of deer off that property.
 

Hunter260

Well-Known Member
Sep 14, 2019
1,585
2,635
113
28
Ash Flat, AR
If there’s a big buck anywhere on the property I would not be surprised if he bedded less than 200 yards from the range. Especially if there’s thick cover or a ridge where he can get a good view of human activity.
 

Weldabeast

Well-Known Member
SH Member
May 23, 2019
12,569
26,188
113
Northeast Florida
A piece of public I hunt has a private range that butts up to it....the animals don't care about the noise. I watched some does last year and the.people were going nuts at the range and not even an ear flick in that direction
 

JBDaddy

Well-Known Member
Jan 21, 2018
766
1,105
93
50
Lenawee, MI
My local conservation league has a strict no-hunting policy on their property, which is a shame... I've literally walked down the 200y rifle range to pull targets after 15 minutes of shooting and had them standing right inside the trees at the sides, not the least bit bothered with the shooting or human presence.
 

Hunter260

Well-Known Member
Sep 14, 2019
1,585
2,635
113
28
Ash Flat, AR
My local conservation league has a strict no-hunting policy on their property, which is a shame... I've literally walked down the 200y rifle range to pull targets after 15 minutes of shooting and had them standing right inside the trees at the sides, not the least bit bothered with the shooting or human presence.
Are you allowed to “miss” when you’re sighting your rifle in during season?
 
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sureshotscott

Moderator
Staff member
SH Member
Jul 18, 2017
1,975
3,563
113
SE MI
Shot a big 3gun match a couple years ago--hundreds of competitors--where all operations came to a halt because of some stupid doe feeding around a steel target we were shooting at.
 

Kevlar

New Member
Aug 12, 2020
30
55
18
40
Like everyone else here has pretty much said, they don't seem to be impacted. I see deer and turkey all the time all around the range I'm a member of
 

DB4x4

Well-Known Member
Jul 25, 2018
1,871
4,980
113
37
Over the past few weeks i've been looking for a new public hunting spot closer to home. One of the areas I scouted is full of deer sign and has several different stand opportunities. The only drawback is that the public land butts up against a trap shooting range.

Has anyone had experience hunting near a shooting range? Any suggestions? Is the fact that i'm so close to the range going to kill my chances?

Depends... Are you setting up downrange of the shooters and if so, how close are you going to BB?

... Sorry, couldn't resist.
 
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Kmark77

New Member
Jan 17, 2020
26
11
3
29
SE WI
The area is downrange from the shooters. While I was scouting you could definetly hear the bbs raining down in the woods. The huntable area is probably 500yards plus from the nearest clay stand.

Sent from my SM-A515U using Tapatalk
 

Apex7

Well-Known Member
SH Member
Jan 6, 2017
3,745
2,735
113
64
Pittsburgh Pa
The deer walk right out on the trap range at the sportsman's club I belong to during their league shoot. Doesn't bother them a bit.