MDC open house to discuss new rifle and pistol target range at Perry Conservation Area is Aug. 21 in Concordia

Concordia, Mo. – The Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC) will host an open house to inform citizens about plans for a new rifle and pistol target range at the Ralph and Martha Perry Memorial Conservation Area. The open house will be 6 to 8 p.m. on Aug. 21 at the Concordia Community Building, 802 S. Gordon St. The Perry area is south of Concordia and north of Knob Knoster. When the new range is completed, MDC will close an old range on the area.

The new target range will have features that the old one did not, said Debra Burns, MDC regional wildlife supervisor. Four lanes specifically for handguns will be built, which the old range did not have. The new range will have three 50-yard target lanes and two 100-yard target lanes. That’s an additional lane for each distance.

“There will be more opportunities for target practice at the new range,” Burns said.

Also, the firing line and shooting benches will be covered by a roof with safety features, which was not present at the old range. The new range’s firing line and targets will be in an excavated area with a 20-foot tall earthen berm behind the targets. A location off N.E. 925 Road will provide improved access for visitors.

The old target range at the 4,134-acre Perry Area was built in 1983. There have been flooding issues near the site at times, as it is near where the Blackwater River and Peavine Creek intersect. Tentative plans call for a start of construction on the new range this fall and the old range to be closed in 2020. Once the old range is closed, MDC will reclaim and recycle lead from backstop berms and renovate the site so it can revert to a natural state.

For information about the Perry Conservation Area, visit https://short.mdc.mo.gov/Zc7.