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St. LOUIS, Mo.—The recent dove season opener on Sept. 1 also marked the beginning of the fall hunting seasons. Fall hunting is already under way but it’s still early, which means now is the best time to sight in and pattern firearms for dove, deer, turkey, duck, and goose hunting.
The Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC) provides two staffed and four unstaffed shooting ranges across the St. Louis region to help hunters and other shooters prepare their firearms and hone shooting skills.
“Correctly sighting in your firearm and ensuring you can make a clean, accurate shot is one of the most important things you can do ahead of any hunting season,” said MDC August A. Busch Shooting Range and Outdoor Education Center Manager Bryant Hertel.
This is especially true after receiving a new firearm. Hunters should become familiar with their rifles by sighting in and shooting practice rounds in the low-stakes, pressure-free setting of a shooting range. When in the field and the moment counts, they’ll be much better prepared.
“The time to sort out firearm issues is not when you’re aimed at a deer,” Hertel said.
Hertel advised coming to the range early to address any issues hunters might have with aligning rifle scopes as well.
Early birds will also avoid the waiting times that develop as the November firearms deer season approaches.
Early preparedness helps upland bird and waterfowl hunters, too. Patterning shotguns and determining effective range in advance is critical for success in the fields and duck blinds. It’s also an ethical responsibility to prevent unnecessarily wounding birds.
The two MDC staffed shooting ranges and outdoor education centers in the St. Louis Region include: August A. Busch at 3550 Route D, approximately five miles west of Highway 94 in Defiance, and Jay Henges at 1100 Antire Road, just off I-44, exit 269 in Eureka.
Both shooting ranges have shooting lanes for rifle and pistols up to 100 yards. Use fees are $5 per hour at both facilities and include paper targets, and eye and ear protection, if shooters don’t have their own. Both shooting ranges feature trap fields, and shotgun patterning boards. The Busch Range also offers skeet shooting. $5 covers a round of shotgun shooting and clay birds at either facility, or an hour at the patterning board.
To assist deer and turkey bow hunters, each range also has static archery ranges with elevated platforms. Henges Range features walk-through archery trails on site as does the Busch Conservation Area across Highway 94 from the Busch Shooting Range.
Both staffed shooting ranges are currently open Wednesday-Sunday 10 a.m.-4:30 p.m. and closed Monday-Tuesday for maintenance and special use.
Additionally, MDC offers several unstaffed shooting ranges located on conservation areas throughout the St. Louis Region. These, by county, include:
Lincoln
Warren
Franklin/Washington
Crawford
There are no use fees for the unstaffed shooting ranges and shooters need to supply their own targets and safety gear. Shooters may use them from one half hour before sunrise to one half hour after sunset. MDC unstaffed ranges are generally closed each Monday until noon for routine maintenance, except state holidays. Some additional closures are indicated above.
MDC is committed to accessibility at all its nature centers, regional facilities, and conservation areas. To request an ADA accommodation for participation in MDC programs, visit https://mdc.mo.gov/accessibility.
