Renovation of rifle/pistol area at MDC's Andy Dalton Range underway

ASH GROVE, Mo. – Renovation work has begun on the rifle/pistol portion of the Missouri Department of Conservation’s (MDC) Andy Dalton Shooting Range and Outdoor Education Center, which means this part of the facility will be closed for much of the summer, but other parts of the Dalton Range are still open.

The rifle/pistol portion of the range has been closed since mid-April. A field review at that time showed that more than a quarter-century of use (the range opened in 1995) has taken its toll on this portion of the range and a renovation utilizing state-of-the-art materials and newer design methods was in order. Here is a description of the work being done at the Dalton Range:

• Ballistic rubber will be installed on baffle legs. This rubber material will trap projectiles that strike them and will also “self-heal,” meaning it will be durable as well as effective.
• The concrete aprons in front of the shoot house will be ground and shaped in a fashion that will direct projectiles down-range towards the "backstop" portion of the rifle/pistol range.
• A safety fence will be installed on top of the berms on either side of the rifle/pistol area to further enhance the safety features of this area.

As with any construction project, the work being done at the Dalton Range is weather-dependent, but the current plan calls for the rifle/pistol area to reopen some time in August.

The Dalton Range’s shotgun area and archery areas remain open. The shotgun area includes a shotgun patterning area and trap, skeet, and five-stand sporting clays fields. Dalton Range’s archery opportunities consist of a 3-D shooting and a static range. Programs will also continue to be held in the Dalton Range’s classroom facility. The Dalton Range is located east of Ash Grove in Greene County at 4897 N. Greene County Farm Road 61.

Shooters wanting to shoot should remember MDC operates a number of unstaffed shooting ranges across the state that offer firearms and/or archery opportunities. (Some of these unstaffed ranges are archery-only sites.) MDC unstaffed ranges in southwest Missouri that have firearms opportunities can be found at Flag Spring Conservation Area (Barry County), Busiek State Forest and Wildlife Area (Christian County), Lead Mine Conservation Area (Dallas County), and Fort Crowder Conservation Area (Newton County).

Information about MDC’s staffed and unstaffed shooting ranges in the state can be found at:

https://mdc.mo.gov/discover-nature/places/shooting-ranges