The public shooting range at Grand River Wildlife Area in Bristolville reopened on Nov. 11 after a multiyear renovation, giving Trumbull County hunters, target shooters and archers a rebuilt facility with far more capacity than before. The range now includes 102 covered rifle and pistol lanes, a shotgun range with clay throwers, and both static and field archery courses.
The Ohio Department of Natural Resources Division of Wildlife oversaw the project, according to Outdoor Wire. Shooters can now choose distances of 50 feet and 25, 50, 100 and 200 yards at the Class A supervised public range, located at 6693 Hoffman Norton Road NW. Local station WKBN put the total cost of the overhaul at $11 million, reporting that “the $11 million project took years of planning.”
Part of that investment went into technology at the far end of the range. The 200-yard shooting lanes now feature a Kongsberg electronic target system alongside steel targets installed by Mr. Target, a setup that allows continuous shooting at 200 yards without having to shut the range down just to reset paper targets. Visitors still need to bring their own paper targets and ammunition, and the range provides target stands for use on site.
New Education Center Adds Classes and Demonstrations
Crews also built a new 7,000-square-foot education center as part of the renovation, per the same WKBN report. The facility will be used to offer classes and programs, and will house outdoor skills instruction along with game cooking and processing demonstrations, rounding out the range's offerings beyond live-fire shooting.
Hours for the main range are Wednesday through Sunday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., except on state holidays, with shooting ceasing at 4:40 p.m. each day to allow for close-out procedures. The archery range operates on a more flexible schedule, open daily from sunrise to sunset.
Permits Required for Adult Shooters
Anyone 18 or older who wants to shoot on the range needs to purchase a Shooting Range Permit before arriving, since permits are not sold on site, according to the Outdoor Wire report. Options include a one-day permit for $5, a one-year permit for $24, or a combined annual shooting range permit and hunting license for $29.12. Permits can be bought through hunting and fishing license outlets, at huntfishOH.gov, or via the HuntFish OH mobile app.
Shooters 17 and younger don't need their own permit, but they must be accompanied and directly monitored by a permitted adult 18 or older. Archery range users are not required to carry a permit at all. The Ohio Department of Natural Resources lists these rules for its Class A, B and C ranges statewide.
How Firearm Purchases Fund Range Upgrades
The money behind projects like this one traces back to purchases made far from Trumbull County. Firearms and ammunition purchases help fund shooting range renovations through a federal excise tax on firearms and ammunition that helps pay for the construction and maintenance of public shooting ranges across Ohio, per the Outdoor Wire report.
That funding flows through the Wildlife Restoration Program, which has dedicated permanent funding to wildlife conservation and hunter education since 1937 and draws its revenue from federal excise taxes on ammunition, firearms and archery equipment. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service administers those funds annually, and Ohio's Division of Wildlife uses the money to acquire habitat, support wildlife recreation access, conduct hunter education, carry out wildlife research and construct and operate target ranges like the one in Bristolville. The division describes its mission as conserving and improving fish and wildlife resources and habitats for sustainable use and appreciation by all, while ODNR says it works to balance wise use and protection of natural resources for everyone's benefit.
