Shooting Ranges in Jacksonville and surrounding areas (Plantation, St. Augustine: felony, to buy)

[Christa LaFarlette]

Spelled wrong, but sounded it out correctly. No fees, bathrooms, and shooting. There are limits if I recall, but we take the kids out there and they do fine.

Good luck,
Christa

[Ocklawaha]

WTF? I thought on the west side of town, you just drive out, choose a target and get-R-done... Besides, you can score more points if your target is on the run!

At least that's what the local news would have us believe.

Ocklawaha

[HIF]

Okay, I went to the gun show a couple of weeks ago- VERY scary place. Very right-wing place. Was ready to purchase a 38 S & W until I saw the stupid Hillary flyer- "she's coming, buy now!"....so I just tore up the card with the make and model info, left it next to the Hillary flyer and purchased it at Shooters on University. Very professional place with knowledgable, non-sexist sales guys. I ended up getting the one without a hammer and take my concealed weapons course next Saturday. My son and I are going to be learning about gun safety and going for target practice together.

Both my sons had their jaws open that I would even own a gun. Although I am not a violent person and actually favor gun control- I am a firm believer that you play by the rules of the game, so I am playing by local rules. We live in Jax where my kids and I have personally witnessed more crime in four years than in 30+ years of living in south Florida. I also have never seen a place with a weaker, less-responsive law enforcement agency and I fear it will get worse before it gets better. So now, if someone starts trying to break down the door in a home invasion, I won't have to hide in the closet with my son waiting to be shot by some punk with a rusty old gun. I can sit on the couch and wait....and I'll be the better shot.

[apvbguy]

Originally Posted by HIF

Okay, I went to the gun show a couple of weeks ago- VERY scary place. Very right-wing place. Was ready to purchase a 38 S & W until I saw the stupid Hillary flyer- "she's coming, buy now!"....so I just tore up the card with the make and model info, left it next to the Hillary flyer and purchased it at Shooters on University. Very professional place with knowledgable, non-sexist sales guys. I ended up getting the one without a hammer and take my concealed weapons course next Saturday. My son and I are going to be learning about gun safety and going for target practice together.

Both my sons had their jaws open that I would even own a gun. Although I am not a violent person and actually favor gun control- I am a firm believer that you play by the rules of the game, so I am playing by local rules. We live in Jax where my kids and I have personally witnessed more crime in four years than in 30+ years of living in south Florida. I also have never seen a place with a weaker, less-responsive law enforcement agency and I fear it will get worse before it gets better. So now, if someone starts trying to break down the door in a home invasion, I won't have to hide in the closet with my son waiting to be shot by some punk with a rusty old gun. I can sit on the couch and wait....and I'll be the better shot.

congrats on your purchase, a few things I've learned about owning a weapon.
Practice, practice and practice some more! then you have to practice your mind, shooting at paper is not anything like shooting a person and this is where the problems begin. I was taught that if you draw or display your weapon you'd better be ready to use it, you don't want to hesitate and have the weapon taken from you. if you shoot someone, make sure it's a kill shot, you don't want to just get the bad guy pissed off!
Lastly if you feel you need the weapon for home defense a short barrelled shotgun might be a wiser choice because it requires less skill to use and has a lot of knockdown power.
Good luck and be safe

[LM1]

Originally Posted by HIF

Okay, I went to the gun show a couple of weeks ago- VERY scary place. Very right-wing place. Was ready to purchase a 38 S & W until I saw the stupid Hillary flyer- "she's coming, buy now!"....

A couple things...

Yes, gun shows suck.
I'm about as pro-Second Amendment as one can possibly get without supporting private ownership of chemical, biological or nuclear weapons (short of that, I'm pretty open ) and I fully agree that gun shows are the realm of drooling, anti-social idiots.

In the 1980's, they evolved into a "culture". Before that, they were easy going places where ordinary people went to swap guns. This "culture" is your survivalist/ultra right wing type and I can certainly see how this is unappealing to a lot of people. I wouldn't ever suggest a new shooter go to a gun show, simply because it's just too easy for them to leave with the absolute wrong impression about gun owners and shooting enthusiasts. In the late 1990's and 2000's, gun shows became totally worthless; simply a place where people who had already discovered the internet sold grossly marked up stuff to people who hadn't.

Still, their fears are pretty well founded with Hillary Clinton. You may choose to not own an AR15 or a repeating rifle but they do (as do a lot of people who are nothing like them) and she's been pretty clear where she stands on that.

[LM1]

Originally Posted by apvbguy

Lastly if you feel you need the weapon for home defense a short barrelled shotgun might be a wiser choice because it requires less skill to use and has a lot of knockdown power.

Sorry. Myth busted.
At typical close quarter ranges, a cylinder bore shotgun pattern isn't much larger than a baseball- very close, not much larger than a golfball, a bit further out, not much larger than a softball.
People incorrectly assume that all shotguns throw an imprecise wall of death that requires to skill to effect. This is totally, totally wrong and can cause people to use them incorrectly.
Yes, they are devastating when they hit (far more than a sidearm), but they do require as much if not more skill than a handgun to use effectively in close quarters and for women or smaller statured shooters, the recoil might be too great to use the gun effectively under stress (considering the proper load would be buckshot).

Long guns in close quarters require a great deal of skill and you still very much have to "know what you're doing"... but don't take my word for it. Go to a dedicated gun website and ask people who actually teach and know this stuff for a living.

[apvbguy]

Originally Posted by LM1

Sorry. Myth busted.
At typical close quarter ranges, a cylinder bore shotgun pattern isn't much larger than a baseball- very close, not much larger than a golfball, a bit further out, not much larger than a softball.
People incorrectly assume that all shotguns throw an imprecise wall of death that requires to skill to effect. This is totally, totally wrong and can cause people to use them incorrectly.
Yes, they are devastating when they hit (far more than a sidearm), but they do require as much if not more skill than a handgun to use effectively in close quarters and for women or smaller statured shooters, the recoil might be too great to use the gun effectively under stress (considering the proper load would be buckshot).

Long guns in close quarters require a great deal of skill and you still very much have to "know what you're doing"... but don't take my word for it. Go to a dedicated gun website and ask people who actually teach and know this stuff for a living.

maybe you know a lot more about these things than I do, but I'd be more comfortable defending myself at close quarters with my ithica 37 with 00 than any peashooter

[LM1]

Originally Posted by apvbguy

maybe you know a lot more about these things than I do, but I'd be more comfortable defending myself at close quarters with my ithica 37 with 00 than any peashooter

Oh, I agree 100% (and damn fine choice of a scattergun, too).
It's just for people who are just starting off (particular those without any background with firearms), a shotgun is something that should be "worked up to".

[crumis]

Manchester, there is a range in St. Augustine it is the F.O.P. range at I-95 & SR 16 but if you are looking for something with more amenities go to google and search shooting ranges st augustine florida. You should find the info you're looking for.

[TiggnTaz]

It is sorta off topic but what are the gun laws in FL. I am moving down from NJ and up here it is a pain in the @ss to get a gun permit. You need to have a permit, reister all the guns and to get the permit you need to have people write recommendations for you.

I use to hunt as a kid and would like to get back into target shooting.