NRA Range in Fairfax (Arlington, Centreville: contractor, price, club)

[CAVA1990]

Originally Posted by GMUAlum08

Ammo is too expensive to be shooting regularly right now. Reloading isn't an option for me

One advantage of air guns.

[Bigfoot424]

Originally Posted by GMUAlum08

i've used the NRA range and Silver Eagle group in Ashburn. Liked both but NRA range is more crowded but never had to wait for more than 15-20 minutes.

Ammo is too expensive to be shooting regularly right now. Reloading isn't an option for me

Wait times at NRA are now 1-2 hours unless you show up an hour before they open.

[Bigfoot424]

Does anyone know what the membership criteria and cost is for Izaak Walton League of America in Centreville?


I have not been there in years but there is a branch in Manassas. It's off Bristow Rd.

http://www.pwiwla.org/membership.html

[car54]

I have a buddy that used to be a NRA exec. He used to invite me to join him on the NRA range after/before hours.

We also could fire some of the weapons in the Association's arsenal....and they have some neat stuff (full autos, etc).

Alas, he retired a few years ago and moved to Hawaii....

[SPHokie]

I've been to the NRA range, Blue Ridge Arsenal, and Silver Eagle.

The NRA is probably the best one, but Silver Eagle is much closer for me. I stopped going to Blue Ridge because they had a really bad ventilation system, but I hear they renovated in the last 1-2 years.

NoVA could definitely use a few more gun ranges, the long wait times are a major PIA.

[Fundman]

The Arlington-Fairfax Chapter of the Izaak Walton League is located off Route 28 in Centreville. They have 4 trap/skeet locations and a 100 yard rifle range with around 16 lanes. Paper targets are set at 25, 50, 75, and 100 yards. The biggest negative is that the only way to shoot handguns is on the rifle range so the closest target will be 25 yards away. They also have a gigantic baffle to prevent you from shooting in an upward direction and it is really distracting if you shoot standing up. There is usually a waiting list to join and they hold monthly orientation meetings in the beginning of the year until any memberships that weren't renewed are filled up. It's $170 for a single membership. Even though there are around 2000 members it is almost never crowded. You see the same group of regulars there every time. It's mostly men in their 50s and 60s.

[Cardiff Kook]

Originally Posted by Bigfoot424

Wait times at NRA are now 1-2 hours unless you show up an hour before they open.

When did that happen? As soon as ammo prices jumped? I haven't been there in a while (6 months) but it was never that bad before

[Shelborne_22033]

Originally Posted by Fundman

The Arlington-Fairfax Chapter of the Izaak Walton League is located off Route 28 in Centreville. They have 4 trap/skeet locations and a 100 yard rifle range with around 16 lanes. Paper targets are set at 25, 50, 75, and 100 yards. The biggest negative is that the only way to shoot handguns is on the rifle range so the closest target will be 25 yards away. They also have a gigantic baffle to prevent you from shooting in an upward direction and it is really distracting if you shoot standing up. There is usually a waiting list to join and they hold monthly orientation meetings in the beginning of the year until any memberships that weren't renewed are filled up. It's $170 for a single membership. Even though there are around 2000 members it is almost never crowded. You see the same group of regulars there every time. It's mostly men in their 50s and 60s.

Here is the IWLA website URL.

I paid $180 annual dues for 2013 but there are different membership categories. Shooting pistols at 25yds does make it problematic to teach new pistol marksmanship but IWLA-AFC is more about target shooting and target shooting competitions. Only bulls-eye targets or variations are allowed, no silhouettes or anything that resembles a human target. I'm 6'1" and never had a problem with shooting under the baffles. The baffles were put in place to prevent rounds from going off property and flying over the adjacent 'hood downrange, 1/4 mile away.

If you go off hours and not just before fall hunting season, it's rarely full. It does have a membership cap limit.

[oneasterisk]

Originally Posted by Bigfoot424

Does anyone know what the membership criteria and cost is for Izaak Walton League of America in Centreville?


I have not been there in years but there is a branch in Manassas. It's off Bristow Rd.

Izaak Walton League, Prince William

A coworker is a member there for archery. He said the outdoor range is indefinitely closed. Not sure if that's a deal breaker for you. Also no 5.56/.223

[Hersh]

I joined the AF-IWLA last year. You need to send them an email to get on the wait list to apply to join. They have an overall membership cap of 2200 (I think), so as folks don't renew their memberships, spots open up. Now is the time of the year to get on the wait list.

Once you get moved up the list, they'll schedule you to attend a mandatory orientation meeting on a Saturday where they go over all the rules, safety measures, etc. If you decide to apply for membership, you then fill out an application, and pay the current year's dues (2013 is $180 for single) + an initiation fee of $130. You then have to fulfill a 6 hour "volunteer" work requirement within 6 months in order to get full access rights. This can be doing stream cleanups, Adopt-a-highway clean up, range clean up, restocking clays at the shotgun range, etc. Once you complete all that, you just have to pay the annual dues to keep up membership.