Can I legally go deep into the woods on public property to shoot in Virginia?

S

scotty123

New member
Hello everyone,

I am new to the forum and I would like to see if anyone knows if I could go deep into the woods and shoot my rifles. I have a membership for a 15 yard range and cant shoot any of my other guns there. The long distance range here is 600 dollars a year and I cant afford it, but it would be nice to be able to have some safe fun!
 
No, I don't think you can. But, there are several public ranges throughout the National Forests in VA. Where do you live? Do a Google search for shooting ranges in the George Washington National Forest and they will pop up.
 
Yeah the closest one is an hour away, but I remember going with my father when i was a kid and shooting in the public woods in NJ. This was along time ago, but it was enjoyable shooting away from everything.
 
Sure you can shoot on public property, people do it all the time. You just need to be in a discharge county, and follow all local and state laws. What county you plan to shoot in?
 
What part of the state are you in? What county are you in? Here in central Virginia we have a gun club that has indoor and outdoor pistol ranges, skeet fields, plinking range, long range rifle range, and an archery range. The price for membership is very reasonable as well. Check out the Rivanna Rifle and Pistol Club www.rrpc.org.
 
Sure you can shoot on public property, people do it all the time. You just need to be in a discharge county, and follow all local and state laws. What county you plan to shoot in?
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No, you can not, legally. You are not even allowed to take a gun into the public forests (state or national), unless you have a CPP, you are at a public gun range or you are hunting. You can only shoot while hunting, at a range or in self defense. You can shoot on private land all you want with the owners permission, except in some cities and counties that have specific restrictions.
 
Wow, I gota apologize. He said public property but I was totally thinking in my head private property. :cool:

I know of people who shoot on public land, but I can't attest to its legality.
 
No, you can not, legally. You are not even allowed to take a gun into the public forests (state or national), unless you have a CPP, you are at a public gun range or you are hunting. You can only shoot while hunting, at a range or in self defense. You can shoot on private land all you want with the owners permission, except in some cities and counties that have specific restrictions.
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Um, not quite.

You can take a gun anywhere you like into the National Forest but it must be cased and unloaded. This is actually a recent restriction implemented in 2009 under the guise of hunting regulations:

http://www.dgif.virginia.gov/hunting/regulations/publiclands.asp#nationalforests

Target practice is prohibited except at public ranges:

* Firearms may be discharged for target practice only at established shooting ranges.
* Firearms may be discharged in the general area for the purpose of hunting during the open season. Discharging a firearm in a developed recreation site is dangerous and prohibited.
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http://www.dgif.virginia.gov/hunting/shootingranges.asp
 
My understanding is that - no, you can't shoot on public land. The only exception being national parks in which it's now legal.
 
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