The Wayne E. Smith Shooting Range, located on Cold Mountain Game Land south of Waynesville, will close April 13-17 for routine maintenance and repairs. Here’s the release from the North Wildlife Resources Commission:
Wildlife Commission reminds visitors to Cold Mountain Shooting Range of temporary closure
WAYNESVILLE, N.C. (April 10, 2015) — The N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission will temporarily close the Wayne E. Smith Shooting Range on Cold Mountain Game Land on April 13-17 for routine maintenance and repairs.
Each spring, Commission staff closes the range, which is located in Haywood County, to clean the grounds, shore the backstop, grade the shooting lanes, and then seed, fertilize and lime the lanes. Staff also will repair and grade the parking area and entrance road, as well as repair or replace shooting benches as needed. The range is scheduled to reopen on April 18.
The Wildlife Commission does not staff the Wayne E. Smith Shooting Range, but it is open to the public free of charge during daylight hours Monday through Saturday. No shooting is allowed on Sundays. Shooters are allowed to use pistols, rifles, shotguns and muzzleloaders on the range, which features five shooting lanes.
The range does not have an address, but it is located near Waynesville in Haywood County, about two miles past Lake Logan off of Hwy 215, when traveling from Hwy 276. GPS coordinates are: -82 56.385, 35 22.841.
For more information about public and private shooting ranges across North Carolina, see the Wildlife Commission’s onlineinteractive map. For more information about the Wayne E. Smith Shooting Range on Cold Mountain Game Land, contact Land Management Biologist David Stewart at 828-648-0008.
About the N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission
Since 1947, the N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission has been dedicated to the conservation and sustainability of the state’s fish and wildlife resources through research, scientific management, wise use, and public input. The Commission is the state regulatory agency responsible for the enforcement of fishing, hunting, trapping and boating laws and provides programs and opportunities for wildlife-related educational, recreational and sporting activities. To learn more, visit www.ncwildlife.org.
Get N.C. Wildlife Update — news including season dates, bag limits, legislative updates and more — delivered free to your Inbox from the N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission. Go to www.ncwildlife.org/enews.
Evidently the Lake Logan public shooting range is either still closed and/or the hours have been drastically changed. The place used to be closed only on Sunday, but according to the sign it is closed Sunday and Monday’s. Also it used to be open sunup to sundown. Now just 10:30 to 5:30. There will be a ranger present, which I think is good. What is not good, is the public was not notified adequately about the change. If one googles the Lake Logan gun range, there is nothing about the change in hours or days open. The new hours are ridiculous. Now it is only for people who don’t work, and the hours are drastically shortened. It will be nightmare getting to find a stop to shoot. I suggest that something be published so search engines will let the public know the new days and hours of operation. I drove out Saturday morning 35 minutes and another guy 40 minutes to be there at sun up only to find it closed until 10:30. Others at the Hazelwood gun store told me that it isn’t open at all as of this time. Please help.
http://www.ncwildlife.org/News/TabId/88/ArtMID/6635/ArticleID/1396/Wildlife-Commission-Reopens-Cold-Mountain-Shooting-Range.aspx
That’s the latest news I could find. You may also find this useful: http://www.ncwildlife.org/Hunting/BeforetheHunt/ShootingRanges.aspx