“In the United States, the sporting arms and ammunition industry generates more than $27 billion and more than 88,000 jobs. And in Georgia, shooting sports generate over $478 million in economic activity,” said Mark Williams, Commissioner of the Georgia Department of Natural Resources. “And now, right here, you have this outstanding shooting sport center that is sure to be a significant draw for recreational target shooters.”

The Ranges at Oakfield offers a 100-yard rifle range and a 25-yard pistol range, two trap and skeet fields, and a five stand shotgun range, with future plans for expansion to include a static archery course and 3D archery targets.

Development of this range began in 2014, when Thomas County officials began researching the process to bring to the community a place to shoot, and additionally providing an opportunity for new shooters to learn proper technique and responsible gun safety. In 2018, a partnership with the Georgia Department of Natural Resources resulted in a grant, that when partnered with a match by the county, allowed for construction of the facility.

“I think we have pushed our range to the next level. How? Because our rifle range initially had plans for simple paper targets, but after some research we discovered a digital targeting system called Kongsberg,” said Phillip Brown, Chair of the Thomas County Board of Commissioners. “During our soft opening of this facility, we found our customers to be extremely happy with this system, from not only the safety aspect of not having to go down range, but also the convenience of firing multiple times without checking paper. Additionally, the accuracy of the targets is well above our expectations and our customer’s dreams. We feel this has given us an advantage over other ranges in our area.”

Planning a Visit? The Ranges at Oakfield offers both daily and member opportunities. Admission rates are $20/day for non-members, or $300 one-time annually (or $30 monthly) for members. Shotgun trap/skeet and five-stand have additional charges per round. There is no admission fee for youth, age 16 and under.

For more information, visit https://thomascountyboc.org/oakfield. For more information on additional public ranges available in Georgia, visit http://georgiawildlife.com/AllRanges.

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