Legendary football coach Vince Lombardi said, “Practice does not make perfect. Only perfect practice makes perfect.” That may be true if you are trying to win the Super Bowl, but if you are a shooter looking to improve your aim for hunting season, any practice is better than none. Louisiana hunters are fortunate to have a wide range of attractive options for brushing up on their shooting skills. Skeet ranges, sporting clay course and just regular skeet throwers all give hunters ample opportunity to sharpen their skills.
Hours and days of operation often change this time of year, so the best way to find information in your area is to check online. You can use search engines to find areas near you with up-to-date information on hours, regulations, costs and phone numbers to call if you have additional questions.
Here are just a few of the types of areas you’ll find.
Wild Wings in Downsville
There are more than a dozen pay-to-shoot ranges in the state that are open to the public for modest fees. One of the most popular in north Louisiana is the Wild Wings Sporting Club in Union Parish. This shooting range offers everything from wobble trap, five-stand, and sporting clay shooting with 20 different shooting stands to live quail hunts during the season, spread throughout our beautiful wooded environment. You can even stay overnight. They also have drinks and shells available.
Honey Brake Gun Club in Jonesville
For a more high-end experience, there are clubs such as this one located mid-state in Catahoula Parish. This club requires membership at a reasonable fee and charges per round for shooting practice. It includes a 15-station sporting clays course that you can take on by yourself or with a guide and shooting instructor if needed. This facility has skeet shooting and a pro shop with all the supplies you will need.
Sheriff’s Shooting Ranges
Many local sheriff’s offices around the state maintain public shooting ranges with skeet and trap stations. These do not require membership, although they do charge small fees based on what you want to do. They are open to the public.
An example is the Ouachita Parish Sheriff’s Office range in West Monroe which offers daily or yearly charges for shooting. Charge for the shooting range is $10 per day and $7 per round for 25 throws.
LDWF Shooting Ranges
The Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries operates five public shooting ranges around the state. These are also open to the public with no membership charges.
The ranges are the Woodworth Shooting Range just south of Alexandria, the Sherburne Shooting Range outside of Krotz Springs, the Pearl-River/Honey Island Shooting Range near Slidell, the Natchitoches Shooting Range in Natchitoches and the Bodcau WMA Shooting Range at Haughton.
Whichever option you choose, make sure you check before you go to make sure you understand costs, rules and regulations and shooting hours.
