Opinion
WASHINGTON, D.C. — NSSF®, The Firearm Industry Trade Association, applauds Congress for bipartisan passage of H.R. 6492, the Expanding Public Lands Outdoor Recreation Experiences (EXPLORE) Act.
The legislation includes the NSSF-priority Range Access Act, which requires the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and the U.S. Forest Service (USFS), after consultation with local stakeholders, to build recreational shooting ranges in each BLM district and National Forest in areas where opportunities don’t already exist. These opportunities would allow for more access to public shooting ranges for target practice, a place to sight in rifles before hunting season and venues for in-person hunter safety courses, all without competing against private ranges that offer the same opportunities.
The legislation is now headed to President Joe Biden for signature.
“We are incredibly grateful that Congress recognized the public safety and recreational benefits of this legislation,” said Lawrence G. Keane, NSSF Senior Vice President and General Counsel. “This is a tremendous win for America’s gun owners and recreational target shooters and demonstrates what can be achieved when Congress works together for commonsense legislation that will improve access to safe firing ranges available to the public.”
The immediate benefit of this legislation is providing increased public access to safe recreational shooting ranges, especially in rural areas. Background checks for firearm sales saw a record of 21 million in 2020 and another 18.5 million in 2021, 16.4 million in 2022 and 15.8 million in 2023. Those gun owners, many of whom are first-timers, are in need of safe and modern ranges to practice marksmanship skills.
This legislation has the added benefit of supporting wildlife conservation and improving recreational shooting access. Recreational shooting is tied to approximately 85 percent of the Pittman-Robertson excise taxes currently being paid by firearm and ammunition manufacturers, making it a major driving contributor to wildlife conservation.
Since the Pittman-Robertson excise tax was enacted in 1937,firearm and ammunition makers have paid $27.38 billion in inflation-adjusted dollars for conservation and the construction and improvement of public recreational shooting ranges.
NSSF is especially thankful to U.S. Sens. Joe Manchin (D-W.V.), John Barrasso (R-Wyo.), Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.), Speaker of the House of Representatives Mike Johnson (R-La.) and U.S. Reps. Steve Scalise (R-La.), Bruce Westerman (R-Ark.) and Blake Moore (R-Utah) for their leadership in guiding this vitally important legislation to passage.
About The National Shooting Sports Foundation
NSSF is the trade association for the firearm industry. Its mission is to promote, protect and preserve hunting and shooting sports. Formed in 1961, NSSF has a membership of thousands of manufacturers, distributors, firearm retailers, shooting ranges, sportsmen’s organizations, and publishers nationwide. For more information, visit nssf.org
It’s really bothersome that Ammoland and NSSF have fallen for this charade. BLM built 3 “shooting ranges” near my house, they rank near a disaster. The 3 ranges are barley usable by any shooting enthusiast much less an avid shooter, reloader or non-professional competitive shooter. Besides experiencing open and flagrant drug use on the range by people while they are shooting, there are people loading and carrying loaded firearms from the parking lot to the shooting line behind shooters backs. You could blame this on novice shooters but the ranges were built with no shooting tables. Tables were only installed after a group… Read more »
I’d love to see the list of ingredients on that bill. I’m willing to bet it’s mostly pork….
Putting government clowns in charge of developing shooting ranges never works out well . Most of them hate guns and use the funding for other causes that don’t involve firearms . If they are actually forced to build a range they impose rules that will lead to the range being closed . This has been my experience with these clowns .
Our state-run ranges in my state do not allow handguns of any kind. Our game & fish commission run them. We cannot hunt with handguns so they aren’t allowed. In my area there are no public outdoor ranges other than ONE state-run range that’s over an hour away. We used to have one, but COVID turned the owner into “the king of his castle”. He went membership only, started charging a fortune for a 3-month membership (cheapest option), & I think he’s closed now. My family are members at a local indoor range. We know everyone that works there &… Read more »
“The legislation includes the NSSF-priority Range Access Act, which requires the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and the U.S. Forest Service (USFS), after consultation with local stakeholders, to build recreational shooting ranges in each BLM district and National Forest in areas where opportunities don’t already exist.”
Um, they can’t even keep the garbage cans empty on USFS land. How are they going to maintain, much less build, shooting ranges?! GET THE GOVERNMENT OFF MY LAND!!!!!
How cruel. I was all excited about getting new ranges and that they would be in BLM and National Forest lands until I read that the bill is headed to uncle ObiDUMBS desk. I am sure he won’t sign it.