requesting recommendations for shooting ranges/gun clubs in NoVA

Hi,

I am moving to Arlington this week to start a new job, and I'm looking for a good shooting range to go to on a fairly regular basis. Ideally, I'd like a place with both pistol and rifle ranges, as I own both a pistol and a rifle.

A Google search returns a few places, but I figure personal recommendations would be more helpful in choosing a good range.

Thanks for your time.

Welcome to Virginia, even though you're moving to Arlington... which is almost an extension of Washington, DC.

I'm a member of two local ranges. One is the Arlington-Fairfax Chapter of the IWLA (Izaak Walton League of America) which is located at the bottom southwest corner of Fairfax County just a little above Manassas. We have 140 acres with a covered 100 yard handgun/rifle range, a skeet and trap range, archery, a stocked fishing pond, and camp grounds. The other range I belong to is the NRA indoor range in their national headquarters building in Fairfax. Both of these ranges are excellent. There are other ranges around our area as well. You won't have any problems finding one to go to.

I live in Falls Church. I suspect you might be disappointed with your options. How much time are you willing to spend on the road getting to a range?

I am fairly traffic delay intolerant, for me it is pretty much the NRA HQ range (in Fairfax) and then when they are open during the day Monday and Friday when I can avoid rush hour (I work at home). The NRA range is an indoor facility, well-staffed, relatively clean, and better-lighted than many. You can find details of their operation on their website. One thing that they don't tell you is that they usually have a wait during prime time, but I think this is true of every range within reasonable driving distance of DC.

Congratulations on your new job, and welcome to the DC area.