Saturday drive to the shooting range, Susitna Landing

Last Saturday I visited a couple of sites up the Parks Highway that I know you are aware of but which you might not know about.

What am I talking about?

Big changes have occurred and are continuing to happen at both of these locations and you should know about the improvements and upgrades.

If you’re a recreational shooter who uses established shooting ranges, then you’ve probably heard about the Upper Susitna Shooters Association shooting range located right beside the Parks Highway at Mile 94. I’ve been a member for probably a dozen years and have been active in helping run the range as a certified National Rifle Association Range Safety Officer for the last seven or eight years. I visited last Saturday to attend the preseason RSO meeting and tour the range to see the improvements.

This past fall, club member volunteers put a lot of time into upgrading the 200-yard range by extending the covered shooting area, approximately doubling the number of shooting lanes now available. A second 100-yard range was also roughed in on the other side of the 200-yard range. This range is not currently usable, but the plan is to have it complete or nearly so by sometime this fall.

Tens of thousands of yards of sub-standard material were removed from the 1,000-yard range and replaced with gravel. The range was leveled out and the road alongside the shooting lanes, including access points at 300, 500, and 800 yards, was significantly improved. The shooting bench area was also redone and future plans include improved signage and gates as safety improvements to better serve the shooters using this range.

To my knowledge, this 1,000-yard range is the only one of its kind, at least in Southcentral Alaska and perhaps even statewide, which is privately operated and open to the public.

The club has invested many thousands of dollars into these upgrades and improvements. They are hoping folks will visit the facility and take advantage of the many different shooting clinics and scheduled shooting activities already on the books for this summer season.

The USSA facility is open to the public five days a week: Monday, Wednesday, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. The cost to shoot is $5 for members and $10 for non-members on the 25, 50, 100, and 200-yard ranges. The 1,000-yard range fees are $10 for members and $20 for non-members.

If you’re driving by when the range is open, stop in and see how nice this facility is for shooting activities.

On my way back to Big Lake, I stopped in at Susitna Landing (mile 82.5 Parks Highway) to visit with Marilyn and Joe and see how ice-out on the Kashwitna River was progressing. The facility is located on the Kashwitna River a couple of hundred yards up from where the Kashwitna flows into the Susitna River. The river was running ice-free, but Joe told me they’re still seeing an occasional patch of ice flow by.

The river is quite low for this time of year, if memory serves. However, Joe told me folks were still launching boats and getting around with no trouble. There have been some bear hunters getting out on the river and several folks have been fishing for trout and grayling and having good success. The anglers I spoke with were all doing catch-and-release for the fish caught (trout are required to be released this time of year). One fisherman, who Joe said has been fishing almost every day, caught around 50 trout during one eight-hour angling day.

I was surprised to see that well over a dozen RV’s and trailers were in the facility last weekend. I guess the early spring and dry weather have folks beginning their recreational camping season sooner this year. If the weather holds, I mentioned to Joe that they might have a full house over the Memorial Day weekend!

Marilyn has the espresso machine up and running in the office. Again, if you’re driving by, plan to stop in and see the facility. It’s only about a mile down Susitna Landing Road, a left-hand turn off the Parks if you’re northbound. Tell them Howard sent you!

Our Valley hunter education training season begins tomorrow when I will be assisting teaching a muzzleloader HE class. Next Saturday, I’ll be helping with a bowhunter education class. As part of your fall hunting plans, sign up now and take the necessary hunter education courses you’ll need.

Howard Delo is a retired fisheries biologist with the Alaska Department of Fish and Game. This column is the opinion of the writer and does not necessarily reflect the views of the Mat-Su Valley Frontiersman or its parent company, Wick Communications. You can leave Delo a message by emailing sports@frontiersman.com.