Gun range coming soon

“People will be coming here from all around, it’s a very popular sport,” he said.

The range will be completed in stages, each designed to National Rifle Association standards. When complete, it will feature a 500-yard rifle range with 10 slots, several pistol bays, a 100-yard range with 25 positions, a 100 to 200-yard range with 15 positions, a trap (shotgun) range, and a shooting gallery with moving targets and a range dedicated to law enforcement.

Once the initial phase is completed, the facility will be leased to The Dalles Gun Club, which will operate the facility as a public-access range.

The new range will give enthusiasts a safe place to shoot.

“People shoot wherever they can, in gravel pits and what not, and a lot of people don’t like that, it doesn’t feel safe or secure,” Johnston said.

He said the area needed a good, safe range.

“We have a little range in White Salmon, with a 100 yard rifle range, an indoor range and a trap range, but it is very small,” he explained.

Although the county made the initial investment in the range, the rest of the funding for the estimated $1 million project will come from grants, Johnston said.

“That’s why it’s taking so long,” he added, noting that officials had hoped to have the range open this summer.

“This project is one that I’ve been working on since I’ve been a commissioner,” Johnston told the Goldendale Sentinel in March. “It’s really something I love being involved in, because there isn’t a gun range anywhere in the gorge for people to come and shoot.”

He anticipates the range being used by people from both Oregon and Washington.

In addition to law enforcement training and local shooters, the range will draw visitors to the region, he added.

“I envision it being a real draw for the county, this could be really good for tourism,” said Johnston.