Columbia County Range to close temporarily in June for maintenance

Contact(s): Mark Aquino, DNR Southcentral Region Secretary’s Director, 608-275-3262

POYNETTE, Wis. – The Columbia County Range at Mud Lake Wildlife Area will be closed starting June 3 for general maintenance, evaluation, repairs and updates, state officials announced today.

Keith Warnke, team supervisor of the Wis. Department of Natural Resources R3 program, says the limited closure of the year-old range also offers an opportunity to review operations to ensure the users enjoy a high-quality shooting experience.

“The new range has been well-used since it opened. And, we want to make sure it will continue to effectively serve southern Wisconsin’s shooting sports enthusiasts,” Warnke said. “These changes also reflect the DNR’s goals to maintain positive and supportive relationships with the neighbors who live near this range and all its supporters.”

Maintenance and updates will include:

• repairs to the normal wear of the bullet impact zones on the earthen backstops;
• updating target stands and signage indicating mandatory safe shooting positions;
• testing sound mitigation measures;
• the installation of electricity; and,
• a new storage shed.

New shooting hours and entry gate, open days remain as is

Warnke says upon the range’s reopening, shooting hours will be put into effect while the days of operation will remain the same. An automatic gate will be installed to implement shooting 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. hours.

• Open days: Thursday through Tuesday.
• Closed days: Every Wednesday
• Shooting hours: 10 a.m. – 6 p.m.

Where to find project updates

The range will remain closed until all repairs and updates are completed. Look for updates on this project by searching the DNR website, dnr.wi.gov, for “Columbia County shooting range” and learn more about the public shooting ranges and where each is located statewide by searching “shooting ranges.”