Lawrence County Firing Range rules discussed; supervisor needed

WALNUT RIDGE, Ark. – Inside of a conference room at the Lawrence County Courthouse, the firing range was one of the topics of business discussed Monday night in Walnut Ridge.

Liability exposure for the county was a major worry of JP Alex Latham, who cautioned and questioned what would leave the county in the clear, should an unfortunate accident occur. JP Lloyd Clark discussed how many other ranges post rules to limit liability, but also mentioned someone could sue the county for anything but it didn’t mean it would be with merit.

Clark proposed a set of rules for the firing range which will be reviewed by County Attorney Dick Jarboe. The rules are published below. 

In addition, Clark said he and the county needed to locate a volunteer to manage the firing range for Lawrence County. The task would require close to 20 hours a week.

“Duties would include seeing that shooters follow safety rules and clean up after they are finished using the range,” Clark said.

Those who might be interested can contact Clark or the Lawrence County Judge’s office to be considered.

The range is open, presently, but one must access it by getting the key from the Lawrence County Sheriff, Jeff Yates.

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1. Safety is rule one
2. Range is open to the public if rules are followed
3. No one is allowed on the range when the gate is locked
4. No alcohol, nor drugs, allowed beyond the entry gate
5. Weapons must be unloaded except when on firing line
6. No automatic weapons except with sheriff department approval
7. Keep all firearms unloaded and muzzles pointed in a safe direction when not firing and pointed down range before loading. Actions on uncased firearms shall be open when not on firing line.
8. All persons are to remain behind the shooter while firing is taking place
9. All uncased weapons will be in the racks behind firing line when not shooting
10. Only one person may shoot from each designated location at any given time
11. Youth 15 years of age and younger must be directly supervised by a responsible adult, 21 years of age or older
12. Targets must be paper, cardboard or plastic and must be properly disposed of by shooters.
13. No targets may be placed on the safety berms
14. No shooting at targets on or above the safety berms or in the air
15. All targets, brass, shell casings and other items used by shooters must be removed and properly disposed of before leaving the range. Failure to comply will result in loss of range privileges.
16. When firing in groups, one person must be designated as range safety officer and only that person shall determine when it is safe to go down the range.

Warning: Improper handling of a firearm is an inherently dangerous activity. Failure to exercise proper caution and abide by safety measures may result in severe injury or death. Shooters and visitors assume all risks. Neither Lawrence County nor the sheriff’s department are responsible for any injury that may occur.

Violations of any rule posted or acknowledged by signature are subject to citation under AFGC Code 19.07 (Activities prohibited where signs are posted) Penalty $100 to $1000 and loss of range privileges.

Featured photo by Lloyd Clark; Story by Stan Morris