Shooting range, wilderness survival facility proposed for Winchester
WINCHESTER — A Massachusetts man aims to create an "outdoor Shooting Sport Park mecca for New England" in the Monadnock Region.
Plans are in the
works to turn three properties between Hinsdale and Fenton Hill roads in
Winchester into a shooting range and wilderness survival skills
training area.
People using the wilderness area
will learn skills such as how to find out where they are without using
electronic assistance, navigate through areas using a map and compass,
conceal themselves, make themselves visible for rescues, prepare an
emergency shelter, perform basic first aid, and mentally prepare
themselves for a night in the woods, according to the project's
application with the Winchester Zoning Board of Adjustment.
Ridgeline Shooting Sports LLC, a
Massachusetts-based company, is scheduled to appear before the zoning
board next month seeking a special exception and variance for the
business.
If the zoning board approves the company's requests, the project would then have to go to the planning board for approval.
Alex Hartmann, president of
Ridgeline Shooting Sports, said Friday he started looking into opening a
marksmanship park after he moved back to New England. He learned there
was a need for such a business in the region, he said.
So he seized the opportunity and, after looking at several properties, found what he needed in Winchester, he said.
"Location-wise, I wanted to be in southern New Hampshire," Hartmann, a former U.S. Marine scout sniper, said.
He also wanted a property which was big enough to shoot safely and efficiently, with terrain as level as possible, he said.
"In putting this forward, we're
trying to be stewards of shooting sports. We want to be a good neighbor
and be a functioning park in the local area instead of a just a thorn in
everybody's side," he said.
Besides hiring area residents to
work at the facility, he also hopes to provide a place to work for
military veterans having a difficult time transitioning back to civilian
life, he said.
"Hopefully this place can be a stepping stone for them so they can move on to bigger and better things," he said.
The three properties Hartmann is
eyeing are owned by N&M Winchester Properties LLC of Brattleboro,
and span the agricultural, commercial and residential zoning
districts, according to the project's application.
The parcels are 32, 101 and 115
acres. Two of the lots, which are between Hinsdale Road (Route 119) and
Fenton Hill Road, would be used for the outdoor shooting park, the
application said.
The facility, Ridgeline
Marksmanship Park, would be geared toward mid- to long-range, and action
shooting, according to the application. There would be three long-range
shooting ranges covering distances of 600 to 1,000 yards, four
mid-range courses, and eight short-range courses, including a teaching
range, the application said.
The entrance to the shooting park
would be off Hinsdale Road at the far end of the complex near the
property line. The driveway would lead to a parking lot, which would be
next to a prefabricated building housing a pro-shop, classroom, offices
and storage, according to the application.
The front of the building would have a pavilion where people can eat, rest and talk.
The third property, which abuts
Fenton Hill and Fulman Pond roads, would be for the land navigation and
survival skills area, according to the application.
The navigation area would remain
almost entirely wooded, and a small network of trails and skidder paths
may be developed over time, the application said.
Besides approval from the
Winchester zoning and planning boards, the facility would also need
state approval, according to Hartmann.
The timing is somewhat at the
mercy of when the approvals come through, he said, although if all goes
well, he'd like to open the marksmanship park at some point next year.
"At this point, it's kind of a hopeful shot in the dark," he said.
*The Winchester Zoning Board of
Adjustment will hold a public hearing on the special exception and
variance on Thursday, Aug. 11 at 7 p.m. at the town hall.
Other shooting ranges in the
Monadnock Region include the Cheshire County Fish and Game Club in Keene
and the Monadnock Rod and Gun Club in Jaffrey.
So, with 2 other shooting ranges already in the area, just where is this need he speaks of?
So, with 2 other shooting ranges already in the area, just where is this need he speaks of?
Meghan Foley can be reached at 352-1234, extension 1436, or mfoley@keenesentinel.com. Follow her on Twitter @MFoleyKS.
17 comments:
Why don't you write about the Winchester Shooting Range, wildlife survival facility. All we attract is dust, dirt, noise and now outdoor gun range with high power long range guns over 1000 feet. The Keene Sentinel said the developer wanted to be in southern NH I guess he heard there was a town called Winchester where a bunch of interbred morons live and they will except anything.............. You wait till the bang bang bang that is unnerving more than anything like it...
Here we go again. I wonder if Mr. Plifka will oppose this project? We try to attract normal businesses to this town and they get tied up in court because people are afraid of competition. Now, we have a shooting range! What the heck is wrong with the powers that be or should I say Power in this town? Can't we do better than this. I guess that it is time to get out of Dodge.
Good or bad, it doesn't really matter. As in a lot of small towns, and Winchester is no different, if these people align themselves with the right people there chances of success are greatly improved.
This has nothing to do with Mr. Plifka or court, this is about certain people in this town lining their own pockets and lack of voters going to the polls. As the poster above says, "align with the right people" and success of getting your application approved is guaranteed in this town. We all know who that statement refers to. Unfortunately for us, that person responsible for all of these out of state crappy business looking to locate here is an appointed position. If people are sick of the noise and preferentially treatment then we need to start with the BOS and flood their next meeting and voice your complaints. People also need to go to the polls and vote and not for the same people over and over again, but new people who are just as sick of the bullshyt as you are. You can't change things until you get rid of the problem.
Some of us have been trying to get rid of the problem for 12 years. We keep going to the polls to vote. We had competent people in charge and they got booted out (case in point the budget committee). Some of us will keep trying. There is hope as the town office is open 5 days a week.
Have a nice day!
There are enough local yokels and out-of-town "guests" who shoot in the woods in that area. The park would give them somewhere legal to do it, but I'm still not in favor of having high-powered )or even low-powered) weaponry that close to where I work and live. "Survivalist training" - another Bundy ranch in the making? Read the news folks - or watch it on TV if you can't read. We don't need to train people how to survive in the woods undetected, nor do we need home-grown snipers around. (I am not anti-gun. I'm anti-idiots with guns.)
As far as having influence in town - there's enough of that stuff to fertilize a county of farms. We need to take action starting with BOS and move forward from there. Shelley was a pawn - get to the root of the problem instead.
Everyone in town is happy with the 5 day work week, but most people wont express there opinion to anyone in the town hall because they don't want to upset anyone. I understand that the unhappy employees are counting on electing pro 4 day work week candidates for the board next year. Get the word out because we could lose the gains this board has made. We don't need to go back to the tail wagging the dog.
No thanks said, I am in agreement with you, plus the shooting facility will diminish property values and quality of life. Sniper training and how to find yourself in the woods at night is scary when they describe themselves as building "outdoor Shooting Sports Park called by themselves building a sports park "Mecca"! Mecca is a Moslem word used to describe a central meeting place. If that is what you want in Winchester then stay home and do not go to the Winchester Zoning Board Meeting Thursday August 11 at 7:00 PM. Just wait till they start firing High Power Automatic weapons like the sniper .50 caliber.
Great. As if we don't have enough noise in the town already. 2 Race Tracks even!
So, now some guy from out of state wants to put a bunch of potentially inexperienced gun nuts near our homes? I'm all for the 2nd Amendment and believe in the right to bear arms. I don't believe in that right being turned into a Theme Park. Shooting Sports, indeed! They won't put in a Dunkin' Donuts at the 4 corners, but they'll put in a bunch of people shooting guns all over the place? I live close enough to the proposed gun range area that I would be hearing all that noise all day. I know a couple people who live close by who are war vets and have PTSD. They don't want to hear the sounds of high powered rifle shots all day either!
This guy needs to look elsewhere to put his Gun Theme Park. It's a definitely noisy, and possibly dangerous proposal for our town. We need to show up on Aug 11th and let our voices be heard!
Let them put something like that way in the woods somewhere and not smack dab in the middle of a residential area! This ridiculous idea has to be stopped!
And how would they screen folks so they're not a "training ground" for terrorists?
We certainly don't need any more incessant or intermittent noise disturbing the peace and quiet of our fields and woods and home life.
People must take a stand on this, or the people of Ashuelot area will know what the north end of the town has to endure. This Mecca of a facility is starting to smell of something fishy. Sharra will try to GRANDFATHER this somehow like she did with her motocross friends brought to town by Gus Ruth. Statement at a selectmen meeting by the racetrack owners stating, "We do not know why everyone is upset with the noise, Gus Ruth invited us to town"! Who invited these people? Is it Sharra and Beaman Reality......Just because we have open land we do not have to fill it with more crappy business adventures. WE do not need a garbage dump or shooting range. Let the land owners develop with businesses that speculate with jobs or go to Hell!
People in this town have to stop marrying their first cousins!
1:48PM, stating your opinion is your option, but why would you go and ruin your credibility with the last sentience?
So where was everyone when Bob Davis tried in vain to get the noise at the speedway and motocross tracks toned down so residents in his area could return to their normal lives or that other fellow Town or Towns who with residents of Swanzey Village tried in vain to prevent that smelly asphalt plant from getting approved and that god awful quarry up that way with all their blasting and truck traffic and dirt and stone all over the highway? Huh ? Where were all of you good Winchester residents then ? Didn't see none of you show up to help those people fight for the best interests of the town and yet here you are all crying to come help you prevent noise in your back yards. Well what about them folk aren't they residents too? I been here a long time and seen lots of pandering and underhanded deals go on in this town and to open the eyes of all of you that will have your lives turned upside down because of this project , it's a done deal already.the zoning and planning boards are worthless clones who have been instructed to pass this right along. You can bet your last dollar on it.
What parcel is this????? Is this the parcel belonging to Barry MOntgomery, who raped a huge parcel thinking he was going to put in a housing area with a racetrack for classic car owners? An out of stater who destroyed a parcel of land. Is this the parcel??? What guns will be shot??? Sounds like another concern who singled out Winchester to bring something in no other community would allow. Sounds like a great training ground for wanna be terrorists to me. Way to go Town Hall.
think,,, how far will the guns capable of 1000yd shots, shoot beyond their impact area???? 1000yds or 2000yds more and still be deadly???????
Sounds like they think that it's a done deal here in Winchester. If you Google Ridgeline Shooting, their website promises to be "Coming in 2017". The Park, The Academy and The Store (although they ask for a lot of info before they let you look deeper into their site and many of the interpage links come back as "404 Error - Page Not Found").
To Anonymous on 8/12, no, I don't believe that this is the land that Barry ruined, but it's next to it. That is yet another travesty approved by Land Use Administrator.
If I were them I would not bet the farm on it! I think that most people have had enough of the LUA. We all have brains and understand that this is not a good project for the town. All we need is a bunch of terrorists along with the ones that we have. Enough is enough. Get out and go to the meeting on Sept. 8. It's time to act like grownups and not sheep. Remember this is not a house that can be rebuilt.
Post a Comment