Montana Land Board discusses shooting range in Lincoln area

Recreational shooting organizations want to build a public shooting facility near Lincoln, but an attempt to secure state land for it failed on Monday on procedural grounds. 

Lincoln Sportsmen’s Club and Montana Shooting Sports Association jointly submitted a proposal to the land board asking it to authorize a transfer, lease or easement on state land to build a shooting facility. 

There are no managed shooting facilities in the Lincoln area, which leads to dispersed recreational shooting on unmanaged lands, the proposal said. These dispersed activities increase the potential “trespass, fire risk, litter, and administrative burden.”

The organizations asked for a 640-acre section of public land north of Montana Highway 200 and east of Lincoln, to be designated as a public shooting range, saying they had pursued similar ideas throughout the years without any headway, including being told previously that no suitable state land existed in the region. 

But according to officials with the Department of Natural Resources and Conservation, which regulate State Trust Lands, an official application was never submitted, and state laws and the constitution require any proposal regulating state land go through a more rigorous, legal, process. 

“I’m a big fan of shooting ranges,” Gov. Greg Gianforte said, adding that the state needs one in the area, but that the proposal they received didn’t meet all requirements. 

The Montana Land Board at its June 15 meeting discussed a proposal to utilize state land for a public shooting facility near Lincoln, but unanimously referred the issue to a state agency due to an inadequate application process. 

Recreational shooting is rising in popularity across the country and in Montana, with new clubs and shooting leagues quickly gaining members. According to the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, hunting/shooting/trapping is Montana’s third-largest outdoor activity, growing by 14% from 2023-2024. 

But shooting ranges are “not profit-making operations,” according to the proposal, and “a local club cannot afford to pay competitive lease rates,” for property, which is why the organizations are seeking to leverage state land. 

The proposed shooting facility near Lincoln would include rifle, pistol, large and small caliber ranges, according to Brian Patzer, Lincoln Sportsmen’s Club president. The organization also wants to have a trap range, black powder range and archery course, “so it would take a lot of property to do that.”

 “We want a place for a clean, safe, and secure place to legally shoot firearms,” Patzer told the land board.

The parcel is accessed via a county road, is currently under a grazing lease, and abuts private property, and multiple nearby landowners spoke in opposition to the proposal at the Land Board meeting.

One property owner, Greg Hendricks, said he spent the last five years building his house, and the proposed range would sit 330 yards from his property. 

“They’re proposing to put a shooting range in my backyard,” Hendricks said.

Hendricks holds the grazing lease on the land put forward for consideration, and said his lease is nearly $3,000 annually, in addition to the $2,000 he spent last year on fire hazard reduction. The proposal estimated much lower figures.

“It’s a big net loss to the school trust,” Hendricks said. “I know people who signed this petition that didn’t realize what the ramifications would be to the residents next to them. If they don’t want a shooting range in their backyard, and they signed this petition to put one in mine, it speaks volumes.”

The proposal submitted to the Land Board presented four options to provide land for the shooting range — deeding the state trust land to the Lincoln Sportsmen’s Club under condition it be used as a range; deeding the land to the county to then be turned over to the club; granting a perpetual easement; or entering into a long-term lease with the club to develop and operate a lease. 

Gary Marbut, president of the Montana Shooting Sports Association, said there have been issues with shooting ranges in other areas such as Gallatin County, where DNRC is considering closing a recreational shooting area due to safety concerns and proximity to public and private property. 

“This proposal that’s before you is exactly the kind of proactive work that needs to be done to make sure that people in Montana into the future do have the safe and suitable places to shoot to focus firearms use under managed areas with range rules and supervision,” Marbut said. 

Many residents of Lewis and Clark County and the Lincoln area spoke in favor of securing a site to develop a shooting range. 

Lewis and Clark County Sheriff Leo Dutton said the gun club had been “treated like a soccer ball” and kicked around by various land agencies as they sought to find a suitable location for a shooting range. 

Gun clubs are important, Dutton said, as are having developed, regulated shooting facilities. 

“A gun is a tool, and if you don’t know how to use it, it’s a bad thing to have,” Dutton said. “If you have a gun and you know how to use it, it’s a good thing, but improper storage or just improper handling is something that the gun club helps with, being able to go out, be able to shoot, and be able to properly defend yourself.”

“This would be an awesome opportunity.”

The proposal to find a suitable space for a shooting range in the area also has the backing of a dozen state legislators and the Lewis and Clark County Commissioners. 

Secretary of State Christi Jacobsen, a member of the board, had placed the proposal on the board’s agenda last month without offering additional information about it, which stymied some land board members who said they didn’t know what they were supposed to be voting for ahead of time.

“It seems to me this is born out of a lot of frustration from previous administrations, previous DNRC, and I understand that I’ve certainly had my frustrations with DNRC in the past with the previous administrations, but I also struggled with some clarity here,” Attorney General Austin Knudsen said during board discussion, adding that it seemed like an attempt to circumvent proper procedures.

Jacobsen’s office did not respond to an email asking why she had put the item on the agenda.

While no official application has been submitted to DNRC, the land board unanimously voted on a motion brought by the governor directing DNRC to “promptly review any application it receives related to a Lincoln shooting range,” and give the proponents the opportunity to work with the department to develop the application for future consideration.