EOHC Range Construction Status

March 2007

Well, it's been a heck of a year construction-wise. Work continued on the new ranges up until the end of November. The amazing amount of rain we had at that time turned everything into a muddy swamp. You may notice a large drainage ditch that has been dug. It starts at the end of the new ranges, goes behind ranges 1, 2, and 3 and passes behind the new safety area and down the hill. It's our hope that this drainage ditch will abate some of the pooling (OK, outright flooding) that happens on the ranges each spring, effectivly rendering the ranges useless unitl they dry out.

Range 1 has been repaired. A huge thanks to Ben Lalonde for all his effort. Ben literally 'raised the roof'of the range covering and you can now walk underneath the covering without banging your head on the yellow shield.

October 2006

Wow! It's finally happening! The primary clearing is complete and there are the beginnings of berms for the four new ranges. Have a look! Please be reminded that these ranges are not open yet. ABSOLUTELY no shooting on them until they have been certified by the CFO and oficially opened by the club.

View from the road. New ranges on right. The levelled out area will eventually hold a gazebo and BBQ pit.

View from the road looking towards the new ranges. Thats the chronograph shack in the foreground.

Range Six. The berms are positioned but the range floor has not been brought up to grade.

Range Seven. Still more work to be done.....

July 2006

Work will be commencing on the construction of the long awaited four new ranges any day now. A LARGE bulldozer is being brought in to clear and level the open area beside the rifle range. We'll post some pictures as soon as work gets underway.

December, 2005

The trees to the left of the rifle range have been taken down to make way for the berm extensions. Unfortunately, the water table was very high for much of the summer, preventing us from starting earth moving. The work will have to be completed in 2006.

September, 2004

The rifle range is approved for rimfire and centrefire rifles with target placements at 100 and 200 yards! You CANNOT place targets anywhere else on the rifle range besides on the provided 100 and 200 yards target stands that are provided.

August, 2004

We are raising the side berms of the rifle range as there was too much erosion and settling over the past year. We have had several loads of crushed stone put down to improve the entry way from the new gate right through to the end of the parking lot. This should make using the range during the wet part of the Spring much less mucky. We're still waiting for the OPP to inspect the rifle range...

July, 2004

We've done all of the work required by the authorities, however we're not opening the rifle range for use until the inspector checks out the latest changes. Thanks to Nick, Dan and Rick for clearing the trees from the area we're getting the sand. The rest of the earth work will be finished in the second half of July. A couple of truck loads of gravel were put on the road inside of the gate, with a couple of more to come for the parking lot.

October, 2003

Finally, the rifle range earthwork is finished! A gate has been installed at the entrance to the rifle range and will be locked as soon as the OPP approves the range.

September, 2003

The rifle range construction is nearing completion. As you can see from the photo the backstop is about 20 feet high and the sideberms about 15 feet high. We need to bring up the remaining left side berm to better shield the access road beside the future rifle range. There will also be gates going in to block the entrance to the rifle range and the access road. The right sideberm extends about 25m from the rifle firing line to stop any accidental shots that might be fired from the rifle range towards the handgun ranges.

July, 2003

Construction began on the rifle range on July 9th. Heavy equipment will be working on the range over the next few weeks - probably until the beginning of August. Our goal is to bring the backstop up to 18' and have two 15' sideberms coming back 50m from the backstop. To the left 4' tall Alex is standing on one of the many truck loads of sand that is going to be dumped on the new side berm. The berm behind him is already about 10 feet high. These side berm will let us use the end of the rifle range as a 50m pistol range during larger competitions. We will also be putting in a sideberm extending about 25m from the rifle firing line to stop any accidental shots that might be fired from the rifle range towards the handgun ranges.

While we have the equipment on site we'll probably level off the the area where the shotgun range will be built and put some more crushed gravel in the handgun range parking lot. If someone could remove all of the tables, wood panels, etc. that are on the south side of the range 1 left berm, it would be appreciated as this will let us bring in the dump trucks.

If you have been to the club since mid-June, you will have noticed the new safety area. This palatial safety area was built by Greg Oliver and Michel Florent in a couple of days in mid-June. Ron, Rheal, Scott and Dave looked after the cement foundation (which can rival anything targeted in Iraq), while Rob painted the finished product. Michel, with a little help from Mark Martin, put up the shooting stall for the shotgun field after he finished some of the roofing details. There was some cement left over after we finished extending the range 1 firing line, so we put a cement pad under part of the original safety area (the part that tended to be under a couple of inches of water in early April. We'll finish it off when we put in the cement wheelchair ramp.

June 14-15, 2003

This is going to be the biggest weekend of the year for the Eastern Ontario Handgun Club, work wise. We are going to start construction of the stages for the 2003 Ottawa Open on ranges 2 and 3. We're going to finish bulding the new safety area. We need to put the forming in place for the rest of our concrete work. There are several painting projects that need to be done - back wall on range 1, steel baffle, supply shed, new safety area, etc. The shooting stand for the shotgun area needs to be built (for those of you who haven't seen one it looks something like the one on the right) and the signage and tables put in place. As well there is the usual clean-up of garbage and organizing of props.

We'll have a generator on site and some tools. If you are coming out to help, it would be handy if you could bring basic carpentry tools. Chainsaws, weed eaters and gas powered lawn mowers can also be put to good use!

June 5, 2003

Ron came through with another load of cement for us Thursday evening and Dave drafted Scott and Rheal for an evening of concrete finishing. We poured the pad for the new safety area (which in places was thicker than any of Saddam's bunkers) and almost finished the firing line extension on the first range. Before we do more pouring of cement we need to put up some more forms to make it worthwhile for the delivery. Greg may be working on building the safety area on the new pad this Sunday, June 7th. Let Greg@eohc.ca know if you are available to help and know how to use a screwgun and hammer. If there is enough help, we might be able to do the forming for the wheelchair ramp and a safety area pad for the shotgun field.

May 25, 2003

We're going to put in another safety area at the far end of the large parking lot. During large matches the current area cannot hold 36 shooters over a short period of time. The Level 3 IPSC match is going to pay for the new safety area. We will be having construction materials for this project delivered to the range next weekend. If you are available for a couple of hours, starting at 11:00 on Sunday, June 1st, let Greg@eohc.ca know. We have a generator and if you have a portable table saw it would be a match made in heaven. We'll also have a couple of small painting projects, if you would like to bring a brush or rollers.

We are also going to replace the wooden wheelchair ramp with a concrete one. It looks like it would be easier (less grade) to run the ramp from the direction of range 1. If you are one of our members with accessibilty issues, please contact Dave@eohc.ca ASAP to let him know of any special requirments or suggestions. Once the concrete has set it's going to be hard to make changes.

May 15, 2003

We're enlarging the cement firing line on range 1 and putting in a platform for another safety area on the far side of the parking lot. It would be helpful to have some scrap steel to toss in when the concrete is poured. If you have some steel (do you ever really use that second oven rack?), bring it out to the club and toss it into the concrete forms. It needs to be pieces that would fit inside a sidewalk sized concrete pad. Watch your step around the forming when you are using the range!

We had about ten people come out for a workparty the first Sunday morning in May. We have a volunteer (Ron) who drives a cement truck and needs to dump excess cement periodically. There are several places where we could benefit from new and/or enlarged cement pads. Ron (with some help from Darcy) has already finished the shotgun stand's concrete pad and half of Range 1. We need to take away the forms from the cement that has been poured and set up the forming for him to finish that range and put in more around the wheelchair ramp so we can finally fix that once and for all. If you can come out to the range on Sunday morning (May 18th) at 9:00 with a hammer, screw gun, etc. we would certainly appreciate a couple of people to help set up some more forms.

May 12, 2003

We're now waiting for the ground to dry enough to have heavy equipment work on the berms, hopefully by July. The plan had been to have this work done in the early winter but we had a tractor operator who was missing in action. We're enlarging the cement firing line on range 1. It would be helpful to have some scrap steel to toss in when the concrete is poured. If you have some steel (do you ever really use that second oven rack?), bring it out to the club and toss it into the concrete forms.

December 16, 2002

We're still working on the rifle range. It probably won't be ready for inspection prior to next September. We're having some dirt moved to widen the 200m berm and begin on the side berms whenever our contractor has down time. All of the brush from the last workparty has been cleared off of the range. The club won't take official control of that range until it is ready for approval. The shotgun area is cleared and we have a thrower to put in position. There was surprisingly little interest (using volunteers showing up to place the trap machine as a measure of interest). The shotgun range could be ready with a half day's work. If you would like to help get the shotgun range ready, send an email to: president@eohc.ca

May 10, 2002

The March workparty produced a heck of a lot of branches! Unfortunately they were too wet to successfully burn at the time. Now that the snow is gone (finally), burning is no longer an option. Four guys and our trusty contractor with his tractor and hay wagon, managed to move about two/thirds of the brush to an area where we will be able to have a bonfire in the winter. With a couple more volunteers we could have finished the job - hint, hint.

This Spring we discovered that we finally succeeded in raising the floor of our 50m enough to prevent flooding problems! This is the first spring we haven't been able to canoe on range 1! It's amazing what twenty truck loads of sand can do...

March 17, 2002

The workparty on the rifle range last Sunday was a resounding success. By around 10:30am I'd estimate there were 20+ people helping out and we managed to clear almost all of the right hand berm / range area. A fireman from Rockland township showed later on up and hung around while we tried to get a fire going before making us buy the open air burning permit. While at first we couldn't get anything going we eventually burnt off a small pile of brush, but the rest was just too wet to burn. As a result there are piles of brush in the middle of the range and nicely stacked piles of logs and trimmed trees ready to be cut into firewood and left to dry as firewood for next year. {or given to our landlord as it is his wood and we probably already have enough for a couple of years!}

I think we need to look at options for what to do with the brush as I was told the township does not issue burning permits once the snow is gone. Do you think the piles could be used to build up as a base for the berms? Perhaps a large chipper should be brought in? Just a few ideas to toss around. {We can probably chip this stuff and throw it on the new berms} One thing for sure is that we will need a few more work parties to finish up the job, particularly in cleaning up and getting the left side of the range cleared, before any "construction" can begin.

I'd like to send out an e-mail thanking everyone for turning up as they were a great group. If you happen to send something out please include my thanks to everyone who pitched in.

December 16, 2001

July 1, 2001

Thanks to the hard work of everyone who lent a hand during the recent workparties, the heavy equipment was able to do its job. We have a few more loads of sand to add to the end of the berm between ranges 2 and 3 but that's all that's required on the 'pistol' ranges. In the meantime it's business as usual if you want to go out shooting.

We are going to start work on the new backstop for the rifle range next week. In the fall we will be clearing some trees from the sides of the rifle range to make way for side berm construction.

The sporting clays range is still awaiting the CFO's approval in principle before we can install the trap machine. Once we get the ok we can have that up and running in a couple of days.

June 23, 2001

In order to get enough sand to complete the rifle range upgrade project, our landlord is going to deepen his pond (just after the house on the right side of the road as you approach the club). This should provide well over 100 truckloads of sand which will be dumped in the area we have cleared in recent weeks.

In order to make space for this work to begin we need to have another workparty to clear a few more trees. If you haven't been out to a workparty yet, this is your chance! We will start at 9:00 and go until lunch time on Sunday, June 24th. Please bring your lumberjack and brush clearing tools. We will also be installing new (very professional) signs that have been provided by members and painting (if we have enough people!)

June 15, 2001

We had an excellent turnout for last Sunday's workparty. We have cleared all of the trees that were in the way of our sand removal. There will be heavy equipment working on all three ranges until at least June 20th. The shovel operator has found the last few days a little too warm to be sitting in a glass box atop a giant engine, so we're a little behind schedule. If you plan to come out and shoot during the week, there may or may not be a range available to use - after supper is probably the safest bet

It is looking like we are going to come in well under budget on upgrading the existing ranges. We've come up with a plan to start bringing the rifle range up to spec with our left over money. You'll see heavy equipment working there starting on the week of June 18th.

The Sunday, June 17th (Sorry I didn't realize it was Father's Day) workparty will consist of lighter work: brush clearing, mowing, painting, window cleaning, garbage clearing, scrap burning etc. Please bring an assortment of you handyman accessories. If you have wood stain to dispose of this is a great opportunity! If someone would like to tackle replacing the wheelchair ramp, contact IPSC@EOHC.ca to arrange for materials and a generator. We should be able to get through what needs to be done by midday.

June 2, 2001

There will be heavy equipment working on Range 1 and 2 this Saturday. Range 3 will be open for use, just stay ahead of the end of the left side berm when shooting.

Unfortunately, we don't have enough trees cleared to access all of the sand we are going to need to finish Range 3. We need two more days of tree cutting and limbing. Given the scale of the work to be done, we are going to have two workparties. We'll be starting a workparty each Sunday morning at 9:00 and working all day on June 10th and in the morning on June 17th. If you're available for a few hours, please come out and lend a hand. If you can only come out in the afternoon, that's ok as some people usually have to leave at midday. In addition to people weilding chainsaws, we'll need strong backs and axes to help move and limb the trees as they are cut. There will also be seed to spread on the berms that are finished - for those of you with a green thumb. The mosquitos are waiting so be sure to bring bug spray.

May 27, 2001

On Saturday we only had 3-4 club volunteers at a time, which limited productivity as we couldn't keep up with the tractor operator who was dragging the trees from our dig site to where we were limbing the trees. The mountains of branches in the photos will probably end up being chipped and spread on the new berms to limit erosion. At least the bugs were almost as scarce as the help that day!

Sunday saw a dozen people on site with axes and chainsaws first thing in the morning. Even though most of the volunteers were more accustomed to pushing trees around when they are very thin 8.5x11" slices, we made up for the lack of logging experience with enthusiasm. Who would have guessed that you could have almost as much fun clear-cutting nature as you can shooting at it! We could have kept two tractors busy, we had so many helpers. We managed to clear enough land to keep the earth moving equipment busy for four days of digging (Hopefully that will be enough to get the berms up to spec - even though the new Federal range standards have far more to do with closing or bankrupting shooting ranges than addressing real safety issues!).

Over the weekend club volunteers put in about a hundred hours of labour, saving the club well over a $1000 of labour costs on this construction project. Those who helped out deserve a big thank you from all of the membership. You can see some of the volunteers taking a well deserved refreshment break on Sunday morning. The EOHC splurged and bought the drinks for the gang - before forcing them back to work. This club is run by volunteers and can only thrive through the active participation of the membership. There will be more workparties over the next month, so please try to come out and support your club.

If you haven't already subscribed to the EOHC's distribution list, please do so! This is the most effective way for us to keep members up to date on what is happening at the club.

May 23, 2001

It's amazing what three hours with a bulldozer can do to mountains of sand. The bulk of the sand pictured below went into raising the floor of Range 1 eight inches. The first range was built in the early 1980s by pushing up sand to make the original, not very tall, berms. This meant much of the range floor was well below surface level. In 1995 we raised the floor of the range six inches and suceeded in making a bigger but shallower pond each spring. Hopefully, this will finally be enough of an increase...

With the floor of the range raised, we need to clear more trees so that we can get at the sand beneath them for the berm work.

May 22, 2001

We had a slight change in plans on the weekend. Range 1 was the one that ended up getting worked on during the holiday Monday. The picture shows the 26 loads of sand (just $760) that are going to bring up the floor of Range 1 so that the springtime pond is finally cured. It doesn't look like much in the photo but each of those sand piles is over five feet high.

Ranges 2 & 3 are open until Saturday, May 26. All of the ranges will be closed on the weekend because there is going to be more tree cutting and earth moving. The trees on the north berm of range three are going to have to come down and we have about 500 trees to cut where we are digging up the sand. Given the scale of the work to be done, we are going to have workparties going all weekend. We'll be starting at 8:00 on Saturday morning and working all day. Sunday we'll take it easy and begin at 9:00. If you're available for a few hours, please come out and lend a hand. In addition to people weilding chainsaws, we'll need strong backs and axes to help move and limb the trees as they are cut. The mosquitos are waiting so be sure to bring bug spray.

May 17, 2001

There will be heavy equipment working on the ranges starting this Friday. Ranges 2 & 3 will be closed until further notice. You can continue to use range 1 for the moment. Check the website for updates before heading out to the range.

Thanks to the eight people who came out to help with last weekend's workparty! To those of you who couldn't make it, don't worry there will be more opportunities. We are going to need help clearing trees in the area that the sand will be brought from in order to build up the ranges. IF YOU HAVE A CHAINSAW AND MAY BE AVAILABLE TO HELP FOR A DAY (or just a few hours), PLEASE CONTACT ME ASAP!!! If members don't help out we have to pay someone to do this work and we don't have money to throw away...

PLEASE SUPPORT YOUR CLUB!