Jay Henges Shooting Range Portion Will Close for Upgrade

The rifle/pistol range at the near on Interstate 44 will shut down for approximately one week starting Monday, Aug. 20, to allow for an upgrade to the bullet trap, according to a news release from the Missouri Department of Conservation. 

The work is expected to be completed in time to allow rifle and pistol shooting to resume normal operating hours by Wednesday, Aug. 29. It is possible work may be completed in less time. If so, the range will reopen sooner. Shooters wanting the latest status are encouraged to call the Henges Range at 636-938-9548. The information will also be posted on the range’s website.

The trap fields, shotgun patterning and archery ranges will remain open during this time. 

The new bullet trap was installed as part of an extensive renovation project completed in October 2010. Its design objective was to contain all projectiles on the range, isolate them from the environment, and allow the projectiles to be collected for recycling. 

“After a recent inspection, staff noticed that the throat on the bullet trap was starting to close in certain places,” said Jake Hindman, Henges Shooting Range supervisor. Hindman said Action Target, Inc., the contractor that installed the bullet trap, was contacted immediately.

The company indicated at high-use ranges like Henges, repeated fire into the throat of the trap with rifle rounds eventually can cause the metal in the mouth plates to bow. They further indicated they would stand behind their products and replace the affected areas with an upgrade free of charge as warranty service.

“The repair that we are going to do is to replace the current mouth plates with an upgraded, heavy duty design,” stated Blake Seamons, technical support specialist for Action Target, in the news release. “We have changed from 3/8-inch steel to 1/2-inch plate. They also have extra supports built in that strengthen the design. We will also add supports that connect the upper mouth to the boom arms.”

Seamons said the upgrades are a result of seeing the same thing happen on other ranges that experience very heavy rifle fire. “They have been implemented on these ranges and are also what all current rifle-rated traps that we sell come with,” Seamons said.

The Jay Henges Shooting Range currently is operating on its summer hour schedule, which is 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Thursday through Sunday, and 1 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. on Wednesday. The range is closed Monday and Tuesday. The range will switch to winter hours on Sept. 1, which are Wednesday through Sunday, 10 a.m. 4:30 p.m. 

The Jay Henges Shooting Range is located off I-44 at 1100 Antire Road in High Ridge, and is owned and operated by the Missouri Department of Conservation.