Range orientation: N/S/E/W? Which is best & why?

358Rooster

358Rooster

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Hey all, just wondering what the really experienced shooters here prefer regarding range orientation. It seems to me that shooting north would be best here in the northern hemisphere so that you wouldn't have to contend with sighting into the sun. Those of you who have traveled to many different ranges to compete; do they all face a common direction or are they all sorts?

The reason I'm asking is because I'm trying to suss out a new location for a range and of course, each spot I look at has both good and bad features, some of which are suitable direction of fire.

Thanks for your thoughts
Rooster
 
How about some of the well-traveled F-Classers? Are the ranges you've visited oriented in a common direction? The only F-class facility I'm familiar with is Nokomis and direction of fire is north (that's all I have to reference).
 
My range is facing west, not great for late afternoon shooting. No option in my yard, but i can walk across the road and shoot north east into the pasture if i want to,
 
North if in the northern hemisphere, south in the southern. As others have said, sun to your back. Also, if shooting east or west at any good distances, the target is falling or rising as the earth spins to the east. You coming out to Nokomis again 358Rooster? You did pretty well at the 2014 open house day.
 
358Rooster said:
How about some of the well-traveled F-Classers? Are the ranges you've visited oriented in a common direction? The only F-class facility I'm familiar with is Nokomis and direction of fire is north (that's all I have to reference).
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Majority are north facing.

BC Vokes - south
AB Homestead - north
SK North Star - north
MB St Charles - north
ON Connaught - north
NS Bull Meadows - NNW
WI Lodi - west
OR Douglas Ridge - north
NM Raton - north
AZ Mid Thompkins (Ben Avery) - north

I believe that the north facing is largely due to sun angle ... which means that we in the far north face into the sun in the mid summer months! The backstop will also affect your location - Vokes shoots into a mountain for instance. Most prairie ranges have to consider the township grid system, with a road allowance every mile going N/S and every 2 miles going E/W.
 
North is preferred.

I regularly shoot black powder with iron sights on a south facing range. Everyone sights in during the morning with the sun on one side of the sights and little wind. Then we go have lunch and come back to shop for score after the wind has picked up and the sun has moved to the other side of the sights.

Can be challenging some days. Especially for people who don't realize how much effect this can make.
 
not sure about the compass reading on the 7 different ranges I shoot on every year, but what I do know is that we always shoot down range and never up range..........but I would guess north as the sun is always on my targets and not in my eyes
 
Interesting... I have a range at home in southern ON. The backstop was made from a pond that was dug before we moved in (lucky!). I have a clear 250 yds and shoot facing almost due south. I've never considered the sun to be a problem. Now it will probably drive me nuts!
 
Thanks Keith. My current range is easterly firing direction and I do notice some difference between POI at 1050 yards to the east versus similar distance to the west. Cool stuff.

I have considered returning this year so that my daughter and I could continue to absorb from you guys but with a new business just getting off the ground, I don't know what kind of commitment I can make. I will keep in touch though!

Kodiak99317 said:
North if in the northern hemisphere, south in the southern. As others have said, sun to your back. Also, if shooting east or west at any good distances, the target is falling or rising as the earth spins to the east. You coming out to Nokomis again 358Rooster? You did pretty well at the 2014 open house day.
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yodave said:
not sure about the compass reading on the 7 different ranges I shoot on every year, but what I do know is that we always shoot down range and never up range..........but I would guess north as the sun is always on my targets and not in my eyes
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Ha! Well played, sir!

Thanks for all the info, guys - I appreciate it. Backstops are not a huge concern, as I have the equipment to remedy that. Biggest thing for me at the moment is 4 season access and reasonably straight line of sight. The area where land is available to me is mildly rolling - enough to present a problem for some target positions when using a fixed firing line.

And FYI, around here, the township grid system runs road allowances at every 2 miles N/S and 1 mile E/W. So this makes things easier to shoot north beyond a mile (which I do regularly, ya know...:rolleyes: H:S:)
 
All other things being equal, you want a range to face north (in the northern hemisphere), so that the sun is (mostly) behind you throughout the day.

However this is only a "nice to have" feature, worth doing if you can, but no need to fuss if you can't. Other factors can be much more important in determining the orientation of a range (shape of the land, available safety/impact areas, availability of local material to build firing points and backstops, etc).
 
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