Bill to expand public shooting ranges advances in Congress

By Chris Eger

The McHenry Shooting Range in Perkinston, MS was built by the Mississippi Dept. of Wildlife, Fisheries & Parks using Pittman-Robertson funds. (Photo: MDWFP)
A bipartisan measure that could see the number of shooting ranges available on public land expanded was reported out of committee this week in the U.S. House.
The bill, H.R. 788, has 61 co-sponsors from 34 states including seven Democrats and was reported out of the Committee on Natural Resources on a voice vote Tuesday, making it eligible for a floor vote by the full House.
The proposal would use money already made available to the federal government through the Wildlife Restoration Act of 1937, commonly referred to as Pittman–Robertson after the two lawmakers pivotal to its passage. This 80-year-old law uses an excise tax levied on all firearms and ammunition sold or imported into the country to perform conservation-related tasks as varied as restoring elk habitat to funding safety programs and establishing public shooting ranges.
It is hoped by supporters of the bill that the move to up the number of public ranges will help turn around flagging numbers of hunters in the field.
The latest National Survey of Fishing, Hunting, and Wildlife-Associated Recreation, compiled every five years since 1955, found

Source: Guns.com