Update on North Fork Wolf Creek Shooting Lanes Improvement Work...

Delay after delay! Add this, add that! Cost is up there now! But wow, they will be so much better than the original build. Here's the low down...

Original estimate of $10,220 was, what we thought last year, very reasonable based on the original construction cost that was around $30,000+ for the whole project from scratch. We had planned on dropping some new dirt for the berms, grading the lanes for drainage and lay down some gravel. So, in good faith, we submitted the proposal to the NRA Foundation for a $10,220 grant and was awarded that grant.

Since then, ODF hired a Range Design Consultant to give us his thoughts on our upgrade project. He made some recommendations that we liked and incorporated them into the plan. It meant more materials and more excavation work but we thought we'd be okay with that. (I love the final plan and it certainly is a better way to do it!).

Then a delay for the ODF engineer to draw up the plans and calculate needed materials. He just got that done week before last! Our deadline for completing the project was Nov 1st! Yikes!

Our first contractor bid, last week, came in at $46,000+ (included all excavation, purchasing materials and delivery to site)! Sticker shock! He is a great contractor and I have no doubt he would do a fantastic job. However, we're way short.

I contacted the NRA Foundation and was granted an extension of our deadline to Dec 1st. Now we have a little more time to regroup and re-plan.

Here's what we'll need to do...

Try to get Lane 3 done with our $10k money. Raise funds to do Lane 4 and continue fundraising to get 2 & 3 done. If our contractor comes in low enough on lane 3 bid, we may be able to do lane 1 or 2 with this grant money and/or supplement with some donation monies.

ODF is chipping in two of the types of gravel and rock we need. Trash No Land will purchase the 1/4-10 impact gravel and the concrete ecology blocks. TNL will also pay for the delivery of those materials to the site at lane 3. It should be about a $3,000 bill. That leaves us with $7,000 for the excavation contractor to sculpt it all into shape at lane 3.

I meet with another contractor at the lane 3 this weekend so he can submit a bid for that lane. I'll keep you posted on how it goes. He is available to start in Nov. and won't take long to get that lane done.

If you have a referral of a trucking company who can transport the Eco Blocks, let me know real soon! We'll need to arrange to pick up 9 full sized blocks, 2'x2'x6' (4000lbs ea) and 3 half sized 2'x2'x3' blocks (2000lbs ea) and transport from, I think McMinnville, to NF Wolf Creek Rd. I'm seeing transport costs at around $100/hr charged portal to portal.

Believe me, I pretty bummed that we can't get all 4 lanes done right now. I'm really hoping the community will come together to help finish the whole thing sooner than later. After all, it is a community place and we all benefit from such an awesome place to shoot.

Here's some of the details:



When the lanes were new... Simply piled up dirt that was readily at hand, and a little gravel.

We are going to widen the firing line by moving the right set of jersey barriers over about 6 ft to the right. The short berm will be also be wider, to the right, yet we'll be able to maintain a clear shot to the long berm.


Current condition, 2018...

Primary goal is to rebuild these lanes with the kinds of materials that will afford long term sustainability. We don't want to have to come back every couple of years and simply dump more dirt. We may need to shovel up some of the 1/4-10 material from time to time, but it should be less work in the long run.


Rebuild the short pistol berm with Eco Block inside, 6" minus rock, Pit Run, behind and under the 1/4-10 impact gravel. 2 ft of 1/4-10 over top and down the front facing slope...

Put in a 2nd backstop in front of the hill for the long range berm. Build up is same as the short range berm and backfill to the hill. Sculpt it to flow into the hillside grade.

So that's where we stand right now. Aggressively going after this and hoping we can accomplish lane 3 at least. If we raise enough to do lanes 1 and/or 2 before this is done, we'll certainly do that (Should be about $5000+/- to do 1 & 2). Afterward, we'll plan on about a $15,000 fundraiser for lane 4.

Hope that brings you all up to date.

Bill Cogley