The Turcotte shooting range, in central Mississippi, offers a nice variety of shooting options. It’s a well run facility by the Fisheries and Parks Department.
They have pistol, rifle and archery ranges, as well as a variety of sporting clay and skeet options. They also offer various handgun classes, including an enhanced carry course.
Location Of The Turcotte Shooting Range
The facility is located in a nice area right off the Natchez Trace on the north side of Ross Barnett Reservoir.
The address where you should arrive is 100 Turcotte Lab Drive, Canton, MS. Turn in at the sign shown above.
Hours Of Operation
About the only knock on this place is their hours of operation, as they are fairly short. You’ll have to do a little planning when it comes to your visit. The hours vary by season and day of the week.
As of this writing, the posted hours were as listed below. For more accurate hours, and for info on any closures hit up their site here.
March – October
Thursday, Friday: Noon – 6:00pm
Saturday: 10:00am – 6:00pm
Sunday: 1:00pm – 5:00pm
November – February
Thursday, Friday: Noon – 5:00pm
Saturday: 10:00am – 5:00pm
Sunday: 1:00pm – 5:00pm
A Brief Tour Of Turcotte
For an abbreviated tour of a portion of the Turcotte Shooting Facility, check out my short video linked below.
Checking In
You’ll need to check in, and afterwards pay, at the range office shown above. They had me use one of the 2 computers seen on the wall, to check in. I did not have to check out. Just hand them your range card, if you shot clays, and they’ll tell you what you owe based on how many clay targets you consumed. For reference, I shot 77 clays in about an hour.
Turcotte Shooting Range Rules
There are quite a few rules, as can be expected when firearms are involved. You should strive to be as safe as possible.
The range master will continually make rounds, especially if the place is crowded. He never hassled me about anything. In fact he offered me a ride on his golf cart. He will explain to you how things work if you have any questions.
Sporting Clays
The sporting clay course runs through the woods along a nice asphalt path. If you walk the entire route from the parking lot and back, it’s about 1.25 miles.
The course consists of 12 stages which are laid out nicely. Out of the 12 stages, only one was down. All other stages worked flawlessly for me, aside from the “A” button on stage 9. A clay was just jammed and I let them know once I was finished.
It took me about an hour to leisurely walk the entire course shooting all stages as much as I wanted, which was 77 clay targets.
5 Stage
I wanted to do the 5 stage range, but then realized there wasn’t a delay option. So instead, I chose to walk the forest course, which is great fun. If you have a shooting partner to launch the targets for you, the 5 stage area looked fun.
What It Costs To Shoot At Turcotte
No matter what you do at Turcotte, whether it be pistol, rifle, bow, or shotgun, there is a $15 entry fee right off the top. Then, you’ll pay for each clay target you shoot. At the time of this writing, the charge was 30 cents per clay target. You can see my receipt above. Overall, it’s quite affordable.
What You Need
First and foremost, remember to bring hearing and eye protection. Besides that, all you need is your gun and ammo, or your archery equipment, of course.
How It Works
To do the sporting clay course, all I did was let them know in the range office what I wanted to do. I didn’t pay anything up front. I just signed it at one of the computers on the wall. They give you a key card, which they tested for me before I set out to walk the course. By the time I walked to the first stage, the range master caught up to me in his golf cart. He thoroughly explained to me how to work the machines, which I appreciated, since it has been a long time since I’ve done it. He was very polite, as was all the fellow shooters I encountered.
Golf Carts
The golf carts are first come first serve, and there aren’t a ton of them. So maybe you’ll be able to rent one, maybe you won’t. If not, the walk is very pleasant, so no big loss. I have done both here, and didn’t regret walking.
Etiquette
At times, the facility can be crowded. Just follow common sense. There may be times when you’ll want to skip past a large crowd on the sporting clays course and then circle back to shoot a skipped stage. Having a golf cart makes this much easier to do.
Needs Some Refreshing
Other than the short hours of operation, about the only other thing I could say negative about the course is that it is in need of some refurbishment. A little rot here and there, but overall it’s in good enough shape to provide a highly enjoyable afternoon shoot. I love this place.
From my experience, a little wear and tear is to be expected at any state run facility operating on a limited budget. This one is no exception.
Contact Them
The Turcotte contact info is as follows.
601-859-5164
506 Highway 43 South
Canton, MS 39046
jadt@wfp.ms.gov
Conclusion
I have not used the pistol or rifle ranges, but have taken my niece here for an annual kids fishing event, and I have used the sporting clay course multiple times. The place is nice and the staff are very friendly and helpful. Every time I go, I ask myself why I don’t do so more often.
Mississippi is fortunate to have facilities such as this. It gives the common man access to high quality shooting sports facilities.
Be sure to visit the range’s site to familiarize yourself with all the rules. You’ll have to sign in when you arrive and acknowledge that you understand all their range rules.
If you enjoyed this article, you might also be interested in learning about the best hunting counties in Mississippi, linked here.
Happy Shooting,
Augustus Clay
